MS Royal La Terrasse Nile Cruise

Cross to the Theban West Bank for three painted royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the multi-terraced Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, and the towering Colossi of Memnon. An optional dawn hot-air balloon offers a golden-hour panorama of ancient Thebes. After lunch on board, the ship sails south past green riverbanks and 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 in Egypt, and trace the carved battle of Horus and Seth into the Holy of Holies. Lunch is served as you cruise to Kom Ombo, where the unusual mirror-image temple honors Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the Elder. View the carved surgical instruments and the Crocodile Mummification Museum before sailing on toward Aswan, with dinner and overnight on board.

Tour the High Dam with its sweeping views over Lake Nasser, then take a motorboat to the island Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis and rescued stone by stone by UNESCO. At the ancient granite quarries, study the colossal Unfinished Obelisk lying where it cracked. Lunch is served on board, with the afternoon free for an optional felucca sail or a colorful Nubian village visit. Dinner and overnight are moored in Aswan.

Enjoy breakfast and disembark in Aswan. Travelers with time often 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 one of history's great engineering rescues, these monuments are an unforgettable finale. We arrange the transfer by road or short flight and coordinate your onward journey from Aswan.

Board the MS Royal La Terrasse before lunch and settle in. The afternoon tour begins at the High Dam, the modern marvel that tames the Nile and shapes Lake Nasser, followed by a motorboat crossing to the romantic island Temple of Philae, sacred to the goddess Isis. At the 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 rock temples of Ramses II and Nefertari were relocated to escape 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 striking medical reliefs and mummified crocodiles in the small 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 the Great Hypostyle Hall, then nearby Luxor Temple at the golden hour, with its lit courtyard, obelisk and giant statues. 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 elegant terraced Temple of Queen Hatshepsut set against limestone cliffs, and pause at the Colossi of Memnon, the two seated giants of Amenhotep III. We then coordinate your transfer and onward travel from Luxor.