Nile Cruise: Sailing From Edfu to Luxor

November 16, 2022May 17, 2024 Koen 1 Comment

This review shows how the journey on a river cruise ship is like when sailing down the Nile from Edfu to Luxor.

Edfu to Luxor

After the interesting visit to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, it was time to head back to the M/S Princess Sarah, my Nile cruise ship.

Late in the morning we would sail from Edfu to Luxor to complete my cruise along the River Nile, which has started two days earlier in Aswan.

I was looking forward to spend some time at leisure on the river boat enjoying the fine views over the Nile valley.

temple of horus edfu egypt — *The magnificent Temple of Horus at Edfu. ©Paliparan*

edfu temple of horus — *Inside the Temple of Horus at Edfu. ©Paliparan*

horse carriage edfu — *Horse and carriage ride from the temple back to the river boat. ©Paliparan*

Departure from Edfu

Back at the ship, I enjoyed a late breakfast in the restaurant before heading straight to the upper deck to watch our departure from Edfu once every passenger had returned from the temple visit.

It was again a lovely winter day in Egypt with clear blue skies and a magnificent purple haze on the horizon.

edfu nile river cruise ship egypt — *Leaving Edfu on my Nile river cruise ship. ©Paliparan*

river nile edfu — *The River Nile at Edfu. ©Paliparan*

edfu egypt — *The city of Edfu as seen from my river boat. ©Paliparan*

nile bridge edfu — *Bridge over the River Nile at Edfu. ©Paliparan*

electricity wires egypt nile — *Electrical cables across the River Nile. ©Paliparan*

Boat salesmen

Shortly after our departure from Edfu, a couple of rowing boats appeared at both sides of our ship.

These are simply local salesmen on rowing boats trying to sell their goods to cruise passengers.

In order to do so, they skilfully attach their boats to the cruise ship with ropes and then sail alongside for a couple of miles.

They then try to grab the attention of the cruise ship passengers inside their cabins or on deck and show all kinds of souvenirs ranging from small carpets and towels to dresses.

My guide Mohammed was also standing on deck and told me that he once accompanied an American couple who were genuinely afraid that the people in the rowing boats were pirates trying to board the ship and rob the passengers!

It’s fortunately a rather more innocent affair and actually something that is jolly good fun to watch, especially when the salesmen throw their goods on board the cruise ship if one of the passengers wants to have a closer look or actually wants to buy it.

Passengers simply negotiate the price with hand gestures or by shouting an amount towards the salesmen.

Payment is usually done with one of the souvenir sellers throwing a towel sealed in plastic on board the ship, after which the passenger puts the money in it and throws it right back.

Most salesmen attempt to sell their stuff for a good 20 to 30 minutes, after which they untie the ropes, drift away from the ship and row back to their homes.

river nile view edfu luxor — *View over the River Nile. ©Paliparan*

boatmen egypt — *Local boatmen approaching our river cruise ship. ©Paliparan*

boat salesmen egypt nile — *Skilfully, the boatmen attach their rowing boat to the cruise ship with some ropes. ©Paliparan*

egypt river nile cruise edfu luxor — *The boatmen try to grab the attention of passengers and attempt to sell some souvenirs. ©Paliparan*

river nile egypt boats — *The whole spectacle is great fun to watch. ©Paliparan*

Shipping traffic

One of the highlights of a Nile river cruise between Edfu and Luxor is watching the shipping traffic.

Whether it’s the local salesmen on rowing boats, traditional felucca sailing boats, freighters or other river cruise ships, the shipping traffic on the Nile is indeed highly variable and fun to watch.

m/s princess sarah nile river cruise boat — *The swimming pool on the top deck of the M/S Princess Sarah. ©Paliparan*

nile cruise edfu luxor — *View over the Nile somewhere between Edfu and Luxor. ©Paliparan*

shipping traffic river nile luxor edfu cruise — *It’s great fun to watch the shipping traffic on the River Nile. ©Paliparan*

river cruise ship egypt nile — *Overtaking another river cruise ship. ©Paliparan*

nile view river cruise ship edfu luxor — *View over the River Nile from the top deck of my river cruise ship. ©Paliparan*

nile river boat egypt — *Trailing another river boat on the Nile. ©Paliparan*

Views

The Nile river views between Edfu and Luxor were certainly more diverse than I expected.

Although most of the time the riverbanks are dominated by agricultural fields, reeds and palm trees, you do pass by the occasional village as well.

The backdrop is diverse too, as sometimes the banks are as flat as a pancake with hardly a hill in sight, while at other times some craggy rocks and mountains run almost directly along the river.

The same counts for the River Nile itself, which at certain points can get extremely wide.

One of the most scenic points between Edfu and Luxor is around the old house of famous Egyptologist and architect George Somers Clarke.

This traditional house stands at a particularly beautiful stretch of the Nile in between palm trees and rocky outcrops.

rock formation river nile — *Although the banks of the Nile are mostly flat, you do pass some large rock formations at times. ©Paliparan*

george somer clarke's house river nile egypt luxor cruise — *Passing by George Somers Clarke’s house. ©Paliparan*

river bank nile edfu luxor cruise — *The lush banks of the River Nile. ©Paliparan*

river nile egypt — *Passing by houses and agricultural fields. ©Paliparan*

banks river nile — *The fertile banks of the River Nile. ©Paliparan*

nile river cruise ship edfu luxor — *Another cruise ship on the Nile. ©Paliparan*

river boat nile — *Racing another river boat on the Nile. ©Paliparan*

palm trees nile — *Palm trees on the banks of the Nile. ©Paliparan*

river nile village egypt — *A sleepy village on the banks of the River Nile. ©Paliparan*

rowing boat nile — *Overtaking a rowing boat on the Nile. ©Paliparan*

nile view — *View over the River Nile from the top deck of my cruise ship. ©Paliparan*

nile egypt edfu luxor river cruise — *At some points, the River Nile is extremely wide. ©Paliparan*

nile cruise ship swimming pool — *Enjoying the sweeping river views from the top deck swimming pool. ©Paliparan*

Esna locks

Another highlight of taking a Nile river cruise between Edfu and Luxor is the moment you are passing through the Esna locks.

When your ship approaches Esna, make sure you go up to the upper deck and walk to the bow to watch the scenes unfold.

It’s quite a hectic affair on shore as lock keepers and salesmen all crowd the banks.

Again, a flurry of rowing boats with souvenir sellers appear as they try to sneak through the locks alongside the river cruise ships.

We anchored for a while at the first set of locks, which wasn’t in use.

After a while, we were given the all clear to pass through the narrow opening towards the second set of locks.

These are the New Esna Locks and here our ship was actually lowered.

Once the lock doors finally opened again, I walked to the ship’s stern to watch us sail out of Esna.

esna egypt — *Arriving at Esna. ©Paliparan*

esna dam luxor nile cruise — *The dam and locks of Esna appear in the distance. ©Paliparan*

esna nile cruise ship — *Looking out over Esna from the top deck of the Nile cruise ship. ©Paliparan*

esna locks nile river cruise luxor edfu — *Approaching the Esna locks. ©Paliparan*

rowing boats esna — *There are plenty of local boatmen around the Esna locks trying to sell their goods to cruise ship passengers. ©Paliparan*

esna locks — *Arriving at the Esna locks. ©Paliparan*

lock keeper egypt — *Lock keeper attaching our boat to the river bank. ©Paliparan*

esna lock edfu luxor nile cruise — *The actual dam at Esna as seen from the top deck of the river cruise ship. Note also the souvenir sellers standing on the shore! ©Paliparan*

river locks — *Sailing through the first set of locks. ©Paliparan*

esna nile dam — *Esna Nile dam. ©Paliparan*

esna nile river lock cruise edfu luxor — *Approaching the second lock. ©Paliparan*

new esna locks — *Entering the New Esna Locks. ©Paliparan*

lock river nile esna edfu luxor cruise — *Inside the lock. ©Paliparan*

lock esna — *When the water levels were the same, the doors could finally open again. ©Paliparan*

esna locks nile cruise luxor — *Looking back towards the Esna Locks. ©Paliparan*

From Esna to Luxor

The stretch between Esna and Luxor is equally beautiful as the previous part between Edfu and Luxor.

This time however, there are some impressive rocks appearing on the east bank of the Nile, although the view was slightly obscured by some haze.

On the left bank of the river, agricultural fields remained the dominant feature.

Although I was now in Egypt for quite some days already, the Nile views were still as mesmerising as they were on the first day.

I went back into my cabin to finish the last bits of the bottle of gin, only to resurface on deck when we approached our final destination of Luxor.

Just moments after we passed underneath Luxor’s sole Nile bridge, the ship moored at the east bank of the river next to some other river boats.

It was finally time to explore the famous archaeological sites of Luxor!

nile cruise ship luxor — *Making our way towards Luxor. ©Paliparan*

nile agriculture — *Agricultural fields on the left bank of the Nile. ©Paliparan*

edfu luxor river nile cruise — *About one to two hours before arrival in Luxor, some beautiful mountains appear in the distance. ©Paliparan*

river nile east bank — *View over the east bank of the River Nile. ©Paliparan*

nile view cruise — *Even on the last day of the cruise, the Nile views were still mesmerising. ©Paliparan*

radio mast nile — *Radio mast on the banks of the Nile. ©Paliparan*

east bank nile — *East bank of the Nile. ©Paliparan*

west bank river nile — *Fields and farms on the western bank of the River Nile. ©Paliparan*

stern view ship — *View from the back of the ship. ©Paliparan*

nile river cruise ship luxor — *As we approached Luxor, I made my way again to the upper deck of the river cruise ship. ©Paliparan*

luxor nile bridge — *Passing underneath the only Nile bridge at Luxor. ©Paliparan*

luxor egypt nile — *The outskirts of Luxor. ©Paliparan*

nile cruise ships luxor — *Berthing places for Nile cruise ships at the outskirts of Luxor. ©Paliparan*

Conclusion

It’s great fun to make a cruise on the River Nile between Edfu and Luxor.

The scenery on the shores of the Nile is more diverse than you might think as you will pass by agricultural fields, mountains, palm groves, villages and cities.

One of the highlights is about halfway the cruise when your ship will pass through the locks at Esna.

Even though I had already spend quite a few days along the Nile, the river views certainly didn’t disappoint and the slow travel on board the ship certainly made for some unforgettable memories.

Trip report index

This article is part of the ‘Walk Like an Egyptian: A Grand Tour of Egypt‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:

1. Red-Eye Ramblings of a Late Night Flight to Cairo
2. A Visit to the Pyramids of Giza by Camel
3. Review: Sofitel Nile El Gezirah, Zamalek, Cairo
4. Exploring the Medieval Old Town and Islamic History of Cairo
5. Visiting the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo
6. Mar Girgis: The Churches of Christian Old Cairo
7. Review: Ernst Watania Sleeping Train Cairo to Aswan
8. The Ancient Quarry of Aswan and the Unfinished Obelisk
9. A Boat Ride From Aswan to the Temple of Isis at Philae
10. A Visit to the Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser
11. A Visit to the Nubian Village on Aswan’s Elephantine Island
12. Aswan Guide: A Visit to Egypt’s Most Stunningly Located City
13. A Half Day Trip From Aswan to Amazing Abu Simbel
14. Nile River Cruise Guide: All Info for Your Egypt Boat Trip
15. Review: M/S Princess Sarah Nile River Cruise Ship
16. Nile Cruise: Sailing From Aswan to Kom Ombo
17. A Visit to the Ancient Crocodile Temple of Kom Ombo
18. A Visit to the Temple of Horus at Edfu
19. Nile Cruise: Sailing From Edfu to Luxor (current chapter)
20. Luxor, Egypt: Visiting the Sights of Ancient Thebes
21. A Visit to Luxor’s Giant Temple Complex of Karnak
22. Visitor Guide to Wonderful Luxor Temple
23. Valley of the Kings: A Visit to Luxor’s Ancient Necropolis
24. The Temple of Hatshepsut: A Visit to a Unique Mortuary Temple
25. Review: Sofitel Winter Palace Hotel, Luxor, Egypt
26. Review: Daytime Train Luxor to Cairo, Egypt
27. Review: Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir, Cairo
28. A Visit to the Pyramid of Djoser and the Saqqara Necropolis
29. A Visit to the Dahshur Pyramid Complex
30. Memphis: Exploring the Old Capital of Ancient Egypt
31. From Cairo to Alexandria by Train: My Travel Experience
32. Review: Paradise Inn Le Metropole Hotel, Alexandria, Egypt
33. Alexandria: A Visit to Egypt’s Historic Mediterranean Port City
34. Egypt: Impressions and Reflections After My Two Week Trip
35. Epilogue: Safety and How to Deal With Street Hassle in Egypt

One thought on “Nile Cruise: Sailing From Edfu to Luxor”

Charmaine Jobsz
January 24, 2024 at 6:25 am

Hi
I am just on the Nile having gone from
Luxor to Edfu Komombo Aswan Abu Simbil.
On my way back what a wonderful experience seeing this ancient civilization with my eyes.
What, it must have looked like in its day i couldn’t imagine.
But i am so glad to see what humans are capable of even back over 4,000 yrs ago.
No temples were as impressive as the River nile and its landscape,i was definitely in awe of them.
I hope your experience came up to mine.

Koen

One thought on “Nile Cruise: Sailing From Edfu to Luxor”

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