MS Salacia Nile cruise

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 terraced Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and the seated Colossi of Memnon. An optional dawn hot-air balloon adds a sweeping view of ancient Thebes. After lunch the ship sails south through the Esna Lock, with dinner and overnight underway toward Edfu.

Travel by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the most completely preserved temple of the ancient world, its walls carved with the myth of Horus and Seth. Lunch is served as you cruise to Kom Ombo, where the mirror-image temple is shared by Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the Elder. View the carved surgical instruments and the Crocodile Mummification Museum, then sail on toward Aswan with dinner and overnight on board.

Tour the High Dam and its panoramas over Lake Nasser, then take a motorboat to the island Temple of Philae, sacred to Isis and rescued stone by stone by UNESCO. At the ancient granite quarries, study the colossal Unfinished Obelisk still locked in the bedrock. The afternoon is free for an optional felucca sail or a colorful Nubian village visit. Dinner and overnight are 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 landmark UNESCO rescue, they form an unforgettable close to the voyage. We arrange transfer by road or short flight and coordinate your onward journey from Aswan.

Board the MS Salacia before lunch and settle into your suite. 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, dedicated to the goddess Isis. At the granite quarries, view the immense Unfinished Obelisk lying where it cracked thousands of years ago. 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 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 striking medical reliefs and mummified crocodiles. 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 reliefs vivid with the battle of Horus and Seth. Lunch is served as you cruise to Luxor. In the late afternoon, explore Karnak's colossal statues and Great Hypostyle Hall, then nearby Luxor Temple in 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 the painted royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, then visit the elegant terraced Temple of Queen Hatshepsut set against the limestone cliffs. Pause at the Colossi of Memnon, the two seated giants of Amenhotep III, before we coordinate your transfer and onward travel from Luxor.