St. Catherine Monastery & Dahab Ganztagestour von Sharm el Sheikh

This Monastery is a must see if you're in Sharm area. Keep in mind that the excursion take a whole day therefore a very early departure. This excursion was offered in different languages therefore it was sometimes confusing as more info was given in Italian than English. Keep in mind that the guide is more interesting how he will get commission from the group than anything else. For example he was saying a price for Italian people but a different and higher price for Russians. Before visiting the monastery there's a stop a the welcome center to purchase different souvenirs and icons. DO NOT purchase from there. There's a souvenir shop at the monastery which is cheaper and it's run by the monks. The guide want us to purchase the icons before so he could get his comisson and also lie to us by telling that there's no chance to buy icons at the monastery. On the way back there's a mandatory stop another souvenir shop with typical overprice items which you can find in Sharm at a fraction of the price. Of course you can bargain but this place is not the ideal place to purchase souvenirs but it's part of the itinerary. The last stop was luch at restaurant which has ordinary food, drinks excluded. Overall the monastery is worth it but maybe with a private driver if you want to avoid the hassle.

We would highly recommend you do this activity with a private car and your own private guide , get there early before the big crowds .This was a 3 hour trip , one way ,we were jam packed into an uncomfortable mini bus with terrible A/C . The whole experience was so rushed , the itinerary suited the guide and driver ,not us . In Dahab , the shopping ,as stated, was a visit to one shop where they tried to sell you oils and jewelry, no free time to explore the Dahab centre , which looked great driving by . The bus trip back was hideous, we were so angry and upset , I couldn't wait to get off .

The whole trip lasted cca 12 hours, but most of the time we spent in the bus due to numerous check points. I know that it was not fault of guides, but it is important to note. When we finally came close to the Monastery, the guide took us to the souvenires shop stating that it was the only place to buy souvenires, even the candles, but it he lied, because all of these we could also buy in the Monastery. The Monastery visit lasted very shortly (cca 30 min of visit and 10 min break), so we went to Dahab, but it was just a very poor lunch which was included in the price of trip, without any break to see the place or swim. Instead of that, they took us to another souvenires shop with parfumes to buy. Also, whenever they decided to stop on the road, it was extremely expensive for Egyptian standards like 5 USD for 2 Cokes or 1 USD for the toilet (!), but the service was so bad. At the end, the guide asked for the tip for driver, even it was so obvious that majority of people were not satisfied. To summarize, the Monastery is amazing, but the service was very bad.

A good memory to remember., we have a professional driver and a tourist guide. We recommend this tour👍

Visit to the Monastery and museum was great but very short experience within the context of 12h day. Library was closed and moving within walled Monastery is restricted. Opportunity to hike were not available due to short stay. Dahab visit was restricted to restaurant and imposed visit to shopping mall. We opted for longest day trip hoping to have at least 3-4h at the monastery and 2-3h in Dahab free. Guide was very skilfully mastering 4 languages but as we were in minority it was important to listen to listen to other to get full picture.

This is a full day trip, but worth it to see the monastery, which has 1700 years of history to it. The only negatives for us were: 1) The tour bus was half an hour late; 2) We were cramped, 4 to the back seat; 3) The monastery itself was crowded with tourists, we didn't have quite enough time there, and the church didn't have space for quiet prayer. On the positive side, we had an interesting Egyptian tour guide, and Dahab is a nice seaside town. Tips: 1) Take warm clothing - it can be cold and windy inland, in the mountains 2) Consider a tour using a proper coach, rather than a minibus. It would be more comfortable and you'd get better views.

Tour was cancelled late the evening before it was due as there were insufficient guests. I think this was quite poor as we had been exchanging messages regarding pickup until fairly late on leading us to believe the tour was happening. I’m very disappointed, had we known earlier I might have been able to make alternative arrangements. Also, Viator have been a bit slow in refunding our fee which they took as soon as the booking was initially arranged.

A very interesting trip. However, we had an additional person occupying the seat next to the driver where the Courier would usually sit. We were the last 2 to be collected. Placing 2 72 year olds apart, on the seat by the door & a seat in the back row with no chair in front of you was not good enough!

Our team of guides was outstanding. Their English, Russian, and Italian languages skills were excellent. We left the hotel at 830pm and arrived at Catherine's monastery around 130am. We started our Climb at 2am and hit the summit to watch the sunrise at 4am. A great hike! Catherine's monastery was impressive. 1500 years old. Bus was very clean. First class operation

I liked visiting the church, Orthodox, to see the burning sarce, place for which this place is famous, is a sine qua non, although, not so obvious and disappointing, the well of Moses, the museum where is found the most impotent authentic manuscripts in the world, (payment for subsistence of the Orthodox monks), the closed mosque symbol of peace between the religions, the general view of the monastery taken up the mountain without way, could put a pavement facilitating this spectacular panoramic view of the monastery. The parking lot is about 15 minutes away, it is a climb, without much effort for those who walk, there is transportation in public van by 10 LE. It's worth it for those who like to visit the world's iconic sites. Improvements to do, as already indicated, steps or way to climb the mountain to get a panoramic view of the monastery, an ex libris, allowing to climb the church tower, dists to indicate what to see for those who do not have a guide, the church allowing to see the relic of Santa Catarina, information about the 2 doors made of cedar wood, allowing photos of the interior of the church, visit the site where the 35 orthodox monks live.