Coptic Cairo: Tour of Cave Church of Saint Simon and Historic Churches

Explore the Cave Church of Saint Simon and historic churches in Coptic Cairo. Discover hidden gems like ‘garbage city’ on this private tour of Cairo’s Christian sites.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Coptic Cairo - At the designated time, your guide will pick you up from the hotel to begin your half-day tour of Old Cairo, also known as Coptic Cairo, which signifies Christian Cairo. This area is considered sacred because the Holy Family visited some of its locations. Despite their brief stay, the spiritual impact of their presence is still…
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • All Transfers by Private A/C latest Model Vehicle
  • Lunch at local restaurants (Local Egyptian Food) (If Option Selected)
  • Guide on site (If Option Selected)
  • Bottle of water
What's Not Included
  • Personal Items
  • Tipping
Additional Information

Embark on a private tour to El Mokattam Mountain Cave Church, also known as the Monastery of St Simon, and delve into the splendid churches of Coptic Cairo. This tour includes visits to some of Cairo’s most significant Christian landmarks, such as the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, the Church of Saint Barbara, and the Hanging Church. Additionally,…

Location
Emtedad Al Central
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(190 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Silke
Feb 28, 2026
Discreet guide, great time - I was picked up on time. My guide was very friendly and discreet. He talked a lot about the individual stations and then gave me as much time as I wanted to take photos and take a close look at everything. When we had visited everything, I was asked if I still had a wish or wanted to go back to the hotel. Great, thanks
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hsiaofen_y
Feb 13, 2026
Recommended!! - The tour was fantastic. Our driver was very nice and competent! The drive to Cave church (St. Simon) was not easy. But we felt safe!
Review provided by Viator
882oscarm
Feb 12, 2026
Very good tour of Coptic churches and area - Tour was great. Karma the guide provided good commentary and gave us enough time to see everything that we wanted to. Lunch was very good as was driver. Highly recommend the tour even though there was some confusion from company on start time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jessica_k
Jan 31, 2026
Beautiful, unique experience in Cairo, highly recommend!! - This tour was definitely a highlight of our week in Cairo for our family of 6! Our tour guide, Mirna B. was very knowledgeable, and was also kind and helpful with our 4 children, buying them snacks, helping us carry extra jackets, and making sure the children were safe in the crowds the entire time. The story of St. Simon the Tanner is incredible, we learned so much visiting the Cave Church in Garbage City. This is one of the most unique sights in Cairo, definitely a must see!! Getting to visit where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus stayed when they fled to Egypt, and even seeing the well where they got their water from, was truly an experience our family will never forget. After a few days of visiting pyramids and museums, it was beautiful to witness the fervor, enthusiasm, and the devotion of the Christian community in Cairo and to spend some time teaching our children about the ancient roots of their faith here. 100% recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Carlosteodo
Jan 31, 2026
Pure history - Very good experience Guide Karim very knowledgeable of Egyptian history Perfect punctuality at the contracted time Good lunch in clean place
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sally
Jan 27, 2026
Cave church tour and Garbage city - Ehab and our driver, Ahmed, were fantastic. Ehab was very knowledgeable on all the sites we visited today. Not only did he share site information but also gave a quick summarization of Egyptian history. He was open to questions and never rushed us. It was a very enjoyable tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gherardino
Feb 16, 2026
Exceptional and impressive - While visiting and traveling through Cairo's "garbage city," there is something obscene about visiting sky-screaming poverty, there is no other way to get to some sights. Three rock churches in the vicinity of the monastery of St. Simon are so extraordinary and impressive that one should take the trouble to get there at all. Which is not to be underestimated that this garbage town is also a great and educational story. Beaten into the caves of this mighty rock and holding many thousands of believers, these churches are also sites of perseverance, faith and hope. Gherardino
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maria_k
Jan 24, 2026
Amazing sights, must see - The driver, Abdu fetched me right on time but there was no sign of the guide, Karma.. We had to go pick her up. I did not receive a message either before hand which I found odd.. On the way to the Coptic area we passed by Garbage city which was quite interesting in itself. You could see how local people lived. The sights I saw were more and everything I wanted. Karma was friendly and knowledgeable.. Abdu was a great driver winding through these tight spaces.
Review provided by Viator
Herve_j
Jan 30, 2026
We should explain... - We would have liked to receive a confirmation from the RV as we had time to worry a little before the taxi arrived. This tour should be explained more precisely: on the one hand the rock church (locate the place and talk about access), on the other hand Old Cairo (define the places to visit). Our driver was very friendly and pleasant but dropped us off asking how long we needed before coming back to pick us up. How do you answer this question when you don't know the place or what it will be possible to visit? At random we told him 3 hours, it seemed to suit him... Following a fire we did not have access to St Simeon at the beginning of the route but the driver agreed to return after visiting Old Cairo, which we found really good on his part. If we had known that there were only 2 different sites we would have taken directly a taxi that would have cost us much less...
Review provided by Viator
Liana
Jan 25, 2026
Guided tour or taxi service? - We have booked this tour with Viator as an English guided tour , however tour started 40 min late , car was compact and dirty, and worst of all tour guide could hardly speak English - just a separate words and expressions. We tried to squeeze out some facts and information about visited sites , but unsuccessfully , we had to overhear other tour guides to get some info . We understood that she is not a guide at all , probably company sent random person as a substitute because most of the time she was just chatting with the driver . She didn’t even introduce herself. Sites were good , but without verbal information. Please select carefully tour company
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $15
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).