Day Trips in Red Sea

Take in sunrise from Mount Sinai and explore St. Catherine's Monastery on a 16-hour day trip from Sharm El Sheikh. Walk alongside a Bedouin guide - and follow in Moses' legendary footsteps - as you hike a narrow path to the mountain summit; watch the sun illuminate the Sinai Desert's arid peaks and jumbled hills. Enjoy a traditional breakfast then tour St. Catherine's monastery, whose high walls and devoted monks shelter Byzantine and Crusader art, ancient manuscripts and the the world's oldest working library.

Leave Sharm El Sheikh for an off-road, full-day Jeep safari to the Colored Canyon and the Blue Hole, and discover two of the Sinai's most iconic sites. Take a downhill walk through the canyon's fantastical swirls of rock, and clamber through narrow stone passages. Slide and climb over steep dunes and continue to the Blue Hole; dine alongside the infamous dive site, then swim through the sunny shallows "” bring a mask and fins to explore the area's thriving reefs. Pause in Dahab's shops and cafes, then set out across the desert and return to Sharm El Sheikh.

Watch sunrise from the top of Mount Sinai on a hiking trip from Sharm el Sheikh to one of Egypt's highest mountains. You'll climb the 7,497-foot (2,285-mt.) peak in the predawn darkness, see first light illuminate the mountaintop chapel and mosque, then descend to the 6th-century Monastery of St. Catherine, built where Moses is believed to have seen the Burning Bush. With round-trip transport from Sharm el Sheikh, this is a great way to experience Mount Sinai and St. Catherine even if you have limited time in Egypt.

The Straits of Tiran, which separate the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aqaba, are home to some of the region's most pristine coral reefs. Soak up the brilliant colors and vibrant marine life with ease on this door-to-door boat trip that includes three separate snorkeling stops, lunch, and soft drinks. If you don't have your own snorkeling gear, all necessary equipment is available to rent on the boat.