From Luxor: 5 Days 4 Nights Nile Cruise To Aswan

We booked a 5-day/4-night Nile cruise (Luxor to Aswan) through Viator, operated by Reflections. The booking was confirmed and paid in full, months in advance, and built into a much larger family trip around a specific date. Exchanged messages with Reflections to double check and ensure 💯 before booking flights and other hotels around cruise. Weeks later, Reflections contacted us on WhatsApp stating simply "no availability to doing your booking" — with no explanation, no alternative dates offered, and no attempt to find a solution. When we explained the booking was for a fixed, non-negotiable date and asked them to find any way to honour it, the only response offered was a full refund, repeated several times despite us explicitly saying we did not want to cancel. At no point did Reflections offer an alternative cruise, a different boat, or any real attempt to accommodate a paying family. The message was blunt to the point of feeling dismissive, given we had a confirmed booking with two children. We've had to go back to Viator to try to resolve this ourselves, and the disruption to a trip planned many months in advance has been significant, both financially and in terms of the stress caused. I'd urge anyone booking through Reflections to be aware that a "confirmed" booking may not actually be guaranteed, and that cancellation may come with no real support in finding a resolution. In a shocking turn of events - one of the cruises offered as a replacement was the same cruise via Reflections with an increase of 1200€ on the price.

We did this cruise as part of our trip booked through Reflections Travel for our trip in Egypt. We booked a full tour, from Cairo to Aswan via flights and Nile Cruise. The cruise was great, the staff on the ship were professional and very nice. They were constantly trying help us and make us comfortable. We had a guide for the entire cruise which was really nice. We’d sit with him on the sun deck and discuss plans for the next day and ask questions about the towns and farms we passed by on the Nile. We highly recommend the cruise and would enjoy doing again.

The tour consisted of various elements and was very well organised. Our tour guides and drivers were all very good, but our tour guide for the Nile Cruise element Abdo (5 stars), was excellent. Abdo's knowledge of ancient Egypt was impressive, and he brought it to life for us with his stories and explanations. He cared for our comfort, providing umbrellas' when the heat became too much. His modern day knowledge of Egypt was also great. Abdo met us at Aswan Airport and stayed with us throughout the 4 day Nile cruise until dropping us at Luxor Airport. The hotels and Nile boat were different ones to what we expected from the Reflections website so we were never sure where we were going but the service and friendliness of all the staff were good. The only issue I have is the lack of communication from Reflections Travel. We had to chase for all information - which airline? what flight time? booking reference? for the internal flights, what time were we being picked up? were not provided as a matter of course. Even on the last day we chased for our final transfer to the airport, eventually they text to say the hotel provided a shuttle - it's not hard to provide information, but painful to get it. This would have received 5 stars bar the poor communication and information on the tour logistics.

Awesome tour of Luxor and Aswan! Egypt Tours Portal did a great job organizing everything and Mahmoud Nour was an excellent guide. It was so nice to have all details taken care of with transportation, tickets, food, and activities and Mahmoud handled it all seamlessly. We and our children loved visiting the incredible Valley of the Kings, Luxor and Karnak temples, Abu Simbel, and so much more. The additional excursions to the Nubian village and hot air balloon ride were memorable and very worth it. Overall, we couldn't be more pleased with Mahmoud and our whole cruise experience. Thank you ETP!

We booked our tour through Viator with tour operator reflections travels. Before our tour I contacted them to do little more customized and they were very accomodative. All their tour guides very knowledgeable. I highly recommend this Egypt tour.

Reflection travels arranged the 5 days 4 nights Luxor to Aswan Nile Cruise for our family. We had last minute issues with train tickets to Luxor and reflection was very helpful in being accommodative with schedule. Our personal guide Abdo was very knowledgeable and kind. He made sure all the logistics were taken care of and properly communicated to us. After a trip plagued with travel hurdles in Egypt, it was a sigh of relief having Abdo take care of all the tickets and tours. He was very flexible with trying to work around what we wanted to see in the valley of the kings. In addition. He’s also a wealth of knowledge. Without him, things would be more chaotic. The cruise itself was comfortable and relaxing. By no means should you expect western standard cruise but it is good by Egyptian standards.

Excellent service on board on MS Royal Viking. Food tends to be international but does have some delicious Egyptian food which I would have liked more of. Very clean, quiet cabin. Tips for crew, which are customary, to share - put in envelope and give to reception desk. The itinerary on the first day was adjusted to fit with our starting hotel location, so top marks for that to our very well informed guide, Hany. He looked after us well, giving us guidance on how to avoid being taken in by the merchants in the shops that you have to walk through at many of the sites (tombs & temples). And advising on prices. He took us to the best tombs in the valley of kings, gave us the salient facts and stories for the sites, and gave us free time for us to wander at our own pace. He was an excellent guide and time keeper.

Our cruise was such a great experience! The Temples and tombs are fascinating, we had a great guide Hany, who quickly and accurately gauged our level of interest. He was great fun, but the main thing was his knowledge and love of Egyptology, which he shared in a way that kept engaged on each and every visit. He looked after us very well and helped us navigate buying the very few things that we really wanted. Hany was great! Boat staff were so nice and friendly.. Colette. UK.

Enjoyed celebrating my bday on this trip to Egypt. The itinerary, our guide, and our drivers were all amazing that Reflections Travel provided. Abdo our guide during the bulk of our travel was super nice, easy going, flexible, and made changes to maximize our day and ensure that we saw, learned, enjoyed our trip. Felt totally safe and comfortable.

First time to Egypt and we had a wonderful trip up the Nile River and seeing all of the amazing Egyptian Historical sites. Our personal guide from Refection Travel - Mr. Sayed Gamal was an outstanding guide making sure all of our needs were met during the cruise, providing attraction tickets, and arranging all transportation during our trip. He was very knowledgeable of each Egyptian site we visited and took time explaining in great detail their historical significance. The cruise was amazing, great food (best on the Nile River) quality well trained staff that go above and beyond to show great service.

Our tour guide Sayed Gamal was amazing. He helped us, was informative and made our trip to Egypt memorable. Beautiful place especially the Nile cruise. Highly recommend it.

Hany was a fantastic guide. Learned a lot about Egypt and its history. He also helped us with additional tours and planning the forward journey. Visiting the sites via cruise is highly recommended.

We had a very knowledgeable tour guide (Hany) who was very hospitable, the food on the boat was great, the bedroom reasonably clean.

I loved going to see Karnak temple and our guide Sayed Gamal’s knowledge of the temple really brought the history to life. The Valley of the Kings was a highlight such an interesting and beautiful site to see. Sayed kept in good contact with us throughout so we knew what our plans we’re and was patient with teaching us about the sites. The cruise boat was lovely, relaxing and the staff friendly. The food was really good too.

We had a wonderful time - Sayed Gamal was an excellent source of information & knowledge. He was very patient with us as we didn’t know much of the history (which is beautiful!). I loved the Edfu temple & the tombs of Ramesses the 5th and 6th are a must! Sayed also gave advice & lots of information of life in Egypt. The staff on the boat were very friendly & the food was delicious! The Princess Royal Cleaners are so sweet - we had a swan & a crocodile on our bed in towel form! Comfortable room too. We would recommend!

The boat was comfortable and the food on board was very good. Lovely watching the scenery and life along the Nile. Stops were very interesting and much to see.

Reflections Company organised our Nile Cruise. Only criticism is that we weren’t told which boat we would be on until we arrived. We are very happy withe the food, very inclusive tastes for the majority. We had a private tour guide who travelled with us throughout the cruise. Hany our Tour Guide was fabulous. Very informative, knowledgeable, good English and personable. Everything was organised , eg. all our entry tickets, so no waiting. We were very happy with this trip. Egypt is amazing!

The cruise was very enjoyable, well organised and executed. Everything was on time, the guides are very knowledgeable. Our cruise ship MS Kahila was a very good experience.

Being a solo traveler, I was a bit scared. I am small (5 ft tall), diabetic, non arabic speaking female. I feared not understanding, not being able to keep up, or worse, getting sick ... low sugar / dehydration. I could not have been in better hands... Barry (my guide) could not be more personable, helpful, and accommodating. He was very mindful and paced the sites. Explained the temple history and glyphs in a very interesting story like manner (we Mexicans LOVE family drama) that kept my attention. He made the temples "come alive". I left understanding WHY things were done /built. I am a 57 year old diabetic (not in the best of the best shape) easily lost in large crowds. Barry (Reflections Tours) kept me safe, hydrated, paced, and entertained. I learned soooo much without being lectured. I am returning to the States with a greater appreciation for Egypt. My fellow nurses are interested in going to Egypt. I CAN NOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT ... Reflection Tours and the quality of their employees .. I definitely recommend Reflection Tours and Barry.

Our guide Aladdin was fun and informative. You will be sure to have a great visit if you have him as a guide.

We had booked 5star, put on different ship not even 1 star so dirty, no hotwayer, no air conditioning. Our family was separated put on a different ship. Viator did not help us or even to give refund. We complained but Noone listened

It was good experience. Cruise was very good. Food. Service by crew. Were very caring it was fantastic trip

Reflections tour operator handled the entire trip very professionally the guides and the la Sarah crew is great. In terms of product ship needs refurbishment compared to other ships, similarly roof top sun beds needs deep cleaning pool on roof top is not temperature controlled. Food was ok atleast have some hummus in your buffet. It was my first experience I enjoyed in spite of this minor observations. I will definitely recommend it for Nile cruise experience

Fabulous holiday thanks to our tour guide Samir who was very experienced and friendly He made our experience very memorable Cruiseship was changed when we arrived to a different one but staff were very friendly and helpful Clean and big room s Lacking night intertainment Transport minibus were good but in Edfo we were given horse carriages we felt a bit insecure Overall we had a great time

The Nile Cruise part of our trip was more then excellent. Our guide Moshen was the greatest(would recommend highly, request him if you can).Boat was beautiful, great food fantastic staff.Moshen's english great ,.knowledge even greater, he is what made the trip,his knowledge, helping with aggressive vendors,held wife's hand whole time to insure saftey.Made us fell as if he had known us as family.

Just a great trip cruising up the Nile. Crew on @Ruby Rose we're ace and our families tour guide @Roshdy was fantastic. Especially when we had a toddler with a horrible cough that just started as we left the UK. Just couldn't do enough for us and made our little grandson and granddaughter the stars of the cruise...

Absolutely fantastic tour. All the sights of the Nile that you would wish to see. Our guide, Roshdy, was fantastic. He was incredibly knowledgeable and tailored the tours to needs - we had a person with mobility issues and a 16 month old baby. The baby was diagnosed with bronchitis on the first night of the tour. Roshdy contacted his colleague who came out to support us. Reflections Travel helped us get a pediatrician to us who escorted us to a hospital and translated everything. He then took us to a pharmacy to make sure we had the correct medication. Over the coming days the baby got better. Roshdy was incredibly helpful with advice on which tours would be suitable for the baby. He also helped us have a different experience as one tour would have been a very long car journey from the docked cruiseship. Thanks Roshdy - you were ace!

Mohsen Barbary was a very kind, knowledgeable and patient guide. My wife and I are senior citizens and have trouble walking, but he helped us move from place to place considered our needs, had water for us and told us about all the beautiful sites around Luxor, Aswan and Edfu. We saw how other guides worked and we are sure Mohsen is the best! And he gives you space when you need it too which I appreciated if you just want to wander the sites for a bit on your own.

Mohsen Barbary is someone I wish I had to travel the world with. He escorted me and my elderly parents in the gentlest, kindest and most knowledgeable way. He is a gentleman and a scholar. He was patient as they shuffled along steps, between boats and with their deafness. He put up with my late night texts (couldn’t sleep) and he texted me back even at 1am (sorry Mohsen). He gave us wonderful tours of the temples and sites in Aswan, Karnak Temples (the Hypostyle Hall there nearly had me crying), Edfu, and more. I adore his descriptions of the hieroglyphs which are detailed and tell a story untold for millenia. He takes your photos where you like and stands in lines so you don’t have to. Couldn’t recommend him more. Go with Mohsen!

This review is for the 5 Days 4 Nights Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan, which we took from Dec 31, 2022 - Jan 4, 2023. This is an excellent value and a great way to see the many archeological sites along the Nile, and have time to relax in the sun on the boat deck as we traveled down the river. This cruise included our private tour guide, Hassan, and all the entry fees to the many sites. Hassan greeted us with a smile, was very helpful, patient, and always concerned about us on our tour. He was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all the historical sites and guided us well, also giving us time to wander through the sites to take photos. We highly recommend Hassan. The room on the cruise boat was clean, had a good shower, comfortable bed, soft sheets & towels, and big windows to relax and enjoy the views along the Nile. The staff was friendly and accommodating. The buffet meals had a large variety of choices although the food was average. We loved all the fresh salads and fruits. They surprised my wife with a birthday cake and a special song presented by the waitstaff. There was entertainment 2 nights and dancing in the evenings in the bar lounge. It was disappointing to find out that WI-FI was available for 10 euro per gb, which is quite expensive. 2 days after New Year's Eve, Reflections Travel tried to get us to pay an extra 200 Euros for the New Year's dinner. We called the company and refused to pay this because the listing said ALL our meals were included. In conclusion, the cruise was a great value for the money.

A brilliant 5 days. Our guide could not have been more helpful and organised our trip to Abu Simbel and a hot air balloon trip over The Valley of the Kings ( which were extra activities we hoped to do) seamlessly. A joy not to have to deal with booking activities, transport, tickets. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed being in our own family group. The boat Alsara was very clean with a lovely large sun deck and the included breakfast lunch and dinner all excellent. Thank you for a wonderful time. Our guide was sourced through Reflection Travel who were excellent.

This was a fabulous trip and got to see many of the highlights of Aswan and Luxor! The. Tour guide (Mahmoud Haggag) was phenomenal and really took care of us — it was nice to have just us assigned to the tour guide so we had private tours of each temple and destination (rather than being part of a big group and needing headsets and moving en mass). The cruise was decent - staff were friendly and respectful and helped us find a new room when ours smelled like smoke. The rooms were a fine size (two twin beds and room had a Juliet balcony) and had working bathrooms/lights etc though the boat was a bit older. The cruise’s food catered to a western audience for the most part so I was disappointed to not try more Egyptian food or flavors. I would also say that the food was a bit disappointing (but at least we never got sick from it — though we stayed away from anything fresh). There was NO WI-FI available on the cruise unless you paid 10 euro per gb. Additionally we were disappointed that there was no entertainment of any kind on the cruise other than the meals and tea time (no music or shows or games etc). All in all would recommend for the reasonable price as it was safe and comfortable.

Excellent and educational cruise/tour with Mahmoud Haggag, visiting some of the most important Egyptian temples in between Luxor and Aswan. Mahmoud was very friendly, timely, organized, and knowledgeable, but most importantly he showed great passion for sharing Egypt’s history with us. The best part of the trip was spending time learning about Egypt’s legendary pharaohs and mythology with Mahmoud. I would recommend him to any of my friends that want to visit. The cruise accommodations were good and the staff in the cruise was very attentive. Minor thing to improve would to include access to WiFi at no additional cost (as it is custom in hotels). Look forward to returning to Egypt soon.

Mohsen was great. Very helpful and knowledgeable. My family had a great time. Very helpful with any needs

Amazing experiences, with an outstanding guide. Wife and I enjoyed several days exploring the ancient world on the Nile. There was so much to see, that we had to refuse at least one temple. This experience is a must if you are visiting ancient Egypt.

We had a great time on board the cruise from Luxor to Aswan. The boat was great with a great choice for food and an excellent sundeck. Mohsen was our private guide and was excellent. Hugely knowledgeable and engaging.

Wonderful cruise down the Nile visiting all the main sites - Mohsen was an awesome guide, knowledgeable, engaging and personable. The boat itself is also very pleasant, with tasty food, helpful staff and a lovely roof deck.

My trip from Luxor to Asean was excellent thanks to the amazing support from Mohsen in every place. His kindness and knowledge about Egyptian history was really great, letting me enjoy every aspect of the places I visited.

The first day we were here my daughter fell and broke her ankle and her elbow, Roshdy stayed with us every second at the medical center and even arranged for a meal to be brought to the medical center for us. He arranged for someone to check in on her while he and I went on our daily tours which were absolutely amazing! He was very informative and very very kind. When we come back we will definitely be asking for him to be our guide again!!

Amazing experience, Hony was a fantastic guide and made sure I had a fantastic stay. The boat was a pleasure and the views on the Nile are something from a novel. Would highly recommend!

My husband and I really enjoyed the experience. To start with, Georgina from Reflections Travel help us out to arrange everything (we needed extra nights and she took care of rearranging everything), which was very convenient for us. The best part was our tour guide, Mohsen. He is really knowledgeable about ancient Egyptian history (and also recent history and other interesting facts about the country in general). He explains everything very nicely and full of passion, which makes you enjoy the whole experience even more. We completely trusted him as he was always very honest in telling us what is worth to visit and what not. And he was always willing to take a lot of photos in the best spots (he knows all of them 😜). The boat was also nice and the food was very tasty. We will definitely repeat in the future 😊.

The tour was a great and very interesting experience! Mrs Georgina from Reflections travel has helped my wife and I to organise the tour, even booking extra travel and accommodation for us. Our tour guide, Mohsen, was the best tour guide I have been with. He is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about history of Ancient Egypt and beyond - we have learned a lot of cool stories about the ancient times. He took really good care of us to not fall into tourist traps, and showed us all the best spots. On top of that, he’s a very nice person that we felt really comfortable with. We’re already thinking of doing a journey through Egypt with him to see the sights we haven’t yet seen. 😊 Back to the cruise itself, the experience on the ship was really nice and relaxing. The staff was very nice and the food was great. To summarise, this was a really amazing few days that we have thoroughly enjoyed. 😊

To visit Egypt is a dream come true, and then to have HANEY ARABIC as a travel guide makes the experience most enjoyable. He is a very personal young man with great knowledge of Egypt:s ancient history. His English is good and we learned a lot from him.

This cruise and our tour guide, Haney, exceeded all my expectations. The cruise itself was a wonderful ship clean and organized. The food was amazing and the air conditioning was a bonus that we were so happy to have. Hany was informative, kind, and most importantly flexible with our changing schedules. He always reminded us that this was our vacation and he wanted to make sure we were satisfied with the plan and the timing. I definitely recommend the cruise and I recommend Hany as the tour guide - we valued his opinion in regards to sight seeing and shopping. We definately know he cared. He was so helpful to my elderly mother making sure she rested when needed and making sure we took routes easier for her to access

Without doubt one of the favourite experience ever! We were a group of 4 and our tour guide was Roshdy. He is such a warm person and highly motivated guide. I truly enjoyed the time we had during our cruise trip! I think the best way to experience Luxor & Aswan is by far on this wonderful cruise ship. Our boat was Esmeralda and everything was perfect, the room was clean and spacious, the food was excellent, the pool on the top of the boat and the evening shows were a nice way to relax and socialize. Besides the great facilities on the boat, Roshdy did an aswome job and made our tours to temples amazing and unforgettable! Many thanks again and I recommend the Nile Cruise trip and Roshdy as tour guide to everyone!

We booked the cruise with the Reflections Travel agency. The Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan is the best thing that you can do in Egypt. We had a wonderful five days cruise on the boat Esmeralda. The services and the food were excellent. The additional trip with the hot air ballon and the trip to Abu Simbel temple were great. Our tour guide was Roshdy and he was with us during these five days. He is an excellent guide. He has a lot of knowledge about the historical places that we visited. He did everything he could so that we had a pleasant and comfortable experience and at the same time full of learning. Thank you Roshdy and Reflections Travel!

Is it possible to give a million stars? This trip was a dream come true. Our guide, Mohsen, was kind, knowledgable and intuitive. He made everything interesting and entertaining. We felt very lucky to have Mohsen to arrange, translate and guide everything about our adventure. If you can retain Mohsen as your guide, you are guaranteed to have an amazing trip and experience.

Can't say enough good about this tour. Everyone was amazing, and Reflections took care of everything in a way we never could have on our own. We got to see more than everything we wanted in Egypt with amazing guides who got us everywhere we need to go, provided great insights and information, and were warm and friendly. Seth and Mohsen (Seth in Cairo, and Mohsen for the rest of the trip) made our trip once in a life time, from seeing the amazing ancient monuments of Egypt to eating in a tiny cafe in the middle of nowhere in the desert, to a spectacular sunset private felucca cruise Mohsen was kind enough to arrange in Aswan. We would not do Egypt any other way. While some reviews have said the tour company didn't communicate well, we just asked for the information we needed and Georgina provided it for us. But they were so good about arranging everything to make our trip incredible we didn't need to worry about any of it.

when i was booking the cruise i had some specific requests. our travel agent Georgina was kind and responded quick. She made sure all of our requests where granted. it made me feel there was always someone that could help us if there was anything wrong. (Georgina is from the U.K so her English is perfect) She arranged a transfer from the bus station to the cruise. it was as this transfer we met our tour guide Mohsen. Mohsen is an exacaptional tour guide. He is a walking enceclopedia. He has so much knowledge about ancient egyptian culture and the language. there was not a single piece of the hieroglyphs that he didn't understand. at one point there was a prearranged horse carriage ride. And we didn't want to ride the carriage because of the condition of the horses. So we took a tuk-tuk. Mohsen was very understanding and respected our decision. We had a amazing time.