Mount Sinai and Catherine's Monastery Tour from Sharm El-Sheikh

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. We'll pick you up from your hotel and kick off our adventure aboard a cozy, air-conditioned vehicle for a round trip from Sharm El Sheikh.

   2 h

2. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. It is one of the oldest working monasteries in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monastery is open to visitors, but it is recommended to check the opening hours before visiting.

   2 h

3. Mount Sinai is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is also known as Jabal Musa. It is a 2,285-metre (7,497 ft), moderately high mountain near the city of Saint Catherine in the region known today as the Sinai Peninsula. It is surrounded on all sides by higher peaks in the mountain range of which it is a part. For example, it lies next to Mount Catherine which, at 2,629 m or 8,625 ft, is the highest peak in Egypt.

   8 h

4. Bringing this unforgettable journey to a close, we will ensure your safe return to your Sharm El Sheikh hotel. You'll travel in comfort aboard an air-conditioned vehicle on a round trip back.

   2 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 72 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5Excursion to Mount Sinai

  Nice trip to Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine Monastery

  928hichameSeptember 2026via Tripadvisor

• 3Overwhelming experience.

  Overall it was a very overwhelming and challenging experience, climbing up and down the mountain I’m just a little disappointed with the tour guide Fares because halfway when I was coming down I injured my foot cause the stones and rocks are very uneven and the guys who helped me I asked them for Fares and they said he was not available or anywhere here to help, also when I tried contacting him myself there was no phone signal so because of that I got a taxi back to my hotel and on the way I asked fares on what I could do to pay the money back but he refused just because I didn’t contact him when I explained about the bad phone signal but he fobbed me off so whatever money I owed to the men that helped me I passed it on to the taxi driver by taking it out of a ATM.

  O3162NHjamalaAugust 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Good and well organised tour

  Good and well organised trip everything happened as per the schedule. Fares is a wonderful guide very knowledgeable and helpful, so was Ashraf who accompanied us during the hike.

  Trek43791934955July 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Brilliant

  Very good adventure would recommend to anyone going. Loved it from start to finish. Guide spoke really well in English

  Gary_RJuly 2026via Viator

• 5Totally worth it

  Great experience. It is not easy and go prepared. Totally worth it

  Wander15863812221July 2026via Tripadvisor

• 4Very exhausting and long journey but rewarding

  This is a very long journey, in our case 7:45pm on evening up until around 12pm the next day but would recommend atleast once for its religious significance. I’ve broken the review into three sections (1) what to expect for transport (2) What to expect at Mount Sinai and (3) General tips To begin then - (1) What to expect for transport: - We were picked up around 8pm from our hotel in a minibus that holds around 12 people. The first few hours involved picking other people up and smoke breaks. Total journey time in minibus from hotel to start of the Trek was over 4 hours. Expect similar time for return. - The minibus is air conditioned but can get hot. Also not much leg room. - There are toilet breaks and you can buy food/water during these stops - You will unfortunately not be able to sleep much on the bus due to the regular road potholes. Also the driver has to play music to keep awake. - Our guide (‘Ramadan’) was very friendly knowledgeable about the mountain and history and gave us a brief during the bus ride. (2) What to expect at Mount Sinai: - The guide will stop at the monastery (where the bus stops) and meet you there the next morning. You will be taken up the mountain by a separate Bedouin guide. - You will go up in your transport group but there are many other groups present too (I’d guess more than 70 people were at the top for sunrise). - Our Trek began at 12:30pm and we were at the top before sunrise around 5:30am (5 hours up). We needed to be back at the monastery by 8:30am. Hence expect an 8 hour round trip up and down the mountain. - The path starts off paved and quickly becomes just gravel. Most of the journey involves taking steps on various rocks. It is very tiring but you will stop multiple times along the way. - You can rent a camel for between $15-$20 USD (or equivalent) for one way. This however is not an easy way out as its very painful on the groin area (more detail below). Camels are scattered throughout the mountain near each stop. - There are no toilets on the way up. Once you get to the very top you can pay to use one (we didn’t see it until the way down) but it is apparently extremely dirty according to the guide. Worth noting if you need to make ablutions to pray. - There are 750 steps at the top which are very tiring after the long trek to get to them. - Once you get to the top the views are breathtaking! (see pictures) You will stay at the top until sunrise then make your way down. - You will be given a tour of the monastery when back down but will be less than an hour before you must return to the bus. Your tour will include the burning bush and the well of Moses (Peace Be Upon Him). (3) General tips - Dress well e.g. sports clothes and also have warm clothes for when you’re at the top as its cold up there. You can rent a blanket but its extortionate. Good shoes are vital. - Take your own food, water and energy drinks. Otherwise expect to pay a lot e.g. 100 EGY for a water. - Take your own mini torch as it will be better than the one provided. - Please note that if you get tired the camels are not an easy way out. They will give your legs a rest but you will suffer in other ways because the saddle is quite small so with each step they take you will be constantly impaled at your stomach and back by the wooden edge of the saddle. As a result you have to use your hand as a shock absorber and they will be hurting within minutes. What’s far worse though is they crush your groin area with each step they take because of the hard impact of each step which is pretty much unavoidable. Would not recommend using a camel unless extremely tired. Our only negative experience was on the return to the bus from the monastery we were asked to pay an extra 25 Egyptian pounds per person to get a minibus for 30 seconds to our main minibus instead of walking 10 minutes. We took it instead of walking as we didn’t want other travellers to wait. We gave a 100 as we didn’t have change was this taken and no change given (despite asking). I didn’t like that Ramadan just took the money and refused to give me the change. I ended up telling him to keep it as I was too tired to argue. I appreciate it’s not a large amount but this lack of integrity when people are tired is really not acceptable. Despite this I would recommend this difficult but rewarding experience

  M_JJuly 2026via Viator

Know before you go

How it compares in Sharm el Sheikh

• Its from-price is 58% below the median of the 96 city tours we list in Sharm el Sheikh.
• It is longer than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 7 of 96.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Sharm el Sheikh

Sharm el Sheikh sits at the southern tip of the Sinai, a Red Sea resort famed for coral reefs, desert mountains and sunshine in every season.

The coast is lined with resort bays such as Naama Bay, the lively centre with a promenade of restaurants and bars, and quieter Sharks Bay and Nabq. The real treasure lies underwater: coral reefs come right up to the shore, alive with colourful fish, turtles and rays.

Top-ranked sights in Sharm el Sheikh: Ras Mohammed National Park, Sharm el Sheikh Old Market, Mt. Sinai.

See all 1150 experiences in Sharm el Sheikh