Nubian Farm Aswan

Nubian Farm Aswan is it's own vibe. If you're looking to get away from it all and relax, this is the place! It's about a 20 minute boat ride across the Nile, through some beautiful reed lined channels. I was greeted by Sherief, who pretty much runs the place. He cleans the rooms, maintains the grounds, and cooks simple, yet delicious meals. I booked a single room, but was upgraded to the two room family suite, which had four comfortable beds to choose from, a kitchen area that isn't yet equipped to be used, and a large bathroom with both shower and tub. The grounds are lovely with plenty of shade trees, mainly citrus, mangoes, along with flowering bushes. There are tables and benches set up along the edge overlooking the Nile, where you can enjoy the views while eating delicious, simple breakfast or dinners. I had both vegetarian and fish options, upon request. Mahrous is the owner and he's very intent on making sure that you are comfortable and enjoying your stay. The word "farm" refers more to an agricultural farm, not so much animals, although there are some happy ducks that are well taken cared of, some goats, and yes, even four Nile crocodiles that are kept in a rather small enclosure. But they look well fed. There is a wonderful group of friendly dogs that roam around the place. Unfortunately, they aren't given much attention and all of them are really underweight. If you visit, consider bringing some meat to give to them. I bought a couple of pounds of beef and they obviously devoured it gratefully! The lodge is located about 40 minutes walk north of the Nubian village, a pleasant walk behind some properties and along the Nile. You can also climb the dunes right by the lodge for some great sunrises and sunsets. Mohammed owns a felucca and will take you out on the river, upon request. Mahrous and Sherief can shuttle you back and forth to Aswan or to one of the islands, on a small motorboat.

Be aware that you are getting away from the hustle and bustle of Aswan and Egypt if you come here. You need to make arrangements to get picked up in Aswan, and whenever you want to travel back or visit one of the islands. Mahrous or Sherief will gladly transport you on their small motorboat. Any excursions you want to take are easily arranged ahead of time. Food needs to be arranged ahead of time as well. I never used the internet, so I'm not sure how well it worked. There was a morning when I was pretty much left to myself. No one was around to check if I needed anything, a drink, breakfast, etc. I had made arrangements the night before to go on an excursion in the morning to Seheyl Island, but had to wait until noon to go on it. However, it was the first day of Ramadan, so maybe that had something to do with it. For me, the main negative was the condition of the dogs. The ducks, goats, and crocodiles looked well taken cared for, but the dogs were half starving. As I mentioned above, I brought them some meat, and spoke to Mahrous about it. Hopefully, he'll start taking better care of them. Otherwise, Nubian Farm Aswan is an ideal place to relax and restore your energies. The guys, Mahrous, Mohammed, Sherief, and the others are very chill, friendly, and respectful. It was wonderful to connect with them, eating dinner or just having tea on the felucca, sharing life stories in the quiet of the night by the swift flowing stream of the Nile. I initially booked three nights, but ended up staying six. And I could have stayed longer! It's that sweet of a place . . .

After a few hiccups the shuttle boat found me at the dock and ferried to the site, in the dark by moonlight. I was shown to my room which was quite acceptable but then told I'd been upgraded and found myself in a large appartment which could easily sleep 6. Outside was a table and chairs and plenty of space to relax. The bed and pillows were comfortable. The next morning I was asked where I would like breakfast, apparently you can have it in the room, outside at your own seating area or as I did at the outside tables at the front of the property looking out over the Nile. They say breakfast should be a main meal of the day and this certainly was filling me up until dinner and it was delicious, very pleasantly surprised. As the name says this is a farm and that includes dogs, cats, horse, donkey and crocodiles (yes you did read that right). It didn't take me long to totally relax in the beautiful setting and realise I wanted to extend my stay. That night we asked to have a Nubian dinner and weren't disappointed, they certainly know how to feed you. There is a sand hill that you can climb at the back of the property and watch the beautiful sunset. Trips: we went by motorboat to the Nubian village for a wander and shop, a very pretty decorated place. On return we realised it is possible to walk there and we did walk part way along the river to a beach area and swam in the very cold Nile. I expressed that I liked going along the river and it was suggested would I like to go sailing. The sail boat was laid out with comfortable cushions, bottles of water and a tray of tea/coffee and breadsticks was provided. Sailing for approx 2.5 hours viewing the river bank and relaxing so tranquil. The staff were so accommodating all you had to do was ask if you wanted anything or wanted to visit somewhere and they would arrange it to your schedule. All in all I was very surprised by this place and have come home totally relaxed by my stay. Highly recommend.

Ok so maybe the translation of available facilities isn't quite accurate. Take a towel because there wasn't any in the room (although I didn't ask for one as I'd taken one with me) Toilet roll is provided but we did have to ask for some more. Provided toiletries are a bar of soap, so take shower gel, shampoo etc If you're not keen on dogs be warned, they are friendly but do bark when you first arrive/get up in the morning, and do beg for food at the table. Rooms are not serviced during the stay, but I actually preferred this being left undisturbed. The owner doesn't have a card machine so make sure you have USD cash to pay your bill. Would I recommend here: if you like 5* hotels then it's probably not for you, if you like rustic charm and value service then this is a hidden gem just waiting for a little more polish. Would I return here, absolutely.

This place and it’s location is unique. The nature and the area is amazing. The possibility of private felucca ride from the hotels private beach is fantastic. We took a 4 hour sailing trip on the Nile with crew. It is totally genuine

Mosqito nets should be considered for the beds. Toilet paper is a must.

Super rural, rustic and a bit cut off from reality. The only way to access this hotel is with their private boat and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Staff were very helpful, arranged an excellent felluca tour for us, and Sherief was basically our personal driver for the duration of our stay.

Comfort-wise this was more on the hostel-end of the spectrum (but the price did match that) and a few things seemed unfinished (there was work going on while we were there and we were off-season) so it would be worth checking in again because the place had a lot of potential as a rural retreat. Cleanliness was an issue