MS Zeina Nilkreuzfahrt

Cross to the Theban West Bank for three painted tombs in the Valley of the Kings, with optional entry to Tutankhamun or Seti I. Visit the multi-terraced Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and the seated Colossi of Memnon, the 'singing statues' of legend. An optional dawn hot-air balloon offers a panorama of Thebes. After lunch the ship sails through the Esna Lock, with dinner and overnight underway toward Edfu.

Ride a horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the most completely preserved temple of the ancient world, dedicated to the falcon-headed god of kingship. Trace the carved battle of Horus and Seth to the Holy of Holies, then lunch as you cruise to Kom Ombo. There the mirror-image temple honors Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the Elder, with carved surgical instruments and a Crocodile Mummification Museum. Dinner and overnight follow while sailing to Aswan.

Visit the High Dam, the engineering marvel that powers and irrigates the valley, with panoramas over Lake Nasser. A motorboat carries you to the island Temple of Philae, sacred to Isis and relocated stone by stone by UNESCO. At the granite quarries, study the colossal Unfinished Obelisk lying in situ. The afternoon is free for an optional felucca sail or a colorful Nubian village visit, with dinner and overnight moored in Aswan.

Enjoy a final breakfast and disembark in Aswan. Many travelers add an early excursion to Abu Simbel, where the rock-cut temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari face the rising sun above Lake Nasser. Relocated in a remarkable UNESCO rescue, they make an unforgettable finale. We arrange transfer by road or short flight and coordinate your onward journey from Aswan.

Board the MS Zeina before lunch and settle in. The afternoon tour begins at the High Dam, the modern marvel that tames the Nile and shapes Lake Nasser, then crosses by motorboat to the romantic island Temple of Philae on Agilkia Island, dedicated to the goddess Isis. At the ancient granite quarries, view the immense Unfinished Obelisk still locked in the bedrock. Dinner and overnight are spent moored in Aswan.

An optional dawn excursion reaches Abu Simbel, where the colossal temples of Ramses II and Nefertari were carved into a sandstone cliff and relocated above the rising lake. Back aboard, the ship sails north to Kom Ombo for the twin temple shared by Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the Elder, with its medical reliefs and museum. Dinner and overnight follow as you continue sailing toward Edfu.

A horse carriage carries you to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, among the best-preserved sanctuaries in Egypt, its walls vivid with the myth of Horus and Seth. Lunch is served as you cruise to Luxor. In the late afternoon, explore Karnak's colossal statues and 134-column Hypostyle Hall, then nearby Luxor Temple in the evening light. Dinner and overnight are moored in Luxor.

After breakfast and check-out, cross to the West Bank for the grand finale. Descend into three painted tombs in the Valley of the Kings, with optional entry to Tutankhamun's tomb. Visit the terraced Temple of Queen Hatshepsut set against limestone cliffs, then pause at the Colossi of Memnon. We then coordinate your transfer and onward travel from Luxor.