I've just booked a tour with Smartours next March which includes two full days in Hurghada. I'm not really into aquatic sports but I thought I could go on a day excursion to the Red Sea monasteries. Now I read that you can't go to them during Lent. Can anyone verify this?

If I don't do this then maybe I will go against my inclination and take a beginning diving session.

Which monasteries were you going to go to? I would think they aren't all closed for the whole of lent. That would mean an awful lot of time they would have to be closed, wouldn't it?... like a month or more? I don't know about the ones near Hurghada, but I've never heard that about St. Catherines or the ones in Wadi el Natrun, so don't know why the two out near Hurghada would be different, but I'll let you know if I hear different.

The Monasteries of St. Anthony & St. Paul. This trip is advertised on all the Hurghada websites, but they don't say anything about Lent. I read it somewhere though, I think in a guidebook.

Why don't you contact the tour companies advertising the trip on the web and ask them? They should be the professionals. If they don't come across as professional - ie can't answer your question, don't know what lent is, etc. - you might want to rethink using that company. Since it is advertised on ALL the Hurghada websites, surely one will be professional enough to answer the question reliably... I'd hope!

OK, thanks, I'll do that. Seeing the monasteries is not a do or die thing, though. I'll just be flexible and plan alternative activities.

I have not received replies to any of the several inquiries I've made. I did read in Lonely Planet that the monasteries are open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during Lent. I may have to just see what the situation is when I arrive in Hurghada.