SS Sudan (Steam Ship) Nile cruiser is a paddle steamer that harps back to the past. Frozen in a time when the greatest river in the world was first traversed in great numbers. Originally built for the Egyptian royal family in 1885 and later becoming a flagship for Thomas Cook’s luxury fleet, it famously inspired Agatha Christie to write Death on the Nile after her 1933 voyage .

The last authentic paddle steamer operating on the Nile, SS Sudan Nile Cruise offers a “time-travel” experience back to the ‘Golden Age‘ of travel. An authentic early-20th-century paddle steamer, Steam Ship Sudan captures the spirit and style of the golden era of Nile travel.

The Steam Ship Sudan features 18 cabins and 6 suites arranged across three decks, each individually styled and named after figures linked to Egypt’s history or that of the ship itself. The interiors have been carefully designed to evoke the elegance of the Belle Epoque.

Sailing between Luxor and Aswan, Nile cruises are an invitation to contemplate the quiet banks of the Nile and the celebrated sites of Ancient Egypt.

On board this latest generation of steamers, the clientele were pampered like Cleopatra. After visiting an archaeological site on donkey-back, the ladies would meet in the saloons of the Sudan for a game of cards. In the bow, a saloon opening onto the Nile was dedicated to watercolour painting. Meanwhile, gentlemen explorers gathered in the smoking room, where mature whiskies and ports were served. The upper deck consisted of small suites with private bathrooms, the lower deck of cabins communicating along shady gangways.

Despite the tragic interlude of the Great War and the end of the British protectorate (1922), the golden age of the steamers continued for nearly 20 years, until the Second World War sounded the death knell for tourism in the East. The whole fleet was consigned to dock and slowly foundered. The Sudan, once queen of the Nile, became a forgotten relic. At the dawn of the 21st century, the ship was restored by an Egyptian shipowner, before passing into the hands of Voyageurs du Monde, who undertook her total renovation. Saved from the grave, the sole survivor of the Cook flotilla, the Steam Ship Sudan carries on the history of the Nile steamers.