Luxor - Curise? I'm a complete newbie here..

[Atl_Cruiser]

So please be kind.

 

My lovely bride wants to go to Luxor before our time on this world is up, and I intend to give that to her.

 

That being said, I have never been on a cruise before, and it seems to me that this would be an ideal way to do, and she has been on a couple of Caribbean tours before, whereas I have not. So.. I need help.

 

Can someone point me in a direction? I have seen that the closest port to Luxor/Karnac seems to be Safaga, Egypt... however I do not know that to be absolutely true.

 

Anyone who can assist me with this beginning of my planning stages here, please sing out!

 

Thank you again in advance...

[paul929207]

In addition to Safage, a number of cruise stop in Alexandria and offer excursions to Cairo which is about 2 1/2 hours away. Luxor is several hundred miles further and not really in reach.

 

Have you considered a tour/river cruise instead of an ocean type cruise? March 2006, we spent 2 weeks in Egypt with Grand Circle. It included about 1 week in Cairo, with tour of the Egyptian Museum and pyramidss. Then we flew to Luxor and had a week river cruise to Aswan. It included Valley of the Kings, Luxor & Karnak temples (in luxor), the Aswan Dam and many other sights. There was an optional tour to Abu Simbel to see Ramses's two giant temples that we save from destruction when Lake Nasser flooded its area.

[Amaranthine33]

So please be kind.

 

My lovely bride wants to go to Luxor before our time on this world is up, and I intend to give that to her.

 

That being said, I have never been on a cruise before, and it seems to me that this would be an ideal way to do, and she has been on a couple of Caribbean tours before, whereas I have not. So.. I need help.

 

Can someone point me in a direction? I have seen that the closest port to Luxor/Karnac seems to be Safaga, Egypt... however I do not know that to be absolutely true.

 

Anyone who can assist me with this beginning of my planning stages here, please sing out!

 

Thank you again in advance...

 

I went on a guided group tour of Egypt last year with Trafalgar Tours. It was 10 nights with 4 nights on a Nile cruise in a riverboat (MS Medea). Since the cruise was part of the package, I didn't have to do anything.

 

Here's a link to the tour I joined: http://www.trafalgartours.com/CAN/DisplayTour?TourID=5175

 

That said, it is very easy to book yourself on a riverboat without joining a group tour. You will have to go to Luxor or Answan (few riverboats make the cruise from Cairo to Luxor, so it'll be more difficult to find those itineraries). My guidebook says that if you are an independent traveller then you can go to the docks and "tour" each boat until you find one that you like. Ask for the hotel manager onboard and ask about room availability and a copy of the itinerary (it's usually Luxor to Aswan with stops at Karnak Temple and Edfu Temple or vice versa, Aswan to Luxor). Most of these cruises are four night cruises (includes all your food and one bottle of water with each meal). Once you reach your destination you will have to book a flight back to Cairo, which is very easy as there are lots of daily flights.

 

Here's a website for more information: http://touregypt.net/egyptnilecruises.htm

[Keith1010]

Yes, you have this right. The closest port of call for Luxor is Safaga and the closest port for Cairo (Pyramids) is Alexandria.

 

Several cruise lines cruise this area and you can also stop off in other ports of interest.

 

We were just in the Middle East earlier this year.

 

As I say various cruise lines do this itinerary.

 

I am not sure your price point but one that we were on earlier this year is Crystal Cruise Lines. A link for an itinerary that they are doing that includes Safaga, and Alexandria for next year is.

 

http://www.crystalcruises.com/cruise_itinerary.aspx?CID=8211

 

This particular itinerary also includes Aqaba, Jordan which from there you can visit the Lost City of Petra which is located a couple of hours from the port. It was also a truly oustanding experience.

 

Keith

[Rickey 88]

A cruise line tour from Safaga to Luxor requires at least 3 hours from the port and then 3 hours back. Even if you were to be able to book an overnight tour, you are still quite limited to the amount of time in Luxor.

 

There is ever so much to see - I would really strongly suggest that you consider a land or river tour instead. With the temples of Karnak, the museums, and both the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, there is far too much for just a "quickie".

 

A Nile cruise can range from just a few days, up to 7 to 10 days depending on your wishes, and can show you much more of what Egypt has to offer. Luxor is usually where you board the Nile boat and usually you will have two or three full days there of fully explore, before moving on to other sights - and don't miss Abu Simbel!

 

:D

[MercedMike]

We are confirmed cruisers. But ... when it came to Egypt, it became obvious that there is sooooo much to see that is not doable from a cruise port! We chose a 10 day tour which included a 4 day cruise on the Nile. We got to Luxor and Karnak with plenty of time to explore both, but so many other places too!

 

Check out

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/egyptmain.html

for our report and pictures.

 

Have a GREAT trip!

[murphysmum]

I think that the ideas expressed in the above noted posts are much more reasonable if your wife wants to spend time in Luxor. Rather than rush a cursory trip to Luxor while doing a Mediterranean cruise, I'd go for a Nile Cruise, perhaps starting with three or four days in Luxor and then boarding the ship for Aswan, which is also worth a couple of days including a side trip to Abu Simbel.

 

My preference is the Oberoi Philae, but there are many fine posts about various cruise ships/Nile cruises for all budgets.

 

You would fly into Cairo, perhaps spend a couple of days there (check out thread for what to do in Cairo) and then fly to Luxor.

 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you enjoy Egypt. It's a magical country.

 

murphysmum;)

[Duranee]

This is wonderful information -- we're just starting to do some "research" for a trip to Egypt next year, and I want to be sure we pick the right venue, itinerary, time of year, etc. etc.

Although we are fairly new to cruising (only three trips in the past), I feel this type of tour (to Egypt) would better if done on land & small river cruises -- not on a large cruise ship; we are currently looking at various travel agencies to see what they offer.

 

We are thinking of next Oct. or very early Nov. for our trip ... does anyone know if this still a "good" time to visit Egypt (e.g. warm weather, not a rainy or cold season)??

 

I have scoped out several itineraries from Tauck Tours (12 days & kind of high-priced); and Vantage Tours (15 days) which also lists many the excursions reviewed above, in this post; Vantage also has a better price than Tauck.

 

"MercedMike" -- can you tell me what tour group or agency you went with??

"Amaranthine33" -- did you like Trafalgar Tours; was it an agency you would use again? I've just started reviewing their web site (thanks to your post), and they seem to have a really good price for a 10 day trip ... but I haven't had time, yet, to compare their itinerary with the others to see if they cover the same excursions (and is 10 days long enough).

Also, we would like to do hook on an extended tour following Egypt, such as the one Vantage & Tauck offers -- a 5 day trip to Jordan; but I'm not sure Trafalgar has anything like that advertised ... will have to look further.

 

Thanks again for all the good info from everyone ... any other tips on Travel Agencies to use is appreciated.

Cindy

[paul929207]

Cindy, we went in March 2006. The weather was delightful. It was warm enough in Cairo (about 70), but not to hot in Aswan (low 90's).

 

We used Grand Circle, and included the pre-trip extension to Israel & post to Jordan. Both were excellent.

[Amaranthine33]

 

"Amaranthine33" -- did you like Trafalgar Tours; was it an agency you would use again? I've just started reviewing their web site (thanks to your post), and they seem to have a really good price for a 10 day trip ... but I haven't had time, yet, to compare their itinerary with the others to see if they cover the same excursions (and is 10 days long enough).

Also, we would like to do hook on an extended tour following Egypt, such as the one Vantage & Tauck offers -- a 5 day trip to Jordan; but I'm not sure Trafalgar has anything like that advertised ... will have to look further.

 

Hi Cindy, I highly recommend Trafalgar Tours! My first trip with them was last year in May to Egypt and I liked it so much that I booked another trip with them to Spain & Portugal in November 2006. Their Egypt tour guides are phenomenal. They are so so so so smart, polite, friendly and speak English very very well. My tour guide (Eman) was an archaeologist and worked at the Temple of Deir el Bahari (Temple of Hatshepsut) in Luxor. We became good friends and still email each other!

 

IMHO, 10 days was enough. My friend and I stayed an extra pre and post and we used those days to relax and shop in Cairo. You MUST go to Abu Simbel (with Trafalgar it's an optional excursion at $200 but TOTALLY worth it. I think there are a couple other tour groups that has it on their normal itinerary). Another good excursion is the Sound & Light show at the Giza Pyramids.

 

I don't think Trafalgar offers an extended trip/excursion to Jordan. However, my friend did that on her own and said it wasn't difficult. She booked her flight from Cairo to Amman and then hired a driver to take her to Petra.

 

Let me know if you have more questions. Here's a link to my pictures from that trip. http://www.pickle.com/stbk1998/104

[MercedMike]

We are thinking of next Oct. or very early Nov. for our trip ... does anyone know if this still a "good" time to visit Egypt (e.g. warm weather, not a rainy or cold season)??

 

I have scoped out several itineraries from Tauck Tours (12 days & kind of high-priced); and Vantage Tours (15 days) which also lists many the excursions reviewed above, in this post; Vantage also has a better price than Tauck.

 

"MercedMike" -- can you tell me what tour group or agency you went with??

 

We were with Globus, and we went in October and the weather was perfect. Tauck, Vantage, Trafalgar and Brendan are also companies with very good reputations. There are a million others offering tours in Egypt too.

 

The ones mentioned above will be used by many American travel agencies. I think this is a trip it is very smart to book with a reputable local agent.

 

Have a GREAT trip!

[lorstamps]

My hubby's Egyptian, and we all went over in '96 for our niece's wedding - in July - NEVER go in the summer - way too hot! We did a Nile cruise, but we started in Aswan, and by the time we got to Luxor I was "templed out" - so I'd love to go again and do the reverse. Luxor/Karnak/Valley of the Kings - all very impressive, so you may want a couple of days to really explore. October/November temps are in the 60s/70s, so that is a good time.

 

Hubby and our youngest son went back last year in May, and had a wonderful trip - they did go to Abu Simbel (flew down one day from Cairo) - that is definitely on my list for a must see the next time we go.

 

Enjoy!

Lori