Ms Movenpick Royal Lily

Enjoy breakfast on board, then cross to Luxor's West Bank with your Egyptologist guide for what many travelers rate as the highlight of the entire trip.

You'll descend into the Valley of the Kings, where more than 60 royal tombs were cut into the limestone hillside — including Tutankhamun's. The painted ceilings and wall reliefs inside have kept their color for over 3,000 years. From there you'll visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the terraced mortuary temple of Egypt's most successful female pharaoh, built straight into the cliff face at Deir el-Bahari. Your last stop is the Colossi of Memnon — two 60-foot guardian statues that once fronted a temple now lost to the floodplain.

Back on board, the afternoon belongs to the river. You'll sail toward Edfu, passing through the Esna Lock, where the ship is raised and lowered between water levels. It's a slow, oddly hypnotic process, and the riverbank life on either side — kids waving, farmers working the fields, egrets in the shallows — makes for some of the best photos of the week. Dinner is served on board while docked overnight.

Overnight: Docked at Esna
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: The Valley of the Kings is exposed and hot. The standard ticket typically covers entry to three tombs; Tutankhamun's tomb requires a separate ticket, which your guide can arrange.

After breakfast on board, your guide takes you to the Temple of Horus at Edfu — the best-preserved temple in all of Egypt. Buried under sand for centuries, it survived almost fully intact, right down to its roof and the granite falcon statues flanking the entrance. If you've ever wondered what these temples actually looked like when they were in use, Edfu is the answer.

You'll return to the ship and sail on to Kom Ombo, with lunch served on board as the scenery drifts by. Kom Ombo is unusual — it's a double temple, split down the middle and dedicated to two gods at once: Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroeris, the falcon-headed healer. Everything is mirrored, with two entrances, two sanctuaries, two sets of everything. Your Egyptologist guide will walk you through why.

From there you'll sail on to Aswan, passing beneath the Aswan Bridge as the Tombs of the Nobles light up on the western cliffs. Dinner and overnight are on board in Aswan.

Overnight: Docked in Aswan
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Kom Ombo sits right on the riverbank, so the walk from ship to temple is short and flat — an easier day than Luxor.

Breakfast is served on board before your Egyptologist guide takes you into Aswan.

You'll start at the Unfinished Obelisk, still lying in the granite quarry where it was abandoned after a crack appeared during carving. Had it been completed, it would have been the largest obelisk ever raised — nearly 140 feet. Seeing it half-cut in the bedrock tells you more about ancient Egyptian engineering than any finished monument could.

Next is the Temple of Philae, reached by a short motorboat ride across the water. This temple to the goddess Isis was dismantled block by block and relocated to Agilkia Island in a UNESCO rescue operation, saving it from permanent flooding after the High Dam was built. Its setting — surrounded by water, palms, and granite islands — is the most photogenic of the entire cruise.

You'll return to your ship in Aswan for lunch, afternoon tea, and overnight on board.

Overnight: Docked in Aswan
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: The Philae boat ride is open-air and takes about 10–15 minutes each way. Aswan is noticeably hotter and drier than Luxor.

Enjoy your final breakfast on board, then disembark with free time to explore Aswan — a city with a distinctly different feel from the rest of Egypt, shaped by Nubian culture, colorful riverside villages, and the slowest, widest stretch of the Nile you'll see all week. When you're ready, you'll transfer to Aswan Airport or the train station for your onward journey.

Optional — and we strongly recommend it: A day excursion to Abu Simbel, reached from Aswan by private air-conditioned vehicle or by EgyptAir flight. The Great Temple of Ramses II, fronted by four 65-foot seated colossi, and the neighboring temple of Queen Nefertari were both cut whole from a sandstone cliff — then relocated in the 1960s in one of the most ambitious preservation projects ever attempted. You'll return to Aswan afterward with the rest of the day free.

Meals: Breakfast
Good to know: By road, Abu Simbel is about 3 to 3.5 hours each way and departs very early. By air, it's roughly a 45-minute flight. If your schedule allows even one add-on to this trip, make it this one.