Nile dahabiyaSailing dahabiyaEsna → Aswan

Elephantine

Ten cabins in Egyptian wood, Aswan to Esna

Elephantine is a Nile dahabiya (a traditional wind-powered sailing boat) operated by Nile Holiday. It has 10 cabins and 2 suites for up to 20 guests and sails itineraries of 3 or 4 nights on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan.

Good to know

Ten cabins in Egyptian wood, Aswan to Esna. A sailing dahabiya of ten cabins for up to twenty guests, built in Egyptian wood, sailing the Aswan-Esna reach over three or four nights; suits lovers of traditional craft.

Best for couples · unhurried travellersCabins 10 · up to 20 guestsBoard full boardRoute Esna → Aswan

Fleet: Nile Holiday
Accommodation: 10 cabins · 2 suites
Guests: Up to 20
Route: Aswan, Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Esna, Luxor.
Trip length: 3 · 4 nights
Departures: Fridays from Aswan (4 days/3 nights); Mondays from Esna (5 days/4 nights).

About Elephantine

Elephantine is a ten-cabin dahabiya built in high-quality Egyptian wood with period furnishings, carrying up to twenty guests. There are eight doubles of around twenty-one square metres and two thirty-three square metre suites with private terraces, all with panoramic windows and air conditioning.

Sailings run four nights up from Esna on Mondays and three nights down from Aswan on Fridays, following the river past Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu and Esna. Dining is full board in the boat's dining room, in the slow rhythm of a boat that sails rather than powers between temples.

The sun deck is set with handmade wicker armchairs and chaise lounges around a thirty-six-jet Jacuzzi. It is a characterful, traditional way to see the southern Nile away from the larger ships.

Highlights

Ten cabins, up to twenty guests
Built in Egyptian wood with period furnishings
Aswan to Esna, three or four nights
Thirty-six-jet Jacuzzi on the sun deck
Full board dining aboard

At sail

Day by day

Elephantine sails 2 published programmes. Its own route: Aswan, Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Esna, Luxor. Departures fridays from aswan (4 days/3 nights); mondays from esna (5 days/4 nights).. 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.

Luxor to Aswan, 4 nights (package)usually departs Saturday

Day 1
Luxor, embark and Karnak
Board at Luxor. Karnak in the afternoon, before the boat moves.
Visits Karnak
Day 2
The west bank, then the Esna lock
The tombs early, while it is still cool, then cast off and pass through the Esna lock.
Visits Valley of the Kings · Hatshepsut · Colossi of Memnon · Esna lock
Optional hot-air balloon at dawn
Day 3
Edfu
Edfu, the most complete temple on the river, from the mooring.
Visits Esna lock · Edfu
Day 4
Sailing
No temple on this day. The boat sails the quiet reach south of Edfu and moors where the large ships cannot, which is the reason to take a dahabiya at all. Every one of the three published itineraries leaves this day empty.
Day 5
Aswan, and disembark
The High Dam and Philae on arrival, then disembarkation.
Visits High Dam · Philae
Optional Abu Simbel by road or air

Aswan to Luxor, 3 nightsusually departs Wednesday

Day 1
Aswan, embark
Board at Aswan, then the High Dam and Philae the same afternoon.
Visits High Dam · Philae
Optional felucca among the islands
Day 2
Kom Ombo
Sail north to Kom Ombo, whose double temple stands directly above the water. Half the published itineraries add Gebel el-Silsila, the old sandstone quarry, which no large ship stops at.
Visits Kom Ombo
Optional Abu Simbel, pre-dawn by road or air · Gebel el-Silsila
Day 3
Through the Esna lock
Edfu in the morning on most departures, then the Esna lock, which the boat often waits for. Moor at Luxor.
Visits Esna lock · Edfu
Day 4
The Luxor west bank, and disembark
The west bank on the last morning. Half of the departures add Karnak before the transfer.
Visits Valley of the Kings · Hatshepsut · Colossi of Memnon
Optional Karnak

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

10 cabins · up to 20 guests · whole-boat charter on request

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 Elephantine.

Price the whole boat

What Elephantine costs in 2026/2027

The published rate is US$895 per person, from, double cabin , checked on 2026-08-30.

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

What this figure is, and is not

This is the operator's own advertised rate, not a quote from us.
The published figure is quoted per person, from, double cabin, which does not multiply into a trip total.
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: Double cabin - 8 units, 21.0 sqm
Suite - 2 units, 33.0 sqm
Dining: Full board
Dining room
Facilities: 36-jet Jacuzzi on the sundeck
Dining room
Satellite TV and DVD
Internet access
Laundry service
Handmade wicker armchairs and chaise lounges on deck
Built in high-quality Egyptian wood with period furnishings
Itineraries: 4 days / 3 nights Aswan to Esna
5 days / 4 nights Esna to Aswan