Nile dahabiyaSailing dahabiyaEsna → Aswan

Assouan

Six days under sail, Esna to Aswan

Assouan is a Nile dahabiya (a traditional wind-powered sailing boat) operated by Nour El Nil, built 2005. It has 8 cabins and 2 suites for up to 16 guests and sails itineraries of 5 nights on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan.

Good to know

Six days under sail, Esna to Aswan. A sailing dahabiya of eight cabins and two panoramic suites running the six-day Esna-to-Aswan route, for travellers after a quiet, small-group Nile.

Best for couples · unhurried travellersCabins 8 · up to 16 guestsRoute Esna → Aswan

Fleet: Nour El Nil
Accommodation: 8 cabins · 2 suites
Guests: Up to 16
Built: 2005
Route: Esna - El Kab - Edfu - Gebel Silsileh - Kom Ombo - Aswan
Trip length: 5 nights
Departures: Every Monday from Esna to Aswan.
Season: Operates year-round except June, July and August, which are not sold due to extreme heat. Mid/late September to late May is recommended.

About Assouan

Assouan sails the roughly 250-kilometre reach from Esna to Aswan over six days, with eight cabins including two panoramic suites whose king beds sit behind floor-to-ceiling windows. It carries a small group at the slow pace of the wind.

The itinerary moors where the motor-cruisers pass by: the temple of Khnum at Esna, the tombs and temple at El Kab, Edfu's Temple of Horus, the narrow gorge and quarries of Gebel el-Silsila, and Kom Ombo before disembarking at Aswan. A full sailing day leaves room for a morning walk, a swim and a desert stroll.

All meals, snacks and soft drinks are included and often served in the open air on deck, with a bar, a reading lounge, a sun deck and air conditioning aboard. The boat rests over the hottest months and sails the rest of the year.

Highlights

Eight cabins, two panoramic suites
Six-day Esna to Aswan, around 250 km
Moors at El Kab and Gebel el-Silsila
All meals and open-air deck dining
Rests June to August, sails otherwise

At sail

Day by day

Assouan sails one published programme. Its own route: Esna - El Kab - Edfu - Gebel Silsileh - Kom Ombo - Aswan Departures every monday from esna to aswan.. The order of the temples is fixed by the river, so what changes between programmes is the direction and how much is fitted into each day.

Day 1
Transfer to Esna and embark
Most boats collect guests in Luxor and drive the 50 km to Esna, since the lock is the practical starting point. Sail out and moor at an island.
Visits Esna lock
Day 2
El Kab and Edfu
The painted rock tombs at El Kab in the morning, a site no cruise ship stops at, then the Temple of Horus before dusk.
Visits El Kab · Edfu
Day 3
Gebel el-Silsila
The sandstone quarries and rock-cut chapels, then a long afternoon under sail. Moor at a sandbank.
Visits Gebel el-Silsila
Day 4
Kom Ombo
The double temple at first light, before the cruise ships arrive, and often the camel market at Daraw.
Visits Kom Ombo · Daraw
Day 5
Sail to Aswan
A slow final day on the water, mooring near Aswan.
Day 6
Disembark at Aswan
Disembark at Aswan after breakfast. The Aswan sites are not part of the river itinerary on an operator-sold sailing: Philae, the High Dam and Abu Simbel are added on either side, which is the main difference between this and an agency package.
Optional Philae · High Dam · Abu Simbel

Day structure aggregated from the published itineraries for this class of boat and direction. Operators shift a call by half a day and the Esna lock queue moves everything; confirm the running order for your departure.

Take the whole boat

8 cabins · up to 16 guests · whole boat from about US$7,680 a night

About US$7,680 a night for the whole boat, or roughly US$46,080 for a six-night sailing.

At this size two or three families travel together without anyone being split between boats, and the crew cooks for your party alone. Tell us your dates, and how many adults and children, and we will price the whole of Assouan.

That is the arithmetic of Assouan's own published cabin fares, not a quoted charter rate. Operators price exclusive use separately, and usually below the sum of the cabins, so tell us your dates and we will come back with the real figure.

Price the whole boat

What Assouan costs in 2026/2027

The published rate is US$2,400 per person, 5-night; agencies quote US$2,400 (Discovery Tours Egypt, converted) to US$2,960 (nilecruisetrips.com, May to Aug) , checked on 2026-09-21.

We are not publishing a trip total for Assouan, for the reasons below. Ask us and we will quote the sailing you want.

What this figure is, and is not

Converted from the currency the operator quotes in, so it moves with the exchange rate.
Published as a range rather than a single figure.
Rates move with season, cabin and departure. We quote every sailing live, and there is no booking fee to ask.

Source: the operator's published rates

The boat in detail

Cabin categories: Cabin - 2 units
Cabin - 6 units
Dining: All meals, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages included
Open-air deck dining
Facilities: Dining area
Bar
Reading lounge
Sun deck
Air conditioning
Itineraries: 5 nights / 6 days, Esna to Aswan, approx. 250 km: Day 1 Esna (Temple of Khnum, 9 m below street level; textile markets); Day 2 El Kab (temple of Nekhbet, decorated tombs) & Edfu (Temple of Horus); Day 3 sailing day, optional morning walk, swimming, desert walk; Day 4 Gebel Silsileh (sandstone quarries, temple of Horemheb, Nile at its narrowest); Day 5 Kom Ombo (Ptolemaic temple and Crocodile Museum); Day 6 disembark Aswan in the morning