14 reviews of Private Tour: St Catherine's Monastery and Moses' Mountain at Sunrise
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the Private Tour: St Catherine's Monastery and Moses' Mountain at Sunrise. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Results 1-14 of 14
Reviewed by Julie T, December 2012
What can I say ... it was AMAZING!!!!! The guide and driver were awesome and made me feel safe the whole trip. The Bedouin guide up the mountain was absolutely charming and so supportive - it is not the easiest of climbs but so worth it! THANK YOU so much Viator - the trip was truly EXCELLENT!
Reviewed by Charles, June 2012
Viator was more expensive than booking at the hotel, but it's worth it! Our Bedouin guide for the climb, Ahmed, and the tour guide for the trip, Mohsin, were noticably more professional, friendly, and honest than all the others we observed during the tour.
Make no mistake, this is a physically demanding climb, but it is doable for reasonably active people. If you are quite sedentary, or overweight, hire a camel. However, keep in mind that the camel will only take you to the steps at the top of the mountain. These you will have to climb, and they are rustic and challenging, meaning they are not so much "steps" as strategically placed rocks.
The sunrise at the top was beautiful and well worth the journey. The view was inspiring. I could have done without the "pilgrims" who kept walking around to different spots on the summit, singing (badly) hymns at the top of their lungs. But, there isn't much to be done about that.
All in all, the tour was wonderful, Viator provided a fantastic service, and I'm glad to have done it... But, it's one of those tours I will only do once!
Reviewed by Elinor B, May 2012
An amazing experience! Very friendly and knowledgeable Egyptologist and Bedouin guides. The great advantage to a private tour is being able to ask questions and gain information that you possibly wouldn't ask on a 'group' tour. I went up the first part of Moses' Mountain by camel (an hour and a half on a camel is a LONG time - I literally couldn't feel my legs when I had to get off it again!) I recommend wearing long trousers - not just knee length shorts as I did! Then there are 750 'steps' to climb - very sandy and can be slidy - particularly when going up at night. We had a gorgeous moonlit night an the starts were amazing! At 4.45am we reached the summit and it was COLD!! Sunrise was 5am and it was as though someone had instantly turned on the heat - and WHAT a sight! Wouldn't have missed it for the world - worth all the exersion of getting to the top!! As you're climbing pretty much all night you are exhausted by the time you reach the bottom of the mountain again (unless I'm more unfit than I think!) and I was half falling asleep over breakfast at St Catherine's monastery. Bring a sarong or something to cover your legs if not wearing long trousers - if you don't have one, they'll supply a sheet type thing, but you must wear it! All in all the trip was WELL worth the price and effort - a real 'once in a lifetime' experience! I loved it and can't say enough about the Egyptologist and the Bedouin guide, they were fantastic - and both spoke fanstastic English! A brilliant trip by Viator - would definitely book excursions through them again!
Reviewed by Paula Andrea A, January 2011
Excellent tour, the bedouin guide made it great! It's a fantastic and unique experience.
Very happy with the guide and the driver as well.
Reviewed by Michael B, January 2011
The whole tour was incredible! Our tour guide, Ahmed was great. He and my husband hit it off immediately. Within 30 minutes they were joking and laughing ... and it didn't stop the entire way! He was very knowledgeable and even accompanied us up the mountain. He helped with the negotiation with the Bedoiuns for our camels. Our Bedouin guide, Mohammed was excellent as well. He was very quiet at first, but as he loosened up, he was joking around with the other guys too! I was really impressed with how many languages he spoke! This was by far, the best part of our trip to Egypt!
Reviewed by Jenny K, USA, December 2010
Reviewed by Philomena M, Ireland, August 2010
Reviewed by Anonymous, March 2010
Reviewed by Stuart H, United Kingdom, June 2008
Reviewed by H T, October 2012
We really enjoyed our trek up this mountain but it is quite a feat. Certainly the sunrise was superb and worth the effort. Our bedouin guide was truly superb, and the guides from Sharm were also very good. We were sorry that the monastery was closed, and we were somewhat disappointed with the breakfast given the energy expended! We are very pleased that we did this trip though, and certainly the private guides are well worth it.
Reviewed by Abddalla G, August 2011
it was too hard to climb the mountain but the experience and scene up there was REALLY great but the tour guide was really suck :S
Reviewed by David G, United Kingdom, April 2009
Note from Viator: Due to operational difficulties on the specific day of booking, this tour could not be given on a private basis. This was a one time and very unfortunate experience, and Viator sincerely apologizes for your difficulties. We have strived to ensure such an incident does not reoccur, and will continue to do so in the future.
Results 1-14 of 14
Photo by: Deane T, Croatia
Doing what: Private Tour: St Catherine's Monastery and Moses' Mountain at Sunrise
