rampup82

I am going to Egypt this December.

I am considering two options for traveling between Aswan and Luxor:

1) Felucca - the pros: authentic experience and cheap. the cons: no amenities!! i am mostly a city girl, and am not sure i can handle this kind of primitive setting.

2) Nile Cruise - the pros: amenities. the cons: more expensive.

What are other differences between a cruise and felucca??

With our current itinerary, we allotted 2 nights/3 days sailing from Aswan to Luxor. It seems like most the cruises have a minimum of 3 nights. Is this true??

IF we decide to do the cruise, I'd still like to experience at least a few hours on a felucca. Where is the best place to sail on a felucca?

In a nutshell, which would you recommend in my situation? Sorry for all the questions...just a little confused here. Thanks in advance!

sandi

You can arrange a felucca ride while in Aswan or Luxor.

Yes, minimum on the cruise is 3/nts, as it takes awhile to get up/down the river.

Unless you're used to doing without, backpacking, hole-in-the-ground facilities, lack of showers w/hot water - take the cruise!

They're not like those big cruises in Europe, Caribbean, Hawaii... boats are small, many with less than 200/pax. It never feels crowded. Land tours are interesting, food should be good, the Galabeya Party 1/nt on board is kitchy and fun. Do it!

rampup82

Thanks for the advice sandi!

The minimum of 3/nights on a cruise is kind of strange because according to my travel book, there are 2 nights/3 day felucca rides from Aswan to Luxor.

How come it takes longer to go to Luxor from Aswan on a cruise?? Is it because it makes more stops? Does anyone know?

Also, are there particular cruises you'd recommend?

Casual_Cairo

What you are reading about the time it takes to do the felluca is subjective. It might take longer. Also the fellucas are not going to go past the Esna locks (I think). They stop, you get out and ride dangerous public transport (micro buses) on into Luxor.

If you want to save money try a lesser star cruises boat. Check the MS Sherry Boat out at http://www.sherryboat.com.eg/
She should be less per night than say the Movenpick or Sonesta boats and she goes to all the same places and has the same parties as the more expensive boats. You can book her through Ted at Egypt Panorama Tour at http://eptours.com/

Are you traveling with a friend? This might be a deciding factor one way or the other for you. I don't know of you are male or female actually, but I'm assuming female for some reason. If you are alone and have to pay the single supplement for a cabin on a cruise ship, then the cruise might be pretty expensive, but if you are traveling alone and have to fight off the advances of creepy felluca captains by yourself, that would have me pulling out my wallet.

Not that the help on the cruise boat won't be flirting with you too, but there you have a cabin with a locked door to go to if they get too annoying.

Casual_Cairo

Ah-a! you said you were a city girl - that's why I assumed female. I knew there was a reason.

rampup82

Thanks for the suggestions!

And yes, I am female. =) I will be traveling with my boyfriend, so we can save on the single supplement fee.

Have you gone on the MS Sherry? What was your experience like?

Btw..are there feluccas out there can are more well-equipped?? Maybe ones with at a toilet at least? lol Or am I asking for too much?

Momliz

we decided against the felucca because of the lack of facilities. A felucca is a more authentic, if you will, experience as you say.

However, after much thought, we will be going on a cruise, arranged by Egypt Panorama Tours, and it came in under budget. We want amenities... So, check with someone since there are many price points for the cruises. I have found it hard to get objective reviews of the boats, but here is some info on the Sherry - if you google M/S Sherry boat you'll come up with some stuff. or google 5 or 4 star nile cruises and you'll get a lot of info. The really expensive boats are 5 star deluxe, so 5 star isn't as expensive but is probably still nice.
http://www.sherryboat.com.eg/
http://www.nilecruising.com/sherry1.htm
http://travelinstyle.com/egypt/Nilecruise_list.html
http://www.eptours.com/
There's also some information on Trip Advisor, you can do a search in the Nile River valley forums.

rampup82

Ok...guys and gals. so after much research into cruising, we decided that it will be out of our budget and throw our itinerary out of whack.

we decided to go to aswan, go on a felucca ride for a few hours, then catch a train to go to luxor.

my questions are:
1) is there anything that cannot be missed between aswan and luxor? kom ombo? edfu?
2) if so, can we make stops at those two areas? and how long would it normally take for us to see them?

thanks a mil for everyone's input so far!

Casual_Cairo

You can't stop at any of the temples or sites if you take the train. You could instead spend a day with a driver making the trip via car and see them all.

All the temples along the way are pretty spectacular, and it would be a shame to miss them, unless you are just not that interested in Pharonic History. In that case seeing what you can see in Aswan and Luxor may be enough for you.

I can help set up a car trip for you, or your hotel in Aswan could do it. It won't be difficult to organize. Or if you don't want a guide, just ask any taxi driver to take you.

Philbill

Email,ICAN travel based in Cairo..they could arrange everything so much less than I could through the USA. They got our Sonesta cruise (5 star deluxe) much less than I could book direst with Sonesta!!

sunshine007

I used booked through an American travel agency who used Emeco, an Egyptian travel agency, to arrange my tour. I stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Sharm. Because my reservation was through Emeco I got a Red Sea view room for $95 US per night. I wanted to extend my time in Sharm. The reservations staff told me that the cheapest price I could get booking it on my own through the front desk was $180 for the same room. And the room rate listed in the card in the room was substantially higher than $180. I saved a bundle by using the travel agency.

Travel agencies often have deals with hotels because of the volume that they do. In my case