We booked this trip at very short notice. The team keep us informed of what we needed to take with us and pick up times and arrived promptly at our hotel in Sharm El Sheik at 9:15 pm. The drive took around 2.5 hours, but would have taken far longer if it wasn’t for our driver’s rapport with the guards at the check points throughout the journey.
We arrived at the car park at the base of Mount Sinai and after some good natured selling attempts by the local merchants we ended up buying torches for 1 USD each. Although we were walking during a full moon it was still useful at times. We were introduced to our local guide, Ahmed, who was taking us to the summit.
The walk is on mixed path from concrete, to sandy and finally rock. Trainers were fine to wear (some people do this walk in sandals and one group did it in heels apparently). We went on a Tuesday night and it was quiet which made far an enjoyable walk sometimes watching the stars in silence. We got out of breath in places, but Ahmed ensured there were plenty of rest stops.
After about 2.5 hours of waking we reached the top and had sometime to wait for sunrise. We did the climb in June and it was about 15 centigrade, so take something warm to wear.
Sunrise was a special experience. Thankfully it was relatively quite at the summit - I could imagine your experience could be spoiled if it was really busy.
We were leaving Egypt that day, so skipped the St Catherine tour and headed back.
All in all, a very well organised unique experience hosted by friendly, knowledgeable people.
