St Catherine's Monastery ToursFrom Sharm: Mount Moses Trekking, Sunrise & Monastery Visit
Mount Moses trekking from Sharm El Sheikh with OceanAir Travel is the listing most people have already read: 848 reviews at 4.3, guides in English, Russian and Arabic, and a 16-to-17-hour day that the operator warns may stretch at the checkpoints. It costs $76, includes water and an Egyptologist as far as base camp, excludes children under 14, and is the one tour in this catalogue that prints the monastery's closed-day calendar on its own page. It sits second on every St Catherine tour side by side behind a cheaper listing that includes the park fee.
About This Trekking Tour
16 to 17 hours including pickup and drop-off; longer if checkpoints are slow
$76 per person; water included, park fee not stated, breakfast from your hotel
4.3 from 848 GetYourGuide reviews; guides 4.2, transport 3.9, value 4.2
Shared minibus; Egyptologist to base camp, Bedouin guide on the mountain
Sharm El Sheikh hotels, 8:00 to 9:00 pm
Free up to 24 hours before; reserve now and pay later
Check Dates and Availability
Live dates and prices for the OceanAir trekking tour. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.
Quick answer $76, three languages, no under-14s, and a bus that reviewers rate 3.9
OceanAir picks you up in Sharm between 8 and 9 pm, drives what the listing calls around four hours to the mountain, and hands you to a Bedouin guide for a two-to-three-hour climb up 750 steps to the 2,285 m summit. After the sunrise and a two-hour descent you eat the breakfast box you brought and visit the monastery. The price is $76, the tour is not sold to children under 14, pregnant women or wheelchair users, and the operator says it is unsuitable for the elderly or anyone short of breath. Three guide languages, water on the bus, and a printed calendar of the monastery's closed days set it apart; a transport score of 3.9 from reviewers is the caution.
Key takeaways
- Order the breakfast box from your hotel the afternoon before; the listing says it must be pre-ordered and collected before the tour
- The closed-day calendar OceanAir prints is the best public list there is; check your arrival morning against it
- Reviewers in July 2026 recommend a headtorch and a walking pole of your own, and warn of a 15-minute walk from the monastery to the bus
What 848 Reviews Add Up To
The review count is the reason to read this page: no other listing here has enough of them to show a pattern.
The three scores
GetYourGuide breaks the rating into guide 4.2, transportation 3.9 and value for money 4.2. The guide score is held up by the Bedouin guides: a British reviewer in July 2026 wrote that the guide for her group switched between languages to keep everyone informed, and the operator answers reviews within days. The transport score is the lowest on the site.
An Italian in August 2026 described a minibus with practically no legroom for a three-hour drive each way, and added that the guide stopped the whole group at the last exposed hut for half an hour to rent blankets, which he thought unnecessary once at the summit. Take both as accurate: the mountain is run well, the bus is a bus.
What the listing states that others do not
OceanAir's page is the most explicit of the shared sunrise tours here about who should not come and what to bring. Not suitable for children under 14, pregnant women or wheelchair users; not recommended for the elderly or anyone with shortness of breath or bone pain. The duration is 16 to 17 hours and may extend at security checkpoints.
The camel is available only up to the 750 steps, and the operator does not recommend it. The breakfast box must be pre-ordered from the hotel. The tour guide stays at base camp; a Bedouin guide takes the mountain.
And it prints the monastery's closed days, reproduced below.
- Included: pickup and return, Egyptologist to base camp, Bedouin guide, air-conditioned vehicle, water
- Not included: extra drinks, personal expenses, the breakfast box, tips
- Languages: English, Russian, Arabic
- Minimum age 14; no pregnant women; no wheelchair users
The park fee question
The Sun Pyramids listing includes the St Catherine National Park entrance fee; this one does not mention it either way. The fee is the St Katherine Protectorate's area charge, a small sum in Egyptian pounds collected on the road in, and on tours that leave it out the guide collects it on the bus or it is folded into the tipping kitty. Budget a few dollars' worth of pounds for it and ask the guide on the night.
The fees table on the homepage sets the listings side by side.
The Climb, End to End
A traveller films the whole night: the midnight start, the pace on the camel path, the summit crowd and the descent in daylight.
The Closed-Day Calendar OceanAir Prints
The monastery shuts on Sundays and on Greek Orthodox feasts, and the dates move with the church calendar. OceanAir is the one operator here that publishes the list it works from.
The dates on the listing
The listing says the monastery opens every day except Sunday and the Christian holidays below, and adds that the dates may vary. It does not mention Friday, when the gate opens for a single hour from 10:45 and the sacristy stays shut. Confirm any date against the monastery's own calendar before you book, and remember the tour arrives the morning after the departure date you pick.
| Month | Closed days printed by OceanAir | Departure nights to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| May | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 May | 30 April to 7 May |
| June | 13 and 24 June | 12 and 23 June |
| July | 12 July | 11 July |
| August | 19 and 28 August | 18 and 27 August |
| September | 21 and 27 September | 20 and 26 September |
| November | 14 November | 13 November |
| December | 4, 6, 7, 9 December | 3 to 8 December |
| Every week | Sunday | Saturday night |
What happens if the gate is shut
The tour still runs. The climb, the sunrise and the descent are unaffected, and the monastery stop becomes a look at the walls from outside. OceanAir prices the day as one product, so there is no partial refund for a closed monastery, and the free-cancellation window closes 24 hours before the start.
That makes the calendar above the single most useful thing on the listing: check it before you pick a night, not after.
The Trek: 750 Steps After a Four-Hour Bus
The listing describes the ascent as 2,285 m reached by 750 steps in two to three hours, which is the last section only; the walk before it is the camel path.
How the night goes
The bus leaves Sharm between 8 and 9 pm. OceanAir quotes around four hours to the mountain, longer than the other listings print, which reflects the checkpoint stops it warns about. At the mountain the Egyptologist stays at base camp and a Bedouin guide takes the group up the camel path in the dark, with tea huts on the way, to Elijah's Basin and the 750 steps.
Reviewers report reaching the summit around 4 am on a fast night; the sunrise is between 5 and 6:30 depending on the month. The descent takes about two hours and the monastery follows breakfast.
What reviewers packed and wished they had
A British reviewer in July 2026 was messaged before the trip, collected promptly, and took a head torch and a walking pole from home, using the pole all the way up and down. She had a lightweight coat, leggings and gloves for the summit and a blanket to sit on. She could not enter the monastery because she was in shorts and too tired to improvise a skirt from the blanket, which is the most useful sentence in 848 reviews: pack long trousers for the gate, not just for the cold.
- Headtorch of your own
- Walking pole, if your knees have opinions about descents
- Warm layer plus windproof layer for the summit, in every month
- Long trousers and sleeves for the monastery gate
- The pre-ordered breakfast box, and water beyond the bottle provided
- Egyptian pounds for tea, a blanket, a camel and tips
Seventeen Hours, Step by Step
From the operator's description and reviewer accounts published in 2026. A reviewer in July was collected at 9 pm and home at 12:15 the next day.
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20:00
Pickup
Between 8 and 9 pm across Sharm. The operator messages beforehand with the time.
-
00:00
The mountain
Around four hours with checkpoint stops. The Egyptologist introduces the Bedouin guide and stays at base camp.
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01:00
Climb
Two to three hours up the camel path; camels for hire as far as the steps, which the operator does not recommend.
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04:00
Summit
Blankets rented at the last hut. Wait for the light; the chapel and mosque are on top.
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06:30
Descent
About two hours down in daylight, then breakfast from the box you brought.
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09:00
Monastery
The manuscripts in the sacristy, the basilica beside the Burning Bush. No time printed; the gate closes at 11:30.
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11:30
The walk to the bus
About fifteen minutes, then three to four hours to Sharm. Home by early afternoon.
Where the Trek Starts
Jebel Musa rises directly behind the monastery, about 230 km and three to four hours by road from Sharm El Sheikh.
The two routes up the mountain, with distances and step counts, are on the homepage.
OceanAir Trekking Tour: Questions About This Listing
What is the minimum age on the OceanAir Mount Moses tour?
Fourteen. The listing also excludes pregnant women and wheelchair users and says the tour is unsuitable for the elderly or anyone with shortness of breath or bone pain. Families with younger children have the Sinai Hikes private tour, which takes children from 5, or the Dunas tour from 6.
Is breakfast included on this tour?
No. The listing says breakfast boxes must be pre-ordered from your hotel and collected before the tour starts, so ask reception the afternoon before. Water is provided on the bus; extra drinks are not.
Which languages does the OceanAir guide speak?
English, Russian and Arabic, on the bus and at base camp. The Bedouin guide on the mountain works in Arabic and enough English for the route; a July 2026 reviewer said theirs switched languages to keep the whole group informed.
How long is the drive on the OceanAir tour?
The listing says around four hours from Sharm to the mountain, and the total tour 16 to 17 hours including pickup and drop-off, which may extend at security checkpoints. A reviewer collected at 9 pm was back at 12:15 the next day.
Can I ride a camel on the OceanAir trek?
Only up to the 750 steps, and the operator states it does not recommend the camel. From the foot of the steps everyone climbs on foot, and the descent is also on foot.
What Travellers Said About This Tour
Our Bedouin guide could easily switch between languages to keep everyone informed. Picked up at 9 and got home at 12:15, long night but worth it for sunrise.
A wonderful experience, the most beautiful hike among those done in Sharm. Tiring but rewarding.
I was messaged leading up to the trip keeping me updated with arrangements. The sunrise was amazing.
Excerpts from verified GetYourGuide reviews of this listing, with the reviewer's country and travel month. Full reviews sit on the operator's listing.
Page last reviewed September 2026. Price, rating and review count read from the listing on September 2026. Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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