If you want to feel like a pharaoh and indulge in a little luxury, the M/Y Alyssa cruise ship will certainly live up to expectations. Measuring 75 metres long and housing 66 luxurious cabins, the M/Y Alyssa is perhaps the most lavish cruise ship to sail the Nile’s waters. It runs weekly five- or eight-day cruises departing from Luxor, the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Waset (Thebes), and lazily makes its way south down the river to Aswan and back. When you’re not revising your Ancient Egyptian deities, relax on board in the pool, enjoying the stunning views from the on-deck loungers. In the evenings, dine in style at the Fiori restaurant, indulging on local and international cuisine, followed by some jazz and blues sounds played live on the piano in the Sir Livingstone Lounge bar.

Described as the “world’s greatest open-air museum”, the tour starts in Luxor with a visit to the temple complex ruins, taking in the Temple of Karnak and its columned hypostyle hall, and the Temple of Luxor. The following day makes a stop at Edfu and the Temple of Horus, perhaps the best preserved of all of Egypt’s Pharaonic relics. The Temple of Kom Ombo in the town of the same name has burial chambers, some three hundred mummified crocodiles and the twin temples of pharaohs Sobek and Haroeris.

Day four sees the cruise reach Aswan High Dam, which holds back the waters of Lake Nasser and is home to granite quarries responsible for many of Egypt’s ancient obelisks. Here you can take an optional motorboat ride across to the island of Philae. On the second day in Aswan, you’ll have time to explore some of the attractions like the Nubian museum, which charts the history of one of Africa’s most ancient peoples. Or why not take an optional excursion by plane to the remote Abu Simbel, where the massive rock temples dedicated to pharaoh Ramesses II and his queen Neferati are carved out of the mountainside.

The ride back to Luxor takes one final stop on the Nile’s West Bank to the Valley of the Kings, known the world over for Howard Carter’s fascinating discovery of the entrance to Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. You’ll also visit the temple of female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, and the twin Colissi of Memnon in the Theban Necropolis. Without a doubt, the Nile cruise is perhaps the best and most luxurious way to experience all of Ancient Egypt’s history and treasures.

This winter, LuxairTours offers interesting Niles Cruise packages with several excursions included. Flights from Luxembourg to Hurghada. Transfer to Luxor included.