Most reviewed5-day Nile cruise to Aswan with balloon
Balloon, felucca ride and Abu Simbel on the last day.
Sailing from Luxor to Aswan goes against the current, and this is the direction with four nights and more. Eight cruises on GetYourGuide sail it, from $500 for one night to $1,860 for four nights on a named ship.
Updated Nov 2026 · Prices checked Nov 2026 · per person, two sharing
The longest common cruise: two days in Luxor, two sailing, Aswan and Abu Simbel.
Nile cruises from Luxor to Aswan run from one to six nights and cost from $500 per person on GetYourGuide. This is the direction to choose for four nights or more; the 5-day cruise with the balloon and Abu Simbel costs from $1,343.
Six cruises in six roles, from a one-night transfer cruise to four nights on a dahabiya. Two of them name their ship, with an “or similar” warning.
Most reviewedBalloon, felucca ride and Abu Simbel on the last day.
Named shipEntry fees included; a named ship that may be swapped.
Named ship, newEntry fees and a private guide included; “or similar” ship.
DahabiyaFour nights sailing plus a hotel night in Luxor; Silsila and a village.
Private guideValley of the Kings on day one, Aswan and Abu Simbel at the end.
Transfer onlyMeals, Edfu and a transfer to your hotel in Aswan.
The temples are the same either way. Sailing from Luxor takes longer against the current, so it is where the four-night cruises are, and it ends near Abu Simbel. Starting in Aswan is shorter and cheaper.
The most reviewed 4-night cruise spends two days in Luxor, two days sailing past Edfu and Kom Ombo, and ends in Aswan with the Abu Simbel trip. The balloon flight and a felucca ride are in the price.
Day 1Karnak and Luxor Temple.
Day 2Sunrise flight, Valley of the Kings, board the ship.
Day 3Sailing, the Temple of Horus.
Day 4Sailing on to Aswan.
Day 5The Abu Simbel day, then your hotel.
Abu Simbel comes on the last day, after you reach Aswan, so you leave the ship with the most famous temples still ahead of you. Guests rate this cruise 4.2 from 187 reviews; one notes there was not much entertainment on the boat.

The 6-day dahabiya from Luxor spends four nights on the boat and one in a 4-star hotel in Luxor before boarding. It adds Gebel el-Silsila and a village to the usual temples and ends with Philae in Aswan.
It costs $1,400 per person with meals, water and hot drinks, the guide and the transfers. Guests rate the guide 5.0, though the overall rating is 4.1 from 13 reviews.
The one-night cruise is a comfortable way to get from Luxor to Aswan rather than a tour: pickup around 11 AM, lunch and dinner on board, a visit to Edfu the next morning and a transfer to your hotel in Aswan. There is no guide, and other land excursions are not included.
It costs from $500 per person on a deluxe ship and is rated 4.5 from 37 reviews.

Two cruises from Luxor name their ship, the only ones on this route that do. Both still allow a swap: the Radamis II listing says “or similar”, and a recent guest on the Princess Sarah cruise was moved to another ship on arrival.
Both include temple tickets, unlike most cruises, which makes their prices look higher than they are.
Guests praise the crews and the comfort on board; the longer cruises leave more time to rest between temples.

“The highlight of our three-week trip! Our dahabiya was beautiful, and the staff was amazing, attentive, thoughtful, and accommodating throughout the trip.”

“Everything on this cruise exceeded my expectations. The trip was seamlessly coordinated from pickup to drop off. The ship was very comfortable, food was excellent.”

“We have got well rested and have seen wonderful places. The crew was wonderful, very nice and helpful. Every day I got the plan for the next day.”
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From one to six nights on GetYourGuide. Four nights (five days) is the most common longer cruise in this direction.
The boat sails south against the current, which takes more time, and most cruises add two days in Luxor before sailing.
No. Four-night cruises only sail from Luxor to Aswan on GetYourGuide.
Yes, as a 5-day cruise from Luxor from $1,860 per person. The listing says “Radamis II or similar”, so the operator may use another ship.
Several do, at the end of the cruise from Aswan. Check the itinerary: the one-night cruise and the dahabiya do not include it.
As a comfortable transfer with meals and Edfu, yes. It has no guide, so it is not a substitute for a guided cruise.
In our two sample departures, winter and summer, the prices of the cruises from Luxor were the same.
The shorter, cheaper direction has 18 cruises.