Several of our tours feature a  1 or 2-night felucca cruise on the Nile from Aswan downstream towards 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 in the winter months 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 the crew will dig a basic latrine 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 trained in the use of this safety equipment and our boats are properly licensed according to Egyptian health & safety laws.