Sinai Trail emergency & health guide: hospitals, rescue, 123 and travel advice

Emergency numbers

Egypt has no mountain rescue service, and phone signal on the Sinai Trail is weak and found only at a few points. Rescue is organised by your Bedouin guides by camel, jeep or helicopter and can take a day or more. Carry a satellite messenger or PLB, agree an emergency plan with your guide before you start, and buy insurance that covers hiking, scrambling and air evacuation in South Sinai.

Rules to know

• A Bedouin guide is compulsory: the tribes do not allow hikers to walk alone in their territory. Guides and camels change at each tribal border: Tarabin from Ras Shetan to Ein Hudera, Muzeina to Wadi Fara, Jebeleya to St Katherine. Book through the Sinai Trail team.
• UK travel advice (FCDO, updated 4 August 2026): against all travel to North Sinai, and against all but essential travel to the northern part of South Sinai beyond the St Catherine–Nuweiba road, except the coast. Stages 1–4, from Ras Shetan to Ein Hudera, are north of that road; stages 5–12 are not. Check that your insurance covers the days you walk.
• US travel advice (Egypt Level 2, updated August 2025): do not travel to Northern and Middle Sinai; be cautious in Southern Sinai, including St Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai, and check the news.
• Visa: the free Sinai-only entry stamp does not cover the trail. You need a full Egyptian visa, on arrival at the airport (US$30 cash in 2026) or as an e-visa at visa2egypt.gov.eg. No visa is sold at the Taba border, where travel beyond Taba costs a US$120 tax.
• Desert travel needs a qualified guide and a Ministry of Interior permit, which your guide arranges. Carry your passport at all times: police check ID at checkpoints.
• Drones: do not bring or fly a drone in Egypt without prior permission from the Ministry of Defence; the penalty can be up to 7 years in prison.
• The high mountains are part of the St Katherine Protectorate and the Saint Catherine Area World Heritage Site: do not pick plants, feed wildlife, leave graffiti or cut corners between paths. Give all litter to your guide.
• Springs and wells are Bedouin drinking water: never wash in them or dip bottles in. Go to the toilet at least 100 m from water and burn or carry out toilet paper.
• Wear long trousers, not shorts, and ask before photographing people, especially Bedouin women.
• Weather: summer is very hot, and from November to March the mountains drop below freezing, with snow possible on Mount Sinai and Jebel Katherina. Rain can fall in any month and cause flash floods: follow your guide when choosing camps.
• Divers: do not start the hike within 48 hours of your last dive; the whole trail is high enough to cause decompression sickness.

Nearest hospital for each stage

Hospitals

Pharmacies, cash and supplies

• Pharmacies:
• ATMs:
• Shops: St Katherine
• Bus stops: St Katherine

There is no pharmacy on the trail. Buy medicines in Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab or Nuweiba before you start; several pharmacies in Sharm are open 24 hours. Bring a first aid kit with blister plasters, rehydration salts, anti-diarrhoea tablets, painkillers and water purification tablets. There is no electricity on the trail: carry a power bank or solar charger.

Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.