Dahab Day Trips: Blue Hole, Mount Sinai or Petra

From Dahab you can snorkel at the Blue Hole and ride quads and camels in one day, climb Mount Sinai and visit St Catherine's Monastery, cross by ferry to Petra, or fly to Cairo for the pyramids. All four are day trips with hotel pickup in Dahab.

Key Takeaways

• The Dahab Desert Safari, Blue Hole Snorkeling, Quad Biking, and Camel Safari snorkels the Blue Hole in the morning, then goes quad biking and on a camel safari. Equipment, water and soft drinks are included.
• The Mount Sinai and St Catherine Monastery on a tour from Dahab visits the monastery first, then climbs the mountain, with the monastery entry fee included.
• The Petra Tour from Dahab lists the ferry, Jordanian entry visa, guide, Petra tickets and lunch as included, with extra charges on days other than Tuesday and Friday.
• The Cairo Day Tour From Dahab By Air flies from Sharm El Sheikh and visits Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum.
• The Blue Hole and Petra pages say prices do not apply over Christmas, New Year or Easter.

Four ways to spend a day from Dahab

Blue Hole day

The day opens at the Blue Hole, one of the best-known snorkelling sites anywhere: a deep sinkhole in the reef that you reach straight from the shore. After the snorkel you head into the desert for quad biking across wide-open sands, followed by a calmer camel safari. Read more about the Blue Hole of Dahab, and see why visit Dahab for the town itself.

Mount Sinai and St Catherine's

The Dahab trip starts at St Catherine's Monastery, one of the oldest functioning monasteries in the world, with its collection of ancient icons, manuscripts and religious artifacts and the site of the Burning Bush. You then climb Mount Sinai, believed to be where the Prophet Moses received the Ten Commandments, with panoramic views on the way up. Coming from Sharm El Sheikh the order is different: the Mount Sinai and St. Catherine's Monastery Tour from Sharm El Sheikh starts around 2:00 AM at the base of the mountain with a Bedouin guide, reaches the summit for sunrise, then visits the monastery, built by Emperor Justinian I, and has lunch in Dahab at a seaside restaurant. The page calls the climb moderately challenging.

Petra from Dahab

The Petra day starts with a ferry crossing and a local guide takes you through the natural gorge of the Siq to the Treasury and the Royal Tombs. The ferry is Taba to Aqaba and back, the guide stays with you for around two hours inside Petra, and a short horse ride and lunch in Petra are included. The page lists extra charges on days other than Tuesday and Friday: Taba entry $20, a taxi at $10 per person, Israeli departure taxes of $64 per person and Jordan exit fees of $15 per person. Check the details with us before choosing a date.

Cairo in a day

The Cairo Day Tour From Dahab By Air is a long day: you fly from Sharm El Sheikh, visit the Giza Plateau and the Great Sphinx, have lunch in Cairo and spend the afternoon at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Flight arrangements vary by tour, so confirm them with us when you book. For more options by town, see Dahab day tours, or read our guide to the Coloured Canyon for another Sinai stop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is snorkelling equipment included for the Blue Hole? Yes, along with the camel safari, quad biking, bottled water and soft drinks.

Is the Mount Sinai climb hard? The page for the Sharm El Sheikh sunrise climb calls it moderately challenging.

Is the monastery ticket included? Yes, the entry fee for St Catherine's Monastery is included on the Dahab trip.

Is the Jordanian visa for Petra included? The Petra page lists the Jordanian entry visa via Aqaba as included for non-restricted nationalities.

When do prices not apply? The Blue Hole and Petra pages say prices do not apply over Christmas, New Year or Easter.