Aswan

Dear Lena, I did this precise route in March of last year and a few notes may be of use to you. Ours had 58 cabins and it never once felt crowded on board. You are quite right that the temples are the pinch point, since every boat tied up at Edfu empties into the same ninety minutes. Our carriages left at six and we were back aboard by half past eight, which I thought entirely civilised. Abu Simbel was indeed a four o'clock departure by road, and on our sailing it was included rather than sold to us on the morning, though I gather this varies and it is worth getting the answer in writing before you pay. On the matter of sitting still, I would gently suggest a boat suits that better than you fear. Between Esna and Edfu there are three hours of sun deck during which nobody asks anything of you whatsoever.

Politely, I disagree with Rob. Four nights on the water is a great deal of money for a route you can drive in a day and a half. I did Luxor to Aswan by private car with two temple stops, about 3000 EGP for the whole day including the waiting time, and I picked my own hour at Kom Ombo instead of arriving with everybody else. If you want the boat because it is a boat, fine, that is a real reason and I would not argue with it. If what you want is the temples, it is the expensive way to reach them.

Sofia is right on the arithmetic and I shall not pretend otherwise. My only defence is that at 63 I no longer enjoy three hotel check ins inside five days, and my wife enjoys them rather less than I do. Horses for courses.