Felucca cruises on the Nile

The feluccas sailing the Nile today look little different to those that were sailing it many centuries ago, long before the birth of Christ, when the monuments and temples lining the riverbanks were first built. Felucca cruises on the Nile are more relaxed, more romantic, more in tune with the rhythm of river life than a small ship cruise – this is slow travel at its finest. Captains pilot the wooden crafts with their feet, and the white canvas sail billows overhead, as you slip gently along between the main Nile attractions: Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Esna, perhaps stopping at other places that larger vessels can’t access, such as a Nubian island village, the Daraw camel market, or for a hike in the sands of Wadi el-Chott.

Felucca sailing is a way to travel the Nile as people have been doing since time immemorial, but it also means an opportunity to engage with local people more meaningfully than you could hope to on organised day trips from a larger cruise ship. It’s also a great way to support the domestic economy. Mooring up for the night on a riverbank at sunset, you might watch as fishermen throw out their nets for massive perch, and children play at the water’s edge while their mothers wash clothes, or wave greetings to farmers finishing up in the fields for a day. Local Egyptians will often hire a felucca to head out on family and social get-togethers, and you’ll fit right into the regular river traffic.

Due to their compact size – around 10m long and carrying a maximum of eight passengers, feluccas are ideally suited to families and small groups of friends wanting to escape the sometimes claustrophobic feel of a larger cruise vessel, or wanting the flexibility of a tailor made itinerary that doesn’t have fixed embarkation and disembarkation times. Now if this all sounds idyllic, do remember that it’s not all plain sailing on a felucca.

There will probably be a table fixed in the middle of the boat, with cushions around it, and a shelter overhead, for the daytimes. At night you will sleep under a canvas awning, on deck with thin mattresses, cushions and blankets for comfort. Feluccas cannot sail on the river after dark so you’ll moor up around sunset each day. As far as entertainment goes, it will be largely limited to stargazing, cards, perhaps a little singing and dancing from the crew. They will also prepare simple, usually vegetarian meals for you, and set up a basic toilet on the bank (normally not much more than a tent over a hole in the ground) and if you want a wash, well, there’s the river. There are no cabins, and there’s no running water.

It’s because of these very basic amenities that most people usually only take a short sail, perhaps as part of a longer small ship cruise. Longer itineraries tend to be for the more adventurous types but certainly, if you don’t mind roughing it a bit, it’s a very enjoyable and immersive way to travel. In some cases, a support boat may accompany you equipped with a toilet, shower and kitchen – which is the equivalent of glamping and kind-of cheating.