upstream or downstream assouan luxor? best way?
Replies: 14 - Last Post: Feb 15, 2013 6:01 PM Last Post By: alibass
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upstream or downstream assouan luxor? best way?
is it better to go downstream from Assouan to luxor or opposite way and why.believe the downstream way is a little faster but have the impression that there aren't so many opportunities to jump on boat to luxor as individual? is there any price ticket differences - for one single room? any idea if ticket buy on site without any previous booking due to unplanned route.
thanks.
1
I don't think the direction makes much difference.Tourism is down in Egypt. You'll have no problem going to the docks where the boats are and negotiating a cruise. Make sure you thoroughly inspect the boat.
Good luck.
3
Up- or downstream only is important if you consider a Dahabyia or Felucca.As the Nile winds always blows south: Upstream is smooth sailing,
Downstream is motoring with the wind in your face.
4
I just finished the standard 2 day tour from Aswan to Luxor. Booked it in Aswan 2 days before departure through my hotel. It was great - nice boat, nice room (all to myself), good and plentiful food.Many boats are out of service at the moment because of the dearth of tourists. Most of those looked pretty pitiful while on the river it seemed that all the boats in operation looked pretty good.
PM me if you want the contact details for the tour operator.
Jon
6
It was a refreshing break from the mentally exhausting walking around Aswan and Luxor. I'm actually going to take the train to Asyut tomorrow morning instead of tomorrow night so I can escape again.Also did the Abu Simbel day trip from Aswan. The ride was long but I slept pretty much the whole way there and back. The temples were incredible.
Thanks for all your help, laketraveller.
7
Thanks all, I have postponed my trip to Egypt to mid mid January as flight ticket just double end of last week.hope won't be to cold otherwise please tell me if i should delay it by few weeks?
8
Too cold is a relative term.Where I come from it is below zero degrees right now. It never gets "too cold" for me anywhere in Egypt at any time.
What do you consider too cold?
9
JonMW, can you elaborate on mentally exhausting ?Do you mean the heat, or the hawkers/touts, or ... ?
How was Asyut?
11
Simsy described perfectly what I meant. I'm in India now and the hassle factor is nil compared to Aswan and Luxor.Asyut was an extremely brief stop. I left Luxor on a late morning train thinking I could connect to an 8 pm bus leaving Asyut for the oases departing from the adjacent bus station. The train was late, next bus dep. 10 or 11 am so I was stuck for the night. Looked at a couple of hotels that were full then had the misfortune of running into a police officer at one of the hotels who insisted I needed an escort. I had already spoken to 2 cops asking for directions so this was a surprise. Eventually we found a vacancy at Zamzam hotel - very basic, something like 70 LE, and lots of street noise.
He then took me to dinner and while we were eating I could have sworn he softly uttered, "Money." I must have been imagining it except that he said it again 5 minutes later so I knew what was coming. When it was time to pay he asked me with no shame if I "would help the policemen." No way, José. At that point I figured the escorting was a scam to get tourists to pay for their dinner. He took me almost all the way back to the hotel and I never saw him again.
12
Forgot to ad that I wish I had ponied up the 300-400 LE for a service taxi straight to Kharga and caught the morning bus from there to Dakhla. I briefly entertained the idea while still in Luxor but my cheapness won out. 2 or more people - do it.14
Thanks for the response. Having lived in India (70s/80s) I can appreciate the contrast. As one fellow once told me the best travel accoutrement for North Africa would be 4 Nubian bodyguards :)I like hearing off-the-beaten-path travel stories, as I to do such things as well. I just found out a few days ago that I have the opportunity to stop over in Egypt, so I'm in the process of coming up with a trip plan. Thanks for pointing out Kharga.
Back to the OP, if one were returning to Cairo by train after the trip perhaps it would be better to start in Luxor, then on to Aswan to get the train at it's origination point; this may make it a little easier to get a reserved berth/seat, deal with lateness, people who may have already laid claim to what you have reserved/paid for, etc.
