The MS Mayflower has 54 staterooms and runs two sailings: four nights from Aswan to Luxor, and five nights from Luxor to Aswan every Monday.
A representative meets you in Aswan and takes you aboard before noon, with lunch once you have settled in. The afternoon covers the High Dam, then a motorboat across to the Temple of Philae on Agilkia Island, built for Isis, and finally the granite quarries and the Unfinished Obelisk. Dinner back on board and a free evening in Aswan.
Breakfast as the boat sails north to Kom Ombo and its double temple, shared between Sobek and Haroeris. Lunch on the sundeck as the journey continues to Edfu, where a horse-drawn carriage takes you to the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved monuments in Egypt. The boat then heads for Luxor by way of Esna, with afternoon tea, a cocktail reception, and a Galabeya party after dinner.
The West Bank in the morning: the Valley of the Kings and the tombs of the pharaohs, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, and a pause at the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch back on board, then across to the East Bank in the afternoon for the Karnak Temple Complex and Luxor Temple in the golden light. Dinner is followed by a show with belly dancing and traditional performances.
A last breakfast on board, then you disembark at Luxor and we arrange your onward transfer.
You board at Luxor before lunch and settle into your cabin. The guided tour that afternoon takes in the Karnak Temple Complex and then Luxor Temple. Back to the ship in the evening for dinner and entertainment on board.
Across the river after breakfast to the Valley of the Kings, then the cliff-carved Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. After lunch the Mayflower begins sailing towards Edfu. Afternoon tea, a cocktail party, and dinner as the ship goes through the Esna Lock after dark, which is worth staying up on deck for.
The Temple of Horus at Edfu after breakfast, then lunch on board while the ship sails to Kom Ombo. The temple there is famous for its dual dedication to Sobek and Horus the Elder, and the crocodile museum beside it is part of the tour. A Galabeya party after dinner as the boat continues towards Aswan.
You dock at Aswan, where Nubian Egypt begins. The High Dam comes first, standing over Lake Nasser, regulating the river and generating power for millions. Then a boat across to Agilkia Island and the Temple of Philae, built for Isis and moved block by block by UNESCO when the water threatened it — the courtyards and columns there are the quietest place on the itinerary. The Unfinished Obelisk follows, still lying in the granite quarry where it cracked during carving; had it been finished it would have been the largest ever raised. Lunch back on board, and the afternoon is free.
Optional: A tour of a Nubian village
A final breakfast on board, then you disembark and are transferred onward.