River boat tour in Egypt

We have taken Trafalger all over Europe and some in Australia and are always happy with them. Have not done their Egypt tours which are land/boat.

Steve,
In 2019 we took a 12 day tour with Trafalgar. I cannot recall the name their on-the-ground tour company, but it was excellent. It included 3 days in Cairo, a 7 day Nile cruise, and 2 more days in Cairo. There were 39 people (max was 40), a superb guide, and our cruise was the highlight. Many people will denigrate a tour group of that size, but we never felt like we were part of a horde. We enjoyed the company of our fellow tourists, the food on the boat was excellent, and the whole experience, except for the Lufthansa flights to and from the US left us with wonderful memories. And it was considerably less expensive than a Viking tour. We went in February, a great time weather-wise. AAA made the arrangements for us, and the only thing I would change is the air carrier to/from LA to Cairo (with plane change in Frankfurt). I was a former fan of Lufthansa, but they have really gone downhill in terms of service and comfort. I wish we had made our own flight plans with Turkish Air, a new favorite of mine. The Trafalgar tour was their "Wonders of Ancient Egypt", and we only had one add-on, the flight to and from Aswan to Abu Simbel (so glad we did this!)
This was my life-long #1 bucket list item, and the tour covered everything I hoped for and in an excellent manner.
Best of luck in your plans.

We did Egypt three years ago (I had been there before back in 1985, but my wife hadn't).
I researched several river cruise and/or tour companies including Viking, but found the best deal by far was Gate 1 Travel.
Gate 1 had by far the best price, which was 60% of Viking's price and the Viking tour/cruise was only one day longer.

The Gate 1 tour was fantastic with a university educated guide. It included stays in great 5 star hotels in the Cairo area, and two three day river cruises that included Abu Simbel. Don't miss Abu Simbel.

Check the prices and what you get for the price with Viking, Gate 1, AmaWaterways, and Avalon Waterways.

Youtuber TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS ( note the British spelling with 2 Ls ) did a cruise a couple of years ago. Lots of good practical advice

Got it.. Thx everyone....

Check out Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Their Egypt tour with private yacht Nile cruise was great and good value.

We just got back from an OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) "Ancient Egypt and the Nile River" tour - it was excellent. 55 people total, but split across 3 groups, so our group was about 17 people. 7 nights in Cairo, total, 7 nights on the Nile on a 75-passenger ship. OAT specializes in getting you to the major sites, but also some interaction with local families, schools, markets, etc. It's a nice balance. Saw All The Things - Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's Temple, Abu Simbel, Karnak, Luxor, Philae, and more. Grand Egyptian Museum just opened, with contents of Tut's tomb on display. Check it out!

OAT has several Egypt trips. The one Rebecca did has the cruise on a larger ship with other groups. I’m sure that’s a great experience as she says. For a bit more money though the private yacht one has the cruise part on a 16 passenger dahabiyya (yacht) for just the OAT group. That was what I did and it’s really special. OAT operates the yachts and they and their crews are amazing. Otherwise, I think the land part of the tours is pretty much the same between the two. OAT is introducing a line of shorter trips called “Immersions” that are about 10 days rather than their usual length of 2-3 weeks and there is a new one of those to Egypt also.

Rick Steves chatted with Joanna Lumley (of "Absolutely Fabulous") on her travel series "Joanna Lumley's Nile." back in 2013. You can find the videos of the series online (youtube and Dailymotion).