A Nile cruise is worth it if you want Luxor and Aswan's main temples in 3 to 5 days with one bed, meals and a guide included. The 44 cruises with a listed price on this site start at $549 per person for 3 nights, and every one lists a guide and full board. It is less suited to travelers who want to set their own pace.
Key Takeaways
- A 3-night cruise has a median listed price of $799 per person, about $266 per night (our calculation), and all 44 priced listings include a guide and full-board accommodation.
- The 4-day itinerary on our cheapest listing, MS Crown Jewel (from $549), names 10 stops and 9 meals. That is about $55 per stop (our calculation).
- Entrance fees to the sites in the itinerary are listed as included on 43 of 44 priced cruises; tipping is excluded on all 44.
- Heat changes the experience: the average high in Luxor is 106.5°F (41.4°C) in July but 73.3°F (23.0°C) in January (WMO).
- Operators sell both directions: Sonesta's Moon Goddess sails Aswan to Luxor on Fridays (3 nights) and Luxor to Aswan on Mondays (4 nights), according to Sonesta's itinerary page.
What you pay for
These counts come from the inclusions and exclusions lists on the 44 cruises that show a price on this site. The full price table is in how much a Nile cruise costs.
| Item | Priced listings that include it |
|---|---|
| A guide | 44 of 44 |
| Full-board accommodation on the ship | 44 of 44 |
| Entrance fees to the sites in the itinerary | 43 of 44 |
| Private transfers | 43 of 44 |
| Taxes and service charges | 43 of 44 |
| Tipping (excluded) | 44 of 44 list it as extra |
| Flights | 0 of 44 mention them |
What a 3-night cruise covers
This is the 4-day, 3-night Aswan to Luxor itinerary on our MS Crown Jewel Nile Cruise page, listed from $549 per person.
| Day | Stops listed | Meals listed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Aswan) | High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk, Temple of Philae on Agilkia Island | Lunch, dinner |
| 2 (sailing to Luxor) | Kom Ombo Temple, Temple of Horus at Edfu (by horse-drawn carriage) | Breakfast, lunch, dinner |
| 3 (Luxor West Bank) | Valley of the Kings, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon | Breakfast, lunch, dinner |
| 4 (Luxor East Bank) | Karnak Temple Complex, Luxor Temple | Breakfast |
That is 10 named stops and 9 meals in 4 days. Divided into the from-price, it is about $55 per stop (our calculation); the price also covers the guide, transfers and the nights on the ship as listed.
When a Nile cruise is worth it, and when it may not be
It tends to be worth it when (our reading of the data above):
- You want the Aswan and Luxor highlights in 3 to 5 days: the listing above fits ten stops into four days.
- You want meals and a guide in one price: every priced listing includes both.
- You prefer to unpack once: the itinerary's nights are all "onboard" on the ship.
It may be less worth it when:
- You want to choose your own pace: the itinerary above is a fixed program, day by day.
- You want to add places beyond Aswan and Luxor: the itinerary above runs between those two cities only.
- You cannot tolerate extreme heat: Luxor's average high is 102–107°F (39.0–41.4°C) from May to September (WMO).
Is a cruise from Aswan to Luxor worth it, or Luxor to Aswan?
Both directions are sold. Sonesta's own itinerary page for the Moon Goddess lists 3 nights from Aswan to Luxor each Friday and 4 nights from Luxor to Aswan each Monday. Which suits you depends on where you fly in and out; our guide to which direction to sail compares them.
Sources and method
- Prices, inclusions and the itinerary: our own cruise pages, read from our catalog on November 10, 2026 (44 of 107 cruises list a price).
- Per-night and per-stop figures are our division of the from-price by nights or by named stops; they are a way to compare listings, not a rate.
- Temperatures: WMO World Weather Information Service, Luxor, climate normals 1981–2010, checked November 10, 2026.
- Sonesta schedule: Sonesta Moon Goddess itinerary page, read November 10, 2026.
Last checked: November 10, 2026.