Your Hightours representative meets you at Aswan Airport or the train terminal and takes care of the arrival logistics before handing you over to your private Egyptologist guide.

You'll begin at the Unfinished Obelisk, still lying in the granite quarry where it was abandoned mid-carving after a crack ran through the stone. Had it been raised, it would have stood nearly 140 feet — the largest obelisk in Egypt. Seeing it half-cut into the bedrock, with the tool marks still visible, explains ancient Egyptian engineering better than any finished monument.

From there you'll take a short motorboat ride to the Temple of Philae, dedicated to the goddess Isis. The entire temple was dismantled block by block and rebuilt on higher ground at Agilkia Island in a UNESCO rescue operation after the High Dam raised the water level. Surrounded by water and granite outcrops, it's the most photogenic site on this route.

Afterward, you'll transfer to your Nile cruise ship in Aswan for embarkation, with lunch, afternoon tea, and overnight on board.

Overnight: Docked in Aswan
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Aswan is the hottest and driest stop on the itinerary. The Philae boat crossing is open-air and takes 10–15 minutes each way — bring a hat and sunscreen.

Breakfast is served on board as you sail north, passing beneath the Aswan Bridge — a striking piece of modern engineering set against a landscape that has barely changed in millennia. This is your first real stretch of Nile scenery, and the top deck is the place to be.

At Kom Ombo, your guide takes you to the Temple of Kom Ombo, one of the strangest temples in Egypt. It's a double temple, perfectly split down the center and dedicated to two gods at once: Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroeris, the falcon-headed healer. Two entrances, two sanctuaries, two of everything. It also has a wall relief showing surgical instruments — scalpels, forceps, bone saws — carved nearly 2,000 years ago.

Lunch is served on board as you sail on to Edfu, where you'll tour the Temple of Horus. This is the best-preserved temple in Egypt, buried under sand for centuries and emerging almost fully intact, roof included, with its granite falcon statues still standing guard at the entrance. If you've ever wanted to know what these temples actually looked like in use, Edfu is your answer.

Afternoon tea is served on the top deck while sailing on toward Luxor via the Esna Lock, where your ship is raised between water levels. It's slow, and that's the point — riverbank life passes at arm's length. Dinner and overnight are on board in Luxor.

Overnight: Docked in Luxor
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Both temples sit close to the riverbank, so the walking is short and flat. This is the easiest touring day of the trip and the best one for photography from the deck.

Breakfast is served on board in Luxor, then your Egyptologist guide takes you along the East Bank of the Nile to the two landmarks that made this city famous.

Karnak Temple is one of the largest religious complexes ever built — expanded by pharaoh after pharaoh across roughly 2,000 years. Its Great Hypostyle Hall holds 134 sandstone columns, some still carrying traces of their original paint. For most travelers, this is the moment Egypt stops being a photograph and becomes a place.

Luxor Temple sits in the middle of the modern city and was once linked to Karnak by a three-kilometer avenue of sphinxes, much of which has now been excavated.

You'll return to your ship for lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner on board, with overnight docked in Luxor.

Note: Your afternoon is free, and Luxor rewards it. The Luxor Museum is small, well-curated, and blessedly air-conditioned. The souk near Luxor Temple is good for spices and cotton. Or simply take a felucca out on the river as the light drops.

Overnight: Docked in Luxor
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Good to know: Karnak involves roughly 45–60 minutes of walking on uneven ancient stone with limited shade. Closed-toe walking shoes make a real difference here.

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

You'll descend into the Valley of the Kings, where more than 60 royal tombs were cut deep into the limestone hillside — Tutankhamun's among them. The painted ceilings and hieroglyphic reliefs inside have held their color for over 3,000 years, protected by the darkness and the dry desert air.

Next is the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at El Deir El Bahari, the terraced mortuary temple of Egypt's most successful female pharaoh, built directly into the cliff face. Its clean horizontal lines look almost modern against the raw rock behind it.

Your final stop is the Colossi of Memnon — two seated statues of Amenhotep III standing 60 feet tall, all that remains of what was once the largest temple complex in Egypt, lost to Nile flooding.

You'll have free time at leisure in Luxor before your transfer to Luxor Airport or the train station for departure.

Meals: Breakfast
Good to know: The Valley of the Kings is fully exposed with no shade. Standard entry typically covers three tombs; Tutankhamun's tomb requires a separate ticket, which your guide can arrange on the day. This is the most physically demanding morning of the trip.