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Egypt is best seen in Nile cruises. It shows you the modern face of Egypt with an ancient backdrop. Recent price drop led to the advantage of seeing the land, the Egyptian valleys, temple, tomb, pyramid closely than the vertical view of flying over. You can come out of the luxurious cruise and walk the lane of history. In the Egyptian land, people still practice agriculture with wooden ploughs and return to their mud-brick houses at the end of the day.

The Nile Cruises are available in different packages. You can choose a short tour of three to four days or opt for a seven to fourteen days cruise. The longer cruises generally include tours around Cairo. Here you can see the pyramids, museums and visit the valleys, tucked into the middle of nowhere.

You can gear up your adventurous side hiring a Felucca. Feluccas are the ancient Egyptian sailboats. These boats provide crisp and short tours along the Nile river, between Aswan and Luxor. You can enjoy the beautiful night and the starlit sky sleeping on the open ship deck.

On the other hand, the floatal hotel Nile cruises provides all the luxury one can ask for. The bigger ships usually have swimming pools, air conditioning systems, gymnasium, TV and a gala night life to add to. The nightlife in most of the cruises accommodates Nubian shows, belly dancing, fancy dress and cocktail parties. The food satisfies all kind of palate.

The peak season of the Nile cruise is from October to mid April. After mid April the long tour in the boats are closed owing to the falling water levels. However, you can always enjoy the shorter cruises

To know this ancient land it is best to hire a tourist guide along with you. Try taking a packaged tour where food to transportation is taken care off. You can book the best and the safest cruises between US$ 60 to US$ 180 per night per person. Cabins, which are away from the engine room, are the best and most comfortable.

The basic Cruise options are:

3 Night cruise:  This cruise normally plies from Aswan to Luxor. The sights visited are The High Dam, The unfinished Obelisk and Temple of Philae, Temple of Kom Ombo, Edfu Temple and Esna Temple, The Valley of King, Valley Of Queens, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

4 Nights Cruise: This cruise start from Luxor and ends at Aswan. In this extra time you can visit the Temple of Luxor, the temple of Karnak, along with the places one can see in the three night cruise. You can also opt for Botanical Island and Nubian Village, elephantine Island and the tombs of the nobles.

7 Nights Cruise: This is from Luxor to Aswan or vice versa. This river cruise in The Nile is basically to enjoy the same tour more leisurely. You can relax in between the land, valley and ancient temple visits.

Food and Drinks options

Food is taken care of by the cruiser and is spread in a buffet style in scheduled time. Tea, coffee are served everyday at 5 pm, however other drinks are to be collected from the bar counter.

Nightlife

Like food, nightlife is also a gala happening in the cruise. Day one starts with a formal introduction session amongst the ship crew and the guests in a manager’s cocktail party. The other nights normally see Galabia parties and Nubian shows. Galabia party is where you can wear traditional Egyptian dresses, unlike the formal dressing cocktail party. Never mind your lack of stock of the Egyptian dresses, you can buy them or rent them as well. Nubian show is followed by belly dancing and singing. You can wear anything you feel free in the days course but dinner demands a formal dressing.

Health and Safety Issues Onboard Cruise Ships

• Egypt is a land of sand and sun so sunscreen and lightweight clothes are advisable.
• Drinks should be enjoyed within limits.
• One with vertigo or equilibrium problem should minimize their staying on the open ship deck. If you have a sleepwalking habit, then you as well choose a cabin without balcony.
• Smoking is strictly prohibited on bed.
• Life jackets are available tucked under bed.
• Doctors are usually available on emergency need.

Things to remember

You should deposit your valuables in the safety deposit box while boarding the cruise boat. Money should be exchanged before the tour. While stopping on land and visiting the land, you can buy Egypt’s exotic and very own collection of mementoes. Here you also need to know how to bargain. Altogether it is a wonderful and ever remembering experience in Egyptian Nile cruises.