Nour El Nil: Malouka | Nile Cruise Review

When my husband, Layton, and I planned our dream trip to Egypt, sailing down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan was at the top of our list of things to do. We couldn’t help but imagine ourselves as a modern-day Anthony and Cleopatra lounging around on an open-air deck, drinking hibiscus tea and eating delicious treats while sailing down the life source of Egypt. This over-romanticization may sound a little ridiculous, but it is entirely attainable when you book a river cruise with Nour el Nil.

But what makes Nour el Nil different from other river cruises?

There are two major differences: size of the ships and length of the cruise.

Many other luxury Nile river cruises are large, multistory ships with sealed cabins, modern dining rooms, nightclubs, and pools. Yes it is upscale but perhaps missing an important factor: authenticity. Nour el Nil strives to offer guests an intimate kind of luxury experience by sailing traditional Egyptian dahabiyas (boats which have been sailing the Nile for centuries), impeccable service, and delicious food. Also, being a much smaller ship, the Nour el Nil dahabiyas are able to access many more stop along the river, meaning you get to see more ancient sites and local villages. 

Nour el Nil also offers one of the longest sailing time between Luxor and Aswan – a total of six days. Most other Nile river cruises are three or four days. 

How much does it cost?

Prices to cruise with Nour el Nil start at €1,200 per person and go up to €2,400 per person. The price varies depending on time of the year, but the ones I’ve just listed are during regular season. To give you some kind of reference, the cheapest Nile cruises start at around €600 for three days. 

Was it worth it?

The Nour el Nil fleet consists of six traditional Egyptian dahabiyas – Assouan, El Nil, Malouka, Meroe, Agatha, and Adelaide. The dahabiyas of Nour el Nil, while differing in size, each provide guests with comfort and luxury. During our cruise, we had the pleasure of calling the Malouka our home.

This 45 x 7 meter dahabiya offers 8 luxury rooms and 2 panoramic suites. Most ships of the Nour el Nil fleet accommodate a maximum of 20 guests. We stayed in one of the luxury rooms, which is available in a king bed or twin bed setup. The rooms have large, sliding windows offering views of the Nile and includes an en-suite with shower, toilet, closet, wall-to-wall mirror, and fans. 

The deck upstairs is a common area meant for lounging – lined with chandelier and decorated with rugs, armchairs, daybeds, throw pillows, and hammocks – all covered by an awning that shields you from the sun. While relaxing in style, members of the Egyptian crew are eager to offer delicious hibiscus tea, snacks, or a cool towelette in order to help make your experience that much more enjoyable.

For a little more privacy, there is a salon downstairs next to the bedrooms. This room has comfortable red and white striped couches, a library of mostly french books, board games, and large windows so you can still enjoy the views. 

Every morning we woke up to a family-style breakfast with eggs cooked to order. Fresh fruit, local breads, oatmeal, and eggs were our go-to foods during the morning before we started the day. Lunch varied depending on whether we were in a village or on the boat. When in the village, we would stop by a local area or visit a local host family who had a quick bite to eat prepared for us. When on the boat, our lunch ranged from yummy sandwiches to koshari (rice and chicken). While lunch was always a crowd favorite with our group, it was really dinner that provided an amazing experience. Multiple times we would dock along the shore and have dinner under the stars along the bank of the Nile. Dinners ranged from bbq to stuffed pigeon. The food was a real highlight of our cruise.

I wouldn’t do the cruise justice if I didn’t mention the hibiscus tea. While there are a lot of drink options on the cruise, I had never had hibiscus tea before so on the first day I decided to give it a try. To my amazement, it is my favorite tea in the world and I would 100% go back just to drink more (when I try to make it at home it just isn’t the same). 

Photos by fellow cruise passenger Carly Walter

The Nour el Nil service was phenomenal. Always there with a smile and a friendly greeting, the crew made our trip effortless by providing us with food, drinks, entertainment, and anything else we might need. 

One evening they docked us on the bank of the Nile and set up a bunch of hookahs and bonfires for us to just star-gaze around. On another night, they did a huge Egyptian party with live music and dancing for hours. They also filled one of our pre-dinner evenings with a soccer game on the shore, which allowed us to swim in the Nile, play soccer, and eat bbq. A truly unique experience!

I also had a few special requests that the crew helped with during our stay. I knew I wanted to get photos of our ship, so the crew actually took me out on the dinghy during sunset so I could snap the photos I wanted! 

From housekeeping to cooking to tour guiding to soccer players, the crew and their attentive service really made Nour el Nil special to us. And while most of the crew did not speak English fluently, there was one who did and he would keep us updated on our itineraries and relay any needs or requests to the rest of the crew. 

Looking to relax and go with the flow (literally down the Nile). Cruising with Nour el Nil is very slow paced. After floating down the Nile for a day, the river and surrounding banks start to look the same. Obviously you’re able to get on and off to explore lesser known ruins and local villages. However, the majority of your time is spent on the boat. There are board games and books to keep you entertained but if you’re someone who can’t sit still, you may find the cruise awfully boring. While there is an itinerary, you never really get a great idea of the daily timeline.

Interested to learn about more than just Ancient Egypt. As I mentioned earlier, your time off the boat is split between venturing through lesser known ruins and visiting local villages. When you get off the boat, you follow your guide down a path through farmland and into a small town. There’s not necessarily any sites to see, but you’ll have a chance to wander around through the streets and even get the chance to meet some locals. This is a great opportunity to learn about their culture and see how Egyptians in the area live on a daily basis. 

Excited to get to know your fellow passengers. There are 10 to 20 passengers on each ship. You eat each meal with them, go on the same tours with them, and share a relatively small boat with them. To say the least, you get to know them relatively well in a short period of time. On our boat, there were 4 couples, one family of 4, and a solo traveler, all of which were living in the US at the time. The kinds of people who take a Nour el Nil cruise have unique stories, backgrounds, and conversations. For us, it was a great experience! If you like meeting new people and making friends, Nour el Nil would be a great fit.

• Pack warm clothes. It get’s colder than you think when you’re on the water. Especially in the mornings and evenings. So be sure to pack a warm jacket, pants, and socks. 
• Bring lots of cash. Most of the entree fees to ruins and shops along the bank do not take card, only cash. 
• Tipping. It’s normal to tip €100 for each person in a cabin, so be sure to have enough cash for that as well. 
• The ship doesn’t sail (most of the time). While the boats are sail boats, you do get towed by a smaller ship with a motor when there’s not enough wind to fill the sails. Unfortunately, that happened more than 70% of the time. It might have been that the time of year we visited wasn’t very windy. However, the sailing aspect of the experience wasn’t as ‘peaceful’ as it was portrayed online. 

At the end of the day, you can get from Luxor to Aswan in a lot of different ways. Trains, planes, and automobiles are all an option. However, sailing down the Nile is something mankind has been doing for thousands of years. To have the chance to take part in something with this much history and provide such an iconic experience isn’t easily passed up. If you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, cruise down the Nile with Nour el Nil.

Thank you so much to Nour el Nile for a wonderful experience!  As always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Angie xoxo