St Catherine's Monastery ToursSharm El Sheikh: Mount Sinai & St. Catherine's Monastery
The Mount Sinai and St Catherine monastery tour from Sharm El Sheikh sold by Sun Pyramids Tours is the cheapest rated listing in this catalogue at $51, and the only shared one whose itinerary prints a figure for the monastery: two hours. Pickup runs 8 to 8:45 pm, the climb starts at 2 am, the descent at 7, and the St Katherine Protectorate fee and the Bedouin guide are in the price. Rated 4.3 from 119 reviews, with the guides scored 4.6. It sits first on the Sun Pyramids climb on the St Catherine tour catalogue for those two reasons.
About This Sunrise Tour
15 hours door to door; about 5 on the mountain, 2 at the monastery
$51 per person; protectorate fee and Bedouin guide included, tips not
4.3 from 119 GetYourGuide reviews; guides 4.6, transport 4.2, value 4.5
Shared minibus; one reviewer counted 11 walking with one Bedouin guide
Sharm El Sheikh hotels, 8:00 to 8:45 pm
Free up to 24 hours before; reserve now and pay later
Check Dates and Availability
Live dates and prices for the Sun Pyramids sunrise tour. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.
Quick answer $51 with the park fee paid and two hours at the gate, if you send the passport copy in time
Sun Pyramids collects you from your Sharm hotel between 8 and 8:45 pm, drives about three hours to St Catherine, and starts the climb at 2 am with a Bedouin guide. You watch the sunrise at 2,285 m, walk down from 7 am, and the itinerary then prints two hours at the monastery before the two-hour drive back. The $51 covers the bus, the guide, the St Catherine National Park entrance and taxes; the tipping kitty, the camel and the museum ticket sit outside it. One condition is unusual: a copy of your passport has to reach the operator no later than two days before the tour.
Key takeaways
- Send the passport copy the day you book; without it there is no Sinai permit and no seat
- The two hours at the monastery only exist Monday to Thursday and Saturday; a Saturday-night departure reaches a closed gate on Sunday
- Reviewers rate the guides 4.6 and the bus 4.2: the climb is the strength, the minibus is the weak point
Why the Two Printed Hours Matter
Every sunrise tour from Sharm reaches the monastery at about the same time. What differs is whether the operator has left room for it.
The itinerary as written
Sun Pyramids prints its day as four legs: 2.5 hours by car from Sharm, two hours on the mountain for the sunrise (the description separately says the climb starts at 2 am and the descent at 7), two hours at the monastery for a visit, a guided tour and free time, then two hours back. The monastery block is the one to notice. The OceanAir tour, which has seven times the reviews, describes the visit without a figure, and GetYourGuide's own summary of 56 recent reviews of this Sun Pyramids listing says some travellers wished for more time inside.
The rules inside, no photography and covered shoulders among them, are the monastery's own. Two printed hours is the ceiling the gate allows, since it closes at 11:30 and the group is down by nine; a listing that prints it is committing to using the whole window.
What is inside the price
Hotel pickup and return, an air-conditioned bus, the entrance fee to St Catherine National Park (the St Katherine Protectorate area fee that other listings leave you to pay in pounds), the Bedouin guide on the mountain, and service charges and taxes. Outside it: the tipping kitty the guide will mention on the bus, optional extras, and personal spending, which in practice means a camel to the foot of the steps, tea at the huts, a blanket at the top and the museum ticket if the sacristy is open. Bring Egyptian pounds in small notes.
- Included: pickup and return, bus, protectorate fee, Bedouin guide, taxes
- Not included: tips, camel, blanket rental, museum ticket, food
- Languages: English and Arabic on the bus; the Bedouin guide on the mountain
- What to bring: passport, and a copy sent two days ahead
What 119 reviewers agree on
The guides. A Greek traveller in August 2026 named both the tour guide, Tarek, and the Bedouin guide, Mohamed, and finished with advice to bring sports shoes, water and warm clothes. A Belgian couple in July 2026 wrote that the operator's agent had contacted them on WhatsApp from the moment they booked and answered every question.
An Italian in July 2026 called the pickup punctual and the route difficult, recommended the camel to the foot of the steps for anyone elderly, unfit or with children, and noted that a sweatshirt was enough on the summit on 30 July under a full moon. The transport score of 4.2 is the lowest of the three the platform breaks out; the bus is the ordinary Sinai minibus, and three hours each way in it is the part people rate least.
What the Night Climb Looks Like
The camel path in the dark, the last steps and the light coming up over the ranges, filmed on the same route this tour walks.
The Passport Copy, the Climb and the Cold
Three things settle whether this tour goes well, and two of them happen before you leave the hotel.
The passport copy, two days ahead
The listing states it plainly: a copy of your passport must be sent to the local partner at most two days before the tour. The Sinai interior is a permit area, and the operator files the names in advance so the bus clears the checkpoints without unloading. Photograph the photo page the day you book and send it through the platform's message thread or to the WhatsApp number the agent gives you.
Bring the passport itself on the night; a photo on your phone is not accepted at the checkpoints or at the tourist police post below the mountain.
The climb, in the group's own words
A British reviewer in July 2026 described the route as about 7 km of stones, steep for the last kilometre, with a Bedouin guide named Jamie who kept the group of eleven moving and a hut every 2 km selling juice, tea and coffee. The last hut rents blankets for 200 pounds, and she was glad of one: she reached the top in a vest top from the effort and was cold within minutes. The group arrived after 4 am, in full dark with stars, which she thought the best part.
The 750 steps at the end are the same on every route and no camel takes them.
| Leg | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sharm hotel pickup | 8:00 to 8:45 pm | Minibus collects across the resort; passports out |
| Drive to St Catherine | About 3 hours | Checkpoints; a stop or two |
| Climb | 2:00 to about 4:30 am | Camel path with a Bedouin guide; camel optional to the steps |
| Summit and sunrise | Until about 6:30 | Blanket from the last hut; chapel and mosque on top |
| Descent | 7:00 to 9:00 | Same path in daylight, or the Steps when open |
| Monastery | 2 hours printed | Well of Moses, basilica, Burning Bush, sacristy if open |
| Drive back | About 2 hours | Hotel by early afternoon |
What to wear for both halves
Trainers or light hiking shoes with grip, a warm layer and a windproof one for the summit in every month, gloves and a hat from November to March, and long trousers plus a top with sleeves for the monastery gate; the homepage packing list has the full kit. Order a breakfast box from your hotel the afternoon before, because the tour includes no food. The full month-by-month picture sits on the homepage; in short, October to April for a cool climb, and a headtorch every month.
The Night, Step by Step
Built from the operator's printed itinerary and from reviewers' accounts published in 2026. Times shift with the pickup order, the checkpoints and the group's pace.
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20:00
Pickup in Sharm
Between 8 and 8:45 pm at your hotel. The agent will already have your passport copy; carry the passport itself.
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23:30
St Catherine
About three hours by minibus with a comfort stop. The Egyptologist guide hands the group to a Bedouin guide near the monastery.
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02:00
Climb starts
Up the camel path in the dark. Camels for hire at the start and along the way, cash only, as far as the foot of the steps.
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04:30
The 750 steps
Blanket rental at the last hut, about 200 pounds. Thirty to forty-five minutes of stone steps to the top.
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05:30
Sunrise
The summit at 2,285 m. Earlier in summer, later in winter. Stay wrapped until you start moving again.
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07:00
Descent
About two hours in daylight. Knees, not lungs, are the problem on the way down.
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09:00
Monastery, two hours
Sleeves on. Well of Moses, the basilica, the Chapel of the Burning Bush, the sacristy if it is open and you pay the ticket. No photography inside.
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11:30
Back to the bus
A 15-minute walk to the parking area, then about two hours to Sharm.
Where the Tour Goes
The monastery sits at about 1,586 m in the granite interior of South Sinai, roughly 230 km from Sharm El Sheikh by road. The climb starts beside it.
Drive times from Sharm, Dahab and Cairo are compared on the homepage.
Sun Pyramids Sunrise Tour: Questions About This Listing
Does the Sun Pyramids tour include the St Katherine Protectorate fee?
Yes. The listing includes the entrance fee to St Catherine National Park, which is the protectorate area fee collected on the road in. The museum ticket inside the monastery is a separate small charge in pounds and is not included; neither are tips, a camel or a blanket.
When does the passport copy have to be sent for this tour?
At most two days before the tour, to the local partner, so the Sinai permit can be filed. Send a photo of the passport photo page as soon as you book. On the night, carry the passport itself; the checkpoints and the tourist police post do not accept a phone image.
How much time does this tour spend at St Catherine's Monastery?
Two hours, printed in the operator's itinerary as a visit, a guided tour and free time. The gate closes at 11:30, so the two hours run from arrival after the descent, around nine, until closing. On Fridays the gate opens only at 10:45 and on Sundays not at all; pick a departure that lands on a Monday to Thursday or Saturday morning.
Is there a camel on the Sun Pyramids climb?
Not in the price, but Bedouins with camels wait at the start and along the path, and reviewers of this listing recommend one for anyone unfit, elderly or with children. The ride ends at the foot of the final 750 steps, which everyone climbs on foot. Pay in cash, in Egyptian pounds.
How many people are in the group on this tour?
The listing sets no maximum. A British reviewer in July 2026 counted eleven from her minibus walking with one Bedouin guide; another in August climbed with three guides. Expect one minibus load per Bedouin guide.
What Travellers Said About This Tour
We climbed with 3 guides at a really good pace with plenty of breaks. The summit is majestic and spectacular.
Maximum punctuality and professionalism in the pickup directly from the hotel. A camel ride is highly recommended up to the start of the steps.
From the moment you book, Mohsen contacts you via WhatsApp and provides all the information. The departure, the ground transportation, the trip, everything was perfect.
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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