nile cruise agatha christie boat

Agatha Christie Dahabiya Boat

Cruise schedule.

Every Saturday from Luxor & Aswan

Meals Included

Agatha Christie is an upscale luxurious Dahabiya where you could live a unique stylish sailing experience up and down the great spectacular Nile River. We have selected a range of amazing Nile Cruises allowing you an opportunity to explore Egypt’s timeless river on Agatha Christie Dahabiya. Combined with a fabulous package of excursions, a Nile Cruise will allow you to explore the banks of the river and visit ancient monuments. With fine Elegant Dinning & Lounge, seating up to guests for lunch or dinner, private Egyptian atmosphere, wooden interior decoration and dimmed light and menus will star top-quality cuisine & international delicacies as well as Egyptian style. Booking Agatha Christie Nile Cruise holidays have become tremendously popular way of visiting the spectacular sites of Ancient Egypt in style.

  • 4 cabins with twin beds
  • 4 cabins with large beds
  • Electronic security locks
  • Fluffy and modern duvets
  • Upscale bathroom amenities
  • Elegant Fine Dining and Lounge
  • State of the art Jacuzzi tub
  • Electronic fire and smoke detection and the latest sprinkler system
  • In house movie channel with a large movie library
  • Wireless internet capabilities where available
  • Chaise longs for sun tanning lovers
  • Shaded sun deck level for comfortable atmosphere
  • First aid kit and medical attention available upon request
  • Emergency handling and fire trained staff Emergency handling and fire trained staff.
  • In-room electronic private safe
  • Large windows with a panoramic view
  • Large flat screen (LCD) with satellite receivers (when docked only)
  • Upscale bed and bathroom linen
  • Terry cloth bathrobes and slippers
  • In room coffee and tea tray service
  • Cabins with individually controlled A/C unit

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  • Meet and assist service upon arrival & departure
  • Assistance of our personnel during your stay and excursions
  • All transfers by a modern air-conditioned deluxe vehicle
  • Accommodation on board 5-star cruise on full board basis
  • All Nile Cruise excursions as mentioned in the itinerary sharing
  • Nile cruise group
  • Entrance fees to all sights between Luxor and Aswan
  • English-speaking tour guide during your excursions
  • All service charges and taxes
  • International airline ticket.
  • All beverages.
  • Any personal extras.
  • Any item or service not mentioned.

The rates are quoted per person, in double standard cabin, per night, for minimum three nights cruise – including private tours.

The High Dam – Temple of Philae – The Unfinished Obelisk – Temple of Kom Ombo – Temple of Horus in Edfu – Valley of the Kings – Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari – Colossi of Memnon – The Karnak Temples Complex – Temple of Luxor

-Embarkation on board before lunch -Visit the Karnak temple -Back on board – sail to Esna and overnight (Approx. 5 hrs. sailing)

-Early sailing to el kab (north Edfu) (Approx. 7 hrs. sailing) -Breakfast while sailing via El Hegaz island -Visit el kab tombs-back on board -Sail to El Ramady via Edfu & overnight (Approx. 7 hrs. sailing)

-Breakfast while sailing to El Selsela mountain. (Approx. 6 hrs. sailing) -Visit El Selsela temple -Sail to Kom Ombo & overnight (Approx. 6 hrs. sailing)

-Visit the temple shared by the two gods -Back on board –sail to Daraw (Approx. 2 hrs. sailing) -Visit el souk -Sail to El Kobaneya & overnight (Approx. 4 hrs. sailing)

-breakfast while sailing to Aswan (Approx. 3 hrs. sailing)

-(Disembarkation for the 5 nights cruise) -Optional for the 7 nights cruise (against charge) -(Abu Simple excursion or Philae temple) -Lunch while sailing directly to El Menaha island. (Approx. 8 hrs. sailing) -Barbeque dinner and overnight at El Menaha island

-Early sail to Besaw island (Approx. 8 hrs. sailing) -Continue sailing to El Fuza island and overnight.(Approx. 5 hrs. sailing)

-Early sail to Luxor via Esna -Breakfast while sailing -Check-out upon arrival

Just send us your estimated dates of travel and ask for a quote for the entire trip to Egypt. Our professional team will answer you as soon as possible with the best quote!

+202 24182735 +202 24182736

Destinations

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Third Eye Traveller

Agatha Christie Nile Cruise Tour – All Aboard the Steam Ship Sudan Used in Death on the Nile!

By: Author Sophie Pearce

Posted on Last updated: August 19, 2023

Categories AGATHA CHRISTIE , EGYPT

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for details.

Did you know that you can follow in Agatha Christie’s footsteps by stepping aboard the Steam Ship Sudan in Egypt?

The oldest steamboat still running on the Nile today. You really can take your very own Agatha Christie Nile Cruise!

The queen of crime herself stepped aboard the Steam Ship Sudan to sail down the Nile. She travelled throughout Egypt in 1937. This cruise, and the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan , inspired her to write her famous novel ‘Death on the Nile’ .

Decades later, it has been the star attraction and filming location for scenes in modern film and TV adaptations. Most famously,  Death on the Nile  in 2004 starring David Suchet

old cataract hotel agatha christie

During my Nile cruise aboard the MS Mayfair from Aswan to Luxor , I spotted the SS Sudan pulling into Kom Ombo port. I instantly recognised it and was dying to take a look around. My tour guide, Eid, used to work on board the ship and knew it well.

He also knew the manager of the Steam Ship Sudan and managed to score me a free tour! A.K.A I got to snoop around the ship for a few hours. I was over the moon with excitement!

It felt surreal to wander around the filming location of a movie I have been watching for years. Here’s a tour of Agatha Christie’s Nile Cruise, the boat used in Death on the Nile.

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

Agatha Christie Nile Cruise: The history of Steam Ship Sudan

The Steam Ship Sudan, or SS Sudan, is an old steamer Nile cruise ship that was built for King Fouad in 1885.

A few years before this, the legendary entrepreneur Thomas Cook acquires a permit for tourist Nile sailing. He then accepts eager tourists aboard his first Nile Cruise for Egyptian tourism in 1876. As well as Nile cruises, Cook also built the Old Winter Palace in Luxor and the Old Cataract in Aswan.

In 1911, he acquires the Steam Ship Sudan and Arabia  to advertise faster cruise ships. These boats cut down the tour from Cairo to just 20 days and so more tourists were eager to step aboard.

By 1935, the Steam Ship had reached a golden age of tourism and in 1937, Agatha Christie steps onboard.

No one ever knows whether Agatha Christie intended to stay so long in Egypt. But, what we do know is that she remained here for most of that year. The SS Sudan and the Old Cataract were her muses for writing Death on the Nile. 

Agatha Christie Nile Cruise Steam Ship Sudan Death on the Nile

In World War II, Egyptian tourism came to a halt. This also meant that the Steam Ship Sudan was abandoned and locked away for over 50 years.

In 2000, directors of  Voyageurs du Monde   bought the steamer and revived the SS Sudan to its former glory. It set sail once more in 2006 and has welcomed tourists on board ever since.

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

What films and shows have been filmed onboard the Steam Ship Sudan?

The famous ‘Karnak’ steamer which Agatha Christie wrote about in her novel, was based on the Steam Ship Sudan after her own cruise.

I always thought that the 1978 version of Death on the Nile was filmed onboard the Steam Ship Sudan. But, I later found out that four weeks of filming took place aboard the SS Memnon. This ship is still running as part of Seti Cruises, but only for private functions.

The SS Sudan at the time was still locked away. But, I’m sure if it was available they would have used it for the movie.

The 2004 version of Death on the Nile , starring David Suchet, was filmed on board this very ship.

There is also a new adaptation with Sir Kenneth Branagh due to be released soon and I wonder if the SS Sudan will be a filming location too!

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

Welcome aboard the Steam Ship Sudan

As soon as I waited on the dock at Luxor and saw the SS Sudan pull in, I felt butterflies. Seeing this ship in person and knowing I was going to come aboard was a strange feeling. 

The fact that Agatha Christie would have been on this boat made me have a serious fan girl moment!

I walked down the steps and the gangplank was lifted, allowing me to come aboard and I was shown to the bar. It was a hot day in Luxor, so I was thankful for the cooling temperature of the drawing-room.

No sooner had I sat down, a kind waiter in full livery and tarboush, served me a refreshing glass of hibiscus tea. 

I could see the residents reading from the ship library,  which had copious copies of Death on the Nile to choose. Some of the patrons were playing board games. It was very relaxing. 

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

The lounge and sun deck onboard the SS Sudan

Unfortunately, when I came on board the boat was at full occupancy. So, I couldn’t check out any of the cabins for myself.

But, from seeing the Death on the Nile movie and the Steam Ship Sudan website; they all look vintage boutique! 

Some of the rooms have brass and antique gold wicker bed frames, and luxe deco bedding and interiors.

There are 5 suites and 18 cabins onboard the Sudan. You can even stay in the Agatha Christie Suite and a cabin dedicated to her famous detective, Hercule Poirot.

agatha christie suite steam ship sudan

Steam Ship Sudan cabins

As we wound our way up the winding wooden staircase and over the wooden floorboards, it felt surreal. To walk along this steamer which I had seen on TV was just spectacular.

We made our way up to the lounge deck on top of the boat and found a beautiful place to pass the time and watch the world go by.

There were lounge chairs, sunbeds, tables to play chess. It really looked like the ideal place to relax with a drink and see the sights of the Nile. 

I could only imagine what it would be like to catch the sunset from here. Ah, I can only dream!

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

A look inside the SS Sudan engine room

I always love poking my nose in to see the captain’s quarters of a ship. There’s something so interesting about modern sailing.

There’s a chair, navigation equipment and lots of shiny buttons which I didn’t understand (but so tempting to push)! Also, a phone to make calls. 

You won’t find the stereotypical ships wheel like in the olden days now, although you can find it outside for show.

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

The engine room was also fascinating. Unlike modern cruise ships, steamships work with an engine that makes a chugging sound. You can watch it spin in the engine room. 

My guide told me that it’s quite loud at night, so you can hear it while you sleep. I’m quite a light sleeper myself. But, if I was on this ship I think it would be worth it!

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

How much is the Agatha Christie Nile Cruise?

The Steam Ship Sudan runs two types of cruises. What’s great about these is they stop at more sites than most of the regular Nile Cruises including Dendera and Abydos (which usually cost extra);

  • The Dynastic – a 6 days, 5 night river cruise that runs from Luxor down to Aswan.
  • Eternal River – a 6 days, 5 night cruise from Aswan to Luxor.

Steam Ship Sudan cruise prices

Both cruises have the same rates;

  • From Oct – Apr – 2400 -2700 Euros depending on your cabin.
  • From May – Sept – 1900 – 2200 Euros depending on your cabin.

Special occasions and holidays may cost more. 

You can also rent this boat out for special occasions. The captain told me about a murder mystery evening that was held onboard. I think I would die of excitement if I got to attend!

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

Do you love Agatha Christie?

If you’re gaga about Agatha Christie too and wanted to read more about her travels in Egypt. I have a few posts that I think you might love all about the hotels that she stayed in here on her travels.

You can read about the Old Winter Palace in Luxor and discover all the Agatha Christie secrets you can find within the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan. 

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

All aboard the Steam Ship Sudan

If you’re a fan of the novel or movie  Death on the Nile and the queen of crime herself, then a trip on the Steam Ship Sudan is the perfect choice for you.

Don’t miss out on travelling back in time with the Agatha Christie Nile Cruise and come aboard the Steam Ship Sudan; the oldest ship still actively running on the Nile. 

agatha christie nile cruise steam ship sudan death on the nile

Read more of my Egypt articles

My perfect 2 week Egypt Itinerary

My top travel tips for Egypt

The perfect Egypt packing list

Why you need to visit the West Desert in Egypt

The most Instagrammable places in Egypt

My guide to the Valley of the Kings

Things to do in Luxor

The ultimate 4-day Nile Cruise

Things to do in Aswan

Top places to visit in Luxor at night

The perfect guide for Abu Simbel

My survival guide for the pyramids

Top things to do in Cairo

Why you NEED to visit Alexandria

Top tips for riding a hot air balloon in Luxor

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agatha christie death on the nile steam ship sudan

Tuesday 23rd of August 2022

Wonderful blog again. The real question though is which would you recommend - the SS Sudan or MS Mayfair?

Sophie Pearce

Hi Adrian, it really depends on your budget! I found the MS Mayfair perfect and it's a fraction of the cost. But, if money is no object the SS Sudan would be a bucket list splurge! Sophie x

Wednesday 4th of May 2022

Wow what an amazing review! I’m really looking forward to do this! Could you tell me how much would it cost me to do the cruise in the Agatha Christie cabin??

Hi Dan, it will probably depend on the season you go but the Agatha Christie Suite will most likely cost you around 4,000 Euro for the week! It is not cheap! I would contact the SS Sudan team at Original Travel to ask for specific rates. https://www.originaltravel.co.uk/place/steam-ship-sudan-holidays Hope this helps, Sophie x

Tuesday 11th of January 2022

Hello! I have just returned from Egypt where I was thrilled to spend 5 days cruising down the Nile on the SS Sudan! Your article and photos truly captured the joy of boarding and experiencing this legendary vessel! Thank you!

Wednesday 12th of January 2022

Hi Jim, oh wow! That's amazing that you got to sail down the Nile on the SS Sudan. It truly is an amazing ship! I'm glad you had a good time. I miss Egypt so much. Thank you. Sophie x

thomas nolan

Tuesday 3rd of August 2021

1984 i motored down to Aswan on a then 100 odd year gaff rig schooner Boston storm built in Boston UK as a pilot cutter....at Luxor we tied up alongside the paddle steamer for a few weeks before making our way down to komombo and Aswan .

Hi Thomas! Wow, that sounds like such an adventure. I bet travelling to Egypt must have been so different back then! I would have loved to have seen it before all the attractions were overloaded with security checks haha :) Sounds like you made some memories of a lifetime! Thanks for sharing, Sophie x

Tuesday 15th of June 2021

Hey Sophie, thank you very much indeed, that helps! By the way, I just want to say thank you for keeping this blog. I really love the way you write about each place you visit, especially how you cover the small details that other bloggers tend to overlook. I also share your passion for visiting places where authors have left their mark and hotels with history and character. Egypt is on my bucketlist and given that Covid 19 has put a stop to travelling for now, your blog is very much a way for me to live vicariously as well as build up my research for a seamless trip.

Sunday 27th of June 2021

Hi there, ah thank you! I do try to write in detail as I like to plan trips and find those were the questions I Was asking! So I put them in the post as I thought it could be useful :) Oh I hope you can visit Egypt, it really is the most magical place! Fingers crossed for you! Sophie x

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Cruising the Nile aboard Agatha Christie’s original steamer

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Stanley Stewart

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

It was a bewildering combination. Aboard the boat, we sailed upriver cocooned in a slice of Edwardian England, a splendid well-ordered make-believe world that protected us from the heat and the dust and the unsettling questions of Egypt. We chatted about home, about other travels, about quails and London. We enjoyed fine lunches, we took afternoon tea, we played cards on the sun deck, admiring the picturesque panorama of the riverbanks. We gathered for drinks before dinner.

But mornings ashore were another matter, another world. Out there, beyond the chaotic Egyptian towns, where the horse buggies rattled through dusty streets, beneath a merciless sun, in the ancient temples and tombs, lay profound questions of life and death, of meaning and belief. At Abydos we gazed at images of gods in the inner sanctums of the temple. In the tombs of the Valley of the Kings, we watched souls being weighed against a feather and kings confidently embarking on their journey into the afterlife. Among the great halls of Karnak we were confronted by the most fundamental of questions — are the gods listening, or is the universe indifferent to us?    

I had no idea. And neither did the ancient Egyptians. They were just guessing. But such wonderful guessing. Who knows if Osiris actually did anything for them beyond the tomb but this side of things the beautiful reliefs, the staggering temples, the elaborate rituals, the bizarre gods are fascinating and life-enhancing and strangely beautiful. It is as if Tolkien and JK Rowling had been asked to get together to invent a religion, and then commissioned Piranesi to come up with the temple designs.

Map showing key temple locations along the Nile

On the boat, I found my own transcendence in the panorama of the riverbanks. In the early mornings, they were as soothing as a murmured prayer. A low sun struck through the palm groves to lay a nave of light across the water. A file of women, washing pots on their heads, followed paths of white dust draped with gossamer mists. When they waded into the river, their skirts rose around them in billowing domes of colour. The voices of children drifted like chanting across the water echoing, elongated, disembodied. A man in a white jellabiya , as stately as a prophet, appeared on the edge of a village, the houses a cubist study, the minaret ringed with garish lights, a moored ferry boat nuzzling the bank, awaiting passengers. Two boys unfolded nets in a side channel where the water was the colour of apricots. Divine clouds mottled the surface of the river and egrets flew upstream, like fleeing angels, so low their feet trailed their own reflections.

A man in Egyptian dress stands before two giant stone pillars inside a temple

For millennia travellers have been drawn to Egypt for a glimpse of an antique world, and for the ancient Egyptians’ fantastical take on things — the cow-headed goddesses, the bejewelled pharaohs, the rich paintings in the depths of tombs. Tourism here is half as old as the pyramids. It began with the ancient Greeks. When Herodotus came up the Nile in the fifth century before Christ, his postcards home were crammed with superlatives. When Henry Morton Stanley stopped off on his way to look for Livingston, he was delighted. “Those who wish to borrow one month of real pleasure from a serious life,” he suggested, “should come and see the Nile.”

At the end of the 19th century and well into the 20th, Egypt was the great dinner party trump card to silence people droning on about their visit to the Eiffel Tower. By the 1880s Thomas Cook steamers were ferrying eager visitors all the way to Aswan, seemingly the end of the known world. Women beneath parasols and men in linen suits, trailing guides and hawkers, peered into dank tombs, wandered through columned temples and had their pictures taken in front of the pyramids. The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 gave Egyptian tourism another huge boost. With immaculate timing, Thomas Cook had just ordered a new fleet of river boats.

In the winter of 1933, Agatha Christie, her husband, the archaeologist, Max Mallowan, and her daughter Rosalind made their way through a crowd of porters, passengers and hawkers brandishing week-old antiquities to board one of the Thomas Cook steamers in Cairo for a leisurely journey up the Nile. For Christie, it should have been a welcome break from convoluted village murders.  

An overhead view of the river Nile with small sail boats and monuments on the riverbank

Ninety years later, two things survive of their trip. The first is a story, Christie’s book, Death on the Nile — she wasn’t taking a break after all. Published in 1937, it is still in print. The second is the boat on which they sailed, the SS Sudan, a relic of a more storied age. Just over a century from her launch, the Sudan still sails the Nile, oozing nostalgia, the most elegant of boats on this most elegant of rivers. When they came to film the second of the three movie versions of Death on the Nile , starring David Suchet, she played herself, albeit temporarily renamed the SS Karnak, to match the name in the book.

I boarded the SS Sudan — the SS stands for Steam Ship — at Luxor and was ushered into a splendid cabin with a brass bedstead, a velvet sofa, shuttered windows, bevelled mirrors, a framed photo of King Farouk and the sense that I should really have packed an ivory-headed walking stick and a monocle. Wicker chairs framed the tables on the promenade deck between the splintered palms in their brass planters.

Waiter dressed in red sets tables

Among the book-lined shelves and the leather armchairs of the lounge, waiters in red tunics and fezzes ferried drinks while up on the sun deck afternoon tea was served every day punctually at five pm. Sailors swabbed the dark teak decks morning and evening while midship passengers could peer down at the boat’s great pistons shining with oil or outside to the two side paddlewheels churning the Nile (many of the engine parts are original though it is no longer powered by steam). On the Sudan, there was always the sense, call it a suspicion, that if I turned my head suddenly from my G&T at the bar I might glimpse Poirot’s familiar silhouette mincing past the etched glass of the lounge windows.  

After the second world war and the collapse of Egyptian tourism, the Sudan lay docked and abandoned for half a century before being restored by a French tour operator in the 2000s. But the ship’s age draws us naturally back to travellers of an earlier era, long before the river’s modern cruise boats that look like London tower blocks, tipped on their sides. The parade of visitors to Egypt over the centuries offers a cast of characters as diverse as an Agatha Christie novel — Napoleon, Florence Nightingale, Mark Twain, Thackeray, Gustave Flaubert, Vita Sackville West and the wonderful Amelia Edwards, novelist and arguably the mother of Egyptology. All shared the one precious thing that we are in dangers of losing — a sense of wonder.  

A sailing boat on the river as the sun sets

The stretch of the Nile from Luxor upriver to Aswan is packed with ancient ruins. Add in a diversion downstream, to take in Abydos and Dendera and you have most of the great monuments of the New Kingdom and Ptolemaic Egypt. At Luxor itself, the temple of Karnak, constructed over 1,300 years, bestrides the bank on a leviathan scale. Maxime du Camp, the early French photographer, who had travelled extensively in Italy and Greece, wrote home “never, ever, have I seen anything to compare to Karnak”. Florence Nightingale who visited in the same year, 1850, said she loved Karnak because it made her think.

Across the river on the west bank, among a staggering collection of beautiful temples and monuments, are the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, their walls swarming with phantasmagorical paintings of the underworld, with figures of pharaohs and gods, with elegant hieroglyphics, with details of secret rituals that will ensure passage into the next world. After visiting the tombs, Nightingale wrote, “It is very hard to be all day by the deathbed of the greatest of your race, and to come home [to the boat] and talk about quails or London.” I am not so sure. After a bewildering day in the underworld, I think a bit of banal chit-chat about quails and London is very welcome.    

Upriver from Luxor, roughly a day’s sail apart, are a series of temples — Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo — which have delighted generations of travellers. But when Gustave Flaubert arrived at Esna, also in 1850, he had had enough of temples, enough of confronting the eternal. He didn’t want to think; he wanted to feel. He ended up in the house of Kuchuk Hanem, a prostitute who had been exiled here from Cairo. She performed the Bee, having first blindfolded her musicians, a dance that was meant to drive men wild with desire. It seems to have worked with Flaubert. “One learns so many things in a brothel,” he wrote, “and feels such sadness, and dreams so longingly of love.”

Paintings of gods on the wall of an Egyptian royal tomb

Aswan marks the end of most Nile journeys. Well into the 20th century, travellers arriving here felt they had reached the limits of civilisation. In the alleys of its bazaar are odours and goods from the heart of Africa. Yet Aswan has none of the melancholy transience of a frontier town. It is easily the most delightful place on the Nile. I stayed in the comforting embrace of the Old Cataract Hotel. Built in 1899 by Thomas Cook, it shares the Sudan’s retro charm. Its terraces are viewing platforms for the river, here in its picturesque form, narrowing towards the First Cataract, threading among islands, between banks of pale sand and dark smooth granite. Aswan is a town of boats; everyone comes and goes on the water. At sunset, the lateen sails of the feluccas are spread to the north winds that have carried boats up the Nile, against the currents, since before the time of Cheops.  

Just upstream from Aswan are the ruins of Philae, everyone’s favourite temple complex. When the High Dam was built in the 1960s, Unesco oversaw its move, stone by stone, from its original site on Biga Island, where it would have been submerged, to nearby Agilkia Island. Built by Ptolemaic and Roman rulers, keen to associate themselves with the cult of Osiris, it is a surprisingly harmonious blend of Pharaonic and Greco-Roman architecture. The sylvan island setting, the arrival by boat and the way some parts of the site still feel solitary give Philae a special atmosphere. Despite the move to a new island, Egyptologist Amelia Edwards’ description from the 1870s could be penned today.

“The approach by water is quite the most beautiful,” she wrote. “The island with its palms, its colonnades, its pylons seem to rise out of the river like a mirage . . . If a sound of antique chanting were to be borne along the quiet air — if a procession of white-robed priests bearing aloft the veiled ark of the God, were to come sweeping round between the palms and pylons — we should not think it strange.”

I wandered down to the Gate of Diocletian at the remote end of the island where I found myself alone with the ancient world. I took off my shoes and stepped down into the shallows of the river. Images of gods were looking blindly down on me. The Nile pulled at my ankles. This river has its own eternity.

Stanley Stewart was a guest of Original Travel. Its 10-day Taste of the Nile trip costs from £3,565 per person, based on two sharing and including return flights from London, transfers, four nights’ hotel accommodation, five nights’ all-inclusive accommodation onboard the SS Sudan and guided tours. The SS Sudan has 24 guest cabins; Original Travel also offer Nile cruises aboard the seven-cabin La Flaneuse du Nil, from £4,800 per person

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  • Cabins and suites

The Steam Ship Sudan consists of 18 cabins and 6 suites spread across  three levels. Each is customised and named after people related to the history of Egypt or the ship. Interior decorating has been carefully curated in order to reproduce Belle Epoque style.

Accessible by the promenade decks, they are approximately 17m2 in area and are equipped with a large bed or twin beds. Each one of them has two windows.

Four iconic suites are situated in the prow and the stern of the upper deck. Another suite, the Oum Kalsoum suite, is situated on the main deck. Last but not least, the Odilo suite, inaugurated in January 2022, can be found on the sun-deck. They are appromixately 25m2 in area and their big picture windows offer panoramic views of the Nile and its banks.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Agatha Christie Suite

It was on board this historic vessel in 1933, when she was accompanying her husband on an archaeological mission, that the queen of suspense found the inspiration for  Death on the Nile . On the starboard side of the prow on the upper deck, this suite offers a panoramic view of the Nile from its broad bay windows. It contains two beds (twin).

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Lady Duff Gordon Suite

On the port side of the prow, on the upper deck, the Lady Duff Gordon suite is named after the author of major ethnological works on the peasant communities of Upper Egypt. It too enjoys a panoramic view of the river, and has two beds (twin).

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Hercule Poirot

On the starboard side of the upper deck, paying homage to Agatha Christie’s famous detective, the Hercule Poirot cabin is equipped with a double bed. The atmosphere is cosy and refined, thanks to the wood panelling and the warm colours of the fabrics and furniture. The two windows look over the passageway and the Nile.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Gustave Flaubert

The author of Madame Bovary was 28 years old when he undertook a journey through Egypt with his friend, Maxime Du Camp. He was deeply affected by the landscapes and colours he observed from this double cabin which now bears his name.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

The great historian and geographer Herodotus visited Egypt at the end of the 5th century. He recounted the experience in his work The Histories, and described the country with the now famous phrase : « Egypt is the gift of the Nile ». The twin cabin is on the starboard side of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Vivant Denon

A diplomat, writer and museologist, the French Egyptologist accompanied Bonaparte on his Egyptian campaign in 1798. He brought back some 400 drawings, inspired by the banks of the river one can admire from the windows of this twin cabin.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Named after the building of the same name in the novel by Alaa El Aswany, a vivid portrayal of Cairo and the Egyptians, the double cabin is on the starboard side of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

King Farouk

On the port side of the upper deck, this double cabin refers to the last king of Egypt, who ruled over the country from 1935 to 1952, and who signed its independence treaty.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Mariette Pacha

In 1858, the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette was awarded the title pacha for his devoted contribution to the preservation of Egyptian heritage works. He oversaw the restoration of the sites at Karnak, Luxor and Philae that can be seen during the cruise. This double cabin is on the starboard side of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Gérard de Nerval

Passionate about the Orient, the French poet first discovered Cairo in 1843. For him, Egypt represented an escape route from madness. An inexhaustible source of inspiration for him, he grew ever closer to the enchanting land and its people. This double cabin is on the port side of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Ferdinand de Lesseps

The French consul in Cairo from 1833, Ferdinand de Lesseps oversaw the digging of the Suez Canal, inaugurated in 1869, which marked a significant development in Nile cruising. His name now graces this cabin on the starboard side of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

David Roberts

A Scottish painter, David Roberts set out in 1838 to sail up the Nile as far as Abu Simbel. From this expedition, he brought back a major collection of lithographies from the temples he saw. This twin cabin is on the rear port side of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Alexander the Great

The mythical conqueror, regarded in Egypt as the son of the god Amon, and proclaimed pharaoh, Alexander the Great has lent his name to cabin 14 (the vessel has no number 13), a twin cabin on the rear port side of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

John Mason Cook

The son of Thomas Cook, John Mason worked alongside his father from 1860 to develop cruises on the Nile. A cabin bearing his name is a logical and worthy tribute. It is on the rear starboard side of the upper deck and has two beds (twin).

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Howard Carter

It is to this British archaeologist that we owe the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of Kings. Passengers may be less excited, but certainly pleasantly surprised, when they discover this twin cabin at the stern end of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

The Unknown Venitian

A tribute to the first European to have mentioned the existence of Karnak in 1589, this twin cabin is situated towards the stern, on the port side of the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

The eponymous character of Verdi’s opera, composed in 1871 to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal and the Cairo Opera House, Aida was an Ethiopian slave. TheSteam Ship Sudan honours her with a twin suite on the port side of the poop deck, with a front-row view over the Nile.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Queen Victoria Suite

The regent of the British Empire, which took control of Egypt at the end of the 19th century, now gives her regal name to this cabin at the vessel’s stern on the upper deck. Its rounded walls, with vast panoramic bay windows, look over the Nile and its banks in the wake of the ship.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Oum Kalsoum Suite

On the lower level, on the main deck, the entire bow space is taken up with a suite with a warm and luxurious atmosphere, a hymn to Egypt’s velvet-voiced legend, Oum Kalsoum, still considered, some 30 years after her death, as the greatest female singer in the arab world.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Naguib Mahfouz

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz is unequalled in his historical portrayals of Egypt and the life of the great city of Cairo. Perhaps this should be mandatory reading in the comfort of this twin cabin on the port and bow side of the main deck

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Geoffroy Saint Hilaire

This French naturalist accompanied Napoleon on his 1798 campaign. He helped to found the science and arts institute in Cairo and brought back to France an incredible variety of scientific artifacts. The double cabin bearing his name is located on the port, bow side of the main deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Jean-François Champollion

Passionate about Egypt from an early age, Champollion put forward a theory about Egyptian writing as early as 1809. A few years later, he finally solved the mysteries of hieroglyphics. This twin cabin is on the ship’s starboard side, at the bow of the main deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Samuel Shepheard

Samuel Shepheard was one of the pioneers of tourism in Egypt. We notably owe him the famous hotel in Cairo that was named after him, built in 1841. This double cabin is on the starboard, bow side of the main deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Odilo Suite

The latest cabin of the ship, situated just behind the Raïs’s cabin, pays tribute to the engineer behind the restoration of the Steam Ship Sudan and its important technological transformation. Its position offers an amazing and simultaneous view of both banks of the Nile. It has one double bed and a private deck.

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On Location: How ‘Death on the Nile’ Built a Full Size River Cruise Ship on Set

By Meredith Carey

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Back when it was first published in 1937, Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile, which follows mustachioed detective Hercule Poirot on a mystery-filled steamboat cruise down the famed Egyptian river , inspired travelers near and far to experience the Nile for themselves. (Hopefully, with less murder.) We don't doubt that Kenneth Branagh's silver screen interpretation of the classic novel will do the same—thanks, in part, to the to-scale river cruise ship production designer Jim Clay and his team built on set.

Yes, the film's fictional Karnak steamboat was built full size in a U.K. studio parking lot, with everything from the spacious, two-story lounge at the bow to the cabins in the rear decked out in opulent Art Deco design. We sat down with Clay to get the inside scoop on what inspired them to build out the ship, his favorite place on the Karnak to sneak off to during filming, and the places in Egypt that inspired the Death on the Nile 's sets. Read on to get insight into how Clay's team built a river cruise ship from scratch in just seven months, and take a peak at exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the Karnak in action.

See the Karnak and star-studded cast of Death on the Nile in theaters starting February 11.

Why did you choose to build a full set rather than, say, film on an existing ship or create rooms on a soundstage?

Mostly because of Sir Kenneth [Brannagh’s] shooting style . He likes to shoot on composite sets, composite worlds, so that he's not confined to a cabin set for this scene and a lounge set for that scene. We originally looked at the potential of some real boats to shoot on, but frankly, we realized very quickly that there was nothing of the scale, the period, or the style that we wanted. So we decided to build. Originally we were going to build [the Karnak ] in the U.K., and then dismantle it and take it to Ouarzazate, Morocco, and float it on a real lake there. It was quite a daunting thing. But ultimately, we looked at what advancements had been made in digital water and we got this call from Ken saying, we're not going to float it on the lake but we're going to build it on a railway track in the carpark of our studio in Surrey. It was quite a welcome phone call.

[The Karnak ] was on that track so that we could move it in and out of the stage, according to the weather and what scenes we were doing. We also built a partial tank along one side, so while it wasn't actually floating in the water, it was on the railway tracks that butted right up to it. When the cast had their first experience of boarding the boat, they approached it from the water side, so it was as if they were boarding from the Nile.

Ali Fazal as Andrew Katchadourian Letitia Wright as Rosalie Otterbourne and Sophie Okonedo as Salome Otterbourne in 20th...

The ship could be rolled in and out of the studio to give actors Ali Fazal, Letitia Wright, and Sophie Okonedo (from left) a real-world cruising experience. 

When you were looking at period-correct ships for inspiration, what were the key elements of river cruises that you wanted to make sure were represented in the ship you were building in 2019?

The biggest thing was getting the scale right. The Cunard Line at that time had several boats floating on the Nile and we looked very carefully at their drawings. We got a scale that suited us from the larger end of that fleet of boats and we built it with three decks so that Ken could do his tracking shots from one level to another and out of a cabin down the deck, into a bar, back up on the deck again. He takes whatever you give him in terms of a set—my gosh, he really takes advantage of it and uses every inch.

When you look back at that set, what parts of the ship make you particularly proud?

Although it was a boat with cabins and corridors, we tried to make it partially open plan as well. So that a double height sun lounge at the front of the boat, which then looked down onto a mezzanine level, and then looked down to a dining area with a stage and area for the band, which connected to the front of the boat, that was a lovely, opulent, and glamorous space to sit. Often when the crew was shooting on the stages somewhere I would go and sit in that lounge—especially if it was sunny. It was a very peaceful and calming area to be in.

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The ship's central lounge, pictured here, was Clay's favorite hideaway onboard. 

It usually takes well over a year to build a functioning cruise ship these days. What was the build-out process like for the Karnak?

We had about seven months to design and build the boat. I had an amazing team and an amazing art department team led by Dominic Masters, supervising art director, and we worked with the construction team, led by John Bohan, an immensely skillful guy. I was obviously most concerned with the quality of the finishes and the marble and the Art Deco furniture. John was concerned about the weight of the boat, because he bought these wheels for the railway track that had a limit of something around about 240 tonnes. So as we got close to completing the structure, and more and more equipment was coming on board, John was weighing everything as it went on board so we didn't supersede the weight limit.

While most of the movie’s action happens on board, there are scenes in London, in Aswan, Egypt, and beyond. What was the research like for the sets in those scenes?

There's a lot of research available there, archives and photographic archives, which was immensely helpful. But we went out there—Ken, Haris [Zambarloukos, the director of photography], and Matthew Jenkins, the producer—for a few days, to Cairo and to Abu Simbel. We spent a lot of time at Abu Simbel and I spent a lot of time measuring. We did briefly consider shooting at Abu Simbel, but obviously there are many logistical nightmares, not least the heat. It was immensely hot. So again, we decided to build that back on the studio lot in Surrey. We built it full scale but not out of stone, out of polystyrene and plaster with tons of sand. Plus, we took a trip along the Nile just to get the feel of it.

What was the experience of floating along and seeing all that incredible Egyptian history along the Nile?

It's another world, isn't it? It's sort of, in a way, equivalent to Venice. Venice has an unreality to it. You approach Venice and you think, there it is, floating jewel-like just off the coast of reality. And I think there's something similar about the Nile. Those temples and the history, it's awe-inspiring. And we felt that, even though we were just in a little dhow going up and down the Nile. And there's a sort of silence as well. Somehow you can sense the past through the silence. It's unlike the world we occupy normally in our day-to-day lives in these big cities. It was thrilling.

For those who haven’t been able to experience it for themselves, what do you hope they take away from the sets you’ve created in the movie?

Go to the movie and experience that journey because I think the way Ken and Haris have shot the movie, you feel you're there, you feel you're on board that ship. And then take the journey of your lifetime and go. Start in Cairo and make your way down the Nile. It's well worth it. It's something that should be done in all people's lives, if at all possible.

On the River Nile: Luxury Hotels & a Cruise on the Steam Ship Sudan

  • Combine two historic hotels in Luxor and Aswan and sail aboard the Steam Ship Sudan , following in the footsteps of Agatha Christie
  • Contemplate everyday life along the Nile and explore magnificent sites and unknown temples
  • Relax on the banks of the Nile in your final destination, the beautiful city of Aswan

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nile cruise agatha christie boat

ARRIVE IN EGYPT

Your Egyptian adventure begins with a five-hour international flight from London to Cairo, followed by an hour-long domestic flight to Luxor. After a warm welcome on arrival from our Concierge, you will be privately transferred to your hotel where you will be able to freshen up and enjoy a leisurely dinner before hitting the hay.

ALL ABOARD THE STEAM SHIP SUDAN

After waking up in the ancient city of Luxor, you will head to the Steam Ship Sudan (which incidentally is owned by our parent company, Voyageurs du Monde), where your idyllic adventure on the Nile begins. Get settled in your cabin before enjoying a delicious lunch on board, followed by an afternoon spent discovering the East Bank of Luxor. Visit the Karnak Complex, one of the world's largest sacred monuments, including the temple of the sovereign god of Karnak - Amun - which was built nearly two thousand years ago between the Middle Kingdom and the later Ptolemaic era. Then visit the Temple of Luxor, the most elegant of the Ancient Egyptian buildings built under Amenhotep III. Return to the boat and set sail towards Qena, north of Luxor. This part of the Nile, where few cruise ships go, is lush and picturesque and offers stunning coastal views over which you can enjoy your first Egyptian sunset along the Nile. Tuck into your first dinner aboard the steamship before spending your first night sleeping in true Egyptian luxury.

SAIL PAST ANCIENT CITIES

It’s an early start this morning as you disembark the boat and make the two-hour drive to Abydos. The holy city of Abydos is a city of Osiris, king of the underworld and God of the afterlife and has been drawing visitors since the Ancient Egyptian era. The temple, which dates back to the time of Seti I, is a wonder to admire, with large colourful engravings whose exquisite execution marks the birth of Ramesside art. On the way back to the steamship, stop off at the Dendera Temple and the spectacular Temple of Hathor, goddess of joy and love, protector of women and also nurse to the pharaohs. The remains of the ancient city of Dendera are particularly well preserved and you’ll be able to see intricately decorated chapels, columns topped with cow heads, and terraces and roofs boasting splendid views of the Upper Egypt countryside. Head back to the boat for lunch, before spending a beautiful afternoon sailing back towards Luxor.

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

Another early start this morning, but a truly worthwhile one as you head to the Theban Necropolis – a land of mysteries believed to be the domain of the god Osiris. You’ll be able to visit the Valley of the Kings, where you'll find hypogea (underground tombs) belonging to many pharaohs of the New Empire, as well as the Valley of the Queens where the royal wives are buried, and the Valley of the Nobles. You can also visit the Temple of Ramses III in Medinet-Habu, which is almost entirely preserved and is a perfect example of funeral temples from the Ramesside dynasty. Head back to the steamship for a languid lunch before setting sail for Esna Lock, before continuing onto Edfu under the star-filled sky. Enjoy another delicious dinner on board before heading to bed.

TEMPLES GALORE

This morning you’ll explore the Temple of Edfu, dedicated to the falcon-headed god Horus, his wife Hathor and son Harsomtous and one of the best preserved temples in Egypt. Return to the steamship for lunch on board and sail to Kom Ombo just in time for sunset. In the evening, visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, a very special place within Egypt thanks to its dedication to two deities: the god Horus, with the head of a falcon and the god Sobek, with the head of a crocodile. Enjoy dinner on board and an overnight at the quay in Kom Ombo.

GATEWAY TO NUBIA

Today is the day you will set sail for Aswan, the gateway to Nubia. Large sandy banks slowly replace the cultivated lands along the Nile as you enter the area where civilisation once ended. Since the third century, Elephantine Island has been a major trading centre as Nubia (meaning gold in Nubian) boasts rich land, providing Egypt not only with gold but also with soldiers, sought-after timber and precious ivory. In Aswan, you’ll be able to visit the Philae Temple complex, which is a sanctuary to Isis, the goddess of marriage, fertility and medicine who ruled over life, death and the underworld, and one of the most important places in Egypt and Nubia until 550 AD. Enjoy some time exploring Aswan before dinner and the optional ‘Light and Sound’ show in Philae.

EXPLORE ASWAN

Leave the beautiful Steam Ship Sudan behind after breakfast and transfer to your hotel in style on a traditional felucca with a stop at Kitchener’s Island. Named after the former British consul in Egypt, who transformed this desert islet into a lush botanical haven, the island offers stunning views over the western bank of the Nile and the desert beyond. Spend the rest of the day exploring the historical delights that Aswan has to offer. From sublime amphitheatres and bustling souqs to the Unfinished Obelisk and the Great Mosque, Aswan is brimming with history just waiting to be discovered. Head to your hotel for afternoon tea followed by dinner and even a cocktail or two overlooking the Nile.

Sadly, your Egyptian adventure comes to an end today. Transfer to the airport in a private vehicle for a domestic flight to Cairo before hopping aboard your international flight home.

ABOARD THE STEAM SHIP SUDAN

Aswan - fishing on lake nasser fishing, with a few extra days – abu simbel, a rough idea of price.

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A Cruise With Agatha Christie on Her Steamship in Death on the Nile

steamship sailing into sunset

Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile just came out. Rather than sink this all-style-no-substance Hollywood ship – sorry KB, but overall I was underwhelmed – I’ve something better to float our boats today.  I want to take you on a Nile cruise circa 1930 with the thriller queen herself, Agatha Christie, to learn about the star of the show. No, not Armie Hammer, but the  SS Karnak, a luxury steamship on which most of the action takes place (that you can sail on with a company called Original Travel , more on that later!) So, with our bags safely stowed, and life jackets on? Well, then let’s sail!

nile cruise agatha christie boat

The sight of  SS Karnak  in the latest film had me at hello. Look at her above! Isn’t she something?  The beautiful white curved wooden deck, the low-lit rooms, the way she wears the chiselled cast and dusky Nile backdrop so well. Turns out, though, that not only is she a giant prop – yes people, the SS Karnak  in the latest Death on the Nile film is one giant luxurious prop constructed in a studio in England – but it’s also inspired by a real-life steamship that none other than Agatha Christie travelled on, which you can still travel on today! ( More on that later, stay tuned .)

nile cruise agatha christie boat

The SS Sudan was – and still very much is – a luxurious and fast steamer ship.  She belonged to Englishman, Thomas Cook, who founded the synonymous English travel company in England in 1841 .  Egypt was becoming a fashionable destination for those of means, a group which included Agatha Christie, and Cook was keen to meet this growing demand. He also wanted to make cruising the Nile more comfortable and faster. So in 1911, he commissioned a fleet of luxury steamships, which included the SS Sudan .

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Before these luxury steamships were introduced, however, a cruise on the Nile was not for the faint-hearted:

The journey up the Nile from Cairo to Aswan and back could take as long as three months and was made on traditional boats, with bad reputations for neglect and rat problems. Published in 1847, the “Handbook for Travellers in Egypt” advised passengers to bring iron bedsteads, carpets, rat traps, washing tubs, guns and staples such as tea and “English cheese.” Pianos were popular additions; so were chickens, turkeys, sheep and mules,” according to New York Times travel writer,   Michelle Green .

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Agatha Christie was a wealthy lady with the means to travel to Egypt several times in her life. Her first trip was in 1907 to visit her mother who had moved there for the warmer winter weather and cheaper cost of living. Her second was to visit her archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan, at a dig site in 1930. She writes about her travels in Egypt in her autobiography, Come Tell Me How You Live, and it’s thought that her first novel,  Snow Upon the Desert,  was based on her time staying at the Gezirah Hotel in Cairo. However, it was the journey she made in 1931 onboard the SS Sudan with Max to an archaeological mission in Aswan that would be the most poignant, as  the inspiration for her 1937 novel,  Death on the Nile.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

The 236-feet-long  SS Sudan  launched in 1915. She was designed to carry 80 passengers in 40 luxury cabins and lavish suites set on matching decks. She even had running hot water in every room. Not surprisingly, by the 1920s cruising the Nile aboard the SS Sudan  attracted an elite clientele of diplomats, high society and archaeologists, all willing and able to pay generously to discover Ancient Egypt.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

At this point, the Egyptian government decided it was time to find a company to buy and restore SS Sudan. It took several attempts, but in 2006, a French tour company called Voyageurs du Monde  bought and completely restored her, keeping the historic layout and adding modern engineering and services. Today, thanks to them, the SS Sudan  remains one of the oldest operating traditional Nile steamships in the world.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Inside, it looks pretty much the same as it did originally, while several of the suites are named after various famous Nile travellers from the past or people linked to Egyptian history. These include Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb; King Farouk, the penultimate king of Egypt; the Lady Duff Gordon suite, named after a high society author who settled in Luxor after contracting tuberculosis, best known for her book   Letters from Egypt –  I feel a blog post about her coming on – and obviously, the Agatha Christie – obviously – prow cabin on the upper deck.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

You can book your Nile cruise on the SS Sudan with various travel companies including Original Travel , the only UK tour operator to offer cruises on her (I’ve bookmarked it for when I win the Lottery), or you can book direct, here .

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Africa , Egypt , Literary Guides , Middle East · February 3, 2023

A CRUISE BACK IN TIME ON THE RIVER NILE ABOARD THE STEAM SHIP SUDAN

Wicker chairs with white pillows on the deck of a boat cruising the River Nile

I am a serious Agatha Christie fan, and many of my travel bucket list items relate to her books or her own travels. For a number of years my ultimate travel dream has been to cruise the Nile on  the Steam Ship Sudan , inspired by one of her most famous books,  Death on the Nile . We decided that a much delayed honeymoon (thanks COVID…) was the opportunity to finally fulfil this ambition. No spoilers, but thankfully my honeymoon was a bit more successful than that of the poor victim aboard the fictional steamer in Christie’s masterpiece! 

From the moment we were welcomed aboard with hot towels and a glass of hibiscus tea, it was clear that this was going to be a special trip. And so it proved to be. It was quite simply, a once in a life time experience and utterly memorable for all the best reasons. 

AGATHA CHRISTIE AND THE STEAM SHIP SUDAN

“The Karnak was a smaller steamer than the Papyrus and the Lotus, the First Cataract steamers… since the boat was not full most of the passengers had accommodation on the promenade deck. The entire forward part of this deck was occupied by an observation saloon, all glass-enclosed, where the passengers could sit and watch the river unfold before them. On the deck below were a smoking room and a small drawing room, and on the deck below that, a dining saloon.” Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile

Sadly, it is not really known whether the Queen of Crime travelled aboard the  SS Sudan.  What is definite, is that she took two trips up the Nile with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, and her daughter Rosalind, in 1931 and again in 1933. Whilst the exact ships she boarded are not known, it would have been a ship very similar to the  Sudan,  if not the Sudan herself.

Golden afternoon sunlight over a wooden boat deck with wicker chairs on a Nile Cruise

On her return to England she wrote a short story,  Death On The Nile.  What was to become her most famous work, was originally published in 1934 as part of a collection entitled  Parker Pyne Investigates . It wasn’t until 1937 that she published a novel by the same name, but with a different plot, in which a Nile cruise is the backdrop for murder. The annotated deck plan she includes in the book is almost identical to that of another of Cook & Son’s fleet, the  Thebes , which might offer a wee clue to which ship she was on… Although of course she had two Nile cruises, so perhaps two different boats – the  Sudan  is still in with a chance!

The super 1978 adaptation starring Peter Ustinov was filmed on another old Cook & Son steamer – the  Memnon.  Sadly this has now been gutted and is languishing, sliced in half, in a boatyard in Cairo. But the superb 2004 adaptation, with the magnificent David Suchet as Poirot, was filmed aboard the  Sudan . 

TO CRUISE OR NOT TO CRUISE THE NILE?

The temples and pyramids of ancient Egypt have been captivating travellers for over two millennia and a Nile cruise has been the centrepiece of a trip to Egypt for almost all that time. Such is the span of Egyptian history, that even Cleopatra and Julius Caesar took a cruise along the Nile towards the end of the Pharaonic period, to visit the sights, aboard the state barge  Thalamegos . For Victorian visitors it was considered almost a rite of passage for wealthy travellers. But nowadays there are far more options available for the Egyptian explorer, and a Nile cruise is not the only way to explore Upper Egypt. 

nile cruise agatha christie boat

From many of the online reviews and blogs I read online before setting off for our Nile cruise, I imagined docking each night in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but the sounds of Nile lapping against the boat to soothe us to sleep after a day watching scenes unchanged for thousands of years floating by… the reality is a bit different! With over 94% of Egypt made up of desert, the vast majority of the 105.3 million population live and work in the small strip of fertile land along the Nile. It is therefore clearly neither empty, nor devoid of other travel options, if you do not wish to take a cruise. There are major highways on both sides of the Nile, and the national rail line runs alongside the eastern bank of the river. So be aware that when you read travel accounts from those claiming voyaging down the Nile got them off the beaten track, or to places untouched for thousands of years… these are mostly nonsense!

All that being said, I still think a Nile cruise is an unmissable experience – and also the preferable way to structure your Egyptian itinerary. 

Although Nile cruises can seem expensive, I think they can actually offer excellent value for money if you choose well. Once you add up the price of visiting all of the sites independently, hiring guides, meals, accommodation and transport you are likely to pay a similar price. But the added benefit of a Nile cruise is that someone else does all the leg work for you! Almost all the travel I’ve ever done has been independent, but knowing someone else was sorting out the details and logisitics meant we had nothing to focus on except soaking up the vast amount of history and amazing sights on offer. It made the whole experience very relaxing, which for such a long awaited honeymoon, seemed more than worth it.

Likewise, the journey itself became an integral part of the experience. Instead of worrying about train times, or sat in a taxi for several hours at a stretch, we spent our days watching the Nile float past our cabin windows, read our books on the sun deck and sipped mint tea as we sailed towards to our next destination. As a firm believer in the concept of slow travel, this seemed a perfect way to explore this beautiful country.

From sleeping out under the stars on a rustic felucca, to five star floating hotels, there are almost endless choices if you decide to cruise the Nile. For us, there was never any question that if I finally fulfilled my dream of a Nile cruise, it would be onboard the  SS Sudan . But if we had been looking at other options (or perhaps next time we go…!), I would have been keen on the beautiful dahabiya of  Nour El Nil . The dahabiyas are replicas of the traditional sail boats that ferried archaeologists and well to do travellers along the Nile in the 19thC. Just note that they don’t sail for the entirety of the cruise – the majority we saw were actually being pulled along by small motorised tug boats. 

Wood panelled Steam Ship Sudan moored up on the River Nile

Of Thomas Cook & Son’s original fleet of Nile steamers, the  SS Sudan  is the only one that still operates cruises on the Nile.

The  Sudan  set sail on its maiden voyage in February 1921, from Cairo to Aswan. It was the last steamer Cook & Son added to their Nile fleet, operating cruises up until the outbreak of war in 1939. After the Second World War, Thomas Cook & Son sold off most of their fleet, and the  Sudan  was bought by Faud Serageldin, the secretary general of Egypt’s Wafd Party. After the coup of 1952, the boat was seized under the programme of nationalisation. Eventually, she was acquired by a French company who moored the ship in Luxor and used her as a floating hotel. The  Sudan  was finally sold again in 2003 to the French travel company  Voyageurs du Monde  (whom based on fellow travellers’ experiences, I would wholeheartedly recommend). They painstakingly restored her to her original condition. During the restoration, rooms on board were reduced from the original 56 cabins and 4 suites, down to 18 far larger cabins and 5 suites, each named after fictional and historical figures with links to Egypt.

The restoration has been done beautifully, and very sympathetically. There is a serious sense of history seeping out of every wooden board, every bit if gleaming, polished brass. We really appreciated the small details – such as authentic linen shower curtains instead of newer, more practical plastic imitations. Whist there is a backup diesel engine for safety, at no point on our Nile cruise was this used and the ship is still stubbornly steam powered. 

nile cruise agatha christie boat

There are 67 crew on board, including a team of 10 mechanics. All front of house staff speak Arabic, French and English. Service was excellent and the Ship Director, Amir, was a delightful, welcoming man clearly passionate about the ship and its crew. He sailed with us for the duration.

Rather amazingly, there was (slow and patchy) WiFi. It was strong enough to send a few WhatsApp messages, but not to use the internet properly. 

We stayed in a room named after French archaeologist Auguste Mariette. It was a double cabin on the starboard (right!) side of the upper deck. In 1858, Mariette was awarded the honorific title “ pacha”  for his contribution to the preservation of Egyptian heritage. He oversaw the restoration of the sites at Karnak, Luxor and Philae.

One small word of warning – the beds are very high but thankfully much more comfortable than they first looked. If you are a shortie like me, a little hop might be needed to climb in each night. 

Two windows looked out onto the deck, and the banks of the Nile beyond. All windows have shutters and mosquito nets, both of which can be pulled back for uninterrupted views. 

Reflection of a white sheeted bed in a gold framed mirror, in a wood panelled cabin aboard the Steam Ship Sudan

The bathroom was spacious, and had a surprisingly great shower. Both hot and powerful, it was certainly the best I’ve had on a boat. But as it is a very old boat, the ceilings are low. I just about fit ok at 5’4”, but The Husband had to endure a slightly contorted looking squat to get under the water each morning. Bath towels were astonishingly fluffy – I would have been pleased to find them in a 5* hotel, never mind on board a ship! 

As the weather was so absurdly cold when we travelled, I actually ended up using the bath in our cabin one evening to thaw out after braving the sun deck for the afternoon. It felt indulgently luxurious, and as if I really had transported myself back to the golden age of Nile cruises, to be soaking in a hot bath aboard a gloriously restored steam ship whilst sailing through Egypt. The addition of my favourite L’Occitane toiletries in the bathrooms only added to my enjoyment.

In addition to the private cabins, there is a beautiful dining room and 1930s style bar. On the top deck, wicker furniture covers a sun deck. 

Another reason I tend to avoid organised trips is that I often find the food to be fairly average. This was very far from being a concern on the  Sudan.  All meals are included in the price of the cruise, but drinks (other than water) must be paid for additionally. We found the prices to be relatively reasonable, our final bill coming to about £60. This included soft drinks with most evening and lunchtime meals, and a few alcoholic beverages. 

There is absolutely no danger of going hungry aboard the  Sudan . In fact, they fed us so much I became increasingly concerned the ship might simply sink as I expanded rapidly as we headed northwards. The food is advertised as French fine dining, and it lived up to that billing. However, happily, they also served a number of delicious Egyptian dishes across the five days. 

Breakfast spread on white linen table cloth on a Nile Cruise aboard the SS Sudan, the last paddles team on the River Nile

Breakfast and lunch are usually served buffet style, whilst dinner is a four course, plated affair. To the carnivorous Husband’s delight, both lunch and dinner were pretty “meat heavy”, but the kitchen were always accommodating on the occasions I asked for a more vegetable-based option. Nile perch was served twice, and turned out to the unexpected hit of the menu for both The Husband and myself. Meals are served “from” a time, meaning you can eat when you want within a window of a few hours. I really appreciated this, as it again reduced the feeling of being on an “organised” trip. We also had afternoon tea – featuring Egyptian mint tea and a selection of cookies – served on the sun deck, after returning from all excursions. Cocktails and a short presentation on the history of the ship were offered on the last night.

THE ITINERARY

Have a look at my reference guides to the sights of Upper Egypt and the Valley of the Kings and Queens , for more detail on our itinerary and the places we visited.

I am very much not an organised tour person. I think they offer a great way to make travel accessible if you do not want any of the hassle of planning your trip, or are a more nervous traveller. But they are just not for me. I like to be able to determine my own schedule, visiting the places of specific interest to me, and spending as much – or as little – time at sights as I please. I was therefore a little anxious about booking us onto our first ever cruise. 

I need to not have worried. From the moment we stepped aboard, the vibe was relaxed and it was clear that each guest’s preferred style of travel would be accommodated. We had a lovely group on board with us, and it created a friendly and unforced atmosphere. 

I also really appreciated the pace of the cruise. There is a lot of pack in on this stretch of the river, but it felt as though we had time to see all the sights as well as simply enjoy being aboard, and sailing down this iconic waterway. With limited WiFi, no TVs and few distractions other than the banks of the Nile, it was hard not to simply relax. 

nile cruise agatha christie boat

For excursions, guests are broken down by the language that they speak, into groups of no more than 10, each with a dedicated Egyptologist. On our cruise, there were only 15 passengers in total, and all others were French. So we had the unbelievable privilege of private guides for our entire trip. Both of our guides – Waleed and Nabil – were fantastic. They were astonishingly knowledgeable and very keen to flex each excursion to suit our interests. Our French fellow travellers were equally complimentary about their guides. 

Two principal routes are offered – from Luxor to Aswan, and vice versa. When the water of the Nile is high enough (usually October/March), itineraries are a day longer and include visits to Qena, Abydos and Dendera. We sailed on the ‘Eternal River’, from Aswan to Luxor over the course of five days.

1200: Board the SS Sudan

1300: Lunch

1430: Visit to Philae Temple

1930: Dinner

Overnight Aswan

0800: Breakfast

0800: Sailing to Kom Ombo

1130: Visit to Kom Ombo Temple

1300: Sailing to Edfu

1630: Afternoon Tea on Sun Deck

1730: Film showing of  Death on the Nile  in the Bar Lounge

Overnight Edfu

1000: Visit to Edfu Temple

1230: Sailing to Esna

1930: Cocktails in the Bar Lounge

2000: Dinner

Overnight Esna

0830: Sailing to Luxor

0900: Esna Lock

1230: Lunch

1430: Visit to Karnak and Luxor Temples

Overnight Luxor

0545: Breakfast

0645: Visit to the West Bank of Luxor

After the visit, return to Sudan to collect luggage to transfer to Luxor hotel.

It’s worth noting that the official schedule did not include Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple, or the tomb of Nefertari, but instead included a visit to the Tombs of the Workers. Our guide gave us the option to switch this around, and I am very glad that we did as they were two of our highlights. Guests could also choose to add a hot air balloon flight over the Valley of the Kings, the morning we were in Luxor. 

WHAT TO PACK?

I struggled to find much information on the dress code for  SS Sudan  before we departed – apart from some fantastic photos of previous guests enjoying 1920s themed cruises in vintage finery!

There is no dress code aboard, but given how special this trip is for most guests, the majority stuck to the smarter-end-of-casual in the evenings. For me, this meant a few midi dresses (with multiple jumpers, cardigans or scarves over the top given the weather we endured!), or loose blouses with tailored black jeans. The Husband went for linen shirts and chinos. 

More generally, whilst Egypt is more relaxed than many parts of the Middle East, it is still a Muslim country. Dress modestly out of respect and to avoid unwanted attention. 

Be aware that Egypt, even in the south, can get surprisingly cold in the winter months. Especially in the evenings, and it can be quite breezy whilst sailing. We had freakishly cold weather whilst aboard which really caught us out. I ended up wearing most of The Husband’s clothes to stay warm. Base your packing around layers, and I would strongly urge you to take one warm jumper and a light fleece. Likewise in the summer, light layers will be your friend to help keep the sun off your skin whilst exploring the temples. Think linen shirts and loose skirts. 

A sun hat, sunscreen and strong sunglasses are essential regardless of time of year. Comfortable walking shoes are also a must for all the exploring – floors can be uneven in temples over 3000 years old! 

nile cruise agatha christie boat

THE LESS LOVEABLE

There is very, very little I would change about our experience on the  SS Sudan . It was simply wonderful. Aside from wishing I had won the lottery just before our visit so we could have upgraded to one of the suites, my gripes are extremely minor! 

At times, we could probably have done with a little longer at some of the temples, but not because we ever felt rushed. There’s just so much to see, that you could always stay longer. I wonder if this might have felt a bit more acute if we had been in a group, rather than on our own with the guide and therefore able to direct the days as we wished.

The only real downside for me, was that the boat had booked us a horse and carriage transfer, rather than taxi, to Edfu Temple. The horses seemed in better condition than those we saw in Aswan, but as a man sat on the side of the road randomly tossed a few stones at the horse on our way past, the warnings I read pre-trip around animal welfare at tourist sights seemed well founded. I am certain however, that had we thought to ask the ship staff, they would instead have arranged us a car. 

As we were the only native English speakers on board during our week, I was *scandalised* to discover that on film night, we would be watching the utterly magnificent David Suchet in  Death on the Nile  dubbed (fairly badly!) into French!  Sacre bleu!  Whilst I luckily speak enough French to keep up (and of course know the film word for word, off by heart), it was a travesty that took me some time to get past. The only thing that could have been worse, would have been if they had shown the truly criminally bad Kenneth Branagh version… 

nile cruise agatha christie boat

There are plenty more Egypt guides on the blog to help you plan your trip. Don’t forget to check out my advice on travelling across the wider Middle East and North Africa for more ideas on where to go next. You might also want to have a look at my literary inspired guides – more Queen of Crime inspired travel coming soon!

You’ll Also Love

nile cruise agatha christie boat

February 20, 2023 at 9:16 pm

I am considering to book this fabulous cruise you wrote about. Is there a guide that travels with the boat? Or do they just pick up a guide at a specific site? Also who did you book this through? I live in California and am skeptical about some of the online “tours” Any info would be appreciated, Thanks

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March 2, 2023 at 11:44 am

The guides appointed by the ship travel on board for the duration of the trip. Passengers are divided up by language into smaller groups to visit all of the temples and tombs, meaning you have the same guide every day. We were really impressed with the guides – they were incredibly knowledgeable, very friendly and very keen to make sure they tailored each day to what we were most interested to see. I am not sure whether the Steam Ship Sudan have a US tour partner, but in Europe you can book through Voyages du Monde (a French travel company) or Original Travel (a UK company). If you contact the ship via their website, they will direct you to the right booking company for where you live. Hope this helps – really can’t recommend enough!

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December 29, 2023 at 9:10 pm

I have read where some overnight moorings are noisy and smelly with diesel engines going all night from ships lined up next to one another. Did you experience this?

January 2, 2024 at 4:25 pm

I can definitely imagine this would be an issue for some Nile cruises, as we saw a lot of boats parked up alongside each other at the moorings. I would be pretty annoyed if I had spent lots of money on a lovely room with window, just to be looking into a bedroom of the ship next door! However, this wasn’t an issue for us on the SS Sudan, as the nature of the ship means it can only be moored directly by the river bank, and without other ships next to us. A major plus point!

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February 20, 2024 at 2:29 pm

I so enjoyed this review, which I just happened to stumbled upon. My husband and I – along with 10 of our closest friends – are sailing onboard SUDAN from Luxor to Aswan the first week in May, as part of a three-week trip to Egypt in celebration of my 75th birthday, and my husband’s and my 40th anniversary. My first trip to Egypt was in 1970, when as a young classical archaeology student I worked at Queen Hatshepsut’s funerary temple at Deir el-Bahari. I was billeted at the very run-down Winter Palace, where the bathtub was way down the hall! In the decades since I’ve returned to Egypt many times, as a single, and with my husband. We have stayed at the Winter Palace (happily with *private* bathrooms!) and the Old Cataract, and will be staying again at these historic hotels in May, because despite their shortcomings, we love them. That said, I found your reviews of those properties to be spot-on. I’m delighted to have discovered Faraway Dispatches, and I’m fascinated by your superb photos on Instagram!

February 22, 2024 at 10:05 am

Thank you for your incredibly kind words about my blog! I hope that you have a really wonderful celebration aboard the SS Sudan – quite the occasions to mark! A 40th wedding anniversary is quite something! I can only hope The Husband and I shall be so lucky. And how fascinating to hear that you worked at Deir el-Bahari. It must be really interesting to have seen all the changes on your many visits to Egypt over the years. Have a really, really wonderful trip!

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Cruise the Nile in Elegance Aboard the Steam Ship Sudan

nile cruise agatha christie boat

To celebrate the launch of the new  Original Travel website , a portfolio of original tailor-made itineraries, we have picked one of their most iconic luxury experiences – a trip down the Nile aboard the Steam Ship Sudan.

In 1933 Agatha Christie took a trip onboard the Steam Ship Sudan while travelling through Egypt with her archaeologist husband. So taken was she by her experience on the vessel, built in 1885, that it inspired her to pen the iconic suspense novel: Death on the Nile. Consequently, some scenes from the 1978 film adaptation of the book, were filmed aboard this very ship. She may have become a – literal – vehicle for a whodunnit saga, but this steamer has many more tales to tell.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Regal elegance meets comfort

The first glimpse of this paddle steamer, evocative of the Belle Époque era, takes your breath away. Over a century-old, she exudes turn of the century North African charm with her wood panelling, gilt and copper ornate bed frames parquet floors and period features. Yet the antique elements are balanced with plenty of plush and modern grand hotel comforts. There are five suites to choose from – including the Agatha Christie Suite and Queen Victoria Suite. Or there are the 18 comfortable and airy cabins, all of which are named after significant contributors to the ship’s history and have direct access to the promenade area.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Spread across two sumptuous decks, the private and public areas have air conditioning providing a welcome respite after warm days exploring the wonders ashore in upper Egypt. It’s an intimate setting with a maximum of 67 passengers on board at any one time and 18 crew. And as this is steam powered travel, not only is it a more environmentally friendly option than a cruise liner, it offers a quiet serenity away from rumbling engines.

A ship fit for a king

The decor is soothing and light, with accents of bright colours and a nod to times past. With panoramic river views from the cabins and suites, the constantly changing, stunning and fascinating vistas bring endless variety and intrigue. It’s easy to imagine yourself transported back in time as you take a stroll on the teak, or sip on punch under a parasol enjoying the breeze that’s created as the ship steams gently toward your next port of call. To help you feel enveloped in this sense of history, the walls are adorned with historic photographs of previous passengers, including King Farouk.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

And let’s not forget the food, the highlight of any a voyage. While you may be dining on water you’ll still get to savour the favours of local cuisine, with fine Egyptian fare created in the galley. Daily stops ensure the freshest ingredients can be collected and prepared to make up sophisticated dishes. Depending on the day’s travel arrangements, some meals are taken buffet-style (usually breakfast and lunch), while others are more formal silver service four-course banquets. Tables are laid with crisp white tablecloths and candelabras, while the warm and welcoming staff provide first-class attentive service. Mealtime onboard the  Steam Ship Sudan is always a refined affair, often followed by a classic tipple in the bar over a game of cards.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Ancient history without the hassle

A huge benefit of cruising on a steamship with little draft is that unlike larger cruise liners and ferries, she can access relatively shallow waters. This opens up the less-travelled stretches of the Nile, adding to the exoticism of the journey. The ship operates five-night adventures from Luxor to Assouan, with two itineraries: The Dynastic and Eternal River. Each takes in major archaeological sites such as the Temple of Luxor, the holy city of Abydos, the Theban Necropolis, Valley of the Queens and the Temple of Edfu. At every port of call, expert guides are on hand to lead groups with their wealth of knowledge and passion for ancient Egyptian history.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Sunset is arguably the most magical time of day on here and often incurs a much-needed rest after a day of exploring in vehicles, on foot – and even occasionally by camel. Some parts of the itineraries allow for time ashore in the evenings, but as evening falls, nothing beats relaxing with a sundowner on the deck as this ancient-meets-modern world, passes by before your eyes.

A view from the bridge

Sightseeing on the water at a leisurely few knots gives a particularly unique vantage point – you pass sights and gain perspective that would be impossible from the land. It is the best of both worlds though. Never far from the next stop, you don’t need sea legs or sickness tablets for this kind of a watery journey. It’s easy, laid back, yet utterly refined. And as the ship is your transport, as well as a fine floating hotel, the time spent on the road is minimal in comparison to the endless dusty miles and multiple hotel rooms you’d need to see so much overland. But even if you didn’t put a toe on land, a trip on the  Steam Ship Sudan would still be a truly unforgettable journey.

Book a trip on the Steam Ship Sudan as a one-off adventure, or as part of a tailor-made Egyptian tourism experience with Original Travel

photo credits : Voyageurs du Monde

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Andrew Forbes

Andrew is a Marketing Communications consultant, working within the wellness, travel & lifestyle sectors. His track record in PR, marketing and branding spans 30 years. He writes regularly on international wellness, travel, and lifestyle themes with a particular passion for the Mediterranean and the Americas. Originally from the UK, Andrew Forbes has lived in the US and France but now calls southern Spain his home, where he is a specialist in hospitality marketing and content, as well as a Contributing Editor for Spain’s leading English language newspaper. www.andrewforbes.com

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Nile cruiser that inspired Agatha Christie sails on despite virus

Advertisement.

ASWAN (Egypt) — More than a century after it first cruised the glittering waters of the Nile, the Steam Ship Sudan draws tourists following the trail of legendary crime novelist Agatha Christie.

This picture taken on Jan 3, 2021 shows the steam ship "SS Sudan" cruising along the Nile river by Egypt's southern city of Aswan, some 920 kilometres south of the capital, aboard which British crime fiction writer Dame Agatha Christie is believed to have stayed while writing her 1937 novel "Death on the Nile".

The SS Sudan, which towers over the traditional wooden sailing boats in Egypt's southern city of Aswan, inspired the British author sometimes dubbed the "Queen of Crime" to pen one of her most famous works in 1937, "Death on the Nile".

The whodunnit tells the story of Christie's famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, investigating murder among the well-heeled travellers as they cruise the Nile.

"Agatha Christie's trip aboard the steamer, the atmosphere and its route... inspired her to begin writing the first chapters," said Mr Amir Attia, the cruise ship's director.

Built for the Egyptian royal family in 1885 and transformed into a cruise liner in 1921, the SS Sudan hosted the novelist with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, in 1933. 

TWO-YEAR WAITING LIST

Among the ship's 23 rooms and suites, Mr Attia says the writer's room is still "the most popular".

Passengers are whisked away on Christie's original itinerary, stopping at the same ancient archaeological sites, albeit with a difference — the liner now runs on diesel and solar power instead of coal.

A staff of 67 keeps the vessel shipshape, and a luxury eight-day trip also including stays in two historic hotels sets travellers back around US$4,000 (S$5,300), but there is a long waiting list to stay in the Christie cabin.

"There are booking requests for up to two years in advance," he said.

While Egypt's key tourism industry has been hit hard by Covid-19 restrictions — with revenues slashed by more than a fifth from 2019-2020 — the ship's staff are insistent the pandemic will not sink the historic vessel.

"My product is unique," Mr Attia said. "Egypt as a tourist destination will never die down."

The SS Sudan has faced crises before.

It was left to rot for decades after World War II, but was rescued and refitted in 1991, before being abandoned and then repaired a second time in 2000.

Last year the boat was initially stuck in port — but it started operating as soon as rules allowed.

"The SS Sudan was the first cruise ship to re-open for business in October," Mr Attia said.

"We immediately got so many reservations... that we had to knock a few back because we're overbooked."

HOLLYWOOD TREATMENT

Staff hope that Christie's story can work its magic again to draw new visitors.

A big-budget film version — directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, along with Hollywood stars Annette Bening, Russell Brand and Gal Gadot — is due for release in late 2021, a follow-up to the 2017 Christie adaption, "Murder on the Orient Express".

The last stop on the cruise is the Old Cataract Hotel, which over the years has hosted guests ranging from Britain's Winston Churchill to Egyptian Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Naguib Mahfouz, said Mr Selim Shawer, the hotel manager.

The hotel too has a small exhibition dedicated to Christie, including the rocking chair and desk where she wrote.

"It is an attraction in itself for fans of Hercule Poirot," said Mr Shawer.

"Even people who are not staying in our hotel come to take photos with the chair." AFP  

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COLLECTING CHRISTIE

A resource for fans and collectors of Agatha Christie books, art & ephemera.

  • Apr 2, 2021

TRAVEL in Christie's footsteps: The Nile

Updated: Jan 14

nile cruise agatha christie boat

While one can collect tangible Agatha Christie items – such as books – it is sometimes the intangible experiences that can be an even more satisfying part of the ‘collecting Christie’ journey. As the world starts to benefit from vaccines and the promise of travel starts to glimmer on the horizon, now felt like the right time to revisit our favourite Christie travel experience – a journey across Egypt centered around time aboard the Steamship Sudan.

Background: In 1933 Agatha Christie steamed on the Nile visiting the many wonderful archeological sites along the way from Cairo to Aswan. Her experiences were immortalized in one of her most famous novels – Death on the Nile. Today, travellers can follow very closely in Agatha’s footsteps with a journey aboard the same boat – the Steamship (SS) Sudan.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

The boat and the journey transport you back in time and provide an experience rarely found anywhere in the world today. Timeless, luxury travel in a land with unparalleled wonders. For any fan of Agatha Christie, it is a journey that must be made.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

History of the SS Sudan: With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 awareness of Egypt rose and its economy improved. Thomas Cook, a British entrepreneur, saw the potential in bringing the British aristocracy to Egypt to explore its history. He organised the first cruise on the Nile in a boat rented from the Khedive (Viceroy of Egypt), and when Egypt became a British protectorate in 1876 Cook expanded his operations and ultimately obtained the concession for all tourism-related river sailing.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Cook extended his empire along the Nile banks with the construction of hotels, including the Old Cataract Hotel at Aswan in 1899, which was designed to cater to cruise passengers obliged to stop off on their way to the great temples of Upper Nubia, including Abu Simbel. Between 1911 & 1921 Cook built a new fleet of faster steam ships, named Egypt, Arabia, and Sudan. They reduce the length of a Cairo-Aswan voyage to 20 days drawing even more tourists.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

By the 1920s cruising aboard the SS Sudan along the Nile attracted diplomats, high society and archaeologists – all who would pay handsomely to discover the fabulous sites of Ancient Egypt. In 1933, Agatha Christie & Max Mallowan embarked on one of these journeys while on their way to join an archaeological mission in Aswan. During this cruise, Agatha Christie became inspired to write Death on the Nile.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

End of an Era: World War II brought an end to tourism on the Nile and the SS Sudan was docked along with Cook’s other ships. It sat abandoned until the early 1990s when tourism started to recover, and the SS Sudan was relaunched by an Egyptian shipowner for a German tour operator. But it was short lived. In 2000, the French travel company Voyageurs du Monde partnered with the Egyptian owner to refit the ship and restore it to its golden age splendor. Full ownership by the French company occurred in 2006 and further restorations occurred, giving us the SS Sudan as it is today.

Travelling on the SS Sudan Today: Due to lower water levels on the Nile and to accommodate shorter journey times that appeal to today’s travellers, the SS Sudan currently steams between Luxor and Aswan – with sailings in both directions.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Luxor is the gateway to many of the wonders of Egypt, including Karnak, the Valley of the Kings & Queens, and thus the burial tombs of Egypt’s greats.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

In Luxor, you will also find the Winter Palace hotel – sadly in need of refurbishment – but also a destination for anyone travelling in Christie’s footsteps as she stayed her also. Our journey in 2020 on the SS Sudan took us up-river (south), with stops along the way, including Edfu and Kom Ombu.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

After five nights and six days aboard we disembarked in Aswan. Aboard the ship, impeccable service and high-quality food and drink enhance the experience. The number of rooms aboard the Sudan are far fewer today than when Christie sailed on her, as remodelling has allowed all the rooms to now be ensuite, reducing the number to 20.

Several of the rooms are larger named suites, including one named Agatha Christie & another named Hercule Poirot.

The Old Cataract Hotel: After leaving the ship in Aswan, many passengers stay a few nights at the Old Cataract Hotel as we did.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

This is another must see for Christie fans as it was here that Christie stayed while her husband participated in excavations on Elephantine Island in the middle of the Nile directly across from the hotel. Built by Thomas Cook, the Old Cataract hotel continues the golden age experience. With wonderful views, Moorish architecture, and top-class service, it is a fitting place to stay after the SS Sudan.

For those who want a very glamourous experience, you can stay in the Agatha Christie suite at this hotel, with a balcony with views across to the island (pictures above). While hotel staff will tell you that Christie chose this room so that she could see Max at work, it is uncertain if this really was the room she stayed in. Regardless, it has been fully remodelled to a very high standard and will satisfy the more fastidious traveller – which it should given that in high-season its rack rate is $8,000 USD per night. There are much more affordable rooms that will accommodate most travellers’ budgets. Of note, the hotel has preserved the desk and chair from Christie’s suite, displaying them in the lobby with a sign that she wrote some of Death on the Nile at this desk during her 6 month stay at the hotel.

nile cruise agatha christie boat

Abu Simbel: When Christie visited, she would have travelled by land south of Aswan to pass the cataracts in the Nile to smoother waters, where she would have joined a different ship. From here, she would have steamed south to Abu Simbel – the temples of Ramses II and his wife Nefertari.

The image of Ramses II’s temple and the steamship grace the dust jacket of the Collins Crime Club first edition, designed by Christie’s archaeological friend, Robin (Mac) Macartney.

Collecting Books: The first edition of Death on the Nile , in jacket, evokes both the time and place of Christie’s visit. It is a highly appealing collectible for any fan of Christie’s works – but is also for those with deep pockets. A jacketed version in very good condition will generally cost at least £6-7,000.

The US first edition is still appealing, featuring the Steamship and the Sphinx on the cover, and is quite a bit more affordable with very good jacketed copies costing at least $2-3,000. At the other end of the price spectrum would be paperbacks of which the Fontana version with cover art by Tom Adams is our favourite and also very evocative of place and crime, and can easily be found in very good condition for only £5-10.

A Note re: Film Adaptations: The film version of Death on the Nile featuring David Suchet as Poirot was filmed aboard the SS Sudan and visited most of the sites discussed in this article. The new film featuring Kenneth Branagh was mostly shot aboard a replica in a sound stage. Even Abu Simbel was a reproduction erected at the studio in the UK.

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IMAGES

  1. Agatha Christie made this Nile cruise ship famous and it sails on

    nile cruise agatha christie boat

  2. Agatha Christie Nile Cruise Tour

    nile cruise agatha christie boat

  3. Sail the River Nile aboard steamer Agatha Christie rode

    nile cruise agatha christie boat

  4. Agatha Christie Nile Cruise Tour

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  5. A Campy Cruise on the Nile Inspired by Agatha Christie

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  6. Death On The Nile: You too can sail on the ship that inspired Agatha

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COMMENTS

  1. Luxury Nile Cruise aboard the Steam Ship Sudan

    Cabins & suites. The Steam Ship Sudan consists of 18 cabins and 6 suites spread across three levels. Each is customised and named after people related to the history of Egypt or the ship. Interior decorating has been carefully curated in order to reproduce Belle Epoque style.

  2. Agatha Christie Dahabiya Boat

    07 Nights / 08 Days (Luxor-Luxor) DAY 01. -Embarkation on board before lunch. -Visit the Karnak temple. -Back on board - sail to Esna and overnight (Approx. 5 hrs. sailing) DAY 02. -Early sailing to el kab (north Edfu) (Approx. 7 hrs. sailing) -Breakfast while sailing via El Hegaz island. -Visit el kab tombs-back on board.

  3. Agatha Christie Nile Cruise Tour

    Here's a tour of Agatha Christie's Nile Cruise, the boat used in Death on the Nile. Me spotting the S.S. Sudan from my Nile Cruise in Kom Ombo! Agatha Christie Nile Cruise: The history of Steam Ship Sudan. The Steam Ship Sudan, or SS Sudan, is an old steamer Nile cruise ship that was built for King Fouad in 1885.

  4. Cruising the Nile aboard Agatha Christie's original steamer

    With immaculate timing, Thomas Cook had just ordered a new fleet of river boats. In the winter of 1933, Agatha Christie, her husband, the archaeologist, Max Mallowan, and her daughter Rosalind ...

  5. Cabins and suites

    Agatha Christie Suite. It was on board this historic vessel in 1933, when she was accompanying her husband on an archaeological mission, that the queen of suspense found the inspiration for Death on the Nile. On the starboard side of the prow on the upper deck, this suite offers a panoramic view of the Nile from its broad bay windows.

  6. On Location: How 'Death on the Nile' Built a To-Scale River Cruise Ship

    February 11, 2022. 20th Century Studios. Back when it was first published in 1937, Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile, which follows mustachioed detective Hercule Poirot on a mystery-filled ...

  7. Cruising on the Nile: All aboard the boat that inspired Agatha Christie

    All aboard the SS #Sudan and i's travels up the Nile River! It was aboard this historic #vessel in 1933, while #AgathaChristie was accompanying her husband o...

  8. Agatha Christie made this Nile cruise ship famous and it sails on

    The SS Sudan on the Nile river, near the Egyptian city of Aswan. A trip on the cruiser in 1933 inspired British crime author Agatha Christie to write one of her most widely read works, Death on ...

  9. Luxury Cruise on the Nile

    Combine two historic hotels in Luxor and Aswan and sail aboard the Steam Ship Sudan, following in the footsteps of Agatha Christie. Contemplate everyday life along the Nile and explore magnificent sites and unknown temples. Relax on the banks of the Nile in your final destination, the beautiful city of Aswan. Enquire now.

  10. Experience the magic of the Nile on a historic steamboat

    Transcript. NARRATOR: A cruise along the Nile from Luxor to Assuan with the historic paddle steamboat, the S.S. Sudan, built in 1885. The vessel chugs along at eight kilometers an hour. At its helm is Captain Haman Abu Dought, known as the Crocodile of the Nile. Far more exciting than reaching the destination, is the journey itself.

  11. Agatha

    Panoramic Suite. The two Panoramic Suites aboard Agatha are a favorite of design lovers. With expansive Nile views, floor-to-ceiling folding windows, immaculate design and a King Size bed, this is the perfect way to cruise with us. The en-suite includes a shower, toilet and wall-to-wall mirrors. BOOK TODAY. 4550 Euros Per Room.

  12. Steam Ship Sudan: What's It REALLY Like Onboard? (The REAL Death On The

    Finding a boat more fitting for a cruise than SS Sudan is tough. It is the only steamship that still sails the Nile and has played host to Agatha Christie and the King of Egypt. ... This ship is over 100 years old, and between 1922 and 1935, it enjoyed the "golden age" of Nile River cruising. In 1933, Agatha Christie embarked on an ...

  13. A Cruise With Agatha Christie on Her Steamship in Death on the Nile

    Egypt was becoming a fashionable destination for those of means, a group which included Agatha Christie, and Cook was keen to meet this growing demand. He also wanted to make cruising the Nile more comfortable and faster. So in 1911, he commissioned a fleet of luxury steamships, which included the SS Sudan. Before these luxury steamships were ...

  14. A Cruise Back in Time on The River Nile Aboard the Steam Ship Sudan

    Connect. Africa, Egypt, Literary Guides, Middle East· February 3, 2023. A CRUISE BACK IN TIME ON THE RIVER NILE ABOARD THE STEAM SHIP SUDAN. I am a serious Agatha Christie fan, and many of my travel bucket listitems relate to her books or her own travels. For a number of years my ultimate travel dream has been to cruise the Nile on the Steam ...

  15. Cruise the Nile in Elegance Aboard the Steam Ship Sudan

    In 1933 Agatha Christie took a trip onboard the Steam Ship Sudan while travelling through Egypt with her archaeologist husband. So taken was she by her experience on the vessel, built in 1885, that it inspired her to pen the iconic suspense novel: Death on the Nile. Consequently, some scenes from the 1978 film adaptation of the book, were ...

  16. Sail the River Nile aboard steamer Agatha Christie rode

    The SS Sudan cruises along the Nile, in Egypt. ... a former royal paddle steamer and original Thomas Cook tourist boat, as well as the ship that carried Agatha Christie up the Nile to inspire one ...

  17. S/S Sudan Nile Cruiser

    #1 - AGATHA CHRISTIE SUITE. It was on board this historic vessel in 1933, when she was accompanying her husband on an archaeological mission, that the queen of suspense found the inspiration for Death on the Nile. On the starboard side of the prow on the upper deck, this suite offers a panoramic view of the Nile from its broad bay windows.

  18. Nile cruiser that inspired Agatha Christie sails on

    The steam ship SS Sudan cruises along the Nile river by Egypt's southern city of Aswan. AFP. More than a century after it first cruised the glittering waters of the Nile, the Steam Ship Sudan (SS Sudan) draws tourists following the trail of legendary crime novelist Agatha Christie. The SS Sudan, which towers over the traditional wooden ...

  19. 17 of the best Nile cruises for 2024

    16. Tui Al Horeya, book via Tui. Best for home comforts. Tui River Cruises is launching its first Nile ship in November 2024. Charter flights from Gatwick and Manchester are being laid on to ...

  20. An Agatha Christie-inspired Nile cruise

    An Agatha Christie-inspired Nile cruise. ... Built for King Fouad in 1885 and launched for cruises in 1921 by Thomas Cook, it's the oldest Nile boat in operation. Broad teak passageways run ...

  21. Nile cruiser that inspired Agatha Christie sails on despite virus

    The whodunnit tells the story of Christie's famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, investigating murder among the well-heeled travellers as they cruise the Nile. "Agatha Christie's trip aboard ...

  22. TRAVEL in Christie's footsteps: The Nile

    In 1933, Agatha Christie & Max Mallowan embarked on one of these journeys while on their way to join an archaeological mission in Aswan. During this cruise, Agatha Christie became inspired to write Death on the Nile. The original steam engine in the SS Sudan. End of an Era: World War II brought an end to tourism on the Nile and the SS Sudan was ...

  23. Sudan Steam Ship Cruise

    A unique cruise choice on the Nile, the Steamship Sudan is the most peaceful way to travel on the river. ... Agatha Christie was inspired to write Death on the Nile after travelling on the boat and decades later, the S/S Sudan provided the set for many of the film's scenes. With just 23 cabins, five of which are suites, there is a cosy ...