More than six minutes of totality. Nine days of bucket-list Egypt.
Pyramids, sleeper trains, days on the Nile and Luxor beneath the Moon’s shadow — with astronomer Dr Kirsten Banks there for the main event.
Most Magnificent Explorers trips are created for Australians and New Zealanders. This special departure is open worldwide — wherever you’re travelling from, you’re very welcome to meet us in Cairo.
Two ways to travelBoth trips cover the big things: Cairo, the Pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum, sleeper trains, ancient temples and totality near Luxor.
What changes is the group size, your Cairo hotels, your stay in Aswan and the way you travel along the Nile.
A lively group, three nights aboard the small-ship premium MS Tia and one night at a family-run boutique hotel beside a Nubian village in Aswan.
See this itinerary →
Four nights aboard the six-cabin El Hanem, an upgraded Cairo hotel stay and a much smaller group from start to finish.
See the Boutique itinerary →| Great Bucket List Adventure | Boutique Adventure | |
|---|---|---|
| Group | 42 Explorers | 12 Explorers |
| Nile stay | 3 nights on MS Tia | 4 nights on El Hanem |
| Aswan | Nub Inn beside a Nubian village | Board El Hanem in Aswan |
| Cairo hotels | Novotel Cairo 6th Of October | Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi |
| Boat style | Small-ship premium cruise (maximum of 42 guests) — many other Nile ships carry 100+ guests
|
Six-cabin sailing dahabiya — a maximum of 12 guests
|
| Sleeper-train meals | Dinner and breakfast served in your private cabin | Upgraded: dinner and breakfast together in the dining car |
| Best suited to | A social group atmosphere | A quieter, more intimate setting |
| Eclipse day | Both groups come together near Luxor | |
Astronomer Dr Kirsten Banks — better known as AstroKirsten — will join the adventure for stargazing beneath Egypt’s night skies, astronomical conversations and, of course, the main event itself.
On eclipse day, she’ll help make sense of what’s happening above us as Luxor slips into more than six minutes of totality.
Both trips follow the same loop — the sleeper train south from Cairo to Aswan, the Nile north to Luxor for eclipse day, then the rails home to Cairo.
Choose your trip below. The main route is shared, but the accommodation, group size and Nile section are different.
Welcome, fellow sun-worshippers and travellers ready for a breath-catching, space-and-time-bending adventure along the Nile. Are you prepared to step into the vortex of an ancient past and a cosmic future? If so, all you have to do is hand your bags to your personal pick-up at the airport and embrace the whizzing, sometimes chaotic traffic of Cairo to land safely at your hotel.
While you’re not in the centre of Cairo’s action, you’re at a perfect spot for upcoming activities. You’ll also be close to one important part of this journey: your fellow MagExplorers, coming together over a welcome dinner with so many decisions – should you spend the time digging into the food, listening to your guide’s primer on the ancient Egyptians’ relationship to the sun or getting to know the backstories and travel hopes of the group?
You wake up surrounded by Egypt’s past, and before a train whistle calls you this afternoon, you’ll indulge in a bit of time travel to unearth its secrets. First up, the Grand Egyptian Museum, as impressive on the inside as it is on the outside, letting you wander amongst tens of thousands of Pharaonic artefacts. Looking at King Tutankhamun’s gold-gleaming treasures might make you wish you’d been a pharaoh.
You may spend most of it staring at the Pyramids in front of you, and they’re hard to ignore! You’ll get to crane your neck at their sky-reaching peaks and the guarding Sphinx before it’s time to head to your awaiting sleeper train. Couples travel in two-person cabins with a private basin and toilets on each carriage. If you’re travelling solo, no need to worry – you’ll be matched up with a fellow Explorer, and if you’ve booked a private supplement, you’ll have a cabin all to yourself. Either way, enjoy dinner and desert views as the train clicks-clacks towards Aswan.
After a night’s gentle rocking, you may have opened one eye to see the sun rise over Luxor, before stepping off in Aswan. You’ll immediately sidle up to your guide and explore the town, because there is much to see – so much that UNESCO launched a decades-long campaign to save a swath of monuments in the 1960s. Squint and feel small as you look up at the Philae Temple, or try to figure out how the ancient Egyptians carved obelisks by walking around a massive, unfinished one.
Then it’s check-in at a family-run boutique hotel on the far Nile shore; a retreat where the noise of the city fades away. On the edge of a Nubian village, this is your chance to see what local Nubian life is like, but first it’s feet up and sails to the wind as you breeze over the Nile in a traditional felucca. Wind up the day with dinner and Nile sunset views from the rooftop terrace.
This morning, choose between a leisurely wakeup and breakfast, or an optional well-early wake-up call and breakfast on-the-go to beat traffic on an excursion to Abu Simbel. Built by Pharaoh Ramesses II to impress the Nubians, it will surely manage to impress you, too!
Then it’s time to find your sea legs again, because waiting at the dock is a ship ready to help you unwind after your to-the-brim packed days. You won’t know where to start – lingering by the railing to gaze at the riverbanks or relaxing on the sundeck with your feet in the jacuzzi?
As excitement builds towards eclipse day, your onboard astronomer - Kirsten Banks will bring the skies into ever-sharper focus. Expect celestial conversations to spring up when you least expect them – and an evening stargazing session beneath Egypt’s desert skies.
By afternoon, you reach the Kom Ombo Temple, a double temple on the riverbank that devotes itself to not one, but two sets of gods. Walk the dual halls to read the hieroglyphs and interpret reliefs from so many years ago before sailing on to Esna. You’ve one foot on the sands of the past, one on the river of the present, that’s a lot to discuss over dinner!
Pull your cabin’s curtains aside this morning to see the Nile’s calm waters clucking outside your window. Your first stop fits this river-reverie mood, stepping into the Temple of Esna. Dedicated to the god Khnum, who is closely tied to the Nile as well as to human creation, this temple has been dug out and cleaned of centuries of soot. The result? You step in between tall columns into an enclosed space that feels almost like an old forest, and look up to discover a celestial ceiling, where reliefs of constellations and planets envelop you in the same bright colours that connected ancient Egyptians with the cosmos.
Full of this tingling connection, you get back on the boat to squeeze through the 100-year-old Esna lock on your way to Luxor. Another perfect Egypt day and another evening gliding through the Nile waters.
You’ve probably already heard of Luxor, and with good reason: it’s got that head-shaking, eye-googling ancient Egypt experience most visitors are craving. As a savvy Explorer, you’re ready to start before the heat dial turns up to high, and you’ve no shortage of places to go. Wander the West Bank, an enormous open-air archaeological site where it’s easy to envision pharaohs of yore trying to make the grandest monuments and tombs to be remembered by. Walking alongside your guide, you’ll learn all about the tombs, temples and monuments in the Valley of the Kings, walk the restored Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (try finding the old Christian graffiti), and do your best to fit the Colossi of Memnon in just one photograph. It’s a big morning that deserves a restful, indulgent afternoon on board the ship. Time to compare photos in the sunchairs? You’ll want a front-row seat once the night lights of Luxor start dancing along the shores.
Think you can’t top the last six days’ experiences? The Universe would like a word. It’s another early morning to see the Karnak Temple before the sun burns the sand and the tourists catch on. See if you can find the scarab beetle – it holds a secret to the sun’s daily disappearance and rebirth that is central to ancient Egyptians’ world views. Then at last it’s time. Head to a life-giving oasis of a farm before finding your special sunnies. Your resident astronomer will be on hand to guide you through every stage of the spectacle, revealing what’s happening overhead and answering all the questions the Universe is sure to raise.
As a dark disc moves across the sun, animals and people grow quiet – even the wind seems to hold its breath in anticipation. It’s a total solar eclipse and you are in the very path of totality, witnessing the longest land-based total solar eclipse until 2114.
Boarding the sleeper train back to Cairo tonight, will be nothing short of out-of-body. Will you be chattering nonstop with each other, or will the eclipse’s silence linger across the rails? Either way, tuck into your airline style, in-cabin dinner and then into your bunk for a rhythmic railway rock-a-bye.
You wake early aboard the sleeper and step off in Cairo, where you’ve all day to revel in a relaxed feeling after yesterday’s big day. All that’s on your to-do-list today is soaking up the Egyptian atmosphere and reliving your rendezvous with Ra.
Start at the Khan El Khalili bazaar as it wakes for the day, a labyrinth of glowing lanterns, colourful silks, and precariously stacked pottery enticing you to fill your bags. Sneak into a local café for a traditional breakfast and wander through the Islamic alleys to meet Cairo of both past and present, before the tourists wake up. The rest of the day is yours to follow your curiosity and rest up, but don’t sleep on the evening’s farewell dinner: step on board a traditional dahabiya to sail the Nile in style, toasting to the memories and friendships you’ve made with the glittering lights of Cairo around you. What a journey, what an Explorer group!
It’s been a whirlwind of a trip, and it might be hard to believe that your arrival was only nine days ago, but all eclipses eventually come to an end. Linger over breakfast if you can, draw out goodbyes and make sure you have any newfound friends’ contact info before you hop on your private transfer to the airport. Perhaps you’re heading home, perhaps you’re continuing on to new adventures, but one thing is for sure: you’re bringing more than souvenirs with you. It may be farewell, Egypt, but these bright memories will stay with you until long after the scarab beetle has pushed the sun back below the horizon.
Welcome, fellow sun-worshippers and travellers ready for a breath-catching, space-and-time-bending adventure along the Nile. Are you prepared to step into the vortex of an ancient past and a cosmic future? If so, all you have to do is hand your bags to your personal pick-up at the airport and embrace the whizzing, sometimes chaotic traffic of Cairo to land safely at your hotel.
Your Cairo base is the Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi, and you clocked it, that’s the Nile right outside. Tonight you meet the other important part of this journey, your group of just 12 MagExplorers, over a welcome dinner with astronomer Kirsten Banks. So many decisions – should you spend the time digging into the food, talking skies with Kirsten or getting to know the backstories and travel hopes of the group?
You wake up surrounded by Egypt’s past, and before a train whistle calls you late this afternoon, you’ll indulge in a bit of time travel to unearth its secrets. First up, the Grand Egyptian Museum, as impressive on the inside as it is on the outside, letting you wander amongst tens of thousands of Pharaonic artefacts. Looking at King Tutankhamun’s gold-gleaming treasures might make you wish you’d been a pharaoh.
You may spend most of lunch staring at the Pyramids in front of you, and they’re hard to ignore! Crane your neck at their sky-reaching peaks and the guarding Sphinx before it’s time to head to your waiting sleeper train. Couples travel in two-person cabins with a private basin and shared toilets on each carriage, but if you’re travelling solo, no need to worry – you’ll be matched up with a fellow Explorer. Enjoy dinner in the dining car as the train click-clacks towards Aswan.
After a night’s gentle rocking, you may have opened one eye to see the sun rise over Luxor, before stepping off in Aswan. You’ll immediately sidle up to your guide and explore the town, because there is much to see – so much that UNESCO launched a decades-long campaign to save a swathe of monuments in the 1960s. Squint and feel small as you look up at the Philae Temple, or try to figure out how the ancient Egyptians carved obelisks by walking around a massive, unfinished one.
Then it’s feet up and sails to the wind as you breeze over the Nile in a traditional felucca. Afterwards, settle into the El Hanem Dahabiya, your floating home for the next 4 nights. With just six cabins, it won’t take long to feel at home. Wind up the day with dinner aboard and Nile views to linger over.
This morning, choose between a leisurely wake-up, or an optional early, traffic-beating breakfast on the go on an excursion to Abu Simbel. Built by Pharaoh Ramesses II to impress the Nubians, it will surely manage to impress you, too!
Then it’s back aboard El Hanem and time to let the river set the pace. With only 12 guests sharing this little world, you can drift between the lounge and sundeck, finding your own spot to watch life along the banks.
By afternoon, you reach the Kom Ombo Temple, a double temple on the riverbank that devotes itself to two sets of gods. Walk the dual halls to read the hieroglyphs and interpret reliefs from so many years ago before sailing on to Esna.
There’s another treat to look forward to. On one evening during your cruise, astronomer Kirsten Banks will join you for dinner and stargazing. It’s a chance to ask those questions you’ve been saving up and see Egypt’s night skies through an expert’s eyes.
Pull your cabin’s curtains aside this morning to see the Nile’s calm waters clucking outside your window. Your first stop fits this river-reverie mood, stepping into the Temple of Esna. Dedicated to the god Khnum, who is closely tied to the Nile as well as to human creation, this temple has been dug out and cleaned of centuries of soot. The result? You step in between tall columns and look up to discover a celestial ceiling, where reliefs of constellations and planets envelop you in the same bright colours that connected ancient Egyptians with the cosmos.
Full of this tingling connection, you get back on the boat to squeeze through the 100-year-old Esna lock on your way to Luxor. Come evening, settle into the lounge with your fellow Explorers and let the day’s wonders sink in. How did they raise those colossal columns, and what stories are still waiting to be deciphered on the temple walls?
You’ve probably already heard of Luxor, and with good reason: it’s got that head-shaking, eye-goggling ancient Egypt experience most visitors are craving. As a savvy Explorer, you’re ready to start before the heat dial turns up to high. Wander the West Bank, an enormous open-air archaeological site where it’s easy to envision pharaohs of yore trying to make the grandest monuments and tombs to be remembered by. With just 12 of you exploring alongside your guide, you’ll learn all about the tombs, temples and monuments in the Valley of the Kings, walk the restored Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (try finding the old Christian graffiti), and do your best to fit the Colossi of Memnon in just one photograph. It’s a big morning that deserves a restful, indulgent afternoon on board the El Hanem. Time to compare photos or slip into a sunchair for a little time on your own. You’ll want a front-row seat once the night lights of Luxor start dancing along the shores.
Think you can’t top the last six days’ experiences? The Universe would like a word. First, see the Karnak Temple before the heat of the day builds. Can you find the scarab beetle and unearth its ancient sun-and-life secrets?
Then at last it’s time. Head to a nearby farm, where your fellow MagExplorers from the larger ship join you for the celestial main event. With around 50 of you gathering alongside astronomer Kirsten Banks, there’s a festive, eager feeling in the air, and plenty of familiar faces from earlier in the journey. Safety-briefing in hand, you’ll be ready to follow Kirsten’s guidance on what to look for as the moon moves across the sun.
Boarding the sleeper train back to Cairo tonight will be nothing short of out-of-body. Will you be chattering nonstop with each other, or will the eclipse’s silence linger across the rails? Either way, tuck into your dinner in an old-world style, a-la-carte dining car and then into your bunk for a rhythmic railway rock-a-bye.
You wake early aboard the sleeper and step off in Cairo, where you’ve all day to revel in a relaxed feeling after yesterday’s big day. All that’s on your to-do list today is soaking up the Egyptian atmosphere and reliving your rendezvous with Ra.
Start at the Khan El Khalili bazaar as it wakes for the day, a labyrinth of glowing lanterns, colourful silks and precariously stacked pottery enticing you to fill your bags. Sneak into a local café for a traditional breakfast and wander through the Islamic alleys to meet Cairo of both past and present in the quieter early hours. The rest of the day is yours to follow your curiosity and rest up, but don’t sleep on the evening’s farewell dinner: step on board one final traditional dahabiya to sail the Nile in style, toasting to the memories and friendships you’ve made with the glittering lights of Cairo around you. What a journey, what an Explorer group!
It’s been a whirlwind of a trip, and it might be hard to believe that your arrival was only nine days ago, but all eclipses eventually come to an end. Linger over breakfast if you can, draw out goodbyes and make sure you have any newfound friends’ contact info before you hop on your private transfer to the airport. Perhaps you’re heading home, perhaps you’re continuing on to new adventures, but one thing is for sure: you’re bringing more than souvenirs with you.
All prices are per person in US dollars. Choose your preferred trip and room option below, review the deposit and payment schedule, then book securely online.
Special Booking Conditions apply to this Eclipse Trip, including the deposit and payment schedule — payments are non-refundable once made. Read the Special Booking Conditions, which apply alongside our standard Terms & Conditions. Privacy policy.
There’s no getting around it; Egypt is hot in July and August, and in Upper Egypt you should be prepared for daytime temperatures that can reach around 40°C or higher.
The good news is that it’s generally a very dry heat rather than a humid one, which many people find easier to manage. Shade also makes a real difference, so a good sun hat is essential, and we recommend carrying a lightweight sun umbrella for extra shade while exploring outdoor sites.
Where possible, the days are designed with the heat in mind. On some days, that means early starts so you can explore temples and archaeological sites during the cooler part of the morning, before returning to the air-conditioned vehicle or ship as the temperature climbs. Where the itinerary allows, we’ll also build in time to rest and recharge during the hottest part of the day.
Level 1
So long as you have a general level of health and fitness, you’ll be OK. However, to enjoy this trip, you’ll need to be able to spend time on your feet and regularly walk for 2 to 3-hours. Daily activities will include:
Some activities are optional, meaning that if you don’t feel like it, you can skip it, but it will be impossible to enjoy your trip if you’re not able to do a guided walk for a full afternoon.
Unfortunately, this trip cannot accommodate people requiring walking aids.
A total solar eclipse is anything but a normal time to travel in Egypt. The August 2027 eclipse is drawing visitors from around the world, creating extraordinary demand for accommodation, Nile cruises, transport and services in and around Luxor.
To make this trip possible, we’ve had to secure arrangements well in advance, at premium eclipse-period prices, with suppliers requiring substantial financial commitments to hold space. That includes your Nile cruise, specialist eclipse arrangements and the people and logistics needed to bring the whole experience together.
So yes, you’ll find that this trip costs more than travelling through Egypt at another time. You’re not simply paying to travel in Egypt — you’re travelling in Egypt during one of the most anticipated celestial events of the century, with a trip designed specifically around being there for it.
Each trip mixes hotels, a sleeper train and a boat — here’s the short version.
On the Great Bucket List Adventure
In Cairo, you’ll stay at the 4-star Novotel Cairo 6th of October — a comfortable, contemporary hotel within easy reach of the Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, with an outdoor pool that’s particularly welcome after the overnight train back from Luxor.
For one night in Aswan, you’ll swap a conventional hotel for the family-run Nub Inn, in a traditional Nubian village across from Aswan City. Rooms vary in size and layout — that’s part of the character of staying somewhere like this — and each has the essentials for a comfortable overnight stay.
Your three nights on the Nile are aboard MS Tia, a boutique cruise ship with a maximum of 42 guests — comfortable, contemporary cabins with private bathrooms, a sundeck pool and indoor lounges to escape the sun.
On the Boutique Adventure
In Cairo, you’ll stay at the 5-star Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi, a contemporary riverside hotel overlooking the Nile, where the outdoor pool and spa are particularly welcome after the overnight train.
Your four nights on the river are aboard El Hanem, a traditional six-cabin dahabiya carrying a maximum of 12 guests — private bathrooms, air-conditioning, generous shaded deck areas and a whirlpool. Four Standard Deluxe cabins have twin beds, and two larger Suites (each with one double bed) are available at an additional cost.
On both trips
You’ll spend two nights aboard the upgraded Abela Elite sleeper train — there’s a whole question about it just below.
If you’ve heard mixed reviews about Egyptian sleeper trains, you’ll be pleased to know that you’ll be travelling on the upgraded Abela Elite Sleeper. Its refurbished, air-conditioned cabins are a step up from the standard sleeper service.
You’ll spend two nights onboard in a private two-person cabin, with beds that fold down for the night and your own washbasin. Toilets are shared and located at the end of each carriage. Dinner and breakfast are served onboard, and porters help with your luggage at the stations.
On the Great Bucket List Adventure, meals are served on trays in your cabin. On the Boutique Adventure, we’ve secured an upgrade to the train’s dining car — seats there are very limited, so rather than eating in your cabin, you’ll head along and dine together, with another little taste of classic overnight rail travel.
The cabins are still compact, and this isn’t a luxury train, but the upgraded service makes this classic Egyptian journey a more comfortable part of the adventure.
To secure your place, a 50% deposit is required when you book.
The remaining amount is divided into two easy payments:
We’ll send you a reminder before each payment is due, so you won’t need to keep track of the dates yourself.
The 2027 eclipse is a very special event, and we’re required to make substantial, non-refundable payments well in advance to secure your cruise cabin, accommodation and other arrangements. This means payments are non-refundable once made, so we strongly recommend arranging comprehensive travel insurance as soon as you book.
If you join the trip after one of the payment dates has passed, we’ll simply let you know the amount needed to bring your booking up to date.
For the eclipse itself, you’ll leave your ship behind and take a short drive into the countryside outside Luxor, to a private outdoor viewing area with wide, open skies and plenty of space to experience the event.
This won’t be a huge public festival. The viewing area is reserved exclusively for guests from the MS TIA and its sister ship, The El Hanem Dahabiya, with just 54 guests sharing the experience.
You’ll have a shaded area, comfortable seating, toilets, plenty of drinking water and a festive lunch to enjoy together. Eclipse viewing glasses will be provided, along with specialist viewing equipment to help you get even more from the event.
Astrophysicist Dr Kirsten Banks will be there with you, helping you prepare for what you’re about to see, talking everyone through safe eclipse viewing and then sharing the experience with you as the Moon moves across the Sun and Luxor falls into darkness for 6-minutes and 22-seconds.
Being out in the countryside gives you a more open horizon, plenty of room for the set up of equipment and a dedicated space where you can settle in and enjoy the build-up together.
We can guarantee that the eclipse will happen. What nobody can guarantee is the weather.
Luxor in August is known for its hot, dry conditions and clear skies, which is one of the reasons this part of Egypt is such an exciting place to experience the eclipse. However, weather, cloud, dust and atmospheric conditions are ultimately beyond anyone’s control.
What we can do is give you the best possible setup for success. We’ve selected an open countryside location for optimum viewing, you’ll have viewing equipment and eclipse glasses ready, and astrophysicist Kirsten Banks will be there to guide you through the event.
If conditions on the day mean the planned viewing location is no longer the best option, we’ll assess what is realistically possible and adapt where we can. But, as with every eclipse experience anywhere in the world, an unobstructed view of totality can never be guaranteed.
Abu Simbel is offered as an optional add-on rather than included in the main itinerary.
If you choose this additional activity, your journey starts before dawn, at 4am. It’s quite the drive to see the twin temples of Abu Simbel, but they are total masterpieces when it comes to New Kingdom monuments.
Built by Ramses II more than 3,000 years ago, the enormous temples were carved directly into the mountainside, with four colossal statues of the pharaoh guarding the entrance. And their story doesn’t end in ancient Egypt. In the 1960s, the entire complex was cut into huge blocks and moved to higher ground in an extraordinary international effort to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser.
It’s around a four-hour drive each way, which is why Abu Simbel is offered as an optional add-on. And we admit, there’ll be tourists aplenty when you arrive. But standing beneath those enormous figures of Ramses II is one of those great Egypt moments. If Abu Simbel has always been on your list, this is your chance to see it.
Most Explorers tend to be couples and friends in their mid-50s to mid-70s.
Generally, we have no upper age limit for our trips. But, it’s important for you to know that our trips can be physically demanding. Please see the How fit do I need to be? FAQ to understand the requirements.
Age 75+
Guests over 75 years old at the time of travel, or those with pre-existing health conditions may need to have medical clearance to ensure safe travel, and must have a doctor complete a ‘Certificate of Medical Fitness to Travel’ within 30 days of booking confirmation.
Minimum age
While it doesn’t happen often, we do get younger guests joining our trips! As a general rule, the minimum age is 15 at the time of travel. All travellers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian, or be accompanied by someone over the age of 18 appointed by their legal guardian.
Absolutely. You don’t need to bring a travelling partner to book a twin-share place. If you’re travelling solo and are happy to share, we can match you with another solo traveller of the same sex on your departure, and you’ll each have your own bed.
Twin-share matching is subject to another suitable traveller being available to share with you. If we’re unable to find a match, we’ll talk you through the available options.
Being tour operators (not travel agents), we are not licensed to sell flights. We recommend contacting your trusted local travel agent to book flights if you’re in need of assistance.
Yes! One of our friendly team will be waiting for you in the public arrivals area of the airport. You’ll transfer directly to the hotel. The transfer is included and in a private and air-conditioned vehicle, which you will only share if there is anyone else on your flight joining the trip.
Try to arrive before midday on the start day, although earlier would be recommendable.
Tipping is customary in Egypt and is not included in your trip price. You should budget approximately USD $25 per person, per day, or around USD $225 per person for the nine-day trip, to cover tips for the guides, drivers, ship crew and others who look after you along the way.
We’ll provide more information before departure about how tipping will be managed during your trip.