Arrive in Luxor and transfer to your five-star ship for check-in. In the afternoon you visit the vast temple complex of Karnak, then the elegant Luxor Temple, especially atmospheric as it lights up at dusk. Return on board for dinner and your first night on the Nile.

After breakfast, cross to the West Bank for the Valley of the Kings, where pharaohs including Tutankhamun were buried in richly painted rock-cut tombs. Continue to the striking terraced Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Back on board, the ship sails south through the Esna Lock towards Edfu.

This morning visit Edfu's Temple of Horus, the best-preserved temple in Egypt, reached by a short horse-carriage ride. Sail on to Kom Ombo, whose unusual double temple honours the gods Sobek and Horus and sits right on the riverbank. Enjoy the changing scenery from the sun deck as you cruise towards Aswan.

Reach Aswan and take a short motorboat to the island Temple of Philae, dedicated to the goddess Isis and rescued from the rising waters of the High Dam. In the afternoon, sail around the islands aboard a traditional felucca, the classic white-sailed boat of the Nile. This evening you can add an optional excursion to Abu Simbel.

After breakfast, disembark in Aswan. Your guide assists with the transfer to Aswan airport or railway station for your onward journey — or the start of an extension to Abu Simbel or Cairo.