6 or 5 or 4 Days
Daily Tour
Unlimited
English
No engines, no crowds — just wind, water, and 3,000 years of history sliding past your deck chair. The Karnak Dahabiya is a five-cabin, twin-sailed boat that carries you between Luxor and Aswan the way travelers did before the age of the mega-cruise ship: slowly, silently, and privately.
Over 4, 5, or 6 days, you’ll wake to Nile mist instead of a marina, moor at riverside villages no big ship can reach, and explore Karnak, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Philae with a licensed Egyptologist guide steering the story. Evenings mean sundowners on deck, dinner under the stars, and a silence you won’t find on a 300-cabin cruiser.
A Dahabiya is a traditional twin-sailed boat that carries far fewer guests than a standard Nile cruise ship — usually under 12 travelers instead of 200+. It trades engines for wind power, so the ride is quiet, and its shallow draft lets it moor at villages and islands large ships can't reach.
Standard Nile cruise ships carry 100–300 passengers on a fixed multi-deck itinerary. A Dahabiya, like the Karnak Dahabiya, carries a handful of guests across just 5 cabins, sails at a slower pace, and swaps big buffets and pool decks for personalized service and closer access to temples and riverside life.
Karnak Dahabiya cruises start from $1,150 per person, depending on the 4, 5, or 6-day itinerary and cabin category chosen. The rate covers full-board accommodation, private transfers, guided sightseeing, and entrance fees — see the Included/Excluded list above for full details.
Your fare includes private airport/hotel transfers, full-board meals for the length of the cruise, an English-speaking Egyptologist guide, and entrance fees to every site on the itinerary. Visa fees, optional tours, personal expenses, and tipping are not included.
October through April offers the most comfortable temperatures for temple visits and time on deck. May to September is hotter, especially in Upper Egypt, but it also means quieter sailing and lower rates for travelers who don't mind the heat.
With just 5 cabins, the Karnak Dahabiya sails with a small, intimate group rather than a shipful of tourists — a minimum of 2 guests is required for departure, making it a good fit for couples, families, or small private groups.
Tipping ("baksheesh") is customary in Egypt. For a 4–6 day Dahabiya cruise, $10–15 USD per person per day is standard, typically collected at the end of the trip and shared among the crew, guide, and service staff.