
There is snorkelling for those who prefer a more sedate swim and the guides will help those that do not swim well.

Make sure you take some spare cash -as always in Egypt- to do some tipping !',5.0,'2023-12-28T09:19:40Z','REV-einujv6lPI3RgVB9giupPbU1HIrBng78O13l7Nln0KU=','en','0-jon-0','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Very good. Don\'t miss it.','Had a great time. Crew takes care of the passengers and is actively searching the dolphins. There is a very very high chance to see them so don\'t worry about it. Two stops for snorkeling and you can actually explore a little bit by yourself if you are a good swimmer. Great services and good travel agency who will be available for you. Best price great experience.',5.0,'2023-12-22T11:47:12Z','REV-h6ryE+LxRT4xLRVEcEHFxDvevUxrxTOtCqmF9s4bzhg=','en','40rares','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Nice trip! Try it.','There was a great experience. The team and service was fantastic. Unfortunately, we’re not be able to see a dolphins but snorkeling was enough and gave so much fun. Thank you very much for such!',5.0,'2023-12-15T09:39:19Z','REV-ZLSVDjaKyFCyhiOZOfV8lE60aiabSbQiwQrOjL1wDUY=','en','516dawidm','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','A must do','Just got back from the best day. Team so friendly, I hurt my back a while ago, so not best swimmer anymore. Guide took me on rubber ring...so relaxed, felt 100% safe. Lunch was good, just book it...and saw the dolphins. Thank you so much x',5.0,'2023-12-07T10:42:05Z','REV-mLg/T/Oji7lL6SZIkDzqXG1p9MoJYLMsFMAGlnotcMg=','en','Connector38567122206','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P10','3 Pools National Park and Dahab Bus Tour from Sharm El Sheikh','Enjoyable excursion','Enjoyed the excursion, Mohammed our tour guide was very informative and kind. I would definitely recommend booking with this company',4.0,'2023-12-20T12:34:28Z','REV-VTWE1PClVOdTTEhj87AgBELssp2ZpLtrhAuvii314zI=','en','maryamaW7647SZ','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Just remove the banana and learn English better, but very funny anyway','It was so nice, the food was very very good, obv also the dolphins and the community and energy of the group.
Maybe I’d say that the guys of tour didn’t speak English at all, also the banana and sofa activities were a little useless and wasn’t that funny, I advice u to remove the banana activity and add more time to sofa.
I can say tho like i write before, that it was a really pleasure to have done this activity and I’d recommend it to my friend if they’ll ever come to visit Hurghada!
Again it was an unique adventure! 💪🏻❤️',4.0,'2024-03-13T14:00:00Z','REV-ZOfi3adEWjfmsH3HVzmnymeUKXJndyR/0ssIXSjQznA=','en','JacopoPive','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','good trip with dolphin','Except the Shuttle full and in bad state on the morning, everything was nice.
We saw sperm whale, several dolphin, and big variety of fish under water.👍
Nice moment with fried and family, thanks for all',5.0,'2024-02-23T13:49:04Z','REV-rw83vmCtGGFt0Izt3cWtKB/BEXYDeNJr76NYXuBqAeY=','en','davidr580','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Not good','Very bad experience with dolphin and very friendly crew members, looking forward to the next trip with the same hakuna matata group!',1.0,'2024-02-15T07:33:46Z','REV-p50FA3emGefjv1kvfLTqCsAR+2gqSpawKOHNNcWzF00=','en','Sunshine44348710489','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Must do trip','Fantastic trip. We swam with so many dolphins. The snorkeling was amazing. The staff kind and helpful. Lunch was very good. There were unlimited soft drinks. If you\'re staying in Hurgarda this is a must do trip. It\'s also amazing value for money.',5.0,'2024-01-08T07:00:45Z','REV-QfFa+BA/wOH/JBHh9v92GUXjtrH4E48My9LT3k/Sxx8=','en','nickyandpete007','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Amazing day on the Red Sea','Really nice day out, incredible looks at more than 20 dolphins then some brilliant snorkeling. The guides were really helpful with our young boys, particularly Mohammad who went above and beyond.
Highly recommended.',5.0,'2024-01-07T06:40:36Z','REV-2iUJXLrmkyjoxUgnCUzGEwuZRa3ptuyx/z8CFNkYoyg=','en','threemonkeys2015','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Good value for money for a long boat ride with snorkelling and dolphins','What an excellent trip and good value for money.  The guides were enthusiastic and friendly and we got to see and swim with dolphins !  

The boat was a 2-deck with internal saloon where lunch was served.  There was a bit of climbing in and out of the water on a ladder.

If you are going to do this trip, bear in mind that there will probably be multiple other boats around and the dolphins are in their habitat so might not want to swim with you.

There is snorkelling for those who prefer a more sedate swim and the guides will help those that do not swim well.

Make sure you take some spare cash -as always in Egypt- to do some tipping !',5.0,'2023-12-28T09:19:40Z','REV-einujv6lPI3RgVB9giupPbU1HIrBng78O13l7Nln0KU=','en','0-jon-0','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Very good. Don\'t miss it.','Had a great time. Crew takes care of the passengers and is actively searching the dolphins. There is a very very high chance to see them so don\'t worry about it. Two stops for snorkeling and you can actually explore a little bit by yourself if you are a good swimmer. Great services and good travel agency who will be available for you. Best price great experience.',5.0,'2023-12-22T11:47:12Z','REV-h6ryE+LxRT4xLRVEcEHFxDvevUxrxTOtCqmF9s4bzhg=','en','40rares','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Nice trip! Try it.','There was a great experience. The team and service was fantastic. Unfortunately, we’re not be able to see a dolphins but snorkeling was enough and gave so much fun. Thank you very much for such!',5.0,'2023-12-15T09:39:19Z','REV-ZLSVDjaKyFCyhiOZOfV8lE60aiabSbQiwQrOjL1wDUY=','en','516dawidm','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','A must do','Just got back from the best day. Team so friendly, I hurt my back a while ago, so not best swimmer anymore. Guide took me on rubber ring...so relaxed, felt 100% safe. Lunch was good, just book it...and saw the dolphins. Thank you so much x',5.0,'2023-12-07T10:42:05Z','REV-mLg/T/Oji7lL6SZIkDzqXG1p9MoJYLMsFMAGlnotcMg=','en','Connector38567122206','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P10','3 Pools National Park and Dahab Bus Tour from Sharm El Sheikh','Enjoyable excursion','Enjoyed the excursion, Mohammed our tour guide was very informative and kind. I would definitely recommend booking with this company',4.0,'2023-12-20T12:34:28Z','REV-VTWE1PClVOdTTEhj87AgBELssp2ZpLtrhAuvii314zI=','en','maryamaW7647SZ','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Just remove the banana and learn English better, but very funny anyway','It was so nice, the food was very very good, obv also the dolphins and the community and energy of the group.
Maybe I’d say that the guys of tour didn’t speak English at all, also the banana and sofa activities were a little useless and wasn’t that funny, I advice u to remove the banana activity and add more time to sofa.
I can say tho like i write before, that it was a really pleasure to have done this activity and I’d recommend it to my friend if they’ll ever come to visit Hurghada!
Again it was an unique adventure! 💪🏻❤️',4.0,'2024-03-13T14:00:00Z','REV-ZOfi3adEWjfmsH3HVzmnymeUKXJndyR/0ssIXSjQznA=','en','JacopoPive','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','good trip with dolphin','Except the Shuttle full and in bad state on the morning, everything was nice.
We saw sperm whale, several dolphin, and big variety of fish under water.👍
Nice moment with fried and family, thanks for all',5.0,'2024-02-23T13:49:04Z','REV-rw83vmCtGGFt0Izt3cWtKB/BEXYDeNJr76NYXuBqAeY=','en','davidr580','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Not good','Very bad experience with dolphin and very friendly crew members, looking forward to the next trip with the same hakuna matata group!',1.0,'2024-02-15T07:33:46Z','REV-p50FA3emGefjv1kvfLTqCsAR+2gqSpawKOHNNcWzF00=','en','Sunshine44348710489','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Must do trip','Fantastic trip. We swam with so many dolphins. The snorkeling was amazing. The staff kind and helpful. Lunch was very good. There were unlimited soft drinks. If you\'re staying in Hurgarda this is a must do trip. It\'s also amazing value for money.',5.0,'2024-01-08T07:00:45Z','REV-QfFa+BA/wOH/JBHh9v92GUXjtrH4E48My9LT3k/Sxx8=','en','nickyandpete007','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Amazing day on the Red Sea','Really nice day out, incredible looks at more than 20 dolphins then some brilliant snorkeling. The guides were really helpful with our young boys, particularly Mohammad who went above and beyond.
Highly recommended.',5.0,'2024-01-07T06:40:36Z','REV-2iUJXLrmkyjoxUgnCUzGEwuZRa3ptuyx/z8CFNkYoyg=','en','threemonkeys2015','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Good value for money for a long boat ride with snorkelling and dolphins','What an excellent trip and good value for money.  The guides were enthusiastic and friendly and we got to see and swim with dolphins !  

The boat was a 2-deck with internal saloon where lunch was served.  There was a bit of climbing in and out of the water on a ladder.

If you are going to do this trip, bear in mind that there will probably be multiple other boats around and the dolphins are in their habitat so might not want to swim with you.

There is snorkelling for those who prefer a more sedate swim and the guides will help those that do not swim well.

Make sure you take some spare cash -as always in Egypt- to do some tipping !',5.0,'2023-12-28T09:19:40Z','REV-einujv6lPI3RgVB9giupPbU1HIrBng78O13l7Nln0KU=','en','0-jon-0','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Very good. Don\'t miss it.','Had a great time. Crew takes care of the passengers and is actively searching the dolphins. There is a very very high chance to see them so don\'t worry about it. Two stops for snorkeling and you can actually explore a little bit by yourself if you are a good swimmer. Great services and good travel agency who will be available for you. Best price great experience.',5.0,'2023-12-22T11:47:12Z','REV-h6ryE+LxRT4xLRVEcEHFxDvevUxrxTOtCqmF9s4bzhg=','en','40rares','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','Nice trip! Try it.','There was a great experience. The team and service was fantastic. Unfortunately, we’re not be able to see a dolphins but snorkeling was enough and gave so much fun. Thank you very much for such!',5.0,'2023-12-15T09:39:19Z','REV-ZLSVDjaKyFCyhiOZOfV8lE60aiabSbQiwQrOjL1wDUY=','en','516dawidm','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P1','Hurghada Boat Trip to See Dolphins With Snorkeling and Lunch','A must do','Just got back from the best day. Team so friendly, I hurt my back a while ago, so not best swimmer anymore. Guide took me on rubber ring...so relaxed, felt 100% safe. Lunch was good, just book it...and saw the dolphins. Thank you so much x',5.0,'2023-12-07T10:42:05Z','REV-mLg/T/Oji7lL6SZIkDzqXG1p9MoJYLMsFMAGlnotcMg=','en','Connector38567122206','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Long, intensive and hard climb, but a beautiful experience. Bring enough money/clothes/food (for animals)!','It was a very long and intensive trip. It also was a very hard climb, we didn’t expect it that heavy! But it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once. Our guide Mohamed was very helpful! 
We actually didn’t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guides etc. So bring enough money to not feel oncomfortabele during the trip. 

PS: whether you’re an animal lover or not, bring some food for the hungry animals there as they seem to live only on what the tourists give them in the hot desert.
Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip, near the buses and police / army post. It’s really sad to see them being so thin..',4.0,'2024-03-31T17:15:40Z','REV-wxr0Rjz7UNlXbB8ubWbQeydUcOE6/iPVqmst7cQ0410=','en','SanneVlist','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P15','Quad Bike Desert Safari with Camel Ride from Marsa Alam','Quad ride','Very nice trip. Pick up was exactly in time. The quad was fast. The guide made good photos and video. I had a little rest in Beduin village. It was very nice experience',5.0,'2024-03-20T07:14:14Z','REV-LShbYHFLnPiAdNegk1HdLvYbfON64jRPq38bfqTDPC8=','en','trvltreatment','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P15','Quad Bike Desert Safari with Camel Ride from Marsa Alam','Quad ride','Very nice trip. Pick up was exactly in time. The quad was fast. The guide made good photos and video. I had a little rest in Beduin village. It was very nice experience',5.0,'2024-03-20T07:14:14Z','REV-LShbYHFLnPiAdNegk1HdLvYbfON64jRPq38bfqTDPC8=','en','trvltreatment','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P15','Quad Bike Desert Safari with Camel Ride from Marsa Alam','Quad ride','Very nice trip. Pick up was exactly in time. The quad was fast. The guide made good photos and video. I had a little rest in Beduin village. It was very nice experience',5.0,'2024-03-20T07:14:14Z','REV-LShbYHFLnPiAdNegk1HdLvYbfON64jRPq38bfqTDPC8=','en','trvltreatment','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P15','Quad Bike Desert Safari with Camel Ride from Marsa Alam','Quad ride','Very nice trip. Pick up was exactly in time. The quad was fast. The guide made good photos and video. I had a little rest in Beduin village. It was very nice experience',5.0,'2024-03-20T07:14:14Z','REV-LShbYHFLnPiAdNegk1HdLvYbfON64jRPq38bfqTDPC8=','en','trvltreatment','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

Use the torch they provide! 
If you’re physically fit, the walk is not that difficult. Some people really struggled, but anyone active was comfortable. I had no body soreness the next day and behaved as normal.',5.0,'2023-12-17T21:08:15Z','REV-YMejiy721OouVAtg/net0GcGtMlyId4bgQD+yhfvpsk=','en','IamCecilia','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Great tour!','The tour was super great and the price was as well! The guides were also very nice and funny.
It was hard to climb the mount but we had enough time before sunset. The climb included a few stops a long the way so everyone could catch up with the rest. We only sometimes felt rushed to keep the group together which wasn’t always possible. Also we wished to have more time to visit the monastery.',4.0,'2023-12-17T06:28:21Z','REV-fa1PosDlgBNwfJg86NQn6IXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Oriane_K','VIATOR'),('256568P15','Quad Bike Desert Safari with Camel Ride from Marsa Alam','Quad ride','Very nice trip. Pick up was exactly in time. The quad was fast. The guide made good photos and video. I had a little rest in Beduin village. It was very nice experience',5.0,'2024-03-20T07:14:14Z','REV-LShbYHFLnPiAdNegk1HdLvYbfON64jRPq38bfqTDPC8=','en','trvltreatment','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Heavy trip, but a special experience (bring enough money/food)','It was hard, we didn\'t expect it that heavy, but it was beautiful and an adventure to experience once! We only didn\'t know we needed to have enough money with us for other things, like for riding camels, children who are selling souvenirs, toilets, tips for the guide etc. So bring enough money with you to feel comfortable during the trip. 

PS: Whether you are an animal lover or not, bring some food for them, because the emaciated animals only seem to survive on the little bits that tourists give them in the hot desert. Especially the dogs at the very beginning / very end of the trip at the police/army, at the busstop are really thin and very poor to see..',4.0,'2024-03-31T16:40:45Z','REV-4nCuk13MZiSs+WgyavBTQYXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','AfkeLisanne_v','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Exciting and an Adventourous tour!!!','We were picked up at 9pm from our hotel.  Our guide Sayed was multilingual and spoke to each group giving details about our tour and what to expect. On the outskirts of Sharm El Sheikh we waited for all the other tour buses to gather and were escorted all the way to St Catharines\'s by a police escort.  We stopped at a bedouin camp on the way for coffee and snacks and also a halt at the monastery store for those who wanted to buy icons and souvenirs.  There were also jackets and caps on sale as it was very cold. I sincerely appreciate that they provided police escorts and also a security check before entering St Catherine\'s monastery for our safety.  After security and once past the monastery we started our climb up Mt Sinai. It was very dark and our bedouin guide Aeid was kind and lent us his torch. The climb itself was exhilirating, especially in the dark with all the stars visble in the night sky. There were tents selling coffee, tea, noodles , woollen caps and ponchos,etc every 15 to 20 mins, so the climb itself didnt feel all that long. There were also a lot of camel owners on the way offering camel rides to those who were not able to do the climb.  The last 750 steps can get slippery due to the mist, so its advisable to wear a good grip hiking shoes. Just before the last climb to the summit we waited inside a bedouin store and sipped some hot coffee and rented a blanket as it was very cold up the summit and the temperature that night was ranging below zero degree celcius. Just before dawn we resumed and climbed up the last few steps to reach the summit. I have no words to describe the beauty of the place and we were holding our breaths just to see the first ray of the sun. We were above the clouds and it was the perfect sunrise I ever saw. There is a small mosque and a chapel at the summit which we visited after sunrise. It was a beautiful walk all the way down and we met our guide at the monastery gate. The monsatery is old and beautiful and houses the burning bush and the well of Moses. We were given plenty of time to look around and then finally made our way back to the bus . We reached our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 2.30pm after dropping off most of the passengers.  For me personally, this was one of my favourite tours. It felt adventourous to do a night hike in the desert and to have such wonderful guides like Sayed and Aeid, who were always full of information and very enthusiastic to share it.',5.0,'2024-03-21T02:53:21Z','REV-BwvuuGwIrqm/8Z100WISeWTSrB0AJba6doR0fdtoxQk=','en','777savvy','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','The best place','The experience was unique, the entire staff made us feel comfortable and safe, we were a group of 4 girls. It was all very nice.',5.0,'2024-02-05T14:46:28Z','REV-HC1lZ8KW3ZrXCvxJuLng9pIexTwIpIliwJIE9yGZSlA=','en','Vane D','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Bad experience with the local orginiser!','Mount Sinai and St.Caterine monastir is very good, but not with this organiser and guide Ahmed! Very cocky man!
The transfers from and to the hotels were really long and bad!
They could do better, when after the climb to 2.280 meters and a sleepless night we were dead tired, but still came back very late at 2 pm the next day!
They could hire more vans for a swift transfers back to the hotels and not the old smelly bus, waiting from hotel to hotel to come eventually your stop!',2.0,'2024-01-25T12:16:57Z','REV-3I1JPqJ6F7f7oZ06EsjUO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Todor_G','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','I recommend','Very organized, nice guides they explain you everything. The activity start at 9 pm to 14 pm. it\'s was a beautiful experience I recommend',5.0,'2024-01-22T13:55:04Z','REV-2CTLp8uIsCBI+B1ziPjNYoXU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Cynthia_P','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Snail pace hike up the mountain - value for money trip','So, firstly, this trip is extremely competitively priced and incredible value for money. I booked this trip less than 24h before the scheduled departure. The team messaged via Whatsapp the day of the trip with details of collection time etc. You should make sure you have a photocopy of your passport (our hotel did this for us) as your guide will ask you for this. The additional $6pp fee can be paid in several currencies, just confirm the amount in your chosen currency beforehand, and make sure you have this to hand as your guide collects it at collection.
The journey took approx 6h from collection due to the need to travel in a convoy but shorter (4h) on the way back.
The bus stops once on the way for a toilet break and opportunity to buy snacks
So my major concern, being a person that HATES hill walking and is moderately fit but on the heavier side, was whether I was going to be rushed up the mountain and pressurised to keep up with the group. Our guide, on the drive there, immediately put any concerns to rest. He said very clearly, it takes about 2.5-3h to get up to the top and we would have 4-4.5h before sunrise so go slow and rest as often as needed. He highlighted that it was incredibly cold (he was right, it was freezing) at the top so no point in rushing as you would just sit at the top for longer in the cold. Our Bedoun guide was excellent!  He again stressed to take our time, especially on the steps (exhausting), and had a system of shouting back our group name and listening for a response so he knew we were all still ok. Sound travels well so that even though we were at the back and had been over taken by a couple groups, we could still hear him and respond. There was no pressure to keep up with the group despite what other reviews had said. The camel handlers are a bit annoying up till half way, more in the sense that you\'re trying to find the motivation to keep  going and they\'re right behind you telling you it\'s a long way up and offering you an easy option, but a stern response in arabic normally sufficed. The spacing of the Bedoun tents along the way up were great as it gave us the opportunity to sit in the warmth for a few minutes. We brought our own snacks and water but we did buy a hot chocolate at the tent at the top (top Bedoun tents are at the bottom of the last 100 steps to the top, no tents right on the top) to warm up for Egyptian $75 each. There is a toilet at the top tents (basic hole in the ground type) for Egyptian $10.
So overall, tiring from lack of sleep and those awful steps, but such a sense of accomplishment.
The scenery is awe-inspiring.
Relaxing in the sense that absolutely no pressure from our guide and Bedoun guide to hurry up.
Our guide was honestly the absolute best and looked out for us throughout the trip. Huge thanks Mohammed from Alexandria. We were too tired to fully express our thanks at the time but this person is a credit to the company!
I won\'t be adding many photos as it\'ll ruin the experience for others - book this trip!',5.0,'2024-01-11T14:24:05Z','REV-G9hiwP0iuVYhrnYdpuDIBnIRt1HapxFcXuI4HpHJ40I=','en','TG26TG','TRIPADVISOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','biased, but we can call this interesting for sure','-The ride to the Mountain was uncomfortable due to the full house in the bus, and taking breath at the back was not easy due to the lack of aircon - which finally worked after 4 of us requested
-The main guide Muhamad was a top class guide with good level of knowledge, hospitality and personality
-The bedouin was unfortunately too rushy despite 4-5 people asked for a slower pace. Not sure if he wanted to see more people on camels, probably. The saint route should not be such commercial trade centric, where many of rude bedouins block the road all the way with camels which becomes a more unsafe experience too. They did not seem in the dark as angels of Christmas Eve but bandits on the countryside. OK, coffee shops and stops make sense but it is not the Himalaya\'s last segment and an endurance race with time and pushy sellers. The first part of the group arrived around the top for about 4:30 what may be a record but fully unnecessary. Maybe not for the coffee shop owners...
Some weaker (average) members of the group were left off fully
and had to join latter groups due to sometimes another group member wanted to take the lead. 
-Too much litter on the roads vs. the nr. of toilets.
-So this route to the top part needs refurbishment and the bedouins some training about hospitality. For sure
it was not like this in the Biblical ages.
As well; there was a short emergency situation which was handled by another bedouin (Youssef?) perfectly. All the others just wanted to sell more blankets with full of camel smell and ask for more money from the temporarily ill and sensitive person... That only and exceptional bedouin who saved the momentum gets 1 star from the overall 4. The other 3 is for the environment.
-Less profit oriented organization and a bit higher pricrs may mean less customers but more professional service and less crying, exhausted hikers at the end.
-Perhaps this activity is not for those who are at very average city-sightseener or below condition.',4.0,'2023-12-24T19:55:31Z','REV-bS3HQZeUPfrvzPBRu1zAO4XU/a48chrbfdax19evxL8=','en','Mark_K','VIATOR'),('256568P11','St Catherine&#039;s Monastery and the Summit of Mount Sinai from Sharm','Fantastic!! Very safe, fascinating history, beautiful experience. Great agency!','A magical time. The agency communication was flawless, they contacted me the day before confirming the time. Due to flight changes I had to be collected from the airport which they helped with. The process was very smooth. Bathroom stops along the way, the bus lights turned off so people could sleep. 
The guide was very helpful and spoke English, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Romanian (likely more). 

I highly recommend the agency and tour. It was better than I expected!
The price was also fantastic! I learned my hotel charged $40 for the same experience!!! 

It was cold, but not as deathly cold as some reviews say. When you are walking you become warm and many people ended up removing layers.
I wore a thermal top, cotton shirt, cardigan and down puffer (no gloves or hat) with jeans and that was perfect. The discomfort of cold for 15 mins was worth not having to carry the extras for 6 hours (up and down).

