Note: You can also upgrade to a Nile Cruise if you are doing one of our Standard level tours that includes a felucca sailboat cruise. 

Notes:

• As the cruise boats shuttle back and forth on the Nile, with regular breaks for cleaning and maintenance, we can't always guarantee until close to your departure exactly which boat will be in position for your tour. We also sometimes need to change boats at short notice if our group sizes increase and there is not enough availability on the boat we had originally booked. However, we regularly inspect all the boats we use to ensure they all maintain the same high standards.
  
• For practical reasons on the Nile, the cruise itineraries are subject to slight alterations at short notice while in Egypt.
  
• Most sailing is done during the day, but during some periods some sailing may be required after dark.
  
• At busy periods the boat may be required to wait to get through the lock on the Nile at Esna
• When moored, several cruise boats may be required to moor alongside each other. This can restrict views and require clients to cross several boats to reach the shore. Assistance will be provided if required.
  
• On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, the 5 star hotels and cruise boats normally run a very special Gala Dinner. The cost of this is compulsory, whether you attend or not, and is included in the price of our small-group tour departures, and tailor-made quotes.
  
• During busy periods on tours featuring a 4-night cruise, we sometimes need to use a 5-star hotel in Aswan for your first night, and then to arrange a 3-night cruise.

Feluccas 

 

Several of our tours feature a 2-night felucca cruise on the Nile from Aswan to Komombo.

 

Feluccas are very basic traditional Nile sailboats and make for an extremely relaxing and enjoyable way to travel down the river. The deck of the boat is covered in soft mattresses and cushions and has a canopy that offers shade from the sun.

 

You spend the day relaxing on board the felucca while it slowly sails down the Nile and in the evening the boat will moor along the banks of the Nile where you will sleep under the stars.

 

The Nubian boat crew will look after you, prepare your meals, and entertain you in the evenings, leaving you with many happy memories of your time on the Nile. After dinner on the first evening we usually visit a Nubian House where you can see inside the rooms of a traditional Nubian home, after which blankets are laid out in the courtyard area where you can sit and enjoy drinks and shisha pipes while listening to Nubian music. The following day the felucca will continue sailing down the Nile giving you time to relax, read, chat or just watch the world drift by. The crew of the felucca will stop along the way for swimming in the safer parts of the Nile and to serve lunch. In the evening the crew will entertain you with traditional music and dance, which you are welcome to join in with.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included on the felucca and are cooked and served on board by the crew. The food is basic but varied and filling and in the afternoon they will also serve Egyptian tea and Nubian cake. Water, soft drinks and beer can be purchased onboard and these are kept in a cool box. You keep a tally of what you have had and then pay for them at the end of the trip.

 

 

You sleep on the mattresses on the open deck of the boat and you will need a blanket or light sleeping bag as it can get chilly late at night and very early in the morning. Mosquito repellent is also recommended, and wearing long sleeves at night is a good idea.  There are no toilet facilities on board the felucca but you are able to use the toilets at the sites visited during the day and at the Nubian house on the first evening. At other times the captain will make regular stops en-route where you will need to find somewhere on shore and on the second evening the crew usually dig a make-shift toilet surrounded by a canvas screen to give more privacy.

If you are travelling with your family, please check our family information page for more details about taking children on board feluccas. 

Life-jackets are available on request for non-swimmers.

 

On all our feluccas we provide a full range of safety equipment including first aid kits, fire extinguishers, life jackets and throwlines. We also provide a range of child-sized life jacket for use when children are onboard. We actively encourage the use of life jackets whilst on board our feluccas, especially for any non-swimmers in the group. All our felucca captains and tour leaders are well trained in the use of this safety equipment and our boats are properly licensed according to Egyptian health & safety laws.