MS Chateau Lafayette Nile Cruise
Overview
The MS Chateau Lafayette sails the stretch between Aswan and Luxor in both directions, so you pick the departure that suits your flights instead of building the trip around a fixed one. Four days and three nights leave Aswan every Friday. Five days and four nights leave Luxor every Monday. Both cover the same six sites.
Whichever direction you take, the river gives you the temples in a sequence no road trip can match. Philae, dedicated to Isis, is reached by motorboat from the Aswan jetty; it stood on a neighbouring island until the dams raised the water behind the town, and was taken apart and rebuilt block by block on Agilkia in the 1970s. The Unfinished Obelisk lies a few minutes away in its granite quarry, abandoned when a flaw opened along its length and left with the ancient tool marks still legible in the stone.
Kom Ombo sits directly above the riverbank, close enough that you walk to it from the mooring, and is unusual for being built double — one half for Sobek the crocodile god, the mirrored half for Haroeris, Horus the Elder, with the two sanctuaries laid out either side of a shared axis. Edfu is reached by horse-drawn carriage from the quay: its Temple of Horus still has both its roof and its enclosure walls, which makes it the most complete pharaonic building left standing anywhere in Egypt, and the Horus and Seth story runs carved in sequence along the inner walls.
Luxor is where the scale changes. Karnak was enlarged by one pharaoh after another over two thousand years, which is why nothing about it feels planned; the Hypostyle Hall's 134 sandstone columns still carry traces of their original paint high up where the light does not reach. Luxor Temple stands a few kilometres south on the corniche. Across the river, three tombs in the Valley of the Kings hold painted ceilings that have survived three thousand years underground, and Hatshepsut's mortuary temple is terraced directly into the cliff at Deir el-Bahari.
On board, cabins face outward through full-height windows, and the sundeck runs most of the ship's length with a pool, shaded seating and a bar. There is a massage room for the hours when the temples are too hot to be worth visiting, and a lounge that fills in the evenings. Meals are served as buffets of Egyptian and international dishes, full board throughout, and an Egyptologist accompanies every excursion ashore.
Tell us which direction suits your flights and we'll come back with availability and a per-person price.
Daily Itinerary
Your representative meets you at Aswan airport or the railway station and drives you to the ship for boarding before lunch, which is served once you have settled into your cabin. The afternoon is spent ashore: a motorboat crossing to Agilkia Island for Philae Temple, then the Unfinished Obelisk in its quarry. Dinner is on board.
Overnight: On board in Aswan
Included visits: Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Optional experiences: Felucca sail around Elephantine Island at sunset; the Nubian villages by motorboat; Abu Simbel by road or short flight, booked in advance
Important notes: Boarding is generally from late morning. Philae involves a short boat crossing at each end.
Breakfast is served as the ship casts off. Lunch and afternoon tea are both taken under way, with the farmland and palm belts of the Nile Valley running past either side. You go ashore at Kom Ombo for the double temple of Sobek and Haroeris, a short walk from the mooring and at its best in the late light. Sailing resumes for Edfu after the visit, with dinner on board.
Overnight: On board at Edfu
Included visits: Temple of Sobek and Haroeris at Kom Ombo
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Important notes: The Kom Ombo visit is timed to the ship's arrival, so it can shift by an hour either way.
A horse-drawn carriage takes you into Edfu after breakfast for the Temple of Horus. The ship then sails north for Luxor, crossing the Esna lock during the passage — slow, and worth watching from the deck — with lunch and afternoon tea served on the way. Karnak and Luxor Temple fill the afternoon. Dinner on board is followed by a belly dance performance.
Overnight: On board in Luxor
Included visits: Temple of Horus at Edfu, Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Optional experiences: The sound and light show at Karnak
Important notes: Karnak is large and largely unshaded. Small notes are useful for the carriage drivers at Edfu.
Breakfast on board, then disembarkation with your luggage. The morning covers three tombs in the Valley of the Kings, cut deep into the limestone, and Hatshepsut's terraced temple at Deir el-Bahari. Your representative then transfers you to Luxor airport or the railway station.
Included visits: Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hatshepsut
Meals: Breakfast
Optional experiences: Dawn hot-air balloon over the West Bank, before disembarkation; the Colossi of Memnon added to the morning; the tombs of Tutankhamun and Seti I, ticketed separately
Important notes: Uneven ground and warm, still air inside the tombs — closed shoes are worth wearing. Book onward travel for the afternoon or later.
Your representative meets you at Luxor airport or the railway station and drives you to the mooring, where you board and settle in before lunch. The afternoon covers the East Bank: Karnak first, which needs a couple of hours, then Luxor Temple on the corniche. Dinner is on board.
Overnight: On board in Luxor
Included visits: Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Optional experiences: Luxor Temple again after dark, when it is lit; the sound and light show at Karnak
Important notes: Boarding is generally from late morning. Hat and water for Karnak.
Breakfast on board, unless you have booked the balloon, which lifts off before sunrise and returns in time for it. The morning crosses to the West Bank for three tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari. Lunch is served as the ship casts off for Edfu, passing the Esna lock during the afternoon, with tea on deck as you go. Dinner is on board.
Overnight: On board at Edfu
Included visits: Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hatshepsut
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Optional experiences: Dawn hot-air balloon over the West Bank; the Colossi of Memnon added to the morning; the tombs of Tutankhamun and Seti I, ticketed separately
Important notes: The balloon is booked the previous evening and depends on weather. Closed shoes for the tombs.
After breakfast a horse-drawn carriage takes you from the mooring into Edfu for the Temple of Horus. The ship sails on towards Kom Ombo once everyone is back, with lunch and afternoon tea under way. You go ashore for the double temple of Sobek and Haroeris, then continue to Aswan, with dinner on board.
Overnight: On board in Aswan
Included visits: Temple of Horus at Edfu, Temple of Sobek and Haroeris at Kom Ombo
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Breakfast on board, then ashore for Philae Temple by motorboat and the Unfinished Obelisk in its quarry. Lunch is back on board and the afternoon is unscheduled — the sundeck, the pool, or one of the optional excursions if you would rather be off the ship. Tea and dinner follow.
Overnight: On board in Aswan
Included visits: Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Optional experiences: Abu Simbel by road or short flight, booked in advance; a felucca sail around Elephantine Island at sunset; the Nubian villages by motorboat
Breakfast is served on board before you disembark with your luggage, after which your representative transfers you to Aswan airport or the railway station.
Included visits: None
Meals: Breakfast
Important notes: Disembarkation is usually mid-morning, so book onward travel for the afternoon or later.
What's Included
- Meet-and-assist by our representative on arrival and departure
- Guest relations support during your stay and on every excursion
- Private air-conditioned vehicle for all transfers
- Three or four nights aboard the 4-star MS Chateau Lafayette on full board
- Shore excursions run as small-group tours with fellow passengers
- Licensed English-speaking Egyptologist on all excursions
- Entrance tickets to every site named in the itinerary
- All meals as set out day by day below
- Bottled water whenever you are ashore
- Porterage at the ship and the airport
- All service charges and applicable taxes
Not Included
- International Airfare
- Entry visa to Egypt
- Personal spending
- Tipping
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