The River Cruise is the best way to see Egypt
Since all historical attractions lie along the river Nile, the Nile River Cruise is the best and the most convenient means of sight seeing. The cruise covers all important historical places at Aswan, temples at Kom Ombo shared by their 2 Gods Sobek and Haeoris and at Edfu and Luxor.
There are many Nile River Cruise operators and these cruises start from Aswan ,a 1 & 1/2 hours flight from Cairo and terminate at Luxor or vice versa.
This cruise is unlike a Cruise Ship which sails for long distances but it is more like a floating hotel which actually moves for only few hours to reach the next historical location namely,
2 1/2 hours to Kom Ombo from Aswan
followed by 4 hours to Edfu
and 6 1/2 hours to Luxor.
For the remaining period it remains docked at one location with all tourists on board or out for local sightseeing.
The accommodation on the cruise boat extends over 5 decks necessitating climbing stairs for 2/3 decks to proceed to the dining area/bar or to the upper most open weather deck with a swimming pool since there are no elevators or escalators. This can be a problem for those with knee problem.
Wi-Fi is only available in the Lounge Bar and is quite expensive. A local SIM is a better option.
Our itinerary at Egypt
Cairo - 2 nights plus one confirmed paid early check in
Luxury Boat River Nile Cruise
Aswan to Luxor 3 nights
Hurghada 2 nights
Port Said 1 night
Alexandria 1 night
Our Tour Started with Cairo Sightseeing
Due to changed programme since we had opted for early check in on payment, the Cairo became the first sightseeing venue. Visited world famous Egyptian Museum which is an ancient monument with an amazing section of Pharaoh Tutankhanum (Ruler of ancient Egypt) jewellery collection. They also house a separate Mummy Section where Mummies are exhibited.
Also visited the main attraction of Egypt namely Great Pyramid of Giza which is the oldest and the largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering the area now called El Giza.
We also visited the Sphinx , a lime stone statue of a reclining sphinx.(A winged creature having a human head and a lion's body.
Our Hotel at Cairo
Most luxury hotels in Cairo are located on the banks of the River Nile. We were booked in a 5* Grand Nile Tower Hotel about 20 kms from the airport. It had a revolving restaurant Lounge on the 41st floor. All rooms were overlooking the River Nile and offered a spectacular view of the Nile. The overall experience at the hotel was that it was senior citizen friendly and offered all world class facilities.
Cairo to Aswan
by a Turkish Airlines 1 1/2 hours flight. After arrival we were taken for a visit of Aswan including High Dam, the world's largest embankment dam.
This was followed by the Temple of Philae on Philae Island by boat. This was a good place for buying mementos.
We thereafter shifted on board our Nile River Cruise Boat ( Approx. 100 M in length) which was our home for next 3 nights.
In the afternoon we had a tour by felucca ( an Egyptian boat) in the river Nile to visit Elephantine Island and Botanical Garden.
Overnight was on board the cruise boat.
Aswan to Luxor
We had a memorable time at the cruise boat which offered deluxe accommodation with port hole (window) . It had a huge bar cum lounge which was also used for evening entertainment everyday. It had a big, open upper deck with seating arrangement and a swimming pool. It was an all inclusive luxurious river cruise with good food and variety mostly with Egyptian flavours.
A unique feature of the Nile river cruise is the unusual shopping experience. Dozens of vendors selling their wares mostly garments and bed linen, approach the cruise boat along the way, in their small boats and expertly toss their wares on to the upper deck for boat passengers to see and buy. If bought the money could be sent through a rope, if not the item could be returned back to the seller.
The skill and accuracy with which these are tossed and land perfectly on the upper deck is a sight to watch. In the numerous rounds of shopping seen this way, didn't see a single item drop in the water.
The Cruise boat also had sale outlets selling Egyptian goods like mementos, garments and artificial jewellery.
The River Nile was exceptionally clean unlike most polluted rivers all over the world.
Esna Lock is one of the very interesting feature on the Nile River which you go through when travelling from Aswan to Luxor. It is a unique process by which a ship transits through a lock wherein the water level in the lock is raised by pumping water in the lock to make it at level with the outside water. This helps in crossing the obstacles on the bottom by raising the height of the ship above the bottom. The process of going through this lock takes about 20 minutes. This is in particular of interest to those who have not encountered a Lock System.
Luxor Sightseeing
3rd day of the Boat Cruise was earmarked for sightseeing in Luxor. West bank of the river is famous for a well maintained historical architecture namely Valley of the kings while east bank of Nile for the temples in Luxor and Karnak.
In addition we got an opportunity to fly in a Hot Air Balloon at an extra cost. This was a once in life time experience flying low and high over the ground. Each balloon could accommodate about 10-12 people. It was also cheaper than any other place elsewhere. We had flown up to an height of 3000 ft. and as low as few feet above the ground.
The last evening on the cruise boat was reserved for the night entertainment including the belly dancing.
Thereafter we stayed overnight on the cruise boat.
Luxor to Hurghada
After breakfast on the 4th morning on the cruise boat, we had checked out and proceeded to Cleopatra Hotel near Hurghada for 2 nights after a 4 hour drive. It was more of a 5 star holiday beach resort spread over a large area.
We were provided separate suites with unlimited free food of different cuisine and free liquor of limited brands but we had to pay for any exclusive brand but small eats were free. It was a perfect place to unwind with not much sightseeing or outing.
Next morning we were taken to enjoy the corals and marine life by a submarine. It was actually a big boat with glass hull below the waterline which gave an impression of observing from underwater. All the same it was an enjoyable experience in Red Sea.
Hurghada to Cairo
After breakfast on the 3rd morning we took a flight to Cairo from nearby Hurghada airport around noon.
Cairo to Port Said
After arrival at Cairo , we were transferred to Port Said which is the northern end of the Suez Canal. We were accommodated in a 5* hotel Resta after a 3 1/2 hours drive. We also crossed the Suez by boat to Port Foud, a suburb of Port Said which falls in Asia. We also enjoyed walking on the promenade along the Suez and observed cargo and container ships passing through the Suez.
Port Said
Port Said to Alexandria
We proceeded to Alexandria by coach after a 3 1/2 hours drive from Port Said. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great. Local sightseeing included catacombs of Kom al Shukafa and a very well equipped, huge and impressive Alexandria Library. This is one of the largest libraries of the ancient world. It stored from 200000 to 700000 books.
Alexandria is a major city with all amenities that go with major cities. We had an elaborate and awesome lunch buffet comprising of a typical Mediterranean meal items.
We were accommodated in Hilton Green Plaza Hotel for the night.
Alexandria to Cairo
We proceeded to Cairo by coach covering a distance of around 200 kms. On arrival , sightseeing included Albaster Mosque at the citadel of Salah El Dil , the most important mosque in Cairo welcoming visitors of all faith.
Also visited a 600 years old Khan El Khalili Bazar with lanes selling practically everything. This was a good experience for purchasing particularly mementoes at bargain price.
Dinner cruise on the River Nile was a unique experience which included buffet dinner with belly dancing along with other entertainment.
We also visited the Giza Pyramids again for Light and Sound Programme which is an awesome experience and is a must. A limited number of chairs are put for the visitors to enjoy the evening. Hence an Advance reservation is necessary since it draws a lot of crowd being the most popular historical site of Egypt.
Back to Mumbai
Our return flight for Mumbai was the Egyptian Airline at 1340 hrs. and we had checked out from the hotel after breakfast and took our flight to Mumbai. We reached home with awesome memories of the trip.
A word of thanks for the Vayudoot Holidays
It would be in order to convey our sincere appreciation to the Tour Operator , the Owner of Vayudoot Holidays Pune, in our case, who took extra care to make us comfortable during our trip with even the minutest requirement taken care of. Some of the salient ones are :-
1. Since we Indians like our tea in our style , he not only gave each one of us adequate ready mixed Indian tea sachets but also carried a large number of them with him to provide just the right tea to us enroute where needed by just taking hot water from the Egyptian vendors.
2. He hosted a cocktail party for us all in his hotel suite at Port Said with eats and soft drinks.
3. He also opened a Johnny Walker Black Label Whisky for us in the river cruise lounge with all accompaniments after paying corkage charges.
4. He changed the venue of our one pre-arranged dinner at Cairo since we did not like the place without any fuss.
5. He had booked the most luxurious Nile River Cruise Boat for our trip.
Note : No wonder he owns 2 hotels in Phuket.
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