Private Full-Day Red Sea Monasteries tour will start with a hotel pickup in Cairo or Giza. Meet your driver-guide and then travel east toward the Red Sea coast by air-conditioned minivan. Gaze at Egypt’s Eastern desert on the route, and hear about the history of both St. Anthony’s and St. Paul’s monasteries on the route. Two of the world’s oldest Coptic Christian monasteries, these holy retreats were founded in the 4th and 5th century respectively, and lie nestled in the Red Sea mountains.

Our itinerary for a private Red Sea Monasteries tour

Our first stop will be at The Monastery of Saint Anthony is a Coptic Orthodox monastery standing in an oasis in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, in the southern part of the Suez Governorate. Hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains, it is located 334 km southeast of Cairo. It is the oldest monastery in the world.

Next, you will have your lunch in a good-quality authentic restaurant with a set menu of grilled chicken/kebab and kofta. (Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required).

And then, we will visit The Monastery of St Paul which began as a grouping of hermitages in the cliffs around the site where Paul had his cell. The complex’s heart is the Church of St Paul, which was built in and around the cave where Paul lived. It’s cluttered with altars, candles, ostrich eggs (the symbol of the Resurrection), and murals representing saints and biblical stories. The fortress above the church was where the monks retreated during Bedouin raids. Later, we will escort you back to your hotel.