Nile dahabiyaSailing dahabiyaEsna → Aswan

Lazuli Highness

Just ten guests, Esna to Aswan under sail

Lazuli Highness is a Nile dahabiya (a traditional wind-powered sailing boat) operated by Lazuli, built 2023. It has 5 cabins and 1 suites for up to 10 guests and sails itineraries of 2, 3, 4 or 5 nights on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan.

Good to know

Just ten guests, Esna to Aswan under sail. A 2023 twin-masted sailing dahabiya of five cabins for just ten guests, sailing the Esna-Aswan reach over three to five nights, suited to couples and small parties.

Best for couples · unhurried travellersCabins 5 · up to 10 guestsBoard full boardRoute Esna → Aswan

Fleet: Lazuli
Accommodation: 5 cabins · 1 suites
Guests: Up to 10
Built: 2023
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: Every Monday from Esna; every Friday from Aswan.
Season: Year-round.

About Lazuli Highness

Built in 2023, Highness is the newest of Lazuli's smaller boats, elegant and intimate, carrying just ten guests in one double suite and four standard cabins. Terrace-balconies open at the stern, the interiors follow the fleet's Old English style, and she sails the Esna-to-Aswan reach under twin lateen sails.

Her route moors at river islands such as Fawaza and Herdiab and calls at Edfu, Gebel el-Silsila and Kom Ombo, with the temples of Aswan and Luxor at either end. A library-salon with library, hi-fi and internet sits below, and the upper deck carries a jacuzzi, dining tables and chaises longues for the hours under sail.

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, and every cabin carries fire detectors and life jackets.

Highlights

Five cabins for just ten guests, built 2023
Twin lateen sails, stern terrace-balconies
Sails Esna, Edfu, Gebel el-Silsila, Kom Ombo, Aswan
Library-salon and upper-deck jacuzzi
Full board, Egyptian cuisine on board

At sail

Day by day

Lazuli Highness 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 every monday from esna; every friday 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

5 cabins · up to 10 guests · whole boat from about US$3,700 a night

About US$3,700 a night for the whole boat, or roughly US$22,200 for a six-night sailing.

A boat this size is a single family. Everyone eats at one table, the deck is yours alone, and the boat moves when your party is ready rather than when a schedule says so. Tell us your dates, and how many adults and children, and we will price the whole of Lazuli Highness.

That is the arithmetic of Lazuli Highness'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 Lazuli Highness costs in 2026/2027

The published rate is US$370 per person per night , checked on 2026-08-30.

Sailing	Per person, from
2 nights	US$740
3 nights	US$1,110
4 nights	US$1,480
5 nights	US$1,850

The boat in detail

Cabin categories: Double Suite x1 - terrace-balcony at the rear, Old English style decor
Standard Twin Cabin x2
Standard Double Cabin x2
All: air conditioning, in-cabin safe, private bathroom with shower, 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 library, DVD, hi-fi system and internet
Terraces-balconies at the rear
Upper deck with jacuzzi, dining tables and chaises longues
Sun deck and restaurant
Laundry service
Solar energy for hot water and electricity; softened water
Air conditioning throughout
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

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Good to know

Lazuli Highness questions, answered

How much does Lazuli Highness cost?

Advertised rates start from US$370 per person for 3 nights; prices vary by season and cabin.

How many cabins does Lazuli Highness have?

5 cabins and 1 suites, for up to 10 guests.

What route does Lazuli Highness 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 Every Monday from Esna; every Friday from Aswan..

What's included on Lazuli Highness?

Accommodation, all meals, beverages, Egyptologist guide, entry fees, transfers, taxes and service. Excludes alcohol, tips, insurance, domestic flights. Single supplements and Christmas/New Year/Easter surcharges apply. Indicative only.