Be prepared to come back needing a holiday! This type of holiday is action packed, and you really do need to pace yourself. We landed in Luxor, Egypt from where we transferred to our ship on the Nile. We know from experience how small cabins can be, so for a little extra space we upgraded to a junior cabin, which was definitely worth it and had great views as a little added bonus! We could’ve happily just stayed on board all week and enjoyed the scenery passing by, but we’d never visited Egypt before, and it would’ve been a sin to visit such a historic country and not see its legendary sights.
On the Friday morning we were up early to witness the beautiful sunrise as we passed through the Sahara. We opted out of the Abu Simbel trip later on though as it was quite long, and spending lengthy times under the sun didn’t appeal to us.
The next day though we disembarked on East Bank of the Nile and explored the Karnak Temple and Luxor. Each was absolutely fascinating, though we headed back to the ship before the Karnak light show began, as we were tired from all of the walking, and we were planning to see one later in our holiday.
On Sunday we docked back in Luxor and most people chose to haggle for souvenirs, but instead we chose a day trip to the pyramids, taking a flight from Luxor to Cairo. As exhausted as we were by the time we returned to Luxor, we were so glad we’d seen the sights. Just seeing the pyramids was incredible experience.
On the Tuesday, we visited the Valley of the Kings and the West Bank, the magnificent Colossi of Memnon and the Valley of the Queens. It was an action-packed morning, and on the afternoon we enjoyed sailing through the Esna lock.
We skipped Wednesday’s Kom Ombo tour, instead recharging batteries by basking in the sun on deck.
I’d definitely recommend the Aswan Tour! Although the Dam was ever so picturesque, it was nothing compared to the Unfinished Obelisk that totally overshadowed it. A structure abandoned after a crack appeared in the stone after only 3 sides were complete, the Obelisk still stands as it was abandoned all those years ago, complete with discarded tools still scattered around. After this, we saw the Philae Temple. This temple was in danger of being totally submerged beneath water until Unesco moved it stone by stone from Philae Island to Agilika Island! The sound and light show at the end of the day really was the icing on the awe-inspiring cake for us. It really was a spectacular sight, the light flooding the walls and shimmering across the water.
We spent our final morning floating above the Nile in a hot air balloon seeing the wonderful river from above.
We headed back to Luxor after that and unfortunately that meant it was home time. Looking back we wish we’d given ourselves some time to relax after such a hectic cruise by booking a twin centre holiday with a week on a beach somewhere afterwards. We’d definitely recommend anyone considering a Nile cruise to have at least a few relaxing days afterwards to recharge. Although it was really tiring, we absolutely loved it!
Mr and Mrs Hibbitson
Renfrewshire.
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