Standard Cabin
18 m²
Wood-panelled cabin with French windows onto the deck, en-suite with rain shower, ceiling fan and air conditioning.
luxury
Dahabiya Amoura — Private Sailing Boat
New Luxor → Aswan5 nights Departs Saturday
About this boat
A dahabiya is what the Nile was travelled on before engines: a flat-bottomed sailing boat with two lateen sails, towed only where the wind fails. Amoura has eight cabins and two suites, which means a maximum of twenty passengers and a crew of twelve.
Because it is small it moors where the big boats cannot — at sandbanks, at village landings, at islands. Days are quiet, there is no entertainment programme, dinner is cooked to order and eaten on deck, and the sites are visited at times when the cruisers are elsewhere. If the idea of a galabeya party is your idea of hell, book this.
Highlights
- Maximum 20 passengers with a crew of twelve
- Under sail, not engine, wherever the wind allows
- Moorings at sandbanks and villages the cruisers cannot reach
- Dinner cooked to order and served on deck
- No entertainment programme, by design
On board
- Shaded sun deck
- Open-air dining
- Library and board games
- Bicycles for village stops
- Chef-prepared à la carte meals
Cabins & deck plan
Deluxe Cabin
24 m²
Corner cabin with windows on two sides and a private seating nook.
Royal Suite
36 m²
Full-beam suite at the stern with a private deck area and a freestanding bath.
Day by day
- 1
Embark at Esna
Transfer from Luxor after the west bank tour, board in the afternoon and cast off. Dinner under sail.
Dinner Moored at a sandbank - 2
El Kab & Edfu
The rock-cut tombs at El Kab in the morning — almost nobody goes — then the Temple of Horus at Edfu in the late afternoon.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Sailing - 3
Gebel Silsila & village stop
The sandstone quarries that built half of Upper Egypt, then bicycles ashore at a farming village.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Moored at an island - 4
Kom Ombo
The double temple at opening time before the cruisers arrive, then a slow afternoon under sail.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Sailing - 5
Nubian villages & Aswan
Two Nubian village moorings, then arriving at Aswan for sunset behind Elephantine Island.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Moored at Aswan - 6
Disembark at Aswan
Breakfast on deck, then Philae Temple on the way to the airport if your flight allows.
Breakfast —
What's included
- Full board — breakfast, lunch and dinner served on board every day
- All guided shore excursions with a licensed Egyptologist
- All entrance fees to the temples in the itinerary
- Welcome drink on embarkation and afternoon tea daily
- Evening entertainment: Nubian show, galabeya party and belly dance
- All port charges and taxes
- Transfers between the boat and Luxor or Aswan airport
- Drinks with meals and from the bar
- Optional excursions such as Abu Simbel or the sunrise balloon
- Personal laundry and spa treatments
- Tipping for the crew and guide
Child policy: Children under 2 travel free. Children 2–5 pay 25% of the adult rate sharing their parents' cabin. Children 6–11 pay 50% sharing, or 75% in their own cabin. From 12 the adult rate applies.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Abu Simbel included?
- No — Abu Simbel is an optional excursion from Aswan, by road (3 hours each way) or by air. We add it to any cruise booking for $125 per person by road or $425 by air.
- What is the dress code on board?
- Relaxed by day. Dinner is smart casual — no shorts in the restaurant. One evening is a galabeya party and the boat provides the costumes if you do not bring your own.
- Is there Wi-Fi?
- Yes, on all our deluxe and luxury boats, though it drops out between Esna and Edfu where coverage is thin. Egyptian SIM cards work well and we can arrange one on arrival.
- Do the boats sail at night?
- Mostly they sail by day and moor at night, which is the point — you watch the riverbank go past from the sun deck. The Esna lock transit is usually the exception.
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