So if you’re in Israel and looking to also explore the stunning coastline of the neighboring Sinai Peninsula – as well as climb to the top of Mount Sinai and visit St Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai desert – you’ll be pleased to know that it’s now very doable!
I’ve just come back from a week exploring Eilat and Sinai and thanks to the guys over at Abraham Tours, the beaches of Sinai, climbing Mount Sinai, and exploring St. Catherine’s Monastery have never been easier to reach, with 2-day or 3-day tour options from Eilat.
I went with the 2-day tour from Eilat, which basically means you get a lift to the Taba border, head through on your own (or with the other members on your tour), before spending some time at a very chilled out resort on Sinai beach. That night you’ll get taken to Mount Sinai, where you’ll trek up the long trail for at least a couple of hours – plus the 750 steps right at the end! Enjoy the stunning sunrise before making the long way back down.
At the foot of the mountain, you’ll get to explore St Catherine’s Monastery (where the Burning Bush is located), before being transported back to the Sinai resort and then later in the afternoon, back to the border crossing with Israel.
The 3-day tour is exactly the same for the first two days, but on the third day you also get to enjoy an optional desert jeep adventure that will take you through some stunning Sinai desert scenery. If you don’t fancy that, just chill out at the beach and snorkel away the day…
I don’t know about you, but if you’re on a fairly limited schedule, these two tours are a godsend and really give you the perfect Sinai quickie! It also looks like they might get tweaked over the coming months, as they are still very new, so you might even get a better all-round Sinai adventure than the one below!
Day 1: Heading to Sinai
The first day of the tour starts nice and leisurely, at 11am. After arriving in Eilat the previous evening, it gave me plenty of time to grab some breakfast, before checking out of my room. Pickup is from the new Abraham Hostel in Eilat (coming soon), and they’ll take you to the Taba border crossing, some ten minutes away.
The Taba border crossing is a pretty easy crossing – just be aware that during peak holiday season in Israel it can be hectic! My little group (there were just the four of us), sailed through in what must have been record time to the Egyptian side, where we were picked up by Saleem, waiting for us in his dusty but trusty pickup.
After making a quick pitstop at the fabulous viewpoint of Pharaoh’s Island (see below) and driving through a number of checkpoints – some more serious looking than others – we eventually arrived at the rather chilled Aqua Sun resort.
With the beach practically to ourselves, and cool little beach huts to call our own for the next 24 hours or so, it was chillout time. The huts are basic but actually pretty nice. You’ve got a fan, light, a decent mattress to sleep on, and a big ol’ mosquito net to keep them mozzies away when you crash (there are mozzies galore and they are quite vicious, so yes, splash on the anti-mosquito juice).
But being so close to the beach is definitely the biggest plus… after an afternoon swigging a few Egyptian Stella beers and doing some snorkeling, it was amazing to crash in the post-sunset glow of Sinai, and hear the waves crashing just a few meters away, the perfect soundtrack to a beer-enhanced snooze…
Waking up to an amazing dinner served by the Aqua Sun boys, we were soon all ready for our hike up to Mount Sinai. All we had to do was hang on until 11pm, when our driver turned up to take us over to Mount Sinai, deep in the Sinai desert…
Day 2: Climbing Mount Sinai for a majestic sunrise
After around two hours on the road, we finally arrived at 1am to the foot of Mount Sinai. The first thing that hit me was the chilled night air. OK, it might have been November, but it might be something to take into consideration when you make your visit. But if you come ill-prepared, note there are a number of shops selling ponchos, scarves and even gloves at the entrance.
Our guide (included in the tour) was Muhamed, and he was great. His English was very good, and he guided us up and down the mountain over the next few hours. Very nice guy, I hope you get him too!
After a climb of some two hours or so – make that three with various tea-breaks along the way to keep the cold night air from chilling us completely to the bone – we finally reached the last leg of the climb to the summit, the 750 stone steps.
At this point, I have to admit, I was completely frozen, and thankful for the very last kiosk before the summit, which had some delicious hot tea to slurp on, but more importantly, some warm, heavy blankets to rent (expect to pay around $3). Without that blanket, I would have really suffered.
But all that pain and shivering was worth it, with a majestic sunrise watched from the very top of Mount Sinai. We got lucky and managed to grab a ringside seat (it was surprisingly buzzing up there), and were rewarded with a great little sunrise, peeking up from over the stunning Sinai mountains. One of the best sunrises you’ll ever get to see. And probably one of the coldest too!
The trek down was a lot quicker (once you’ve descended the 750 steps again, you can choose to go back on the main path, or take the more direct 3000 step descent), and it wasn’t long before we were browsing the St Catherine Monastery courtyard, at the foot of Mount Sinai. We got unlucky there, as it was packed to the rafters with pilgrims, but this is the site of the Burning Bush and is well worth seeing. Bear in mind that this site is important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
After that, it was a ride back to our Sinai beach resort, and time for another chillout session. With little sleep thanks to the night’s excursion, a snooze didn’t come amiss, before one last snorkeling session which just had to be squeezed in.
Our taxi back to the Taba border crossing was waiting for us at 4pm, and it wasn’t long before we were back in the Holy Land. A quick two-day adventure into the heart of the amazing Sinai, but well worth it!