The gentle undulations of an Egypt Nile cruise might not seem a likely trigger for motion sickness. However, even the hardiest old sailor could suffer a bout of sea sickness on the placid waters of Nile cruise holidays. Here are our top tips on how to combat it:

Symptoms and Treatments
Motion sickness can affect folks in more than a few ways, often presenting similar symptoms in completely random orders. Tiredness, fatigue, disorientation and – of course – the proverbial “jippy tummy”! Anti-motion sickness medication, even taken after symptoms have begun, could be sufficient to ward off troublesome symptoms, allowing you to thoroughly enjoy your Egypt Nile cruise.

Natural Recovery Techniques
Some folks simply don’t like taking medication, or perhaps a combination of anti-motion sickness drugs and natural recovery techniques could best suit:

Horizon Focus – Confusion between the messages your eyes and body relay to the brain is often the culprit in most cases of motion sickness. Go out on deck and find a comfortable spot to observe the scenery (facing forwards). A comprehensive view of the motion your body feels can help synch messages to the brain. Another plus of this method is the wonderful fresh breeze!

Riding – The most natural cure for motion sickness is for your body to anticipate forthcoming motion. Sit on deck, face forwards and try to keep your head and body balanced over the hips. Once you’ve cracked that, try to walk around a little.

Final tips – Avoid alcohol, remember to replace lost fluids and nutrients if you vomit, pace yourself when planning activities or excursions, and enjoy the rest of your Egypt Nile cruise holiday!

Our Nile cruise holidays are a great chance for your family to relax, enjoy each other’s company and really enjoy yourselves. In plenty of time to prepare for their Nile cruise holiday, here’s a load of fun stuff for young explorers to learn about Egypt’s main river – the magnificent Nile!

Name: River Nile (from the Greek word ‘neilos’ meaning ‘valley’)
Length: Approximately 4,180 miles
Continent: Africa
Source: Mainly Burundi (central Africa)
Mouth: Egypt (into the Mediterranean Sea)
Flows Thorough: Barundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda
Percentage of the Rive Nile Flowing Through Egypt: 22%
Accolades: The longest river in the world

-    Did you know that previous to reaching Egypt, the Nile river is actually formed of two separate tributaries – the Blue Nile (beginning in Ethiopia) and the larger White Nile (beginning in Burundi) The rivers meet in Sudan (far behind your Egypt Nile cruise holiday stops!)

-    In ancient Egypt, the God of the Nile was Hapi. Thankful Ancient Egyptians would make offerings to Hapi every time the Nile flooded, as with the flood came excellent crop growing conditions and tasty wildlife

-    Does the river flood naturally now? No. The Aswan dam, opened in 1970, controls annual flooding of the Nile river

-    The northern section of the Nile flows almost entirely through desert

-    The drainage basin at the mouth of the river is roughly 10% the size of Africa!

Try to memorise a few facts to impress your family as you wile away your thrilling Nile cruise holidays.

Sometimes it’s tough to find a reason to indulge in an amazing holiday. The pressures and expectations of everyday life sometimes seem to gobble all our get-up-and-go spirit! Well, we think you should celebrate the wonderful union of your marriage – be it a year or sixty-four years of (mostly!) wedded bliss.

Spend Time Together
The importance of spending time together is often discounted – Mrs navigates the supermarket unaccompanied because Mr doesn’t want to miss the football! Maybe Mr visits the meanders around the DIY store alone since Mrs has too much housework to do? Opting for Nile cruise holidays affords you both the time to REALLY sit down, relax and enjoy each other’s company (a feat that’s often difficult amidst the din of modern life).

Remember when you were first married? The excitement, the companionship… the honeymoon! A specifically-planned second honeymoon is one of our favourite ways to celebrate, take a breather (you both deserve it!), kick back and let somebody else do all the work for a while.

Enjoy a Little Culture
Ok, so we say enjoy a “little” culture, but this is Egypt, so history and culture are fabulously bound up in every Nile cruise, glimpse of the scenery, excursion, shopping trip and guide book. The brilliant thing about an Egypt Nile cruise holiday is your afforded capability to opt in and out of pretty much everything – including sampling as much or as little of the local culture as you like.

They say travel broadens the mind… we believe it soothes too!

The UK is a nation of optional tipping. Mostly our wages are sufficient to live on, negating the necessity for constant tipping protocols. Egyptian tipping etiquette focuses around the broad spectrum of “baksheesh”, covering donations to the poor, service tips and favour payments.

It’s important that you understand a little about baksheesh before your Nile cruise holidays – it certainly saves on red faces when the “to tip or not to tip” conundrum arises!

Service Tips
The most common form of baksheesh and the closest to our western familiarities. This involves nominal tips offered to doormen, waiters, bar staff, porters, temple guardians, taxi drivers and others.

Paid Favours
This is perhaps the most difficult form of baksheesh for westerns to settle into. Essentially, things that are difficult, confusing or off-limits can be solved for a small tip. Examples include museum guards offering short guides, being shown a specific shop, guided when lost and more.

Donations
One of the five pillars of Islam is donating to the poor, homeless and infirm. When on a Nile river cruise, opportunities for this kind of baksheesh are relatively rare.

In the simple spirit of “being parted from more money”, tourists often find their Nile cruise holiday baksheesh habits marred by the conspicuous lack of small bills. Handing over larger bills is generally the more favourable option in terms of etiquette. Be sure to hold on to smaller currency.

On board our Nile river cruise ships, the option to donate a £20 (average) tip per week is usually available to make things a little simpler for the baksheesh virgin!