Nile dahabiyaSailing dahabiyaEsna → Aswan

Isadora

Two-mast 2017 dahabiya with deck Jacuzzi

Isadora is a Nile dahabiya (a traditional wind-powered sailing boat), built 2017. It has 8 cabins and 2 suites and sails itineraries of 4, 5 or 7 nights on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan.

Good to know

Isadora is a 8-cabin sailing dahabiya on the Esna to Aswan reach, sailing itineraries of 4, 5 or 7 nights with full board. Dahabiyas trade big-ship bustle for quiet water: island moorings, sails over engines, and temple mornings before the coaches arrive. Rates move with dates and cabins, so every sailing is quoted live.

Best for couples · unhurried travellersCabins 8Board full boardRoute Esna → Aswan

Accommodation: 8 cabins · 2 suites
Built: 2017
Route: Esna - Aswan (with Luxor starts on the seven-night options)
Trip length: 4 · 5 · 7 nights
Season: Year-round (spring and autumn the most pleasant)

About Isadora

Isadora is a two-mast dahabiya built in 2017, carrying lateen cotton sails and a flat bottom that lets it moor at small sites along the river. Its eight rooms comprise six wood-built double cabins with large windows, air conditioning and parquet floors, and two suites of about 15 square metres, each with a private terrace.

The large, mostly shaded sun deck is laid out as a tea lounge, solarium and reading corners with Berber cushions, alongside an open-air Jacuzzi and a period-style bar finished in wood and copper. Meals are cooked on board from fresh produce and served in an open-air restaurant on the upper deck, and Wi-Fi runs throughout. Sailings leave Esna for four- or five-night trips to Aswan, with seven-night options from Luxor, including a round trip, and the boat operates year-round.

Highlights

Built 2017, two masts with lateen cotton sails
Six double cabins and two terrace suites
Open-air Jacuzzi and shaded sun deck
Open-air upper-deck restaurant
Four- to seven-night Esna and Luxor sailings

At sail

Day by day

The canonical 5-day / 4-night rhythm on the Esna to Aswan reach; Isadora sails itineraries of 4, 5 or 7 nights on the same water. Days flex with wind and mooring rights, which is half the point of a sailing boat.

Day 1
Embark at Esna
Transfer in, settle into your cabin, and a first sail south as the crew raises the lateen sails.
Lunch · Dinner
Day 2
Edfu · Temple of Horus
The best preserved temple in Egypt in the morning quiet, then onward to an island mooring.
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 3
The quiet Nile
A sailing day: village walks where the boat moors, swimming off the deck where conditions allow, tea as the sails come down.
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 4
Kom Ombo
The double temple to Sobek and Horus late in the day, then a last night on the water short of Aswan.
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 5
Disembark at Aswan
Ashore after breakfast. Philae Temple sits twenty minutes away, and Abu Simbel works as an extension.
Breakfast

Take the whole boat

8 cabins · 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 Isadora.

Price the whole boat

The boat in detail

Cabin categories: Double cabin x6 - wood-built, double bed, large windows, A/C, parquet floor
Suite x2 - approx. 15 sqm, private terrace/balcony
Dining: Open-air restaurant on the upper deck
Cuisine cooked on board from fresh produce, adapted to Western tastes on request
Full board
Facilities: Two masts with lateen cotton sails
Large, mostly shaded sun deck with tea lounge, solarium and reading corners with Berber cushions
Open-air Jacuzzi
Period-style bar in wood and copper
Flat bottom for mooring at small sites
Wi-Fi throughout
Itineraries: 4 nights Esna to Aswan
5 nights Esna to Aswan
7 nights Luxor to Aswan (two hotel nights in Luxor, then Esna to Aswan)
7-night round trip Luxor-Aswan-Luxor

Keep planning

Plan your Nile cruise

Dahabiya Nile cruises explained How much a dahabiya cruise costs Best small-boat Nile cruises Nile River Cruise: the complete guide Nile cruise vs land tour

Good to know

Isadora questions, answered

Where does Isadora sail?

Isadora sails Esna - Aswan (with Luxor starts on the seven-night options)

What is included in the fare on Isadora?

A dahabiya fare of this kind normally covers your cabin on full board, entrance to the temples named in the itinerary, an Egyptologist guide, the listed shore excursions and transfers at each end. Tips, drinks, optional excursions such as Abu Simbel, and personal expenses are normally extra. Whether soft drinks, Wi-Fi and service charges sit inside the fare genuinely differs between operators, so confirm those for Isadora before booking.