Ms Salacia Nile cruise

Your journey begins in Aswan, one of the most atmospheric cities in Egypt. Sitting at the southern edge of the country where the Sahara meets the Nile, Aswan feels quieter and more timeless than anywhere else on the river. A Memphis Tours representative meets you at the airport or train station and transfers you directly to the MS Salacia for embarkation before lunch.

After settling into your suite, your first afternoon takes you to two of Aswan's most remarkable sites. That evening, the boat manager hosts a welcome cocktail reception in the lounge a chance to meet your fellow travelers and hear what lies ahead over the next four days.

• Meet and assist at Aswan airport or railway station
• Private transfer to the MS Salacia for embarkation (10:00–12:00)
• Lunch on board
• Check in and settle into your suite
• Guided visit to Philae Temple
• Guided visit to the Unfinished Obelisk
• Dinner on board
• Cocktail reception and boat manager presentation in the lounge

Philae Temple sits on an island in the middle of the Nile and is reached by short motorboat — which makes arriving feel like a genuine discovery. It was saved from the rising waters of Lake Nasser in one of history's most extraordinary engineering operations: dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt on higher ground. The Unfinished Obelisk, still lying in the granite quarry where ancient workers abandoned it, would have been the largest obelisk ever erected — at 42 meters long. The crack that stopped its completion gives you a rare window into exactly how these monuments were made.

Overnight: Aboard the MS Salacia in Aswan
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Entertainment: Cocktail reception

After breakfast you sail north along the Nile toward Kom Ombo. The morning is yours to enjoy — sit on the sundeck, take in the desert cliffs and riverside villages drifting past, and let the pace of the river slow everything down. By early afternoon you arrive at Kom Ombo for one of the Nile's most unusual temple visits. In the evening, the MS Salacia hosts a Galabeya party — one of the most fun and memorable on-board events of the cruise.

• Breakfast on board in Aswan
• Morning sailing toward Kom Ombo (departs 14:00)
• Lunch on board
• Afternoon tea on the sundeck (17:00)
• Guided visit to Kom Ombo Temple (17:30)
• Evening sailing toward Esna
• Dinner on board
• Galabeya party on board

Overnight: Aboard the MS Salacia in Esna
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Entertainment: Galabeya party
Kom Ombo Temple is dedicated to two gods simultaneously — Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the Elder — and the entire structure is perfectly mirrored as a result, with duplicate halls, sanctuaries, and corridors running side by side. It sits directly on the riverbank, and the late afternoon light across the stone columns at 17:30 is one of the most photogenic scenes on the entire Nile.

Please note: scheduled timings may be adjusted due to operational or environmental factors.

Today covers the most ground of the cruise. You start the morning at Esna Temple before boarding again and sailing north through the Esna Lock — a working river lock that brings cruise ships through one at a time and is a surprisingly compelling experience to watch. By afternoon you arrive in Luxor for visits to two of the greatest temple complexes in the ancient world. The evening closes with a full Egyptian cultural show in the Oasis Lounge.

• Breakfast on board
• Guided visit to Esna Temple (08:00)
• Lunch on board while sailing toward Luxor through the Esna Lock (10:00)
• Guided visit to Karnak Temple (East Bank)
• Guided visit to Luxor Temple (East Bank)
• Dinner on board
• Egyptian cultural show in the Oasis Lounge (21:00)

Overnight: Aboard the MS Salacia in Luxor
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Entertainment: Egyptian cultural show
Esna Temple is dedicated to Khnum, the ram-headed god believed to have fashioned humanity on a potter's wheel. Much of it was buried under the city for centuries — the surrounding streets still sit several meters above the temple floor, making it feel like descending into another world. Karnak Temple, visited the same afternoon, is the largest religious complex ever built on earth — 200 acres of temples, sanctuaries and columns constructed by 30 different pharaohs over 1,300 years. Luxor Temple glows golden under floodlights in the early evening, its colossal entrance statues reflected in the Nile just steps away.
Please note: scheduled timings may be adjusted due to operational or environmental factors.

Your final morning crosses to the West Bank of Luxor — the side of the Nile where ancient Egyptians buried their pharaohs, believing the setting sun represented the passage into the afterlife. After breakfast and check-out, your Egyptologist takes you to two of the most dramatic sites in Egypt before transferring you to Luxor airport or the train station.

• Breakfast on board
• Check-out
• Guided visit to the Valley of the Kings
• Guided visit to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
• Transfer to Luxor airport or railway station

Meals: Breakfast

The Valley of the Kings holds more than 60 royal tombs carved deep into the limestone cliffs of the West Bank. Inside, painted walls and hieroglyphics remain as vivid today as when the tombs were sealed thousands of years ago. Tutankhamun's tomb — discovered here in 1922 almost entirely intact — is one of the most famous archaeological finds in history. The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut rises in sweeping colonnaded terraces directly against the cliff face behind it. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as pharaoh for more than 20 years and was one of the most successful rulers in the country's entire history — her temple is as bold and ambitious as anything built by the male pharaohs who followed her.

Please note: scheduled timings may be adjusted due to operational or environmental factors.

Your cruise ends in Luxor — but Egypt doesn't have to. Ask us about combining this cruise with Cairo, the Pyramids of Giza, or the Red Sea. We'll build the itinerary around your schedule.
→ Talk to Our Egypt Travel Experts