From the ancient days of the Egyptian pharaohs, river Nile has been a top destination in Egypt travel. Luxury cruises in the Nile are today among the most enjoyable activities while on holiday in Egypt. The cruise affords you the chance to see most of the historical sites of ancient Egypt along the banks of the Nile, while enjoying your Egypt vacation in a relaxed manner. Fully equipped with restaurants, discotheques, lounge bars, shops and swimming pools, the Nile cruise ships are in actual sense floating hotels.

A typical luxury cruise ship in the Nile has air-conditioned rooms, though the rooms are slightly smaller than those of ordinary Egypt hotels based on land. The rooms have adequate space for twin beds, a private shower, nightstand and dresser, and a television. Like hotels and lodges, the cruisers are star graded according to their quality. Most of the top rated (5-star) cruisers are nearly as equipped as the luxury ocean cruise ships. Many travelers to Egypt agree that the Nile cruisers' romance setting is superior to that of any other riverboats in the world.

Nile cruises may take three nights, four nights, or seven nights. On the trip, you will get to see a good number of the important sites and monuments of ancient Egypt especially on the more popular and considerably shorter cruise between Luxor and Aswan. If you are on a budget or have an adventurous heart, you may opt for sailing the Nile in a felluca " the traditional nile sailing vessels. The felluca option lacks most of the amenities of the luxury boats, but helps you save on costs.

One of the best starting points for your Nile cruise is Aswan city. The deep and calm river Nile is at its most glorious at Aswan, a city that has for long been the gateway between Egypt and the Southern parts of Africa. The region from Aswan southwards was often referred to as Upper Egypt, being upstream of the Nile. Further downstream, the Nile goes through hard rock surface, resulting in cataracts and rapids.

Aswan is the home of a dark-skinned people, the Nubians, who are related to the people of Northern Sudan. The Nubian museum is one of the historical attractions in Aswan. The museum highlights the culture of Nubians from ancient days. At Elephantine island, you can also see a number of traditional Nubian villages.

Kom Ombo is another historical site along the Nile, situated about 48km north of Aswan. Its main attraction is the Greco-Roman temple, whose construction was started in the second century BC by Ptolemy VII. A number of successive Roman emperors contributed to completing its construction, including emperor Augustus around 30BC.

The Temple of Kom Ombo actually consists of two separate temples, each with its own entrance, colonnades, hypostyle hall and sanctuary. The southern temple is dedicated to Sobek -the crocodile god, while the northern one honours Horus - the falcon god. If you have not seen mummies before, be sure to see the mummified crocodiles in the Sobek part of the temple.

Your next stop and highlight of the Nile cruise is Luxor. The range, magnificence and diversity of the monuments in the Luxor area is unsurpassed in all of Egypt. Known to the Greeks as Thebes, Luxor became the capital of Egypt at around 2040 BC. The city survived the sacking by the Assyrians in the 7th century BC, but steadily declined, and was finally destroyed by the Romans in the first century BC.

Among the celebrated monuments dating from Luxors heydays are the necropolis complexes at the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and Tombs of the Nobles. You will also come across some outstanding temples scattered in the region. The Egyptians buried their dead in the direction of the setting sun and the west bank at Luxor was the final resting place of royalty and high officials.

The best time to take a Nile cruise is over the cooler months of November to March. These are also the peak months and it is advisable to start out early each day to avoid crowds. When visiting the monuments, you are advised to hire a guide who will explain the historical context at each site. The services of a guide are usually included on a Nile Cruise package.