Oberoi All Suite Zahra Cruise & Spa – Sheer luxury on the Nile with Cox & Kings
Day 1: We left Heathrow and flew World Traveller Plus to Cairo with British Airways. The flight took 4 hours 40 minutes and was pleasant. On arrival into Cairo we purchased our visas which was hassle free as there are many vendors selling them. We made our way to the Fairmont Towers to spend what was left of the night, before flying on to Luxor on an early morning flight. This hotel is conveniently located near to Cairo airport so a good choice if going out on an early flight the next day. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, and all have large bathrooms with a bath and walk-in shower. The lobby area of the hotel is one of the main features of the property. It is covered by a huge glass roof which gives it a spacious airy feeling. There is an artificial river flowing through the hotel and around the seating areas which gives a relaxing feel to this modern property.
Day 2: We flew with Egypt Air from Cairo to Luxor which is a 1 hour flight. On arrival we were transferred to the Oberoi Zahra. The Zahra is a brand Nile boat and was only released in October 2007. It has 25 luxury cabins and 2 luxury suites, so is small and friendly. All cabins are outside facing and have very large windows in both the bedroom and bathroom.
Rooms are well equipped with a mini-bar, seating area by the large windows, LCD television sets, tea & coffee making facilities, DVD player, electronic safe, telephones, wireless internet and hairdryer. Rooms either have twin or double beds. There are many facilities onboard including a library with DVD’s, spa, gym, hairdressers, swimming pool, sun deck, cigar lounge, internet connections, table games and astronomy lectures.
On arrival onto the boat we were offered cool refreshment towels and a welcome drink (which was delicious!). Once our rooms were ready we were taken to them after a quick tour of the boat given by a staff member!
In the afternoon we visited Luxor temple for a couple of hours. It was a good site as it was not too far from the boat in the mini bus. This is probably the hardest visit on the whole trip in terms of heat as it is the only temple visited mid-afternoon. It was built by Amenhotep III and Rameses II and its purpose was for a suitable setting for the rituals of the Opet festival.
In the evening after dinner we visited Karnak temple for the sound and light show. This is one of the most impressive sites in Luxor and is a very large site! The show really brings the site to life, the atmosphere makes it feel very real. Well worth a visit!
Day 3: We had an early start with a morning visit to Tombs of the Nobles and Deir El Madina on the West Bank. Dier El Madina was definitely one of my favourite sites, and is known as the ‘Worker’s Village’. It is the remains of an ancient village and cemetery, once occupied by the workers and artists responsible for creating the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It is really fascinating to see and is actually a very large site. The small tombs on this site are also very impressive, the original colours that still remain are incredible, even after thousands of years.
Once back on board we had lunch on the sun deck whilst sailing to Qena. It is lovely to have the breeze on your face, so refreshing whilst eating. It is amazingly peaceful which is not what I expected at all!!
After a relaxing few hours we had a late afternoon trip to Dendera Temple. This was my favourite temple of the whole trip (although it was very hard to pick between them all). It is one of the best preserved temples of its time in Egypt. It is also one of the few temples with its roof still standing. I found the passage ways, and the hidden underground corridor fascinating, and I also enjoyed being able to climb onto the roof of the temple (by using the temples original steps!) and taking pictures of the view. I highly recommend viewing this temple! Before leaving for the boat we were offered drinks out in the gardens in front of the temple whilst the sun set. This was a lovely relaxing experience, it is not all hard work!
Day 4: This morning we had breakfast whilst sailing back to Luxor. After this we visited Karnak Temple again in the daylight for a more detailed tour with our wonderful guide.
In the afternoon we visited Luxor Museum to see some of the artefacts which had been salvaged from the temples. It was really interesting and a good way to supplement what we had learnt whilst doing our tours. There is also the opportunity to see some mummified bodies.
We had the evening free, and so spent it relaxing on the sun deck with a refreshing drink!
Day 5: We again had an early morning visit, this time to the Valley of the Kings. A very popular site with tourists, I wasn’t going to miss out on this one! This is where the famous Tutankhamun’s Tomb and mummified body can be found. There are many other tombs here, some preserved better than others. In Egypt they are constantly uncovering new tombs and sites all the time, and the Valley of the Kings is a classic example of this. They have workers on the site all the time looking for more tombs!
In the afternoon we sailed to Edfu and had the afternoon free to relax. I of course had to try out the spa facilities. I had a full body aromatherapy massage which was fabulous. This cruise isn’t all hard work, although the itinerary sometimes makes it look that way, there is plenty of opportunities to fit in a massage!
Day 6: We visited the Temple of Horus at Edfu, and is another very large site. You would think once you had seen one temple you had seen them all, but that is definitely not the case, they are all so very different!! After lunch we visited the Temple of Sobek, this is the god of fertility. There is a well preserved crypt in the ruins of the sanctuary here which is well worth a visit. This evening we sailed to Aswan.
Day 7 – 8: These next 2 days were spent in Aswan which I absolutely loved! It was a very interesting place. There is a lovely local market selling all kinds of items. We had to put our haggling skills into practice here. Someone in the market even offered 250 camels to buy me! It is a fun and bustling place, a must do!
During these next 2 days we also did numerous trips, although day 7 was a free day apart from the evening. I used this day to take a short flight from Aswan up to Abu Simbel. It took only around 20 minutes, very short and well worth it. Abu Simbel is a very famous temple and one that is highly recommended to visit. The site itself has been moved 150m from its original placement as it was at risk of flooding, although it is very difficult to actually believe it really has been moved. Unless you are told you would never know! There are actually 2 temples on this site, both are very impressive. The larger of the 2 is my particular favourite. Inside at the back of the temple are 4 statues, one of them is the God of Darkness. Twice a year, once in February and once in October the sun would shine through on to each of the statues faces in turn, except the god of darkness. I am still baffled as to how they could ever possibly design and build something this complex in the days when they had no technical equipment to aid them!!
During the evening of day 7 we had a group trip to the Philae Temple Sound & Light Show. This was definitely one of my favourite trips and was magical. We had to cross the Nile in small boats, it was pitch black and there were hundreds of stars set against a backdrop of rocks in the distance (like nothing you would see in this country with all the city lights). As we rounded the corner of the Nile a small island came into view with the Philae Temple beautifully lit up with soft lighting. There were not many people at this temple which made it even more special as we had lots of space and time to look at and photograph everything. All in all a brilliant day!! On day 8 there was a morning visit to the Nubian Museum where you can view monumental pieces reflecting phases of development in the Nubian culture and civilization. In the afternoon there was a relaxing felucca trip around the islands of Aswan which lasted around an hour. (This is a small traditional Egyptian boat with a sail.)
Day 9: Unfortunately this was the day where we had to disembark the Oberoi Zahra for the last time. I had had the most fantastic week of my life and couldn’t believe how quickly it had gone by. I had absolutely no complaints about my week onboard what so ever. Everything from the service, the excursions, the food, the cleanliness, and the facilities could not be faulted in anyway at all!!
We transferred to the airport to catch our flight back to Cairo where we were to be spending the night at the Oberoi Mena House. This hotel is beautiful and a very different style to the Oberoi Zahra. It is a period hotel built in 1869 and is located literally a stones throw from the Pyramids. Many of the rooms have Pyramid views, I was lucky enough to have one of these views. It was lovely to step out onto my own private balcony, sit with a glass of wine and just relax and enjoy the view. I did manage to squeeze in an afternoon visit to the Pyramids which was something I knew I couldn’t miss! The hotel arranged a driver and guide for us at a very reasonable price. I would recommend doing this as you don’t realise just how hot it can get up on the site of the pyramids as it is just like a desert. The site is also a lot bigger than most people realise so there would be a lot of walking involved doing it this way. Our guides let us relax in the air conditioned car, taking us to the main points of interest so we could get out and take photos. A couple of my group actually rode on horses and camels instead which is a fun alternative if you can handle the heat!!!
This was our last evening and we made the most of it. We had dinner with all the executives from Oberoi outside in the gardens with the Pyramids looming over us. It was a good way to the end trip, and was a chance to reflect on the trip as a whole.
I would definitely do this trip again and would highly recommend an Oberoi Zahra cruise. You don’t have to do every excursion on the trip you can do as much or as little as you like, it can be whatever you make it!
Charley Travelled with Oberoi Hotels on the All-suite Zahra Cruise & Spa, prices start at only £1795pp.