Total Solar Eclipse Majestic Egypt Tour: 14 Days / 13 Nights Through Egypt’s Finest Addresses

It is our answer to one of the great natural events of our lifetime: a 14-day, 13-night journey through Egypt, from July 30 to August 12, 2027, built around the total solar eclipse of Monday, August 2, 2027, when the moon covers the sun over Luxor for more than six minutes, the longest totality on any continent this century.

You stay at four of Egypt’s finest addresses: the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence at the start and again at the end, the brand-new Nile-front building of the Pyramisa Luxor for the three eclipse nights, the legendary Old Cataract or the elegant Tolip Aswan, depending on the room package you book, and our own M/S City and Sea Adonis, sailed privately from Aswan to Luxor and Dendera for this journey alone. Around the eclipse, your own Egyptologist guides you through the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Pyramids of Giza and Saqqara, the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Luxor Temple, Edfu, Philae, Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo and Dendera.

Both domestic flights, every transfer, every entrance fee, your eclipse glasses and the visa on arrival for eligible nationalities are included, so from the moment you land in Cairo there is nothing left to organise. There is one departure only, with 53 rooms in 12 room packages, and once they are reserved there will be no more. See the day-by-day itinerary.

Because every part of it was planned around one week in August, and the details that make or break an eclipse journey are already settled:

• Luxor for eclipse day, secured. Three nights on the Nile-front of Luxor, inside the path of totality, in the brand-new building of the Pyramisa: upper floors only, every room with a direct front view of the river, guaranteed by contract. Rooms in Luxor for eclipse week are among the hardest to find in Egypt, and ours were contracted long in advance.
• The best seat for the eclipse, a few steps from your room. You watch totality in the pool garden of your own hotel, right on the Nile, with nothing between you and the sky, and no coach, no traffic and no crowded public viewing site.
• Eclipse day, prepared to the last detail. You arrive in Luxor the day before, the whole of eclipse day is kept free, and certified eclipse glasses, two briefings, refreshments, seating and shade are all provided.
• Our own ship, sailed privately. Four nights on the M/S City and Sea Adonis with the guests of this journey and no one else aboard, with full board and all-inclusive drinks.
• Cairo at its finest. Four nights at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, widely regarded as Cairo’s premier address, and a farewell dinner on its First Nile Boat.
• Aswan in style. Two nights at the legendary Old Cataract, the 1899 Nile palace where Agatha Christie stayed, or at the five-star Tolip Aswan, depending on the room package you book.
• Temples without the crowds. The order of the journey and the hour of every visit were planned against the usual flow of tours, so Karnak and Luxor Temple come after the eclipse crowds have moved on.
• One Egyptologist from the first day to the last, telling one connected story from the treasures of Tutankhamun to Abu Simbel.
• Everything arranged. Both domestic flights, the visa on arrival for eligible nationalities, every transfer in our air-conditioned coaches, Abu Simbel and every entrance fee in the programme are included. There is nothing to book and no ticket to buy on the day.
• An operator you can check. We own and operate the ship, our guests rate the M/S City and Sea Adonis 4.9 out of 5 from more than 1,100 Google reviews, and our first eclipse journey sold out almost a year before departure.

No total eclipse on land this century will last longer than this one, and this is the journey we built to do it justice. More in Why Travel With Us.

Both, and it was designed that way. For a first visit, it is the complete Egypt in one journey: the Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, the temples and royal tombs of Luxor, Philae and Abu Simbel, and four nights on the Nile itself, with your own Egyptologist explaining it all, at some of the finest addresses in the country and with every detail arranged for you.

If you know Egypt already, it shows you what most journeys miss: the Grand Egyptian Museum, officially opened in November 2025, with Tutankhamun’s treasures shown together in full for the first time; Dendera and its astronomical ceiling, on a stretch of the Nile most cruises never sail; a private sailing of our own ship; and, of course, more than six minutes of totality over Luxor, something no earlier visit to Egypt could have given you.

Four addresses, each chosen for where it stands:

• Cairo: the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, on the Giza bank of the Nile, two nights at the start and two at the end. Your Premier Nile Room measures 54 m², with floor-to-ceiling windows framing the river (the Grand Suites stay in suites), and the hotel has a Nile-side pool, a spa and the First Nile Boat with its restaurants.
• Luxor: the grand, brand-new building of the Pyramisa Luxor, right on the Nile, opened in 2026, for the three eclipse nights. Upper floors only, every room with a direct front view of the river.
• Aswan: the legendary Old Cataract or the beautiful Tolip Aswan, depending on the room package you book, for two nights and your days at Philae, the High Dam and on a felucca. The Old Cataract is the Nile palace Thomas Cook built in 1899, where Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill stayed; the Tolip Aswan stands on the Nile Corniche, facing the river.
• Nile cruise: the M/S City and Sea Adonis, our own five-star deluxe ship, four nights from Aswan to Luxor and Dendera, sailed privately for the guests of this journey alone.

Each room package names the exact room you receive at every address, with photographs, in the rooms and prices section.

The greatest sites of ancient Egypt, from the Pyramids to Abu Simbel, each brought to life by your own Egyptologist and with every entrance fee included:

• Cairo and Giza: a full, unhurried visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum, with the galleries of Tutankhamun, the solar boat of King Khufu and lunch at the museum; the Pyramids of Giza with lunch at Pyramids Lounge overlooking the plateau; the Great Sphinx; and Saqqara with the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
• Luxor: the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank, and Karnak and Luxor Temple, joined by the Avenue of Sphinxes.
• On the road to Aswan: the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the best-preserved temple in Egypt.
• Aswan: the Aswan High Dam, the island temple of Philae, reached by boat, and a felucca sail as the light turns golden.
• Abu Simbel: a full excursion to the rock temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari.
• On the river: the double temple of Kom Ombo, the Esna lock and the Temple of Hathor at Dendera with its famous astronomical ceiling.

Every visit is timed for the cooler hours and planned against the usual flow of tours, so you have time to take each wonder in. The journey closes with a farewell dinner on the First Nile Boat of the Four Seasons. See the day-by-day itinerary.

Almost everything. The price of your room covers the whole programme, so there are no hidden costs, no surcharges and no tickets to buy on the day. Included:

• 13 nights in the exact rooms named in your room package: 4 at the Four Seasons in Cairo, 3 on the Nile-front of Luxor, 2 at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan and 4 on board the M/S City and Sea Adonis.
• Breakfast every day; full board with all-inclusive drinks on the ship (unlimited water, soft drinks and local alcoholic beverages); lunch at the Grand Egyptian Museum; lunch at Pyramids Lounge; refreshments on eclipse day; and the farewell dinner on the First Nile Boat.
• Both domestic flights, Cairo to Luxor and Luxor to Cairo, with all taxes and airport fees.
• Every transfer and excursion in our air-conditioned City and Sea Travel coaches, including the full Abu Simbel excursion.
• Your certified Egyptologist for the whole journey, and every entrance fee in the programme.
• Your eclipse viewing in the pool garden of the Pyramisa Luxor, with certified eclipse glasses, two eclipse briefings, and seating and shade on eclipse day.
• A personal welcome at the airport on every arrival, and the entry visa for eligible nationalities, handled by our team.
• A physician, 24-hour guest support and Wi-Fi on board, and all service charges and local taxes at the hotels.
• Every card fee and the currency conversion, which we cover, so you pay exactly the price shown.
• Gratuities for every driver and the entire crew of the City and Sea Adonis.
• Eclipse keepsakes for every guest: a papyrus eclipse certificate, a commemorative gift package and professional digital photos of the eclipse.

Not included: international flights to and from Egypt; lunches and dinners on land other than those named; drinks at the hotels, room service and personal extras; travel insurance; and the gratuity for your Egyptologist guide, which is left to your discretion. The full lists are in What’s included and What’s NOT included.

No, and that is part of what makes it work. Like our first eclipse journey, this is one complete programme on fixed dates, July 30 to August 12, 2027, and it cannot be shortened, split or joined partway. Every hotel night, flight seat and cabin was contracted for the full programme, which is how we secured Nile-front rooms in Luxor for eclipse week at all, and the days before and after the eclipse are what turn one extraordinary afternoon into the journey of a lifetime.

The M/S City and Sea Adonis does not sail her regular cruises in July and August, so this journey is now the only way to travel with us during eclipse week: our first eclipse journey is sold out. If you would like more time in Egypt, we will gladly add nights before or after the journey.

The eclipse takes place on Monday, August 2, 2027, and Luxor is one of the very best places on earth to see it. In Luxor, in local time:

• About 11:40: the partial phase begins, as the moon starts to cover the sun.
• About 13:02 to 13:08: totality, with the maximum at about 13:05.
• About 14:26: the partial phase ends.

Totality over Luxor lasts more than six minutes, roughly twice as long as a typical total eclipse: the longest totality on any continent this century. That is time to look, to photograph, to take in the darkened sky and the horizon glowing all around you, and still simply to stand there in wonder.

Because Luxor is where this eclipse is at its finest. Only places inside the narrow path of totality see the sun completely covered, and Luxor lies close to the centre of that path, so its totality is among the longest of the whole eclipse. Its August skies are also among the clearest on earth, which is why eclipse travellers worldwide chose Luxor above every other place on the path.

Cairo and Aswan lie outside the path: Aswan sees more than 99 percent of the sun covered and Cairo about 95 percent. Even 99 percent is a completely different experience, because the last sliver of sun keeps the day bright and the corona stays hidden. That is why the journey gives you three nights in Luxor around eclipse day, arriving the day before.

In the pool garden of the Pyramisa Luxor, right on the Nile and inside the path of totality. Just a few steps from your room, you settle in by the pools with the river in front of you, feluccas drifting past and the hills of the West Bank across the water: one of the loveliest settings in Luxor for the most spectacular moment of the journey.

At totality the sun stands almost directly overhead, so the open garden gives you an uninterrupted view of the entire eclipse, from the first bite out of the sun at about 11:40, through more than six minutes of totality shortly after 13:00, until full daylight returns. No coach, no traffic and no crowded public viewing site: just the Nile, the sky and the people you share this journey with.

Your guide and our team are with you throughout the day, with your certified eclipse glasses, refreshments, seating and shade.

It is the day this whole journey was built around, and it is kept entirely free of any other programme, so it begins rested and unhurried:

• The evening before, August 1, you are already in Luxor. Your Egyptologist brings the group together for an eclipse briefing and hands you your certified glasses.
• After breakfast on August 2, a final briefing covers the timings, what to watch for in the sky and how to view the partial phases safely.
• From about 11:40, in the pool garden of the Pyramisa Luxor on the bank of the Nile, the moon slowly covers the sun. Refreshments, seating and shade are provided.
• Shortly after 13:00, totality: more than six minutes of darkness in the middle of the day.
• Until about 14:26, the sun slowly returns. The evening is left free, to share the moment and let it sink in.

There is no coach to catch and no traffic to sit in: your room is a few steps away whenever you want a moment in the cool.

Something no photograph fully captures. In the last minutes before totality the light turns strange and silvery and shadows grow sharp. Then the sky darkens to a deep twilight in the middle of the day, the air cools by a few degrees, and the horizon glows with sunset colours all around you. Around the black disc of the moon appears the pearly corona of the sun, which can only be seen during totality. Bright planets come out too: Venus close beside the sun, Jupiter further along the sky, and probably Mercury.

Over Luxor it lasts more than six minutes, long enough to watch, to photograph, and to turn to the people beside you and share what you are seeing. Many who have seen a total eclipse call it the most moving sight of their lives.

Yes, and they are the real thing. Every guest receives a pair of certified eclipse glasses, complimentary and yours to keep, presented in its own box with a cleaning pouch and handed to you at the briefing the evening before the eclipse.

They meet the international EN ISO 12312-2 standard for looking directly at the sun and carry the CE mark. They are made by American Paper Optics, an approved supplier on the American Astronomical Society’s official eclipse-safety list, in Bartlett, Tennessee, with lenses manufactured in the USA. You are welcome to bring your own certified glasses as well, but there is nothing to buy and nothing to forget, and they make a lovely keepsake of the day.

Only during totality itself, and you never have to guess: your guide tells you when. Keep your certified glasses on through the whole partial phase, from about 11:40 until the sun is completely covered. When the last bead of sunlight disappears, it is safe to take them off and see the corona with your own eyes, the moment the whole journey builds towards. As soon as the first bright point of sunlight returns, at about 13:08, the glasses go straight back on.

Ordinary sunglasses are never safe for looking at the sun, however dark, and cameras, binoculars and telescopes need their own solar filters fitted to the front. Both briefings go through all of this with you, so that on the day you can simply enjoy it.

Very unlikely. Upper Egypt in early August has some of the clearest skies on earth: it practically never rains in summer, and satellite records of cloud along the eclipse path put average afternoon cloud over Luxor in August close to zero. That is why eclipse travellers worldwide chose Luxor above every other place on the path. The rare spoilers are thin high cloud or dust.

A total eclipse is still a natural event and no one can command the sky, so the journey proceeds in every weather, as our cancellation terms explain. But there are few places on earth where the odds are better, and with the Pyramids, the Valley of the Kings, Abu Simbel and the Nile around it, this is a journey worth taking in its own right.

Hot and dry, and the whole journey is planned around it. Upper Egypt in August is genuinely hot and completely dry, with afternoon highs in Luxor and Aswan of about 41 to 42°C (106 to 108°F). Cairo is milder, at about 35°C (95°F), but more humid. So you see everything at the best hours and spend the hottest ones in comfort:

• Sightseeing is placed in the early morning and the late afternoon wherever possible.
• The hottest hours belong to the pools, the shaded terraces, the air-conditioned museum halls and the river.
• Every coach, hotel room and cabin is air-conditioned.
• On eclipse day, refreshments, seating and shade are provided.

Dry heat feels gentler than the same temperature in a humid place, but it still asks for care: drink water often and wear a hat and light clothing. Our guide on what to pack for a Nile cruise is written for exactly this season. And the same dry, clear summer air is what gives Luxor its outstanding chance of a cloudless eclipse.

Yes, absolutely, and with more than six minutes of totality there is time both to photograph it and simply to look. From the open pool garden of the Pyramisa, with the sun almost directly overhead, nothing stands between your lens and the sky. Your guide’s briefings cover the timings and safety for eyes and cameras:

• A camera, phone or lens needs a proper solar filter fitted to the front for every partial phase, just as your eyes need the certified glasses.
• Only during totality does the filter come off, to capture the corona.
• With the sun almost directly overhead, bring a tripod head that can tilt to point straight up, and practise with your camera at home before you travel.

At temples and museums, photography follows the rules the authorities set for that day.

A telescope, binoculars, cameras and a tripod are welcome as personal items for your own use, carried in your own luggage. They travel entirely at your own responsibility, and we bear no responsibility for them, including any decision by Egyptian customs and any loss, theft or damage.

If you bring a telescope or binoculars, fit a proper solar filter to the front for the partial phases, and never look through unfiltered optics, even while wearing eclipse glasses. Egyptian customs decide what may enter the country, so a short list of your equipment with serial numbers is useful in case they ask. Museums and many sites do not allow tripods, the Grand Egyptian Museum among them.

Please leave drones at home: bringing a drone into Egypt without prior government permission is against the law, and drones are usually confiscated at the airport.

The departure holds 53 rooms in 12 room packages. A room package is a complete set: it names your room at the Four Seasons in Cairo, your Nile-front room in Luxor, your room at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan and your cabin on the M/S City and Sea Adonis, with photographs of each, so you know exactly what you will receive at every address before you reserve.

• Double rooms for two guests sharing, the great majority: from the Classic Doubles on the Main and Middle Decks, through the Deluxe and Grand Doubles, to the two Signature Doubles with a full suite in the historic Palace Wing of the Old Cataract Aswan.
• Three solo rooms, for travellers who want every address to themselves.
• Two Grand Suites, which hold the largest suites of this journey at every address, including the only two suites on the ship.

Prices are per person, two sharing, with the total for the room shown beside it. When a room package is sold out, it is gone, so if one catches your eye, reserve it while it is still available. See every room package in the rooms and prices section.

Easily: the room packages climb in clear steps, so start with what matters most to you:

• Your cabin on the ship. Every double room package sails in a 22 m² Deluxe Cabin with a French balcony onto the Nile. The higher the deck, the more elevated the view: Main Deck, Middle Deck, or the Upper Deck with direct access to the Sun Deck pool.
• Your two nights in Aswan. A Superior Nile View Room at the elegant Tolip Aswan, or a room or suite in the historic 1899 Palace Wing of the Old Cataract Aswan, from garden rooms to Nile-view suites.
• Cairo and Luxor are the same for every double room: a 54 m² Premier Nile Room at the Four Seasons and a direct front Nile-view room at the Pyramisa. Only the Grand Suites move up to suites there as well.

The quickest way is Help me choose my room, just above the room cards: a few short questions about who is travelling, your budget and what matters most to you, and it shows your best match among the rooms still available and ranks every other option. You find it in the rooms and prices section. And if you would still like a personal recommendation, write to us: we know every one of these rooms.

Right here on this page. Every room package is open to reserve until its card reads Sold out: the moment the last room of a package is reserved, its card changes automatically. Help me choose my room follows the same live information, so if your best match has gone, it shows you the closest room that is still open.

Each room is sold individually, so the only way to be sure of the room you want is to reserve it.

Your room package fixes your deck and cabin category on the ship and your room at every hotel, and we assign the exact cabin before departure.

Travelling with friends or family on separate reservations? Simply tell us when you reserve, under Notes to Organizer, and we will keep you close together, and in the same group with the same Egyptologist, wherever your room packages allow. Sharing a journey like this with the people you love is half the joy of it, and we will do everything we can to make that easy.

Yes. Most double rooms can be prepared with one large bed or two separate beds. Tell us your preference when you reserve, under Notes to Organizer, and we will confirm it with each property, so that your room is ready the way you like it at every address.

This departure is built from double and single rooms, so a room holds at most two guests, which keeps every room comfortable at every address. For a party of three we suggest a double room alongside a solo reservation: you stay close together at every hotel and on board, travel in the same group with the same Egyptologist, and the third traveller has a room entirely to themselves. Write to us and we will find the arrangement that suits you best.

Wonderful ones. Three solo rooms give you every address entirely to yourself: your own Premier Nile Room at the Four Seasons, your own Nile-front room in Luxor, your own room at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan and your own single cabin on the ship, with the same 22 m² as every Deluxe Cabin. Two of them pair the Tolip Aswan with a Middle Deck cabin, and one pairs a garden room at the Old Cataract Aswan with an Upper Deck cabin.

A solo room costs more per person than sharing because every room at every address is carried by one traveller instead of two. Even so, it costs noticeably less than the total two guests pay for a comparable double room. And you are only ever alone when you wish to be: you travel in a small group with the same Egyptologist every day, and the meals on board, the briefings and eclipse day itself are shared with fellow travellers who came for the same reason you did. With only three solo rooms on the whole departure, we recommend reserving early.

She is our own five-star deluxe Nile ship, built in the grand classic style of the golden age of river travel: a marble reception hall beneath a glass dome, high-ceilinged salons and fine woodwork, with every modern comfort behind it. For this journey she sails privately, with the guests of this departure and no one else aboard.

• Every cabin faces the Nile: 22 m², a private French balcony with floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open fully to the river, a seating area beside it, an en-suite bathroom with a rain shower, and climate control. There are no interior cabins and no lower-deck cabins.
• The Sun Deck, one of the largest on the Nile, with its pool over the bow, a Jacuzzi, a bar, shaded loungers and open views in every direction.
• A panoramic lounge bar with floor-to-ceiling windows, and a restaurant serving Egyptian and international cuisine.
• Quiet by design: the engine room is insulated, so you sleep to the sound of the river.
• A physician on board throughout, a dedicated hygiene and quality specialist, 24-hour guest support and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Walk the ship on Our Ship and the Deckplan.

Yes, by contract. For the three nights that matter most you stay in the brand-new building of the Pyramisa Luxor, opened in 2026 directly on the Nile-front, inside the path of totality. Our rooms are held by a firm agreement that permits no substitution: upper floors only, every room with a direct front view of the river, so each evening the sun sets behind the hills of the West Bank right in front of your window. The two Grand Suites stay in the hotel’s Jacuzzi Suites, each with a private outdoor Jacuzzi.

In eclipse week, when rooms in Luxor are among the hardest to find in Egypt, this is exactly what you want in writing. And on eclipse day you need go nowhere: the eclipse is watched from the hotel’s own pool garden on the Nile.

Of course, children are very welcome, and a total eclipse is the kind of memory a family keeps for a lifetime. One thing to know: on our regular Nile cruises we offer separate prices for adults and children, but this eclipse journey has no child prices. Every guest pays the full price per person, whatever their age.

Unhurried, and planned around the best hours of the day. Most mornings begin after an early breakfast, with excursions setting off between about 7:30 and 8:30 to see the sites in the soft morning light, before the heat of the day. You are usually back by early afternoon, and the hottest hours belong to the pool, the hotel terraces or the Sun Deck. Some moments are saved for the softer light of late afternoon, such as the felucca sail in Aswan.

Two days are different by design: Abu Simbel on August 6 starts before dawn, and eclipse day is built around totality shortly after 13:00. Arrival day is completely free, and your Egyptologist confirms each day’s timing with the group the evening before, so you always know what tomorrow holds.

Generous ones, at some of the finest tables in Egypt. The journey includes:

• Breakfast every day, at each hotel and on board.
• Full board on the ship: breakfast, lunch and dinner every cruise day, with all-inclusive drinks: unlimited water, soft drinks and local alcoholic beverages.
• Lunch at the Grand Egyptian Museum, and lunch at Pyramids Lounge overlooking the Pyramids of Giza.
• Refreshments on eclipse day, and snacks and drinks during the break at Edfu.
• A farewell dinner on the First Nile Boat, the Four Seasons’ own dining boat on the Nile.

Other lunches and dinners on land, and drinks at the hotels, are not included, which leaves you free to enjoy the hotels’ own restaurants at your own pace, from the First Nile Boat in Cairo to the Nile-side terraces of Luxor and Aswan.

Yes, of course, and at no extra charge. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other diets, as well as allergies, are catered for on board and at every included meal, and the ship’s chefs prepare individual dishes where needed. Tell us when you reserve, under Notes to Organizer, and your guide, the hotels and the ship’s kitchen will know before you arrive, so you never have to explain yourself at the table.

Yes, and it is one of the great days of the journey. A full guided excursion to Abu Simbel is included, with all transport and entrance fees: the two rock-cut temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari above Lake Nasser, where four colossal seated statues of the king, each about twenty metres high, guard the entrance of the Great Temple. The day starts before dawn, with breakfast arranged around the departure, and our coach drives about three and a half hours south through the Nubian desert so that you arrive before the heat. You are back in Aswan in the early afternoon to board the M/S City and Sea Adonis.

Many journeys sell Abu Simbel as an optional extra or leave it out altogether; on this one, it is simply part of the programme.

The whole departure holds 53 rooms, but you never explore as one large crowd. At every site you are escorted in a group of up to 27 guests with its own certified Egyptologist, and you stay in the same group with the same guide from the first day to the last, so your guide gets to know you, and you get to know your fellow travellers.

It is the best of both worlds: the attention of your own guide at the temples, and the warm company of fellow eclipse travellers on the ship and on eclipse day.

Yes. Your dedicated Egyptologist stays with you from beginning to end, through Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and on board, at every temple and site along the way. The temples of Egypt tell one connected story, and one expert carries that thread from the Grand Egyptian Museum to Abu Simbel, so each new temple adds to what you already know instead of starting from the beginning.

Every one of our Egyptologists is certified, state-licensed and fluent in English, and by the end of the journey yours will feel less like a guide and more like a friend in Egypt.

English, throughout. All expert guiding on this departure, at every site and in both eclipse briefings, is conducted in English by certified, state-licensed Egyptologists, and our team looks after you in English from your arrival to your departure.

Far less than you might fear, because we planned for exactly this. Travellers from all over the world will come to Egypt for the eclipse, and most tours follow the same timetable, reaching the same temples on the same days at the same hours. Ours was planned against that flow on purpose:

• The Grand Egyptian Museum on July 31, before the crowds of eclipse week arrive.
• Karnak and Luxor Temple on August 8, after the eclipse crowds have moved on.
• Edfu and Kom Ombo, timed for the days and hours when they are usually at their quietest.
• Dendera, on a stretch of the Nile most cruises never sail.

So you have time to stand before the reliefs, listen to your guide and take home the photographs you came for. It is one of the biggest differences between this journey and an ordinary eclipse tour, and you will feel it at every temple.

Yes, both domestic flights are included: Cairo to Luxor on August 1 and Luxor to Cairo on August 10, each about one hour in the air, with all taxes and airport fees, and our coach and representatives at both ends. Flying saves you two long days on the road and gives that time back to the journey.

International flights to and from Egypt are not included, but as an IATA accredited company we can book them for you if you wish.

Plan to land at Cairo International Airport on July 30, 2027, and to fly home from there on August 12, 2027, or later. Our representative meets every arrival, at any hour, with a welcome sign, waiting for you before the luggage belts, and on August 12 our coach takes you to the airport at a time set around your flight.

Two things to watch when booking: a flight that lands after midnight needs the night before as well, and a flight home that leaves after midnight is dated August 13. In both cases we can add the extra night for you. Send us your flight numbers once they are booked, and we will take it from there.

Yes. On the two included EgyptAir flights, economy class allows one checked bag of up to 23 kg and one cabin bag of up to 8 kg; the allowance shown on your ticket is the one that counts. That is plenty for a summer journey of light clothes, and our representatives are there to help you with your luggage at every airport.

Yes, gladly. City and Sea Travel is IATA accredited, so we can quote and book your international flights to and from Cairo, timed to fit the journey; write to us with your departure city and dates. You are just as welcome to book them yourself, and either way, our representative will be waiting for you when you land.

Yes, and we would be delighted to. If you would like to arrive earlier or extend your stay at the Four Seasons, we will gladly arrange the additional nights at our negotiated rates, subject to the hotel’s availability: you reserve the journey first, and we then send you a separate payment link for the extra nights, which follow the same cancellation terms as the journey.

If you would like to continue to the Red Sea beaches of Hurghada, or add a few days of diving, we will arrange it for you, and if Petra and Jordan are next on your list, we time your departure from Cairo around your onward plans. International flights should be booked into and out of Cairo International Airport.

Yes, for eligible nationalities, and it could not be simpler. The visa on arrival is included and handled by our team at Cairo Airport: our representative takes care of the formalities and hands you your visa when you land, so there is nothing to buy or apply for in advance. Eligible nationalities include citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway and all European Union member states, among others.

If your nationality is not eligible for a visa on arrival, please arrange your visa in advance through your nearest Egyptian embassy or consulate; we will gladly provide any supporting documents you need. Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your departure from Egypt, with at least one blank page. Our guide to Egypt visas, safety and tipping covers the details.

Yes, absolutely. The checkout asks for each traveller’s name, nationality and date of birth and an email address, but never for passport details: you add those after you reserve, in your own private and secure guest form. So there is no need to wait and risk losing the room you want: reserve now, and simply enter the new passport details in your guest form once it arrives, at the latest two months before departure.

Yes, absolutely. Egypt welcomes millions of travellers from all over the world every year, and Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, its main tourist cities, are busy with visitors every single day. The U.S. Department of State rates Egypt at Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution”, the same level it currently gives France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. The only areas it advises against are the North and Middle Sinai, the Western Desert without a licensed tour company, and the border zones, all far from anywhere this journey goes.

And on this journey you are never on your own: your own Egyptologist and our team are with you at every step, from the moment you land to your departure, you travel in our air-conditioned City and Sea Travel coaches, and the tourist police are present at the sites. As for any journey abroad, check your government’s current travel advice before you go; and for complete peace of mind, our cancellation terms also cover the case of an official warning from your home country against all travel to Egypt, or to Cairo, Luxor or Aswan.

Yes. A qualified physician is on board throughout the cruise, alongside a dedicated hygiene and quality specialist and 24-hour guest support. On land, your Egyptologist and our team are with you every day and arrange medical help whenever it is needed, so help is never far away. Keep any personal medication in your hand luggage, with enough for the whole journey, and we strongly recommend travel insurance that includes medical evacuation.

No vaccinations are required to enter Egypt when you travel from Europe, North America or Australia; a yellow fever certificate is needed only when you arrive from a country with a risk of yellow fever. Health authorities such as the US CDC recommend routine vaccines and, for most travellers, hepatitis A and typhoid, and the World Health Organization certified Egypt malaria-free in 2024.

Ask your doctor or a travel clinic for advice that fits you, and drink bottled water, which is always available on board. Beyond that, Egypt asks for nothing more than sun cream, a hat and plenty of water.

Egypt asks a little of every traveller: temple sites involve walking on ancient stone and uneven ground, and the ship, like the classic Nile ships, has stairs between decks rather than an elevator. On board, shower chairs are available on request, and at the Valley of the Kings an electric tram takes you from the entrance to the tombs.

If you tell us about your needs before reserving, we will advise you honestly on what will and will not work, and often a few simple arrangements make all the difference. We would much rather plan it with you properly than have you discover a difficulty on the day.

Pack light and pack for the sun: light, loose, breathable clothes, a hat, sunglasses, high-factor sunscreen and comfortable closed shoes for uneven temple ground. There is no formal dress code at the temples, though covered shoulders and knees are appreciated at religious sites. Evenings on board and at the hotels are relaxed and smart casual, with swimwear at the pools. Keep any personal medication in your hand luggage. Our guide on what to pack for a Nile cruise has the full list.

Gratuities for every driver and the entire crew of the City and Sea Adonis are included, so you never feel the awkwardness of calculating tips. Only the gratuity for your Egyptologist guide is not included and is left entirely to your discretion. Our guide to Egypt visas, safety and tipping has more detail.

All easy. The local currency is the Egyptian pound. Cards are widely accepted at the hotels and on board, cash machines are easy to find in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, and small notes are handy for tips. Sockets in Egypt take the round two-pin European plug at 220 volts, so bring an adapter for the hotels if your plugs differ; the cabins on the ship have universal sockets and USB ports. Wi-Fi is complimentary on board.

Online, in a few minutes, with instant confirmation:

1. Choose your room package in the rooms and prices section and press its Reserve button. The checkout opens with that room already selected.
2. Set the number of guests: 2 for a double room or a Grand Suite, 1 for a solo room.
3. Enter each traveller’s name, nationality and date of birth and an email address, then add any preferences, such as one large bed or two separate beds, or dietary needs, under Notes to Organizer.
4. Add travel insurance if you wish, and pay the 40 percent deposit or the full amount.

Your confirmation arrives by email straight away, and the room is yours. Rooms are sold individually, so reserving early is the surest way to the room you want. Every step is in How to Book & Pay.

Every room is sold individually at the price published beside it on this page, the same for every guest, and the price you reserve at is the price you pay: it can never go up once your room is reserved. The remaining rooms of the same package may be repriced as the departure fills, so the only way to secure today’s price is to reserve. Our first eclipse journey sold out almost a year before departure.

No. This journey and our first eclipse journey, which is sold out, are our only departures for the 2027 eclipse, and there will not be a third. Hotel rooms, ships and flight seats for eclipse week are among the hardest things to find in Egypt, and most of them are already taken. We did our homework early: we researched every address and reserved the ship, the hotels and the flight seats for our guests long in advance. Once the rooms on this departure are gone, we have nothing further to offer for this eclipse, so if you want to be in Luxor on August 2, 2027, this is the moment to reserve.

Flexible, so you can secure your room today and spread the rest. Every room is paid in three steps, or in full at booking if you prefer:

• 40 percent at booking, which secures your named room.
• 30 percent on January 15, 2027.
• The final 30 percent on April 15, 2027.

You can choose to have the two later payments charged automatically on their due dates. Paying in full makes no difference to the price and never puts you at a disadvantage if you have to cancel. A reservation made after a due date settles that payment at booking. Full details: Reservation Terms.

We understand that plans can change, and we want you to book with complete peace of mind.

Cancellation fees are a percentage of the room price, never of the amount already paid, and rise in steps:

• Until January 14, 2027: we retain 25 percent and refund 15 percent after the deposit (75 percent if you paid in full)
• January 15 to April 14, 2027: we retain 50 percent and refund 20 percent after the second payment (50 percent if you paid in full)
• April 15 to May 31, 2027: we retain 75 percent and refund 25 percent
• From June 1, 2027: we retain 100 percent (no refund)

Whatever you have paid beyond the fee is refunded in full, and on the payment plan no fee ever exceeds what you have paid by that date. One more promise protects you:

• Force majeure: if, after you reserve, the government of your home country issues an official warning against all travel to Egypt, or to Cairo, Luxor or Aswan, that is still in force within 30 days of your departure, 95 percent of the total amount already paid is refunded; in all other cases, the standard cancellation terms apply.

To cancel, write to us at online@cityandseaadonis.com; the date we receive your email is the date that counts, and refunds go back to your original payment method, usually within 5 to 10 business days. An eclipse is a natural event, so clouds or dust cannot lead to a refund. The full terms are in Cancellation Terms.

However suits you best, securely online in the checkout:

• Credit and debit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners Club and UnionPay
• Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Bank payments: SEPA, iDEAL and Bancontact in Europe, ACH in the United States and BACS in the United Kingdom

Prices are shown in US dollars, but you can pay in your own currency at the day’s exchange rate, and we cover the conversion and every card fee, so you pay exactly the price shown. Some banks pause a large payment until you confirm it, so if a payment is declined, a quick call to your bank usually solves it.

It is not required to reserve, but we strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance that includes medical evacuation, ideally bought within 21 days of your deposit to keep the fullest cover available. Optional travel insurance is offered right in the checkout through our US partner, Trawick International, so you can add it in a moment when you reserve, and you are just as welcome to use your own insurer. A journey of this value, around a date that cannot move, is exactly what insurance is for.

From that moment, the room is yours. Your confirmation arrives straight away at the email address you entered when reserving, so please use the one you check most often.

Next, you receive your own private guest form, created for your reservation alone and opened only through your personal secure link. There you enter, at your own pace, your arrival and departure details, each traveller’s passport information and any dietary needs, and you can save and come back to finish or update it at any time. Your details travel over a secure connection, are kept strictly confidential and are used only to arrange your journey, never shared for any other purpose.

Our team then writes to you personally about anything still open, and your second and third payments fall due on January 15 and April 15, 2027, unless you paid in full. All that is left for you is to look forward to it.

Yes. You can hand your place to another traveller free of charge until two months before departure: just send us the new guest’s details, and your room and everything included pass to them unchanged.

Both journeys are built around the same total eclipse over Luxor on Monday, August 2, 2027, and both are guided by our own Egyptologists. They are two different programmes:

• Total Solar Eclipse Grand Egypt Tour (our first journey, sold out): 12 days, July 27 to August 7, 2027, built around a 7-night Nile cruise on the M/S City and Sea Adonis.
• Total Solar Eclipse Majestic Egypt Tour (this journey): 14 days, July 30 to August 12, 2027, with 4 nights at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, 3 nights on the Nile-front of Luxor, 2 nights in Aswan at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan and a private 4-night sailing of the M/S City and Sea Adonis.

Both share what matters most: more than six minutes of totality over Luxor, our own ship and our own team. Our first journey sold out almost a year before departure, so this is now the only way to join us for the eclipse.

Neither. They are two different programmes built around the same eclipse, and on both you watch the same totality over Luxor with our own Egyptologists. Our first journey, the Total Solar Eclipse Grand Egypt Tour, is a 12-day programme centred on a 7-night Nile cruise, and it sold out almost a year before departure. The Total Solar Eclipse Majestic Egypt Tour is longer, at 14 days, and is built around four addresses: the Four Seasons in Cairo at the start and the end, three eclipse nights on the Nile-front of Luxor, two nights in Aswan at the Old Cataract or the Tolip Aswan and a private four-night sailing of the M/S City and Sea Adonis. It is also the only one of the two you can still reserve, and if you want the eclipse with some of Egypt’s finest addresses around it, it is the one we would choose ourselves.

Yes, as long as there is space on the journey you would like. Our first eclipse journey is sold out, so a move to it depends on a cancellation. Email us at online@cityandseaadonis.com and we will tell you how to switch and how your payments carry over, including any difference in price. We will make it as simple as we can.

City and Sea Travel, a family-run Egyptian tour operator founded in 2010, and the owner and operator of the M/S City and Sea Adonis. We are licensed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism (Licence No. 2041, Category A), IATA accredited and an Associate Member of USTOA, the United States Tour Operators Association. Because we own the ship and plan every journey ourselves, the people who answer your first email are the same people who welcome you in Egypt.

Our guests rate the M/S City and Sea Adonis 4.9 out of 5 from more than 1,100 Google reviews, and on Tripadvisor she holds 4.8 out of 5 and the Travelers’ Choice 2026 award. Our first eclipse journey sold out almost a year before departure. Read our guest reviews, or meet the ship herself on Our Ship.

Yes, gladly. Travel advisors are welcome to reserve on behalf of their clients. Please ask your advisor to write to us at online@cityandseaadonis.com before reserving, so that everything is set up correctly from the start, and we will look after your advisor as carefully as we look after you.

For groups, companies, travel agencies and partnership opportunities, please email us at online@cityandseaadonis.com, telling us a little about who you are and what you have in mind. We reply personally, and we look forward to talking.