El Nil Dahabiya  

With 2 Panoramic Suites, 7 Luxury Rooms and 1 Standard Room, El Nil has something for travellers of all types. The third largest of Nour El Nil’s dahabiyas, built in 2006, El Nil includes an expansive top-deck, comfortable salon, and 10 rooms. Able to accommodate up to 20 guests, El Nil is a sleek, immaculately designed and decorated dahabiya.

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It is hard to overstate the sheer magnificence of sailing down the Nile on one of these glorious dahabiyas, but be assured it’s the trip of a lifetime and a seriously stylish one at that. Seven chandeliers illuminate the deck, while beautifully embroidered cushions and sofas line each side. The idea is that you plonk yourself down, then lose yourself in the raft of images that pass before you. It is highly unlikely that any of the Pharaohs travelled in such style.

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It takes 6 days to meander from Luxor to Aswan. You breakfast in the sun at the front of the ship, then decant to see something wonderful, perhaps a visit to a Pharaonic quarry or an enormous temple that spent centuries buried under sand. You can walk in the desert, swim in the river, visit a farm, sunbathe on the poop deck, and if the wind is blowing, great sails will be unfurled and you will glide across the water in serene silence. Rooms below are small, but you’ll spend your time up on deck, and they are also sweet, with super-comfortable beds and screens to defeat mosquitoes. As for the crew, they’re as good as their boat, a highlight of your cruise.