Join the Nile-high club
Hello, how are you? Welcome to Egypt,’ the fisherman in the row boat below us called, waving so hard we were rather concerned the whole thing might up-end at any moment, tipping him and his supper into the Nile. We all smiled and waved back from the top deck of our cruise boat as we sailed on, past scenery unchanged for millennia: palm trees and fields of crops, mud-brick houses, black buffalo wallowing in the shallows and there in the background, the vast, mountainous desert.
As we turned another bend in the river, an amazing ancient temple, thousands of years old, came into view. Perched right by the Nile, its walls carved with fascinating images and symbols, we all hurried to our cabins to get our hats and cameras, ready for another wonderful excursion.
It’s been a tough 18 months for Egypt’s tourist industry. Following the country’s revolution last year, things are taking time to settle down again but those who have actually taken a holiday here since then – rather than made wild assumptions based on TV news coverage – have not regretted it.
Indeed, with the marvellous sights less crowded, now is a great time to take a Nile cruise. As so many UK tour operators include them in their programmes, you should be able to shop around for a good price, too.
More than 250 boats sail up and down the Nile. The classic seven-night itinerary is to sail from Luxor to Aswan and back. Shorter cruises are available, and the so-called Long Cruise, sailing from Cairo all the way down to Aswan, around 700km to the south, has just been reintroduced after 18 years. (You can also cruise on Lake Nasser.)
Boats vary in size, style and standards: a cheap price generally means a cheap boat. Oberoi Zahra is recognised as one of the best, but it is very expensive. Specialist Discover Egypt offers seven-night and long cruises on Viking Princess and Royal Viking, both very nice indeed, and yacht-style Alexander The Great, which is a bit more pricey.
Abercrombie & Kent has a number of boats, including the boutique Sun Boat III, and again it offers both durations. Bales Worldwide offers dahabeeyahs – much smaller, traditional wooden crafts with half a dozen cabins – it’s worth gathering some friends together and chartering the whole vessel just for yourselves.
Remember, it’s probably the tour operator you choose that will determine what kind of people you’ll be sharing your cruise with.
All meals are included, generally on shared tables, though you can opt for seclusion if you wish. There’ll also be some entertainment on board – Nubian singers and musicians, whirling dervish, belly dancer (of course) and a party night when everyone wears galabeyas, the traditional long robes, and lets their hair down.
Usually, your Egyptologist guides will be with you throughout the cruise, taking guests sightseeing in groups of 20-25, fewer on smaller boats, and making sure everyone is rounded up and back on board afterwards. This means you are well looked after, so a Nile cruise is a great option for the single traveller. But what about the sightseeing, that’s the most important thing, after all?
Egypt is quite simply home to some of the best sightseeing the world has to offer, an awesome selection of tombs, temples and treasures that no other country can equal. If archaeology’s your thing, it’s the holiday of a lifetime. The classic seven-night itinerary takes in all the best bits in Upper Egypt – the Valley of the Kings with tombs bearing exquisite wall paintings, the magnificent temples of Luxor and Karnak, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae – my favourite, on a flower-filled island – and Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple. It costs extra, but don’t miss a chance to see the unforgettable twin temples Abu Simbel, in my opinion as special as the Pyramids of Giza.
You might also visit the Unfinished Obelisk still lying in a bed of granite, Aswan’s huge High Dam and enjoy a felucca ride to the Botanic Gardens on Kitchener Island.
Other optional experiences on offer at extra cost will include a hot-air balloon ride over Luxor and a stunning Sound and Light Show at Karnak Temple.
Book the Long Cruise if you’d like time in Cairo to see the Pyramids and Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Coptic and Islamic Cairo and Memphis. In addition, it encompasses a number of other awesome sights not included on a seven-night cruise.
The Tombs of Beni Hasan are fabulous: 39 tombs of military figures and local rulers carved into limestone hills with extraordinarily vivid wall paintings depicting scenes from daily life, including wine-making, wrestling, fishing and hunting.
You need a bit of imagination to appreciate the significance of Tel El Amarna, where the controversial pharaoh Akhenaten built his palace – there’s actually not much there to see nowadays.
But the temples of Abydos and, in particular, Denderah, are worth seeing. Denderah has also recently been renovated so the colours, especially rich blues, on the walls are stunning.
The Long Cruise also allows you much more cruising time, when you can relax in the sunshine on the top deck and watch the ever-changing scenery. It really is a blissful experience.
I’ll be honest, there are drawbacks… when you’re out and about, the horseand- carriage drivers, the hawkers and stall-holders at assorted sites are as persistent as ever. Sightseeing can start very early to avoid the heat of the sun, which is searing in the summer: winter is definitely the best time to go.
But the pleasures most definitely outweigh the pain. And Egyptians are always extremely pleased to see you…
Getting there
- Abercrombie & Kent offers 10-night Long Cruises in 2013 from £2,495 per person, including flights, plus two nights in Cairo: 0845-485 1143, www.abercrombiekent.co.uk
- Discover Egypt offers Long Cruises between Cairo and Aswan as well as the classic seven-night Nile cruise, which is from £649 per person for Viking Princess and from £799 per person for Royal Viking in 2013, including flights from Gatwick, full board and 10 guided excursions: 0844-880 0461, www.discoveregypt.co.uk