Enjoy a full day of adventures, in St. Catherine, and visit one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, St. Catherine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the world’s oldest working Christian monastery, built around the site of the Burning Bush, and end your day with an amazing tour in Dahab.
Posted By : bobgianna
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.
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Posted On : 2024-06-07 23:20:22 
Posted By : luciacL3172KA
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 .
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Posted On : 2023-05-15 03:35:14
Posted By : Global58494248387
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.
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Posted On : 2023-04-30 13:04:59
Posted By : EvaAldama_C
A good memory to remember., we have a professional driver and a tourist guide. We recommend this tour👍
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Posted On : 2023-04-18 14:15:37 
Posted By : Aleksandar_P
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.
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Posted On : 2023-03-14 03:44:55
Posted By : Mark_R
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.
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Posted On : 2023-02-03 11:35:07
Posted By : Roderick_J
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.
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Posted On : 2022-12-07 07:11:04
Posted By : Richard_K
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!
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Posted On : 2022-10-21 13:28:25
Posted By : Cwljr
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
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Posted On : 2022-06-14 08:47:09
Posted By : gaetana_i
This tour was great from the guide Peter, driver to the restaurant & lunch. Timely pick up. Guide was knowledgeable & passionate. He was fluent in English & Italian which were the languages of the day and on top he has a beautiful baritone voice to listen to all the information and stories he shared. He gave us plenty of time at each stop to explore on our own and also rest stops on the way there and back since it is 2 hr each way. Sites were amazing. Highly recommend this tour. Was a great day.
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Posted On : 2019-12-14 10:58:27
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