Nile cruise line

Sanctuary Retreats / A&K Nile cruises

Sanctuary Retreats / A&K has 4 Nile cruise ships in this directory, sailing the Luxor to Aswan route past the temples of Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo. The fleet runs from 6 to 40 cabins. Itineraries cover 4, 7 night sailings. Compare the boats below on cabins, decks and dining, then enquire on WhatsApp for live dates and rates.

Sanctuary Retreats is the accommodation arm of A&K Travel Group, founded by Geoffrey Kent, which ran its first Nile itineraries back in 1977. It is a small-ship, high-end operator: its Sun Boat vessels carry far fewer guests than a standard cruiser, which is the whole point of booking one.

Sanctuary Retreats, the boat and lodge brand of Abercrombie & Kent, runs three Nile cruise ships between Luxor and Aswan, Sanctuary Sun Boat III (up to 32 guests), Sanctuary Sun Boat IV (up to 80) and Sanctuary Nile Adventurer (up to 64), plus the private dahabiya Sanctuary Zein Nile Chateau for 12. Four-night fares on Sun Boat IV start from about USD 1,654 per person.

Published rates for 2 of the 4 Sanctuary Retreats / A&K ships state a basis we can convert, each working out at US$414 per person per night (indicative agency rates, checked 2026-09-05). Sanctuary Sun Boat III and Sanctuary Zein Nile Chateau: quoted on request.

The Sanctuary ships are older hulls, the earliest dating from around 1990, run to A&K's standards and used heavily for A&K's own escorted tours and university alumni charters. Sun Boat III is the intimate option with 16 cabins and 4 suites; Sun Boat IV is the largest, with 40 cabins and 4 suites; Nile Adventurer sits between them.

Most sailings are four nights in either direction between Luxor and Aswan, with longer options on some dates. For a whole-boat private charter, the Zein Nile Chateau is a traditional dahabiya for up to 12 guests.