Our recent Nile River cruise on the M/S Amarco II has been our most enjoyable experience in Egypt so far and one of the nicest excursions we’ve taken in some time. During this 4-night Nile River cruise from Luxor to Aswan, we were quite the shutterbugs, managing to take over 600 photos! So we simply wanted to share a few of them here to give you a quick glimpse at what this classic trip is like.
At present time there are only about 15 Nile cruises in service. While the hundreds of other ships are falling into disrepair, we can report that those which are still running seem to be in very good shape. The M/S Amarco II Nile cruise we took certainly was and its a stark contrast to all the other out-of-use ships that were lining the riverbank. And with tourist numbers dwindling here, there are plenty of Nile River cruise deals on offer to help make this once-in-a-lifetime trip possible.
Sit out on the top deck, grab a drink, and watch life on the Nile River slowly pass on by. Or perhaps better yet, seek refuge from the extreme desert heat and relax in your cool cabin where you can take in the views from the huge windows. You’ll need to rest up in between the many temple visit stops along the way. This is what Nile cruising is all about and it’s pretty awesome!
Life on Shore: Scenes from the Nile Riverbank
Perhaps our favorite part of this experience was simply admiring life on the banks of the Nile. Much of the route travels through rural areas and small villages. So many children play in the water, splashing around near the shore.
Its so warming when these kids wave up at you, usually with both hands, with smiles ear-to-ear.
But its not just the kids. Full grown men stood on the shore shouting to us and blowing kisses.
“Welcome! Welcome,” “Thank you for coming!” and even “I love you!” were phrases we heard shouted at us from along shore. These heartwarming greetings were a most welcomed change from the disingenuous touts that often bombard you around the tourist sites.
The landscape changes a bit during the voyage South. The land is fertile near the river and palm trees often dot the banks. You pass by farmland, rock quarries, and natural desert landscape. It’s a beautiful journey.
You pass by the occasional city, such as Esna, where you can take a closer look into life in this town along the Nile.
During the voyage up the Nile, you go through one lock – the Esna lock, which gave us pleasant flashbacks of our transit of the Panama Canal.
There are only a few bridges that stretch over the mighty Nile along the voyage. Perhaps the most spectacular was the Aswan bridge that we’d like to guess is in somewhat paying homage to the Great Pyramids.
Ship Life Aboard the M/S Amarco II Nile Cruise
Shipboard life is good! The rooms were much nicer than we expected and more spacious than any ocean liner cruise ship we’ve traveled on. Despite the 115+ F temps outside the air condition pumped iced-cold inside.
There was no need to turn on the TV, as there was a beautiful silent movie unfolding on the super-sized windows that line each cabin. It became a favorite pastime to pop open a bottle of Sakara beer in the late afternoon and simply watch the world go by from the edge of the bed.
The other great place to cool off was, of course, the pool. Its the perfect way to unwind after the intense heat of the day. And also unlike other mega-ships we’ve been on, there’s no need fear that people are hoarding cabana spaces by leaving towels on deck chairs. When cruising the Nile in the middle of summer, we found that you often have then entire pool completely to yourself!
Meals onboard were generally good and the service was great. The main dining room is on the bottom deck, sitting low in the river, giving a neat perspective of windows glancing out at nearly eye-level with the river. Dinners in the dining room interchanged between buffets and multi-course table service by candlelight serving a variety of both middle-eastern cuisine and International staples. To mix things up, a BBQ is thrown on the top deck one night after the day’s heat subsides.
Entertainment in the evening wasn’t anything special but was nice-enough. It was a bit cheesy and inauthentic, as one might expect. Eh, why not have a few drinks and join in the fun? Meanwhile the big performance on the last night in Aswan consisted of a typical whirling dervish and belly dancer performance.
Passengers on our cruise were mostly from Spain (a much appreciated opportunity to practice my bad Spanish) with just a few other random nationalities, such as us (from USA), our tablemates from Australia, and a family from somewhere in Asia. I’d estimate there were about 40-50 passengers onboard total making for a ship that was less than half full. This made for a really pleasant trip with little-to-no queuing while getting on-and-off the ship or even at the buffet station.
Luxor to Aswan: Route and Sites
The journey from Luxor to Aswan takes four nights. The experience on the M/S Amarco II Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan begins every Monday although you actually don’t begin cruising until the following day, as there’s so much to see along the East and West banks around Luxor.
Your onshore excursion in Luxor begins on the East Bank, wandering among the towering stone columns of the Karnak Temple.
Just a short ride away, the Luxor temple makes a perfect stop to marvel at the ancient structure as the sun beats down sideways on it, just before setting in the adjacent Nile River.
The following day takes you into the tombs, an incredible experience, at the famed Valley of the Kings. From there its on to the Temple of Hatshepsut, seemingly cut out of the tall cliffs in its foreground.
By Day 3, you’ve now made it further up the Nile and the journey continues. A morning excursion brings you by horse & carriage to marvel at the notably preserved Edfu temple.
After cruising further up the famed river you’ve eventually reach Kom Ombo in the afternoon. Its hear you’ll get to understand why there is a “double tomb” at check out what mummified crocodiles look like!
You’ll wake up on the fourth day in Aswan where you’ll go take a look at one of the only modern sites during the entire trip: the Aswan High Dam where you can gaze across the world’s largest artificial lake: Lake Nassar.
From there its only a short boat ride to the reconstructed Temple of Isis at Philae that was saved from the Lake Nassar.
Then its a short pitstop at the somewhat underwhelming unfinished obelisk before a feluca ride back on the Nile to the scenic botanical gardens of Kitchener’s Island.
If You Go on a Nile Cruise Luxor to Aswan: Cost & Tips
Booking and Price of Nile Cruise
We found the lowest prices on the M/S Amarco II that we booked through Viator. The price of the cruise includes all meals during the five days aboard the M/S Amarco II, entrance fees to all sites, all transportation to sites and to/from the ship, and an Egyptology guide that stays with you for the four days. With prices ranging from $307 per person in the summer to $414 per person during winter high season, we found this to be an incredible Nile cruise deal for everything that’s included on this 5-star luxury ship! Many other Nile cruises running this itinerary charge well into the thousands of dollars for a very similar experience.
For up-to-date booking information go here for the 4 Night Luxor to Aswan that was reviewed in this article.
Nile Cruise Suggested Tips and Gratuities:
Gratuities and drinks are not included and it is suggested tipping on the Nile cruise is 50 Egyptian Pounds (LE) per night, per room, for the staff collectively and 50 LE tip per day for your guide. About 10 LE tip per couple (5 LE per tip per person) seemed about right for land and boat transfers, although consider more for longer trips or particularly good services.
Once you factor in recommended gratuities and tipping on the Nile cruise, you’re looking at a grand total of about $340 USD per person plus whatever you spend on drink.
Drinks
Keep drink costs low by bring aboard plenty of water and beer that you can store within the empty fridge in your cabin. A 1.5 liter bottle of water is 15 LE onboard compared to 5 LE or less elsewhere. A half liter Sakara beer costs 44 LE on the ship and bottles of wine costs varied, starting prices around 100 LE.
M/S Amarco II Nile River Cruise Review and Recommendation
Our M/S Amarco II review is certainly a good one and we’d strongly recommend this classic voyage to our friends who are considering a trip to Egypt. We say go now while both the prices and the crowds are at a minimum. We loved our cabin. Staff was great. Food, while not a highlight of our travels, was definitely above average for Egypt. Our tour guide during the four days was both knowledgable and friendly. Overall, we were impressed by the value of the package.
Other Advice and Tips
- Be sure to drink lots of water and stay hydrated, particularly in the summer.
- Don’t miss an excursion! This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. As long as your health permits it, get off the ship at every stop no matter how hot it is!
- Take time to gaze out at the shore. You’ll never know what unexpected sight you may stumble upon.
- See our entire Two-Week Egypt Itinerary: Luxury Egypt of a Backpacker Budget
The four-day voyage up the River Nile has definitely been our highlight of Egypt so far. If you’ve ever been curious…
Posted by Roaming Around the World on Sunday, August 23, 2015
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Such a great review – I’m planning to base my whole trip off your longer itinerary!
One question on tipping; how do you give 50 LE per room to staff collectively? Do you have to flick a few LE to housekeeping/recepton/cleaning/bar staff/pool staff/etc etc every time you see them; do you leave it on the pillow in your room; or do you pay a lump sum upon settling the bill?
Thanks in advance from someone who comes from a non-tipping country!
Am so glad to hear this helped and hope it ultimately leads you to having an awesome trip to Egypt! As for tipping the staff, there are two separate amounts to leave. First to your guide. There will be a point where he says his goodbyes after the 3-4 days of touring you around when on land. That’s your cue to thank him and hand him his tip. To tip the rest of the cruise staff, there is an envelope to tip the staff collectively at the end of the cruise, which makes it easy. So there’s no need to tip out all the different people during the cruise. Of course, if there’s any one single staff member that REALLY went out of his/her way for you, it can always be appreciated to slip him/her a little extra, only if you desire. Otherwise, the collective tip at the end of the cruise will cover the appropriate tip to the entire cruise staff. One more thing to note is that the suggested 50 LE (per person, per night) tipping amounts may have changed since the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound occurred in Nov 2016. But they’ll let you know a suggested amount, which can be tailored higher or lower based upon your satisfaction. I’d guess it may 100 LE per person, per night now. Hope that helps and have a great trip!
Hello. Hope you are well. I know you went on this cruise a few years ago , but I was wondering if you could answer some questions. We were thinking about taking Amarco 2 in December and are worried about falling, since I’m a klutz and my mom walks with a cain. First of all, when you go from the Amarco to a smaller boat for excursions, how do you get down to the smaller boat? Secondly, did you have to walk through other boats ? If you did, was it safe, or what was that like? Finally, what was it like when you walked the gangplank to get off at Luxor, Aswan, or any other excursions? How about steep hills, or stair? I think that is all🌝 Thanks in advance! Take care!
There are gangplanks to walk off, from the Armarco 2. Also, you will likely pass through other ships to get to the gangplank and go ashore. It may be a bit cumbersome to navigate with a cane, but I’d imagine it’s manageable. During some of the excursions themselves, there are some periods of walking and standing, perhaps even up to a few hours at a time, and not always on even terrain and with stairs to navigate too. Again, it may be manageable, depending on your mother’s abilities. There is no climbing down into smaller boats from the Armarco. You go from ship to shore, and potentially in a van or directly to the points of interest along the way. I’d imagine that the she’d be fine on the ship, but the excursions could present some challenges. There’s always a possibility to sit something out though. Hope that helps! 🙂
how did you book the Amarco II through Viator as they don’t say which boat they will use.?
We booked it on Viator and got the Amarco II and I’ve heard from people that booked through Viator earlier this year who also confirmed that this the ship they were on. Recent reviews on Viator also indicate it’s, in fact, the Amarco II. Not sure why it’s not listed in the Vitor description. I think perhaps because it really undercuts the Amarco’s otherwise much higher price point. If you’re still uncertain of the exact ship, perhaps give Viator a call and ask if them to verify with certainty before you book.
Hi, thank you for a great post about Egypt and the photos is amazing.
Currently, I want to plan a short tour for my mom and me after my big exam in November. My two questions is:
1. When you join the Amarco 2 cruise, is there a guide that bring you to visit the historical sites in Egypt in every stop? If not, do we walk out of the cruise to the historical site?
2. You visited Cairo in 2015. Based on your observation in 2017, is it still safe to travel in 2017?
Many thanks for your kind advice.
Best regards,
Rachel
Hey Rachel, glad this post helped! Regarding your questions…
1. Yes, included in the price of the cruise, you will have a guide with you at all times every time you get off the cruise to visit the historical sites. In fact, the guide is even with you in Luxor or Aswan before to show you the sites there before the cruise even sets sail. Our guide was fantastic and very informative!
2. As for safety in traveling to Egypt, there’s always some level of risk in traveling anywhere these day. But I am not aware of any attacks that have happened in Cairo or the Luxor/Nile area in the past few years since we visited. Perhaps my biggest concern for safety would be traffic and driving in Cairo – it’s madness! There didn’t seem to be much of any crime. There are some aggressive touts and people trying to swindle your money away, but that’s about it. I know a few people that have visited this year and they’ve told me all is well. I wouldn’t hesitate to return due to any safety concerns.
The M/S Amarco II Nile Cruise looks amazing and your photos are fantastic.
Hi Gordon,
Thanks for the comment! Our Nile River cruise was incredible and a journey that will always be a highlight of our travels. The amazing scenery while floating down the Nile and visiting sites to learn about ancient Egypt was the experience of a lifetime. Are you considering a Nile River cruise? We say do it!
Thank you for your great review. r of us are oing towards the end of October. I know as part of the cruise they take you to Karnak. Do you feel you have long enough there> What would you do if you arrived a day earlier and so had an extra day in Luxor?
Hi Francesca, Glad the review was helpful! Yes, we had a good amount of time ample to explore Karnak fully. As part of the cruise you will visit Luxor’s star attractions along the West Bank (Valley of the Kings and Temple of Hatshepsut) and the East Bank (Karnak & Luxor Temples), so there’s not much else left. I would suggest a visit to the Luxor Museum. Also, there a dune buggy tours that may be appealing (although we never tried them). There are some d-how tours of the Nile, but you’ll likely see the same things once your cruise begins. Or depending where you’re staying, just taking some time out to relax. We stayed at the Sheraton and enjoyed relaxing at their pool on the Nile. Hope that helps to spur some ideas!
What an eclectic array of photographs! They do a great job of showing the diversity of interests that can be fulfilled on a trip like this.
Thanks Cherri! It was a very scenic voyage! The varied landscape and beautiful ancient sites during this trip makes it difficult to take a bad shot! 😉