Getting to your Nile cruise

From Luxor airport (LXR) the docks are close: roughly 8 km and 10 to 20 minutes by road, depending on traffic and which mooring your ship has. A berth at the southern end of town, near the Luxor bridge, is at the longer end.

From Aswan airport (ASW) allow a little more: the cruise port is roughly 16 to 21 km away, about 15 to 25 minutes.

Dahabiya guests almost always reach Esna by road from Luxor. Pick-up is typically from any Luxor address around 9am, and the drive is about an hour (45 to 60 km). Your representative meets you, handles the bags and takes you straight to the boat.

Luxor has no single cruise terminal. Ships tie up across several mooring areas on a first-come basis: the lucky ones berth on the Corniche near Luxor Temple, right in town; others end up at the southern Boghdadi area near the bridge, a less pleasant walk into the centre. It is worth asking your operator where their ship berths.

At Aswan most boats moor opposite Elephantine Island, at what is often called the New Cruise Port, a few minutes from the centre, though some berth further out. Berth quality tends to track what the operator pays.

Every Luxor to Aswan cruise passes through the Esna lock, about 55 km south of Luxor, and it is the single pinch point on the river. Only a couple of large vessels fit per cycle, so queues form.

The lock passage itself is short, roughly 15 to 60 minutes. The queue is the variable: budget two to three hours as normal, and accept that peak season and holidays can stretch it to most of a day. Transits often happen in the middle of the night, which is oddly memorable rather than a problem.

The lock also closes for maintenance for roughly the whole of June and the first week or two of December. Dates shift year to year, so confirm them if you are sailing then; during a closure, ships moor at Esna and passengers are coached to Luxor for sightseeing.

This surprises first-timers, so it is worth knowing in advance: at the busy moorings, ships tie up against each other, three, four or five deep, and you walk through the lobbies of the boats between yours and the shore to get on and off. Arrive late at Luxor and you might be the outermost boat, crossing several others to reach land. It is completely normal, not a fault with your ship.

One consequence: while moored, your cabin window may look straight into another ship's window rather than at the Nile. If you want the view, head up to the sun deck.

Dahabiyas are different. Being small and shallow, they anchor directly against the riverbank, a stake driven in at bow and stern, in quiet spots the big ships cannot reach. No rafting, no walking through other boats.

Plan to board between late morning and early afternoon, in time for lunch on the first day. Your cabin may not be ready the moment you arrive; if you come early you are looked after in the lounges until it is.

On the last day you check out of the cabin after breakfast, usually around 8 to 10am, but you can leave your bags on board and keep sightseeing until your transfer. Crew handle luggage at both ends. As a rough guide, two cases of about 23 kg per person is welcomed, but the exact allowance is set by the individual boat.