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Climb Mount Sinai by night with a Bedouin guide and watch the sunrise from the summit, then visit St. Catherine's Monastery before returning to Dahab. All tours include hotel pickup, transport, and entrance fees to St. Catherine National Park.
Overnight climb of Mount Sinai for sunrise from Dahab, followed by a 2-hour visit to St. Catherine's Monastery. (12h)
Night climb of Mt. Sinai for sunrise from Dahab, then a 2-hour visit to St. Catherine's Monastery. 12 hours.
Overnight climb of Mount Sinai for sunrise, then a visit to St. Catherine's Monastery, from Dahab (12h).
Overnight climb of Mount Sinai for sunrise from Dahab, then a 2-hour visit to St Catherine's Monastery. Runs about 12 hours.
Read what travelers share about their experience visiting Mount Sinai — from practical tips to personal highlights.
Your bus leaves Dahab at 23:00, drives two hours into the Sinai interior, and drops you at the trailhead for a 01:00 start with a Bedouin guide. Roughly seven hours on the mountain gets you a pre-dawn summit wait, sunrise near 6:00 AM over the granite ridges, and a descent to Saint Catherine's Monastery before the drive back. The whole trip runs about 12 hours.
You walk the Camel Path's switchbacks in darkness on a trail with zero lighting, so a headlamp matters. Bedouin tea huts glow along the route, selling mint tea, coffee, chocolate and instant noodles. Skies here are free of light pollution.
Summit at 2,285 m around 4-5 AM, then an hour or so of waiting in the cold before dawn breaks near 6:00. The light turns Mount Catherine (2,629 m, Egypt's highest) and the surrounding massif gold. Pilgrims have climbed for this view for some 1,700 years.
Camels stop at Elijah's Basin, leaving a steep stone stairway clamped between granite walls. You pass the Gate of Stephen and the Gate of the Law before the summit plateau opens up, where a small chapel and a 12th-century mosque share the top.
After descending you get around two hours at the 6th-century fortress monastery built under Justinian I. Shoes come off at the basilica and the Burning Bush enclosure. It holds some 3,500 manuscripts and 2,000 Byzantine icons.
Guides come exclusively from the Jabaliya tribe, who have guarded the mountain for centuries. Blankets are for rent at summit rest stops when the cold bites once you stop moving. Bring small Egyptian notes.
For about EGP 250 (some operators quote €20 each way) a camel carries you most of the way up the Camel Path as far as Elijah's Basin. That leaves only the final 750 steps on foot, roughly 30-45 minutes. Your legs will thank you on the way down.
Every Mount Sinai tour from Dahab is a group sunrise trip on the same basic template: 23:00 pickup, 12 hours door to door, Bedouin guide included. The differences are price, ratings, and small print worth reading.
All four tours currently sold from Dahab are shared-group sunrise excursions, 12 hours each, departing 23:00 from any Dahab hotel. There's no daytime or private option on this route through these operators. If you want your own pace, Dahab tour shops can arrange a private version for more.
Book 2-4 weeks ahead in peak months (March-May and October-November). Weekdays run quieter than weekends. Avoid Egyptian public holidays, when crowds surge on the summit.
All the tours bundle hotel pickup and return, air-conditioned transport, entrance fees to St Catherine National Park, and a Bedouin guide for the climb. The guide covers the ascent only on some listings. Food, drinks and camel rides cost extra.
Most recent visitors report monastery entry is free, but some tours collect about €10 per person for the Saint Catherine visitor area, and a 2026 Egyptian fee list prices it at EGP 200. Carry up to €10 per person in cash to be safe. The Icon Gallery has historically charged separately.
The free 15-day stamp issued at Sharm el-Sheikh airport covers only Sharm, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba — Saint Catherine sits outside that zone. You need a full Egyptian visa, US$30 in cash on arrival or US$36 digital. Without it you can be turned back at a checkpoint.
The round trip covers 11.5 km with 700 m of elevation gain — 2.5-3 hours up the Camel Path, 2-3 hours down. Two tours flag it as unsuitable for travellers with spinal injuries or pregnancy. Kids around 8-10 manage the night climb; younger children do better on daytime ascents.
The climb isn't wheelchair accessible, and the monastery is tough too — the car park sits over a quarter mile from the church along uneven cobbled ground, though security sometimes lets wheelchair-accessible vehicles drive closer. Fit seniors regularly finish via the Camel Path, some with a camel to Elijah's Basin.
All four Dahab tours are final sale — no refunds for cancellations. Since the monastery can close at short notice (it shut its gates for months during a 2025 land dispute), treat the monastery as a bonus, not the point of the booking.
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| Mount Moses (Sunrise) & St. Catherine Monastery | Mount Sinai Sunrise & St. Catherine's Monastery Trip (30 reviews) | Mount Sinai Sunrise & St. Catherine's Monastery Trip (English guide) | Mount Sinai Sunrise & St Catherine Monastery Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price from | US$45 | US$50 | US$49 | US$50 |
| Duration | 12 hours | 12 hours | 12 hours | 12 hours |
| Rating | 4.6 / 5 (8 reviews) | 4.0 / 5 (30 reviews) | 3.7 / 5 (7 reviews) | 3.5 / 5 (6 reviews) |
| Best for | Best value and the highest-rated option; family-friendly, allows strollers and service animals | The most-reviewed tour — best pick if you want the track record of 30 previous travellers | English-speaking guide on the climb; skip if you're pregnant or have spinal issues — it's flagged | Cheapest for Bedouin guide plus all transfers, but the lowest rating of the four — read recent reviews first |
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The mountain itself is open around the clock for guided climbs. Sunrise ascents start hiking between 1:00 and 2:00 AM to reach the summit by dawn — sunrise lands near 6:00 AM.
Saint Catherine's Monastery accepts visitors Monday-Thursday and Saturday, roughly 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon (some sources say 9:00-11:30 AM). It closes on Fridays, Sundays and major Greek Orthodox feast days, and can shut at short notice.
Plan your climb so you're down by 8-9 AM and walk straight into the monastery as it opens.
Dahab is the shortest departure point for Mount Sinai: 130 km, about a 2-hour drive, and minibuses typically leave around 11 PM. Tours pick up from any hotel in Dahab.
Expect multiple military checkpoints en route — one 2024 visitor counted twelve — with mandatory passport checks. Free 24-hour secure parking exists at the visitor centre for self-drivers, but licensed tours are the recommended way in.
March-May and October-November are the sweet spots: daytime 22-35°C, nights 10-20°C, minimal rain and clear sunrise skies.
December-February works too — crisp 15-25°C days and the year's clearest skies — but summit nights sit at 0-5°C, with occasional snow on the high peaks. Manageable with proper layers; miserable without.
Sunset climbs exist as an alternative if a 23:00 departure doesn't appeal.
The summit trails are not wheelchair accessible — both routes are steep stone paths, and the final 750 steps must be climbed on foot. Standard tour operators list the excursion the same way.
The monastery valley is difficult too: the car park lies more than a quarter mile from the church along an uneven, centuries-old cobbled road. Security staff will sometimes let wheelchair-accessible vehicles drive directly alongside the monastery if you explain the situation.
Bedouin tea huts line the Camel Path and cluster at the rest stops, selling mint tea, coffee, chocolate and instant noodles at inflated mountain prices. Bring Egyptian pounds in small notes.
The trail is unlit at night, so a headlamp or torch is essential gear, and hiking poles help on the descent, when the 750 steps punish tired legs. Card payment is increasingly required for official tickets, so carry both cash and a card.
A locally licensed Bedouin guide from the Jabaliya tribe is compulsory — unguided hiking is not permitted, and guides are verified at the visitor centre. Carry your physical passport on the hike; a photo copy won't pass the checkpoints.
At the monastery, modest dress is required: shoulders and knees covered, long trousers or a below-knee skirt, sleeved tops. Some sources advise women to carry a headscarf. Shoes come off at the basilica and the Burning Bush.
Guards enforce the dress code and access rules, and non-compliant visitors can be refused entry. Multi-day trekking permits (including the Sinai Trail) are currently suspended.
Pickup is at 23:00 from any hotel in Dahab, followed by a two-hour drive to the mountain. The climb starts at 01:00 with your Bedouin guide, and you're back in Dahab around 11:00 AM after roughly seven hours on the mountain and a monastery visit.
The round trip covers 11.5 km with 700 m of elevation gain — expect 2.5-3 hours up the Camel Path and 2-3 hours down at a steady pace. The final 750 stone steps to the summit are the steepest part. Tour listings ask for at least a moderate level of fitness, and two of them flag the trip for spinal injuries and pregnancy.
Yes, all the Dahab tours visit the monastery after your descent, usually for around two hours. It's open Monday-Thursday and Saturday from about 9:00 AM to noon, closed Fridays, Sundays and Orthodox feast days. It can also close at short notice, so check before you travel.
Yes. The free 15-day stamp issued at Sharm el-Sheikh airport covers only Sharm, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba — Saint Catherine lies outside that zone. You need a full Egyptian visa at US$30 cash on arrival (US$36 digital from 1 August 2026), or you risk being turned back at a checkpoint.
Included. All the Dahab tours bundle a Bedouin guide for the climb, along with hotel pickup, air-conditioned transport and St Catherine National Park entrance fees. Note that on some listings the guide covers the ascent only. If you book independently, the guide costs about EGP 800 as a flat fee per group.
Yes — camels carry riders along the Camel Path as far as Elijah's Basin for about EGP 250 (some operators quote €20 each way), paid on the spot. The final 750 steps to the summit must be climbed on foot, which takes roughly 30-45 minutes.
Winter summit nights (December-February) sit around 0-5°C even when the base is 15-20°C by day, and wind makes it worse once you stop walking. Summer nights run milder at 20-25°C. Pack layers, a hat and gloves year-round, or rent a blanket from Bedouin vendors at the summit.
Children around 8-10 years old regularly manage the night climb, and kids as young as 6 can do daytime ascents with frequent breaks. Camels can carry younger children along the Camel Path, but the final 750 steps demand close adult supervision. Families with young kids should consider a private tour to set their own pace.
All four Dahab tours are final sale — no refunds for cancellations. Since the monastery can close at short notice and the weather on the summit changes fast, treat the monastery visit as a bonus rather than the sole reason for booking, and read each listing's fine print before paying.
Yes, southern Sinai sits outside the do-not-travel zone covering North Sinai, and the US State Department confirms its embassy staff are cleared to visit the mountain and monastery. Expect numerous routine military checkpoints on the drive — one visitor counted twelve — keep your passport accessible, and stick with licensed tours rather than travelling independently.
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The bus leaves Dahab at 23:00 and drives two hours to the base of Mount Sinai, where the climb starts at 01:00 with a Bedouin guide. You wait out the last stretch under the stars, then watch sunrise from the summit before descending. Total time on the mountain is about seven hours. After dawn, the group comes down and spends roughly two hours at St. Catherine's Monastery, built around the site of the Burning Bush. The guide speaks English. Pickup and drop-off are included from any hotel in Dahab, in an air-conditioned vehicle. The package covers the Bedouin guide on the climb and entrance fees to St. Catherine's National Park. Note the cancellation policy: all sales are final, no refunds.
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
English
This tour starts at 23:00 with a 2-hour drive from your Dahab hotel to the mountain. At 01:00 you begin the climb with a Bedouin guide, and there's time to watch the stars while waiting for sunrise at the summit. Total time on the mountain is about 7 hours. After dawn you descend and spend 2 hours at St. Catherine's Monastery, built around the site of the Burning Bush. The whole trip runs 12 hours, door to door. Pickup and return from all Dahab hotels is included, along with the Bedouin climbing guide, entrance fees to St. Catherine National Park, and air-conditioned transport. Guiding is in English only. All sales are final — no refunds for cancellations.
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
English
The tour starts at 23:00 with pickup from any hotel in Dahab, followed by a 2-hour drive to the mountain. At 01:00 you begin the climb with an English-speaking guide, with roughly 7 hours on the mountain — time enough to wait out the pre-dawn hours under the stars before sunrise from the summit. After sunrise, you descend and spend about 2 hours at St. Catherine's Monastery, built around the site of the Burning Bush. The guide covers the climb only; at the monastery you're on your own. Entrance fees to St. Catherine National Park, air-conditioned transport, and hotel pickup and return are included. Total duration is 12 hours. All sales are final — no refunds for cancellations.
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
This tour starts at 23:00 with pickup from your Dahab hotel, followed by a 2-hour drive to the mountain. Climbing begins at 01:00 with a Bedouin guide, and there's time to look at the stars while waiting for sunrise at the summit. The Mount Sinai portion lasts about 7 hours in total. After dawn you descend and spend around 2 hours at St Catherine's Monastery, one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, built around the site of the Burning Bush. The whole trip runs about 12 hours. Included are entrance fees to St Catherine National Park, hotel pickup and return, all transfers in an air-conditioned vehicle, and the Bedouin guide. Guiding is in English. Note the cancellation terms: all sales are final, with no refund for cancellations.
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
English