St Catherine & Mount Sinai Trips from Sharm El Sheikh
Three hours from the beach stands the world's oldest continuously working monastery, at the foot of the mountain where tradition says Moses received the Ten Commandments.
The drive climbs out of the resort strip into Sinai's granite interior, a landscape of bare peaks and Bedouin settlements that feels a world away from the reef. Bring your passport: the route passes checkpoints, and tours will remind you twice.
What you see
St Catherine's Monastery, founded in the sixth century and run by monks ever since, holds the chapel of the Burning Bush, a renowned icon collection and one of the oldest libraries in continuous use anywhere. Above it rises Mount Sinai: tours built around the sunrise leave Sharm around midnight, climb the camel path by torchlight with a final stretch of rough-cut stone steps, and watch dawn break over a sea of granite before descending to visit the monastery when it opens.
Is it worth it?
As the cultural counterweight to a beach week, few trips anywhere compare. Choose your format honestly: the daytime monastery visit is easy and fits any fitness level, while the sunrise climb is genuinely demanding, cold before dawn even in summer, and repaid with one of the great sunrises. Note the monastery opens mornings only and closes to visitors on Fridays, Sundays and Orthodox feast days, which is exactly why tour dates cluster the way they do. Our Mount Sinai and St Catherine guide covers both versions.
Top st catherine & mount sinai trips from sharm el sheikh
Other day trips
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my passport for St Catherine from Sharm?
Yes. The road crosses Sinai checkpoints and the site sits in a protected zone, so carry the passport you entered Egypt on. Tours will not take you without it.
When is St Catherine's Monastery open?
Mornings only, and it closes to visitors on Fridays, Sundays and Orthodox feast days. Sunrise hike tours time the descent from Mount Sinai to reach the monastery as it opens.
