Total Solar Eclipse Majestic Egypt Tour: 14 Days / 13 Nights in Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and on the Nile

A journey of 14 days and 13 nights, from July 30 to August 12, 2027, planned around one of the great natural spectacles of our time: the total solar eclipse on Monday, August 2, 2027. That day the moon hides the sun above Luxor for over six minutes, longer than any totality on land this century.

Your four addresses are among the finest in Egypt. The Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence opens and closes the journey; the grand, brand-new building of the Pyramisa Luxor, right on the Nile, is your home on the three eclipse nights; in Aswan it is the historic Old Cataract or the elegant Tolip Aswan, as your room package sets out; and our own M/S City and Sea Adonis sails privately for this journey from Aswan to Luxor and Dendera. Before and after the eclipse, your own Egyptologist takes you to the Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara and the Grand Egyptian Museum, to Karnak, Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings, and along the way to Abu Simbel, Philae, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Dendera.

The price includes both domestic flights, every transfer and entrance fee, your eclipse glasses and, for eligible nationalities, the visa on arrival, so once you land in Cairo you have nothing more to organise. It is a single departure of 53 rooms in 12 room packages, and when they are gone there will be no others. The itinerary, day by day, has every detail.

It was planned from the start around one week in August, so everything that decides whether an eclipse journey succeeds is already in place:

• Your eclipse nights in Luxor are secured. You spend three nights inside the path of totality on Luxor’s Nile-front, in the Pyramisa’s brand-new building, on the upper floors only and with every room facing the river directly, as our contract guarantees. Rooms in Luxor during eclipse week are among the scarcest in Egypt, and we contracted ours long ago.
• A front-row seat a few steps from your room. Totality is watched in your own hotel’s pool garden on the Nile, under an open sky, without coaches, traffic jams or a crowded public viewing site.
• Every detail of eclipse day in hand. You reach Luxor the day before, nothing else is planned for eclipse day, and we provide two briefings, certified eclipse glasses, refreshments, seating and shade.
• A private sailing on our own ship. Four nights on the M/S City and Sea Adonis, full board with all-inclusive drinks, and nobody aboard except the guests of this journey.
• The best of Cairo. Four nights at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, widely seen as the finest address in the city, and a farewell dinner aboard its First Nile Boat.
• Aswan, beautifully done. Two nights at the Old Cataract, the Nile palace of 1899 that hosted Agatha Christie, or at the five-star Tolip Aswan, according to your room package.
• Quieter temples. We planned the sequence of the journey and the time of each visit against the usual tour pattern, so you see Karnak and Luxor Temple only once the eclipse crowds have gone.
• The same Egyptologist every day, carrying one story all the way from Tutankhamun’s treasures to Abu Simbel.
• Nothing left for you to arrange. Abu Simbel, both domestic flights, each transfer by air-conditioned coach, the visa on arrival for eligible nationalities and all entrance fees in the programme are included, so you never have to book anything or buy a ticket at the gate.
• An operator with a record you can check. We own and run the ship, and our guests give the M/S City and Sea Adonis a 4.9 out of 5 rating across more than 1,100 Google reviews. Our first eclipse journey, meanwhile, was fully booked almost a year ahead of its departure.

No total eclipse over land this century lasts longer, and we built this journey to match it. There is more under The Thinking Behind This Journey.

Yes to both, by design. On a first visit it gives you the whole of Egypt in one journey: the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids of Giza, Abu Simbel and Philae, Luxor’s temples and royal tombs, and four nights on the river itself, all explained by your own Egyptologist, with some of the country’s finest addresses as your base and every detail arranged.

If you have been before, it shows you what most trips leave out: the Grand Egyptian Museum, which officially opened in November 2025, where Tutankhamun’s treasures can be seen together and complete for the first time; Dendera with its astronomical ceiling, on a reach of the Nile that most cruises never sail; a private sailing on our own ship; and, above all, over six minutes of totality above Luxor, which no earlier trip to Egypt could have offered.

Four addresses, every one picked for its setting:

• Cairo: the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, on the Nile’s Giza bank, for two nights when you arrive and two before you leave. Premier Nile Rooms of 54 m² look onto the river through floor-to-ceiling windows (Grand Suite guests have suites), and the hotel offers a pool beside the Nile, a spa and the restaurants of the First Nile Boat.
• Luxor, for the three eclipse nights: the grand, brand-new building of the Pyramisa Luxor, right on the Nile, which opened in 2026. Our rooms there are all on the upper floors, and every one looks straight onto the river.
• Aswan: the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan, whichever your room package names, for two nights while you explore Philae, the High Dam and the river by felucca. The Old Cataract, built by Thomas Cook in 1899, is the Nile palace that hosted Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill; the elegant Tolip Aswan faces the river from the Nile Corniche.
• On the Nile: the M/S City and Sea Adonis, the five-star deluxe ship we own, for four nights, sailing from Aswan to Luxor and on to Dendera with only the guests of this journey aboard.

The rooms and prices section shows, with photographs, exactly which room each package gives you at every address.

The great monuments of ancient Egypt, from the Pyramids all the way to Abu Simbel, each explained by your own Egyptologist and with all entrance fees included:

• Cairo and Giza: the Grand Egyptian Museum, seen fully and without hurry, with Tutankhamun’s galleries, King Khufu’s solar boat and lunch in the museum; the Giza pyramids, followed by lunch at Pyramids Lounge looking over the plateau; the Great Sphinx; and Saqqara, home of the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
• Luxor: on the West Bank, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s temple and the Colossi of Memnon; then Karnak and Luxor Temple, linked by the Avenue of Sphinxes.
• Between Luxor and Aswan: the Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt’s best-preserved temple.
• Aswan: the Aswan High Dam, Philae, the island temple you reach by boat, and a felucca sail in the golden light of late afternoon.
• Abu Simbel: the whole excursion to the temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari, cut into the rock.
• From the ship: the Esna lock, the double temple of Kom Ombo and Dendera’s Temple of Hathor with its celebrated astronomical ceiling.

Visits are set for the cooler hours and timed against the usual tour flow, so there is time to take each site in properly, and the journey ends with a farewell dinner aboard the Four Seasons’ First Nile Boat. For the details, see the itinerary, day by day.

Nearly everything. Your room price pays for the entire programme, with nothing hidden, no surcharges and no tickets to pay for on the spot. Included:

• 13 nights in exactly the rooms your room package names: Cairo’s Four Seasons for 4, Luxor’s Nile-front for 3, the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan for 2 and the M/S City and Sea Adonis for 4.
• The two lunches at the Grand Egyptian Museum and Pyramids Lounge; breakfast daily; full board on the ship with all-inclusive drinks (unlimited soft drinks, water and local alcoholic beverages); eclipse-day refreshments; and the farewell dinner aboard the First Nile Boat.
• Your two domestic flights, from Cairo to Luxor and back, with all taxes and airport fees.
• Transfers and excursions by air-conditioned City and Sea Travel coach, among them the full Abu Simbel excursion.
• A certified Egyptologist with you throughout, and all entrance fees in the programme.
• The eclipse in the Pyramisa Luxor’s pool garden, with certified eclipse glasses, two briefings, and seating and shade on the day.
• A personal welcome each time you land, and for eligible nationalities the entry visa, handled by our team.
• On board, a physician, Wi-Fi and 24-hour guest support, plus the hotels’ service charges and local taxes.
• The currency conversion and every card fee, both paid by us, so the price shown is exactly what you are charged.
• Tips for every driver and the whole crew of the ship.
• Eclipse keepsakes for everyone: a papyrus certificate, a gift package and professional digital photos of the eclipse.

Not included: international flights; lunches and dinners ashore beyond those listed; room service, hotel drinks and personal extras; travel insurance; and the tip for your Egyptologist, left to you. Both full lists are under Included in Your Journey and Not Included in the Price.

No, and that is part of why it works. As with our first eclipse journey, this is a single, complete programme with set dates, July 30 to August 12, 2027, that cannot be shortened, divided or joined halfway. We contracted every hotel night, flight seat and cabin for the whole programme, which is how we managed to hold Nile-front rooms in Luxor during eclipse week in the first place, and the days on either side of the eclipse are what turn a single extraordinary afternoon into a journey you will talk about for years.

The M/S City and Sea Adonis does not run her regular cruises in July and August, which leaves this journey as the only way to sail with us in eclipse week, now that our first eclipse journey is sold out. If you would like longer in Egypt, we are glad to add nights before or after.

The eclipse falls on Monday, August 2, 2027, and few places on earth are better for it than Luxor. The times in Luxor, local time, are:

• About 11:40: the moon begins to move across the sun and the partial phase starts.
• About 13:02 to 13:08: totality, peaking at about 13:05.
• About 14:26: the last of the partial phase ends.

Over Luxor, totality lasts more than six minutes, around double a typical total eclipse and longer than any other totality on land this century. That is long enough to look, to take photographs, to watch the darkened sky and the glow all around the horizon, and still to stand there simply amazed.

Because this eclipse is at its best in Luxor. The sun is fully covered only inside the narrow path of totality, and Luxor sits near the middle of that path, so its totality ranks among the longest of the entire eclipse. Its August skies also rank among the clearest anywhere, and that is why eclipse travellers worldwide picked Luxor over every other place on the path.

Neither Cairo nor Aswan lies in the path. In Aswan more than 99 percent of the sun is covered, in Cairo about 95 percent, and even at 99 percent the experience is completely different: the last thin crescent keeps daylight in the sky and the corona hidden. So you spend three nights in Luxor, arriving the day before the eclipse.

In the Pyramisa Luxor’s own pool garden, beside the Nile and well inside the path of totality. Only steps from your room, you take your place beside the pools with the river ahead of you, feluccas sailing by and the West Bank hills on the far side: as lovely a setting as Luxor offers for the high point of the whole journey.

With the sun almost straight overhead at totality, nothing in the open garden blocks the view of any stage of the eclipse, from the moment the moon first touches the sun at about 11:40, through over six minutes of totality from shortly after 13:00, until the light is fully back. You avoid coaches, traffic and crowded public sites altogether: it is just the Nile, the sky and your fellow travellers.

Your guide and our team are beside you all day, and we bring your certified glasses, refreshments, seating and shade.

It is the reason the journey exists, so nothing else is scheduled and the day begins rested and unhurried:

• On the evening of August 1 you are already in Luxor, and your Egyptologist gathers the group for an eclipse briefing and gives out the certified glasses.
• On the morning of August 2, after breakfast, a last briefing goes through the timings, what to look for overhead and how to watch the partial phases safely.
• From about 11:40 the moon gradually covers the sun, while you sit in the Pyramisa Luxor’s pool garden on the Nile bank with refreshments, seating and shade laid on.
• Shortly after 13:00 comes totality: more than six minutes of darkness at midday.
• Until about 14:26 the sun slowly reappears, and the evening is kept free so you can share the moment and let it settle.

Nothing to catch and no traffic either: your room is a short walk away whenever you want to cool off.

More than any photograph can show. As totality approaches, the light turns oddly silvery and shadows sharpen. Then, in the middle of the day, the sky falls to a deep twilight, the air grows a few degrees cooler and a sunset glow runs right around the horizon. Around the moon’s black disc the sun’s pearly corona appears, visible only during totality. Bright planets show themselves as well: Venus close to the sun, Jupiter further off, and Mercury most likely too.

Over Luxor this lasts more than six minutes, time enough to look, to take photographs and to share the moment with the people beside you. Many who have stood beneath totality describe it as the most moving sight they have ever seen.

Yes, proper certified ones. Every guest is given a free pair of certified eclipse glasses to keep. They come boxed with a cleaning pouch and are handed out at the briefing on the evening before the eclipse.

They conform to the international EN ISO 12312-2 standard for direct viewing of the sun and bear the CE mark. American Paper Optics, which is on the American Astronomical Society’s official list of approved eclipse-safety suppliers, makes them in Bartlett, Tennessee, from lenses manufactured in the USA. You may bring your own certified glasses too, but you need not buy or remember anything, and these make a fine memento of the day.

Only during totality itself, and your guide tells you the moment, so there is no guessing. Keep the certified glasses on for every minute of the partial phase, which starts at about 11:40, until totality begins. Once the last bead of sunlight vanishes, it is safe to remove them and look at the corona directly, the moment this whole journey has been leading to. When sunlight reappears as a first bright point, at about 13:08, they go straight back on.

Sunglasses do not protect your eyes from the sun, however dark they are, and any camera, pair of binoculars or telescope must have a solar filter fitted over the front. We go through all of this in both briefings, so on the day itself you only have to enjoy it.

It is very unlikely. In early August, Upper Egypt has some of the clearest skies anywhere on earth: rain in summer is practically unknown, and satellite cloud records along the eclipse path show average afternoon cloud over Luxor in August of almost zero. That is why eclipse travellers from around the world chose Luxor over every other place on the path. When the sky does spoil things, the culprit is usually thin high cloud or dust.

An eclipse remains a natural event and nobody can command the sky, so the journey goes ahead whatever the weather, as set out in our cancellation terms. Still, few places on earth offer better odds, and with the Nile, the Pyramids, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings all part of it, the journey is well worth taking for its own sake.

Hot and dry, and the journey is built around that. In August, Upper Egypt is genuinely hot and entirely dry; Luxor and Aswan reach afternoon highs of around 41 to 42°C, or 106 to 108°F, while Cairo, at around 35°C (95°F), is milder but more humid. So the sightseeing happens in the best hours, and the hottest ones are spent in comfort:

• Visits are placed in the early morning and late afternoon wherever possible.
• The hottest part of the day is for the pools, shaded terraces, air-conditioned museum halls and the river.
• All coaches, hotel rooms and cabins are air-conditioned.
• Eclipse day comes with seating, shade and refreshments.

Dry heat feels kinder than the same temperature in humid air, but it still deserves respect: drink plenty and often, and wear a hat and loose, light clothes. Our guide to what to pack for a Nile cruise was written with exactly this season in mind. And it is this same dry, clear summer air that gives Luxor its excellent chance of a cloudless eclipse.

Certainly. Totality lasts more than six minutes, so you can both photograph it and simply watch. In the Pyramisa’s open pool garden, with the sun nearly overhead, nothing blocks the line from your lens to the sky. The briefings cover the timings and how to keep both eyes and camera safe:

• During every partial phase, every camera, phone and lens must have a proper solar filter over the front, in the same way your eyes need the certified glasses.
• The filter comes off only during totality, when you photograph the corona.
• As the sun will be almost overhead, pack a tripod head able to tilt and point straight up, and practise at home with your camera before you travel.

Photography at temples and museums follows the rules the authorities set on the day.

You may bring a telescope, binoculars, cameras and a tripod as personal items for your own use, packed in your own luggage. They travel entirely at your own responsibility, and we bear no responsibility for them, including any decision by Egyptian customs and any loss, theft or damage.

During the partial phases, any telescope or binoculars need a proper solar filter on the front; never look through optics without one, even with eclipse glasses on. What may enter Egypt is decided by Egyptian customs, so carry a short list of your equipment with its serial numbers in case you are asked. Tripods are not allowed in museums and at many sites, including the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Please do not bring a drone: taking one into Egypt without prior government permission is illegal, and drones are usually confiscated on arrival at the airport.

There are 53 rooms in 12 room packages, and every package is a complete set, with photographs: the Four Seasons room in Cairo, the Nile-front room in Luxor, the room at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan and the cabin aboard the M/S City and Sea Adonis, so you know before you reserve exactly what you get at every address.

• Doubles for two sharing, which make up the great majority: starting with the Classic Doubles on the Main Deck and the Middle Deck, then the Deluxe and Grand Doubles, and at the top the two Signature Doubles, each of which includes a full suite in the Old Cataract’s historic Palace Wing in Aswan.
• Three solo rooms for travellers who would like each address to themselves.
• Two Grand Suites, which give you the largest suites of the journey at every address, among them the only two suites on board.

Each price is per person, two sharing, with the room total next to it. Once a room package sells out it cannot be had again, so if one appeals to you, reserve it while you still can. All room packages are in the rooms and prices section.

It is simpler than it looks, because the room packages rise in clear steps. Begin with whatever matters most to you:

• Your cabin. All double room packages come with a 22 m² Deluxe Cabin that opens onto the Nile through a French balcony; the higher your deck, the higher the view, from the Main Deck and the Middle Deck up to the Upper Deck, whose cabins have direct access to the Sun Deck pool.
• Aswan. The beautiful Tolip Aswan gives you a Superior Nile View Room; the Old Cataract, Aswan gives you a room or suite in its historic Palace Wing of 1899, from garden rooms up to Nile-view suites.
• Cairo and Luxor do not change between the double room packages: at the Four Seasons a 54 m² Premier Nile Room, and at the Pyramisa a room with a direct front Nile view. Only the Grand Suites have suites in those two cities as well.

The fastest route is Help me choose my room, right above the room cards. Answer a few quick questions (who is travelling, what you want to spend and what matters most) and it shows your best fit among the rooms still free, then ranks the others. It sits in the rooms and prices section. If you would still like personal advice, write to us, because we know each of these rooms well.

On this page. A room package can be reserved until its card shows Sold out, and the card changes by itself the moment its last room is taken. Help me choose my room uses the same live data, so when your top choice has gone, it shows the nearest room still open.

Every room is sold individually, so reserving is the only way to be certain of the one you want.

Your room package fixes the deck and cabin category on board and the room at each hotel; we assign the exact cabin before departure.

Booking separately from friends or family? Let us know under Notes to Organizer as you reserve, and we will keep you near one another wherever your room packages allow, travelling in one group with one Egyptologist. Sharing a journey like this with people you love is half its joy, and we will do all we can to make that easy.

Yes. Most double rooms can be set up either with one large bed or with two separate beds. Let us know your preference under Notes to Organizer when you reserve, and we confirm it with each property, so every room is ready as you like it.

This departure is made up of double and single rooms, so no room takes more than two guests, which keeps each room comfortable at every address. For three travellers we suggest a double room plus a solo reservation, which keeps you close together at every hotel and on the ship, in one group with one Egyptologist, while the third person has a room of their own. Write to us and we will work out the best arrangement for you.

Very good options. With one of the three solo rooms you have every address all to yourself: a Premier Nile Room at the Four Seasons, a Nile-front room in Luxor, a room at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan and a single cabin on board, all of them yours alone, the cabin measuring 22 m², like every Deluxe Cabin. Two of these solo rooms pair a Middle Deck cabin with the Tolip Aswan; the third pairs an Upper Deck cabin with a garden room in the Old Cataract, Aswan.

Per person a solo room costs more than sharing, since one traveller instead of two carries the cost of every room at every address. Even so, it costs noticeably less than two guests pay together for a similar double room. You are only ever alone when you want to be: your small group and your Egyptologist are the same every day, and eclipse day, the briefings and the meals on board are shared with people who came for the same reason. As there are only three solo rooms on the entire departure, we recommend reserving early.

She is the five-star deluxe Nile ship we own, built in the classic style of river travel’s golden age: a glass-domed marble reception hall, salons with high ceilings, fine woodwork, and every modern comfort out of sight. On this journey she sails privately, carrying only the guests of this departure.

• All cabins face the Nile: 22 m², each with a private French balcony with full-height glass doors that open completely onto the river, climate control, a seating area by the balcony and a bathroom en suite with a rain shower. Not one cabin is an interior or lower-deck cabin.
• The Sun Deck, one of the biggest on the Nile, with the pool above the bow, plus a Jacuzzi and a bar, shaded loungers, and views open on every side.
• A panoramic lounge bar behind floor-to-ceiling windows, and a restaurant with Egyptian and international cooking.
• Built for quiet: the engine room is insulated, so you fall asleep to the sound of the river.
• On board for the whole cruise: a physician, 24-hour guest support, free Wi-Fi and a specialist dedicated to hygiene and quality.

Explore her on the Our Ship and Deckplan pages.

Yes, in writing. On the three nights that matter most, you are in the grand, brand-new building of the Pyramisa Luxor, right on the Nile, which opened in 2026 inside the path of totality. A firm agreement that allows no substitution holds our rooms: upper floors only, and from every room a direct front view of the river. Every evening the sun goes down behind the West Bank hills straight ahead of you. The two Grand Suites have the hotel’s Jacuzzi Suites, each with its own private outdoor Jacuzzi.

During eclipse week, when Luxor rooms rank among the hardest to find in Egypt, a promise like this is exactly what you want on paper. And on eclipse day you do not have to go anywhere: you simply walk down to the hotel’s pool garden on the Nile to watch it.

Yes, children are very welcome: a total eclipse is a memory a family keeps forever. Please note that while our regular Nile cruises have separate prices for adults and children, there are no child prices on this eclipse journey, so every guest, whatever their age, pays the full price per person.

Relaxed, and arranged around the best hours. Most days begin after an early breakfast, with excursions leaving between about 7:30 and 8:30, so the sites are seen in the soft light of morning, before it gets hot. You are usually back by early afternoon, when the pool, the Sun Deck or a hotel terrace take over for the hottest hours, and a few things are kept for the gentler light of late afternoon, the felucca sail in Aswan among them.

Two days are deliberately different: Abu Simbel on August 6 begins before dawn, and eclipse day revolves around totality shortly after 13:00. The arrival day is entirely free, and each evening your Egyptologist confirms the next day’s timing with the group, so you always know what is coming.

Plenty, and at some of Egypt’s finest tables. Included are:

• Breakfast every day, both at the hotels and on the ship.
• Full board while you cruise: breakfast, lunch and dinner on every cruise day, together with all-inclusive drinks: unlimited soft drinks, water and local alcoholic beverages.
• Lunch at Pyramids Lounge, looking out over the Pyramids of Giza, and lunch at the Grand Egyptian Museum.
• Refreshments on eclipse day, plus snacks and drinks at the Edfu stop.
• A farewell dinner aboard the First Nile Boat, the Four Seasons’ restaurant boat on the Nile.

Meals on land other than these, and hotel drinks, are not part of the package, so you are free to try the hotels’ restaurants as you please, from Cairo’s First Nile Boat to the riverside terraces of Luxor and Aswan.

Yes, gladly, and at no extra cost. We cater on the ship and at every included meal for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other diets, and for allergies, and the ship’s chefs cook individual dishes when needed. Tell us under Notes to Organizer when you reserve, and before you arrive, the ship’s kitchen, the hotels and your guide will all know, so there is no need to explain anything at mealtimes.

Yes, and it is one of the high points of the journey. The whole guided excursion to Abu Simbel is part of the price, transport and entrance fees included: Ramses II’s and Queen Nefertari’s two rock-cut temples above Lake Nasser. At the Great Temple four colossal seated statues of the king guard the entrance, each about twenty metres high. You leave before dawn, breakfast is arranged around the departure, and it takes our coach about three and a half hours to cross the Nubian desert southwards, so you arrive ahead of the heat. You are back in Aswan by early afternoon to board the M/S City and Sea Adonis.

Plenty of tours charge extra for Abu Simbel or leave it out; here it is included as a matter of course.

There are 53 rooms on the departure, yet you never tour as one big crowd. At each site you are escorted in groups of no more than 27 guests, each led by its own certified Egyptologist, and you stay with the same group and the same guide from start to finish, so your guide comes to know you and you come to know your fellow travellers.

You get the best of both: a guide’s full attention at the temples, and the good company of other eclipse travellers on board and on eclipse day.

Yes. Your own Egyptologist travels with you from the first day to the last, through Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and the cruise, at every temple and every site. Egypt’s temples tell one connected story, and with one expert carrying it from the Grand Egyptian Museum all the way to Abu Simbel, each new temple builds on what you already know rather than starting again from scratch.

Our Egyptologists are all certified and state-licensed, and all speak fluent English. By the time you leave, yours will seem less a guide than a friend in Egypt.

English, from start to finish. Certified, state-licensed Egyptologists lead every guided visit on this departure in English, at every site as well as in both eclipse briefings, and our team takes care of you in English from the day you arrive until the day you leave.

Much quieter than you might expect, because we planned for exactly this. People will travel to Egypt from all over the world for the eclipse, and most tours keep to one timetable, arriving at the same temples on the same day and at the same hour. We deliberately went against that flow:

• The Grand Egyptian Museum on July 31, ahead of the eclipse-week crowds.
• Karnak and Luxor Temple on August 8, once those crowds have left.
• Edfu and Kom Ombo, visited on the days and at the hours when they tend to be quietest.
• Dendera, on a reach of the Nile that most cruises never sail.

That gives you time to look closely at the reliefs, listen to your guide and come home with the photographs you wanted. Few things separate this journey from an ordinary eclipse tour as clearly, and you will feel the difference at every temple.

Both domestic flights, yes: Cairo to Luxor on August 1, and back from Luxor to Cairo on August 10, both roughly an hour in the air, taxes and airport fees included, with our coach and representatives waiting at both ends. Flying saves two long days of driving, time that goes back into the journey.

Flights to Egypt and home again are not included; since we are IATA accredited, we can book them for you on request.

Book your arrival at Cairo International Airport for July 30, 2027, and your flight home from Cairo for August 12, 2027, or later. Whatever the hour, our representative meets every arrival with a welcome sign and is waiting for you before the baggage belts. On August 12 our coach drives you to the airport in good time for your flight.

Two points to watch when you book: a flight landing after midnight needs the previous night too, and a homeward flight leaving after midnight is dated August 13. Either way, we can book the extra night. Once your flights are booked, send us the flight numbers and we will handle the rest.

On the two included EgyptAir flights you may check one bag of up to 23 kg in economy and carry a cabin bag of no more than 8 kg, though the allowance printed on your ticket is the one that applies. That is plenty for a summer trip in light clothes, and our representatives help you with your bags at every airport.

Yes, with pleasure. As City and Sea Travel is IATA accredited, we can quote and book flights between your home and Cairo, timed to suit the journey; just send us your departure city and dates. Booking them yourself is just as fine, and either way our representative meets you when you land.

Yes, and we would be happy to. Should you wish to arrive earlier or stay on at the Four Seasons, we will book the extra nights at our negotiated rates as long as the hotel has availability: you reserve the journey first, and we then send you a separate payment link for the extra nights, which follow the same cancellation terms as the journey.

For the Red Sea beaches of Hurghada, or a few days of diving, we will make the arrangements, and if Petra and Jordan come next, we will time your departure from Cairo to fit your onward plans. Please book your international flights into and out of Cairo International Airport.

Yes for eligible nationalities, and it could hardly be easier. Our team handles the visa on arrival at Cairo Airport, and it is included: our representative deals with the formalities and gives you your visa as you land, so you need not buy or apply for anything beforehand. Eligible nationalities include citizens of all European Union member states, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway, the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Japan, South Korea and Singapore, among others.

If your nationality does not qualify for a visa on arrival, please obtain your visa in advance from your nearest Egyptian embassy or consulate; we are happy to supply any supporting documents you need. Your passport has to be valid for at least six months after you leave Egypt and have at least one blank page. The details are in our guide on Egypt visas, safety and tipping.

Yes, of course. At checkout we ask only for each traveller’s name, date of birth and nationality, plus an email address, never for passport details, which you add after reserving in your own private, secure guest form. There is no need to wait and perhaps lose the room you want: reserve now, then enter the new passport details in the guest form when it arrives, no later than two months before departure.

Yes. Millions of travellers from around the world visit Egypt each year, and its main tourist cities, Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, are busy with visitors every day. The U.S. Department of State places Egypt at Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution”, a level it currently also gives the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. It advises against travel only to the border zones, the North and Middle Sinai, and the Western Desert unless you are with a licensed tour company, all a long way from anywhere on this journey.

And with us you are never on your own: from arrival to departure your Egyptologist and our team accompany you at every step, you ride in our air-conditioned City and Sea Travel coaches, and tourist police are on duty at the sites. As with any trip abroad, check your government’s latest travel advice before you go; and, to put your mind fully at rest, our cancellation terms also cover the case of an official warning from your home country against all travel to Egypt, or to Cairo, Luxor or Aswan.

A qualified physician is on board for the whole cruise, along with 24-hour guest support and a dedicated hygiene and quality specialist. On land, help is arranged by your Egyptologist and our team, who are with you daily, whenever it is needed, so it is never far off. Pack enough of any personal medication for the whole trip and keep it in your hand luggage, and we strongly recommend travel insurance that covers medical evacuation.

Travelling from Europe, North America or Australia, you need no vaccinations to enter Egypt; a yellow fever certificate is only needed when you come from a country where yellow fever is a risk. Bodies such as the US CDC advise travellers to be up to date with routine vaccines, and most to have hepatitis A and typhoid too, and the World Health Organization certified Egypt free of malaria in 2024.

Your doctor or a travel clinic can advise you personally. Drink bottled water, which you always find on board, and beyond that Egypt only asks you to bring a hat, sun cream and lots of water.

Egypt asks something of every traveller: the temple sites mean walking on old stone and uneven ground, and, as on the classic Nile ships, the decks are linked by stairs, not an elevator. Shower chairs are available on board on request, and an electric tram runs from the entrance of the Valley of the Kings to the tombs.

Tell us about your needs before you reserve, and we will tell you honestly what will and will not work, and small arrangements often solve a great deal. We would far rather plan it properly with you than have you find a difficulty on the day.

Travel light and dress for the sun: loose, light, breathable clothing, a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen with a high factor and comfortable, closed shoes for the uneven ground at the temples. The temples have no formal dress code, though religious sites appreciate covered shoulders and knees. In the evenings, on board and at the hotels, the style is relaxed smart casual, and swimwear is for the pools. Your personal medication belongs in your hand luggage. You will find the full list in our packing guide, what to pack for a Nile cruise.

Tips for every driver and the whole crew of the ship are included, so you never need to work out a tip along the way. Only the tip for your Egyptologist is left out, and it is entirely up to you. There is more in the guide on Egypt visas, safety and tipping.

All straightforward. Egypt’s currency is the Egyptian pound. Hotels and the ship accept cards widely, you will find cash machines easily in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, and it helps to have small notes for tips. Egyptian sockets use the European round two-pin plug, at 220 volts; if your plugs differ, pack an adapter for the hotels. The ship’s cabins come with universal sockets and USB ports, and Wi-Fi on board is free.

Online, in a few minutes, with immediate confirmation:

1. In the rooms and prices section, choose your room package and click its Reserve button; the checkout then opens with that room preselected.
2. Enter how many are travelling: 2 for a Grand Suite or a double room, 1 for a solo room.
3. Give each traveller’s name, date of birth and nationality and an email address, and list any wishes under Notes to Organizer, for example one large bed or twin beds, or a special diet.
4. Add travel insurance if you would like it, and pay either the 40 percent deposit or the whole amount.

The confirmation email arrives at once and the room is yours. As rooms are sold one by one, the earlier you reserve, the more likely you are to get the room you want. All the steps are explained under Booking and Paying.

Every room is sold individually at the price published beside it on this page, the same for every guest, and the price you reserve at is the price you pay: it can never go up once your room is reserved. The remaining rooms of the same package may be repriced as the departure fills, so the only way to secure today’s price is to reserve. Our first eclipse journey sold out almost a year before departure.

No. For the 2027 eclipse we run just two journeys, this one and our first eclipse journey, which is already sold out, and there will be no third. In eclipse week, hotel rooms, ships and flight seats are among the scarcest things in Egypt, and most have already been taken. We started early: we researched every address and booked the ship, hotels and flight seats for our guests well in advance. When the rooms on this departure are taken, we have nothing more to offer for this eclipse, so anyone who wants to see the sun disappear over Luxor on August 2, 2027 should reserve now.

Flexible, so you can secure your room today and spread the rest. Every room is paid in three steps, or in full at booking if you prefer:

• 40 percent at booking, which secures your named room.
• 30 percent on January 15, 2027.
• The final 30 percent on April 15, 2027.

You can choose to have the two later payments charged automatically on their due dates. Paying in full makes no difference to the price and never puts you at a disadvantage if you have to cancel. A reservation made after a due date settles that payment at booking. Full details: Reservation Terms.

We understand that plans can change, and we want you to book with complete peace of mind.

Cancellation fees are a percentage of the room price, never of the amount already paid, and rise in steps:

• Until January 14, 2027: we retain 25 percent and refund 15 percent after the deposit (75 percent if you paid in full)
• January 15 to April 14, 2027: we retain 50 percent and refund 20 percent after the second payment (50 percent if you paid in full)
• April 15 to May 31, 2027: we retain 75 percent and refund 25 percent
• From June 1, 2027: we retain 100 percent (no refund)

Whatever you have paid beyond the fee is refunded in full, and on the payment plan no fee ever exceeds what you have paid by that date. One more promise protects you:

• Force majeure: if, after you reserve, the government of your home country issues an official warning against all travel to Egypt, or to Cairo, Luxor or Aswan, that is still in force within 30 days of your departure, 95 percent of the total amount already paid is refunded; in all other cases, the standard cancellation terms apply.

To cancel, write to us at booking@nilecruiseship.com; the date we receive your email is the date that counts, and refunds go back to your original payment method, usually within 5 to 10 business days. An eclipse is a natural event, so clouds or dust cannot lead to a refund. The full terms are in Cancellation Terms.

Whichever suits you, securely online at checkout:

• Credit and debit cards: Visa, Mastercard and American Express, as well as Discover, Diners Club, JCB and UnionPay
• Google Pay and Apple Pay
• Bank payments: ACH in the United States, BACS in the United Kingdom, and SEPA, iDEAL and Bancontact in Europe

Prices are quoted in US dollars, and you may pay in your own currency at that day’s exchange rate; we pay the conversion and all card fees, so you are charged exactly the price shown. Some banks hold back a large payment until you approve it. If a payment is declined for that reason, a short call to your bank normally clears it.

You do not need it to reserve, but we strongly advise full travel insurance with medical evacuation cover, ideally taken out within 21 days of your deposit so that the widest cover stays open to you. Our US partner, Trawick International, offers optional insurance right in the checkout, so you can add it in moments as you reserve, or use your own insurer if you prefer. This is a journey of high value around a date that cannot be moved, exactly the situation insurance exists for.

The room is yours from that moment. Your confirmation is sent immediately to the email address you entered, so please use the one you read most often.

You then receive a private guest form made for your reservation alone, which only your personal secure link opens. In it you fill in, whenever it suits you, the arrival and departure details, every traveller’s passport information and any dietary needs, saving as you go and returning whenever you like to complete or change it. Your details travel over a secure connection, are kept strictly confidential and are used only to arrange your journey, never shared for any other purpose.

Our team will contact you personally about anything still to be settled, and your second and third payments fall due on January 15 and April 15, 2027, unless you paid in full. All that remains is to look forward to it.

Yes. You can hand your place to another traveller free of charge until two months before departure: just send us the new guest’s details, and your room and everything included pass to them unchanged.

Both journeys centre on the one total eclipse of Monday, August 2, 2027, over Luxor, and on both you are guided by our own Egyptologists, but the programmes are different:

• Total Solar Eclipse Grand Egypt Tour (our first journey, sold out): July 27 to August 7, 2027, 12 days, centred on 7 nights on the Nile aboard the M/S City and Sea Adonis.
• Total Solar Eclipse Majestic Egypt Tour (this journey): July 30 to August 12, 2027, 14 days, with 4 nights at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, 3 on Luxor’s Nile-front, 2 in Aswan at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan, and 4 nights sailing privately on the M/S City and Sea Adonis.

The essentials are the same on both: our own team, our own ship and a totality of more than six minutes over Luxor. With the first journey sold out almost a year ahead, this is the one way left to see the eclipse with us.

Neither is better: they are two different programmes for the same eclipse, and on each you watch totality over Luxor with our own Egyptologists beside you. The first journey, the Total Solar Eclipse Grand Egypt Tour, lasts 12 days and is built around 7 nights on the Nile; it was fully booked almost a year ahead of departure. The Total Solar Eclipse Majestic Egypt Tour runs longer, 14 days, and is built on four addresses: in Cairo the Four Seasons, at the beginning and the end; three eclipse nights on Luxor’s Nile-front; two Aswan nights at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan; and four nights sailing privately on the M/S City and Sea Adonis. Of the two, it is also the only one still open, and if the eclipse framed by some of Egypt’s finest addresses is what you want, it is the one we would pick ourselves.

Yes, provided the journey you want has space. Our first eclipse journey is already sold out, so moving onto it is only possible if someone cancels. Write to us at booking@nilecruiseship.com and we will explain how to switch and how your payments are carried over, including any price difference. We will keep it as simple as possible.

City and Sea Travel, a family-run tour operator from Egypt, founded in 2010, which owns and operates the M/S City and Sea Adonis. We hold a licence from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism (Licence No. 2041, Category A), are IATA accredited, are an Associate Member of USTOA, the United States Tour Operators Association, belong to NTA, the National Tour Association, and are a certified member of ETAA, the Egyptian Travel Agents Association. Because the ship is ours and we plan every journey ourselves, whoever answers your first email will be among the people welcoming you in Egypt.

Guests give the M/S City and Sea Adonis a 4.9 out of 5 rating across more than 1,100 Google reviews, and Tripadvisor rates her 4.8 out of 5, with its Travelers’ Choice 2026 award. We filled our first eclipse journey almost a year ahead, and you will find this journey on NationalEclipse.com’s official 2027 Eclipse Cruises and 2027 Eclipse Tours pages. Travel advisors from Virtuoso® member agencies in the US booked their own clients on our first eclipse journey. You can read our guest reviews, or get to know the ship herself on Our Ship.

Yes. Travel advisors are welcome to book for their clients. Please ask your advisor to email us at booking@nilecruiseship.com before booking, so we can set everything up properly from day one, and we will take as much care of your advisor as we do of you.

For groups, companies, travel agencies and partnership enquiries, please email booking@nilecruiseship.com, telling us briefly who you are and what you are planning. We answer personally and look forward to hearing from you.