Sailing the Nile River on a felucca.

Egyptian Felucca; Sailing on the Nile with a Felucca; Sailboats on the Nile river; Nelmitravel

Felucca sailing on the Nile river in Egypt.

A trip to Egypt is not complete without sailing the Nile river on an Egyptian Felucca. My felucca adventure started in Aswan. Feluccas or Egyptian sail boats, are used throughout the centuries. It has graced the Nile since the days of the Pharaohs and is still the primary transportation system on the Nile. These boats made from wood, relies on the breeze and the Nile river’s current and seldom has an engine. They can also be found in Cairo, Luxor and Alexandria.

An adventure sailing the river Nile on a Felucca.

The captain of my boat was an old Nubian man who couldn’t speak a word of English. That was not important because the view is spectacular and speaking not necessary. There are moments in life when you don’t want to talk and this was one of them. All I could hear was the sound of the wind and the splashing of the water.

Egyptian Felucca; Sailing on the Nile with a Felucca; Sailboats on the Nile river; Nelmitravel
The captain of my Felucca.

Even though this might sound like an ordinary ride it is not. It is amazing to see how the landscape changes. Whilst travelling through Egypt, I got used the to dessert and a lot of sand and dunes. As we were floating down the river I could see how the dunes change colour , the blue water of the Nile and lush trees. It was almost like a little oasis.

Egyptian Felucca; Sailing on the Nile with a Felucca; Sailboats on the Nile river; Nelmitravel
Landscapes and dunes change.

From the Felucca we were able to see the Agha Khan Mausoleum, situated on the top of a hill, commanding a magnificent view of Aswan area. There is not much to do on the Felucca apart from soaking up the view and to think. I was thinking back to the times of the Pharaohs and the baby Moses who was floating in a basket on the same river. It was amazing to think I was here in Egypt doing the same thing.

Egyptian Felucca; Sailing on the Nile with a Felucca; Sailboats on the Nile river; Nelmitravel
Feluccas and sailing on the Nile river.

Excursions with Feluccas and options for travellers.

Our ride took about 20 minutes and the wind was on our side. It was definitely one of the highlights during my visit to Aswan. I took a basic package but there are tours available for 3 days or more. Sleeping on the felucca might not be very comfortable and there are no toilets, but I think it must be an amazing experience to sail the Nile river.

Would I recommend a felucca ride? Definitely! Egyptians say you should make sure you like and trust your felucca captain before you hop on board, it will really make a difference to your experience.

I apologize for the quality of the photos. They were taken in 2005.

I have been fortunate to have done quite a bit of travelling. By heart I am an adventurer and I love exploring new places, cultures and food. Travelling can become stressful and expensive. Over the years I have learnt to travel as cost effective as possible, simply by travelling more clever. Nelmitravel.com is a Adventure and Budget Travel site where I review Airlines, Accommodation, Transport, Restaurants and give helpful travel information.

29 Comments

  1. What an amazing trip that must have been! I love the views of the land from the water…beautiful pictures!

  2. wow really a great experience..You have a very interesting life , I am guessing you would be fun to sit with a bottle of wine and listen to you tell stories 🙂

  3. How precious is this…“I was thinking back to the times of the Pharaohs and the baby Moses who was floating in a basket on the same river. It was amazing to think I was here in Egypt doing the same thing. I was happy not to be in a basket but in a felucca.” Love it. I’d have been thinking the very same thing:) Have a great weekend!

  4. Nelieta,On your next trip would you please take me with you…. Please….You have had some amazing experience in your life time…xoxoxJessica

  5. Hello Nelieta -What a wonderful way to see the Nile and the surround Egyptian land! I would love to be a part of a felucca adventure. Excellent info and post. Happy Weekend to You. 🙂

  6. Hi Jim, it was a wonderful experience! My life is a little bit more quiet now since we have the hostel 🙂 I am not sure about the interesting part, but I do like to tell stories..lol!

  7. Hi Debra, I couldn´t help to think about the Biblical resemblance! I love these kind of places and they really do touch the soul on a very deep level!Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend 🙂

  8. Hi Alpana, yes I always wanted to travel to Egypt. It was a wonderful experience. I have heard so many good things about India and would love to go there one day. But first a trip to Russia again because my husband hasn´t been home for 3 years.

  9. Hi Jessica, aah, thank you and you are most welcome to join me the next time when I travel. Next up is a trip to Bariloche in Argentina. Do you want to join us?Have a great weekend!xxxx

  10. Hi Nelieta, what a wonderful trip. I love the photo of your Nubian Captain. I will have to stop reading travel blogs. I want to drop everything, pack my bag and go!

  11. Hi AJ, papyrus no way! I will not be getting on that felucca..:) The Nile does look very blue but I think it is the reflection of the sky on the water.

  12. Hi Hocam, thank you. He was a wonderful and quiet man. A great thinker and perfect for my trip. LOL..yes that is the bad thing about reading travelling blogs…us travellers want to pack our bags and get on that next flight out!

  13. hmm felucca ride on Nile River, just my kind of adventure, it is one of my goals to visit the 4 ancient rivers of civilisation including the famous Nile of Egypt.

  14. Hi Nelieta -Grrrrr I am Charlie Nitric. I’m not enjoying my visits to Blogger sites at all. WOW, I couldn’t post a reply to you above and now it's not allowing me to use my WordPress blog or ID. I’m going to look around a while and maybe I’ll be able to comment on another post. 🙂

  15. Hi Jessica, aah, thank you and you are most welcome to join me the next time when I travel. Next up is a trip to Bariloche in Argentina. Do you want to join us?Have a great weekend!xxxx

  16. Hi AJ, papyrus no way! I will not be getting on that felucca..:) The Nile does look very blue but I think it is the reflection of the sky on the water.

  17. Hi "Bjbohls" thank you for visiting my blog! Oh a felucca ride comes highly recommended and it is a wonderful way to explore Egypt. Happy weekend to you too 🙂

  18. Hi Debra, I couldn´t help to think about the Biblical resemblance! I love these kind of places and they really do touch the soul on a very deep level!Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend 🙂

  19. Hi Jessica, yes it was incredible how the landscape could change. I loved every minute of this trip. I did a lot of soul searching while I was travelling to Egypt.

Thank you for visiting. Have a fabulous day!