Destination guide
South Sinai
- Realistic minimum
- 3 nights
- Seasons
- October to April for mountain walking, with freezing nights and occasional snow on the high peaks in midwinter. Spring and autumn suit mountains and sea together. Summer is for the water.
- Role in a trip
- A beach-and-reef finish to an Egypt trip, or a walking and diving trip in its own right.
South Sinai
St Catherine and the mountains inland; Sharm el-Sheikh, Ras Mohammed, Dahab and Nuweiba on the coast. Read current travel advice first.
This page covers South Sinai: the high mountains around St Catherine, and the coast from Sharm el-Sheikh and Ras Mohammed at the southern tip up the Gulf of Aqaba to Dahab and Nuweiba. It is separate from the mainland Red Sea coast around Hurghada and Marsa Alam, and because government travel advice for Sinai is specific and changes, read yours before you plan.
At a glance
- Getting there
- Sharm el-Sheikh (SSH) is the main airport. Dahab is a road transfer north of it and St Catherine a longer drive inland. Expect checkpoints and keep your passport with you.
- Walking and heat
- Your choice. Low at a Sharm resort. High on Mount Sinai, which is a long night climb on a camel path and then a steep flight of rock steps.
- Who it suits
- Divers and snorkellers, walkers, independent travellers who like a low-key town, and resort guests who want everything on site.
Why go
Inland, St Catherine’s Monastery stands at the foot of Mount Sinai, in a high valley about 1,600 m up. It was founded in the sixth century, and UNESCO describes it as the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its original function. Around it are granite peaks, walled Bedouin gardens and walking routes that run from a two-hour valley stroll to several days with camels.
On the coast you are choosing between three different stays. Sharm el-Sheikh is a full-service resort city beside Ras Mohammed National Park, the protected cape at the southern tip of the peninsula. Dahab is a low-rise town of dive centres and seafront cafés where much of the diving is from the shore. Nuweiba, further north, is a scatter of quiet beach camps.
Where to focus
St Catherine and the high mountains
The monastery opens to visitors for limited morning hours and closes on some days and religious holidays, so confirm before you drive there. The usual way up Mount Sinai is at night, for the sunrise; an afternoon ascent for sunset is quieter and warmer. If you do not want a summit at all, the garden valleys around the village make fine half-day walks.
Sharm el-Sheikh and Ras Mohammed
Ras Mohammed is Egypt’s first national park, under an hour’s drive from Sharm, where reef walls drop into deep water at the meeting of the two gulfs. You can visit by boat or by land; the boat gives you the offshore reefs, the land trip the beaches and mangroves. In Sharm itself, bays differ, and many hotels reach the sea by a jetty over the reef.
Dahab and the Blue Hole
The Blue Hole, north of town, is a deep sinkhole in the reef with a grim record among divers who went beyond their training. The usual visit is a snorkel along the reef edge, which is excellent and needs no heroics. Elsewhere Dahab is about easy shore entries, a lagoon for wind sports and evenings on the seafront.
Abu Galum and the Blue Lagoon
A protected stretch of coast beyond the Blue Hole, reached by boat, on foot or by camel along the shore. There are simple Bedouin camps, a shallow turquoise lagoon used by kitesurfers, and very little else, which is the reason to go.
Nuweiba and the northern camps
Between Nuweiba and Taba the shore is lined with beach camps: huts, a restaurant tent, a reef out front. Standards are basic and the quiet is the draw. Check current travel advice for this stretch in particular.
Practical reality
Government travel advice divides Sinai into zones, treats the north very differently from the southern resorts, and is revised from time to time. Read your own government’s page before booking; it affects insurance as well as plans.
Monastery opening and mountain access can change with religious holidays, weather and local permissions. Confirm close to the date and keep an alternative walk in mind.
St Catherine is cold. In winter you need a proper warm layer, hat and gloves for a night climb, whatever the forecast says for Sharm.
Pick a dive centre by its standards, not its distance from your hotel. Be straight about your certification and your last dive, and expect a check dive if it has been a while.
Camps, guides and small cafés deal in cash, and card service is unreliable away from the resorts.
Money and payments in EgyptThe monastery and the mountain communities expect modest dress; the national guidance is in our etiquette guide.
Culture and etiquette
How to plan the area
Pick a base by what you want to do during the day. For a resort with everything arranged and boat trips to Ras Mohammed, stay in Sharm. For diving, freediving, windsurfing or simply a town you can walk around, stay in Dahab. For the mountains, sleep in St Catherine itself, because the walks start early and the village sits high and cool.
Sea and mountains combine well if you allow for the road between them and do not try to day-trip everything. A usual shape is two nights in St Catherine followed by three or more on the coast. Walking in the St Catherine protectorate is done with a local Bedouin guide; that is how access works here, not an optional extra.
How long to stay
We suggest three nights as a floor for a coast stay and four or five if you add the mountains: two nights in St Catherine for the monastery and a climb or a valley walk, then the sea. A week is not too long for anyone who dives or walks.
Questions about South Sinai
Do I have to climb Mount Sinai to make St Catherine worthwhile?
No. The monastery, the walled gardens and the short valley walks around the village fill a day or two comfortably, and they suit people who do not want a steep climb in the dark. The summit is one option among several.
Can I combine St Catherine with Dahab?
Yes, and it is the combination we would suggest first. They are a road transfer apart, so two nights in the mountains followed by three or more in Dahab gives you walking and sea without a rushed day in between.
Good combinations
- The mainland Red Sea coast
Hurghada, El Gouna and Marsa Alam: the other coast, and a separate journey from here.
- Cairo and Giza
The usual link is a short flight between Cairo and Sharm el-Sheikh.
- Red Sea destinations compared
Sharm and Dahab set against the mainland resorts.
- Safety advice
How to read official travel advice for Sinai, and what it means for insurance.
- Weather and when to go
Mountain cold, coastal wind and summer heat.
Experiences
Private tours we design in this region. Each can be adapted to your dates and pace.
AdventureMount Sinai & St. Catherine Private Journey
AdventureDahab Blue Hole & Bedouin Lunch
AdventureSinai High-Mountain Orchard Retreat
AdventureAbu Galum & Blue Lagoon Eco Escape
Sources and freshness
The facts on this page that can change, or that we attribute to someone else, come from these sources.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Egypt travel advice (Sinai)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Saint Catherine Area
- Global Environment Facility: Ras Mohammed National Park (November 2022)
Checked against these sources on .
Plan a private trip to South Sinai
Tell us your dates, interests and preferred pace. We’ll help shape a route around the places you want to see.