Reader's trip: Nile river cruise from Aswan to Luxor, Egypt

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This was published 6 years ago

Reader's trip: Nile river cruise from Aswan to Luxor, Egypt

By Faith Walker
A felucca, a traditional Egyptian sail boat, on the Nile.

A felucca, a traditional Egyptian sail boat, on the Nile.Credit: Alamy

NAME Faith Walker, Sydney

THE TRIP Nile river cruise from Aswan to Luxor with Spring Tours, organised by JC Travel.

THE ITINERARY After a trip around Israel and Jordan we flew to Cairo and then from Cairo to Aswan. At Aswan airport we were met by our guide, Ahmed, and we began our four day/three night cruise on the MS Medea. The first morning included the sights of Aswan followed by an afternoon sail on a felucca, a traditional wooden sailing boat. Over the next couple of days we saw the temples of Sobek and Horus the Elder, the temple of Horus and the Luxor temple. The grand finale on the last day was a visit to the Valley of the Kings where we saw Tutankhamun's tomb, the Temple of Queen Hatchespsut and the Karnak temple.

Faith Walker.

Faith Walker.

Our personal tour guide was by our side wherever we wanted to go. He negotiated for us when we wanted to buy something and organised new SIM cards when ours failed. Ahmed is a young, enthusiastic archaeology graduate who brought to life the mythology and history of the temples and pharaohs. He always managed to save us a little time so he could sneak us away to local coffee shops for an Arabic coffee where he would share stories of Egyptian life and his family.

We fell in love with the Egyptian people. The boat crew were exceptional in their smiles and service.

The felucca sail was perfect relaxation – sitting back in the boat as the still, warm, late afternoon sky filled with variations of tangerine, while Ahmed and the felucca owner sang and played the tambourine.

The grandeur of the temples which were built thousands of years ago was awe inspiring, as were the inscriptions. There were so many stories to be told in the engraved pictures and hieroglyphics.

BEST BITS It is the perfect time to travel to Egypt due to the exceptionally good exchange rate and a lack of crowds. The Egyptians are bending over backwards to make the tourist experience a good one. JC Travel and Spring Tours had someone to meet us as we came off the plane at every airport. They helped us negotiate the airport which was a huge help in countries we had not visited before.

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WORST BITS Don't expect the amenities of a large ocean liner on a river boat.

BEST TIP Don't make hasty judgments. Within a few hours we realised that we would not have changed our experience on this boat for a more modern, better equipped boat. It was great value for money.

WHERE TO NEXT? Next year we would like to go to Europe to see places we haven't been before.

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