Nile dahabiyaSailing dahabiyaEsna → Aswan
Lazuli Abydos
Ten cabins under twin masts, Esna to Aswan
Lazuli Abydos is a Nile dahabiya (a traditional wind-powered sailing boat) operated by Lazuli, built 2022. It has 10 cabins and 2 suites for up to 20 guests and sails itineraries of 2, 3, 4 or 5 nights on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan.
Good to know
Ten cabins under twin masts, Esna to Aswan. A 2022 twin-masted sailing dahabiya of ten cabins for twenty guests, sailing the Esna-Aswan reach over three to five nights, suited to travellers wanting a shared-table, small-boat trip.
- Fleet
- Lazuli
- Accommodation
- 10 cabins · 2 suites
- Guests
- Up to 20
- Built
- 2022
- Dimensions
- 45 m
- Route
- Esna, El Hegz, El Kab, Edfu (Temple of Horus), Fawaza/Bassaw island, Djebel Silsila, Kom Ombo, Daraw, Herdiab island, Aswan (Philae Temple, High Dam); Karnak and the Valley of the Kings on the Luxor land portion
- Trip length
- 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 nights
- Departures
- Mondays from Esna; Fridays from Aswan
- Season
- Year-round.
About Lazuli Abydos
The newest boat in the Lazuli fleet, Abydos is a twin-masted sailing dahabiya built in 2022, a modern replica of the sacred bark of the pharaohs. She carries twenty guests in ten cabins, including two panoramic suites set at the rear with large bay windows over the river, all finished in Old English style decor.
Her sail follows the quiet Esna-to-Aswan reach, mooring at river islands such as Fawaza and Herdiab and calling at Edfu, Gebel el-Silsila and Kom Ombo, with the Aswan and Luxor sites at either end. A library-salon opens onto an upper deck with a jacuzzi, oriental lounges and deckchairs, where dinners are served by candlelight at a shared table under the stars.
Meals are full board, Egyptian traditional cuisine cooked on board, with water, tea, coffee and hibiscus included. Solar panels heat the water and power the boat, a doctor is available around the clock, and every cabin carries fire detectors and life jackets.
Highlights
- Ten cabins for twenty guests, built 2022
- Twin-masted, Old English style decor
- Sails Esna, Edfu, Gebel el-Silsila, Kom Ombo, Aswan
- Library-salon and upper-deck jacuzzi
- Full board, shared-table dinners under the stars
At sail
Day by day
Lazuli Abydos sails 4 published programmes. Its own route: Esna, El Hegz, El Kab, Edfu (Temple of Horus), Fawaza/Bassaw island, Djebel Silsila, Kom Ombo, Daraw, Herdiab island, Aswan (Philae Temple, High Dam); Karnak and the Valley of the Kings on the Luxor land portion Departures mondays from esna; fridays from 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.
Esna or Luxor to Aswan, 5 nightsusually departs Monday
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
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 Esna, 3 nights
Day 1
Aswan, Philae and the sail to Herdiab
Collected from your hotel or the airport in Aswan and taken to Philae, the island temple of Isis that UNESCO moved stone by stone between 1972 and 1980 to save it from the rising water. Aboard after the visit, with the first lunch served under way as the boat works down to Herdiab for the night.
Visits Philae Temple
Day 2
Kom Ombo and Gebel el-Silsila
Breakfast is served under way to Kom Ombo, where the temple stands on a bend in the river and is unusual in being dual - one half for Sobek the crocodile god, the other for Haroeris the hawk. Lunch is taken sailing on to Gebel el-Silsila for the Speos of Horemheb, a chapel cut into the rock for the pharaoh and seven gods, and the sandstone quarries that supplied the stone for much of pharaonic Egypt.
Visits Kom Ombo Temple · Gebel el-Silsila
Day 3
Bassaw village, Edfu, and the mooring at El Hegz
A morning at Bassaw, an old fishing village the tour buses never reach, where the encounter is unhurried and nothing is being sold. Edfu follows after lunch: the temple of Horus is the most completely preserved in Egypt and the last great building project on that scale, and it dominates a working town now known for sugar and pottery. The night is spent moored at El Hegz.
Visits Bassaw village · Edfu Temple of Horus
Optional trying the traditional fishing method still used on this stretch
Day 4
Esna, disembark for Luxor
Breakfast under way into Esna, then the short road transfer to Luxor.
Aswan to Esna, 2 nights
Day 1
Aswan, Philae and Kom Ombo
Collected from your hotel or the airport in Aswan at around ten, with Philae first - the island temple of Isis that UNESCO moved between 1972 and 1980 to save it from the rising water. Aboard afterwards, and lunch is served under way to Kom Ombo for the dual temple of Sobek the crocodile god and Haroeris the hawk. The boat carries on to moor at Beshir for the night.
Visits Philae Temple · Kom Ombo Temple
Day 2
Gebel el-Silsila, Bassaw and Edfu
An early hour at the Horemheb-era temple and the ancient quarry that supplied its stone, then an hour at Bassaw around midday - a working fishermen's village rather than a stop arranged for visitors. Lunch is eaten under way to Edfu, where the afternoon is given to the temple of Horus, the most completely preserved in Egypt. The night is spent moored at El Hegz.
Visits Gebel el-Silsila · Bassaw village · Edfu Temple of Horus
Day 3
Esna, disembark for Luxor
A short run into Esna, breakfast, and ashore at about half past eight for the road transfer to Luxor.
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.
The fine print
What's included and what isn't
Children under six travel free, six to eleven pay a child rate, and twelve and over are charged as adults. Tipping is discretionary; as a guide the operator suggests roughly EUR 3-5 per person per day for the driver, EUR 5-7 for the representative and EUR 7-10 for the guide. Confirm what your own booking covers before you travel.
Included
- Full board throughout, from lunch on the day you board to breakfast on the day you leave
- Transfers at both ends, between the boat and your hotel or the airport
- The visits and activities named in the itinerary, and their entrance fees
- An Egyptologist guide on board, in English or French as you prefer
- Mineral water, tea, mint tea, Turkish coffee and soft drinks throughout
- Wi-Fi on board
Not included
- Alcoholic drinks, fresh juice, and espresso or Nespresso coffee outside breakfast
- Anything not named in the itinerary: other visits, activities, transfers or meals
- Tips for the crew, the guide, the driver and the representative
- Your Egypt entry visa, and flights
- Personal expenses
Take the whole boat
10 cabins · up to 20 guests · whole boat from about US$7,400 a night
About US$7,400 a night for the whole boat, or roughly US$44,400 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 Lazuli Abydos.
That is the arithmetic of Lazuli Abydos'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.
What Lazuli Abydos costs in 2026/2027
The published rate is US$370 per person per night , checked on 2026-09-05.
| Sailing | Per person, from |
|---|---|
| 2 nights | US$740 |
| 3 nights | US$1,110 |
| 4 nights | US$1,480 |
| 5 nights | US$1,850 |
What this figure is, and is not
- The operator publishes one rate across several boats in this fleet, so it is not specific to this hull.
- 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
- Panoramic Suite x2 - at the rear with large bay windows over the river, Old English style decor
- Standard Twin Cabin x4
- Standard Double Cabin x4
- All: air conditioning, in-cabin safe, private bathroom with shower and hairdryer, fire detectors and life jackets
- Dining
- Full board - Egyptian traditional cuisine prepared on board
- Meals served at a shared dining table on the upper deck or in the salon
- Included: mineral water, tea, coffee, hibiscus and soft drinks
- Not included: alcoholic drinks, fresh juices, espresso/Nespresso outside breakfast
- Facilities
- Library-salon lounge with Wi-Fi
- Shared dining table and oriental lounges on deck
- Deckchairs / chaises longues and sun loungers
- Jacuzzi on the upper deck
- TV and minibar in cabins; DVD player and video projector
- Gift shop
- Laundry service
- Solar energy for hot water and electricity; softened water
- 24-hour doctor availability
- Fire detectors and life jackets in every cabin; trained crew, first aid kit
- Itineraries
- 3 days / 2 nights Aswan to Esna
- 4 days / 3 nights Aswan to Esna
- 5 days / 4 nights Esna to Aswan
- 6 days / 5 nights Esna to Aswan
Keep planning
Plan your Nile cruise
Good to know
Lazuli Abydos questions, answered
How much does Lazuli Abydos cost?
Advertised rates start from US$370 per person for 3 nights; prices vary by season and cabin.
How many cabins does Lazuli Abydos have?
10 cabins and 2 suites, for up to 20 guests.
What route does Lazuli Abydos sail?
Esna, El Hegz, El Kab, Edfu (Temple of Horus), Fawaza/Bassaw island, Djebel Silsila, Kom Ombo, Daraw, Herdiab island, Aswan (Philae Temple, High Dam); Karnak and the Valley of the Kings on the Luxor land portion, departing Mondays from Esna; Fridays from Aswan.
What's included on Lazuli Abydos?
Meet and assist on arrival and departure, all transfers by modern air-conditioned deluxe vehicle, full-board accommodation, all Nile cruise excursions, entrance fees to all sights between Luxor and Aswan, English-speaking guide, all service charges and taxes. Excludes international airfare, beverage
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