St Catherine's Monastery, a day trip from Sharm El Sheikh

St Catherine's Monastery tour from Sharm El Sheikh: your options

There are two ways to do it from Sharm. The classic is the overnight Mount Sinai tour: a night climb to the summit for sunrise, the walk down, and the monastery as it opens at 9:00. The gentler option is a daytime trip to the monastery alone, often paired with a stop in Dahab — no sleepless night, but still a pre-dawn start to beat the 11:30 cut-off.

Prices vary by agency and season. Before you pay, ask whether the St Katherine Protectorate fee and the museum ticket are included, and which day the trip runs. Keep in mind that your guide can't take you round: the monks don't allow organised guided tours inside. Expect the talk at the gate, then a set route on your own.

Opening hours and entry fee

The monastery gives its visiting hours as 9:00–11:30, closed on Fridays, Sundays and the major feasts of the Greek Orthodox Church. Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities lists different hours — 8:45–12:45, Friday 10:30–11:30, closed Sunday. The monks decide who comes in, so go by the monastery's times and aim for the opening.

Neither the monastery nor the ministry publishes an admission price. Unofficially, entry to the monastery itself is free, while the sacristy museum with its icons and manuscripts takes a small separate ticket, paid in cash. The protectorate fee is usually built into tour prices — confirm with your operator.

What is St Catherine's Monastery?

It is a Greek Orthodox monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai — Jebel Musa in Arabic — built under the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the mid-6th century and lived in by monks ever since. It is often described as the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery in the world. Its full name is the Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai; it takes the name of St Catherine of Alexandria, whose relics are kept inside.

From outside it looks like a granite fortress dropped into bare red mountains. Inside, the space is tight: the Basilica of the Transfiguration, the Burning Bush, Moses' Well, a bell tower and a small mosque. Together with the mountain it forms the UNESCO-listed Saint Catherine Area.

What to see inside

• Basilica of the Transfiguration (6th century) — twelve granite columns, each hung with icons of the saints of one month; a 17th-century iconostasis made in Crete, a marble floor laid in 1715 and the relics of St Catherine.
• The Burning Bush — a bramble growing in the courtyard. The chapel over its original roots sits behind the basilica's altar, and you enter it barefoot.
• Moses' Well in the courtyard, still a water source for the monastery.
• The bell tower of 1871, with nine bells sent by Tsar Alexander II of Russia.
• The Fatimid mosque inside the walls — a former chapel converted in 1106 and opened on special occasions.
• The sacristy museum — icons, including early encaustic panels, and ancient manuscripts. Separate ticket.
• The walls themselves — Justinian's granite fortress, best seen from above on the Steps of Repentance if you walk down from the summit.

The Burning Bush: what you actually see

In the Book of Exodus, God speaks to Moses from a bush that burns without being consumed. The monks identify it with the bramble that grows in the monastery today. It was moved a few metres into the courtyard, and the Chapel of the Burning Bush now covers the spot where its roots were.

The chapel has no iconostasis; its altar stands right over the roots, and pilgrims take their shoes off as Moses did. Whether you get inside depends on the day and the services. The bush in the courtyard is always on view and always crowded — head there first.

Library, icons and history

Monks were living at the foot of the mountain by the 4th century. Justinian enclosed their church with walls in the 6th, and the basilica's roof beams still carry the names of Justinian and Empress Theodora. Tradition says the monks found St Catherine's relics on a nearby peak in the 9th century, which is how the monastery got its name.

Its library holds the second-largest collection of early manuscripts in the world after the Vatican. The Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century Bible, was found here in the 19th century; most of it is now in the British Library. The monastery also owns one of the finest sets of early icons, including a 6th-century encaustic Christ Pantocrator. The library is closed to tourists; some icons are on show in the sacristy museum.

Money, passport and safety

Visa and Mastercard work in hotels and larger shops in Sharm, and tours can usually be paid by card or in US dollars or euros at the agency. At the monastery and in the village it's cash: carry Egyptian pounds in small notes for the museum, water, toilets and tips.

Bring your passport — there are several checkpoints on the road. Tour operators say the free Sinai-only stamp you get when flying into Sharm covers this trip; the UK government's list for the stamp names only the Sharm, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba resorts, so confirm with your operator. UK travel advice does not place the monastery or Mount Sinai in its areas to avoid.

The monastery or Mount Sinai?

Monastery hours are from its official website; the mountain details are from YesGo's Mount Sinai page.

Is St Catherine's Monastery worth it?

Yes, if early Christianity, icons or biblical sites mean something to you: there is nothing else this old and still working in Egypt. It's best combined with Mount Sinai — one long road, the two great sights of the Sinai interior.

Probably not if you expect a big museum. The space is cramped, much of it is closed, and every bus from the mountain arrives in the same short window. Six hours on the road for an hour inside is a fair trade only if the place itself matters to you. For pure scenery, spend the day at sea at Ras Mohammed instead.

Places of worship around Sharm El Sheikh compared

Mosques, churches and monasteries in and around Sharm El Sheikh, rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Nearby — add to your day

41

Mount Sinai

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

4 h · Tour from Sharm ≈ US$30–80 · 34 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Mount Sinai

How to do it right

• Get there for the opening: the window is short and the Burning Bush is rarely quiet.
• Do the basilica and the bush first, the museum second — if time runs short, you've seen what matters.
• Put trousers on before you leave if you're climbing first; there's nowhere to change by the walls.
• Put cameras away before the gate — filming is not allowed inside.
• For a quiet visit, stay overnight at the monastery guest house or in the village and walk in at opening, before the tour groups.
• On a monastery-only trip, pick one that stops in Dahab — you get the afternoon by the sea.

Questions