Day 1--Arrival in Beirut - This is a private tour, choose your own arrival date
You fly in over the blue Mediterranean and clusters of trading vessels of every size and shape in the great curve of the port and bay of Beirut sheltering under green mountains. Our representative will be on hand to greet you, and to assist with entry formalities. Visas are issued upon arrival to citizens of the USA, Canada, the European Union, and several other nations. We’ll see you to your hotel. The remainder of the day is yours to relax, recuperate from your travel, stretch your legs, and make your first discoveries of Beirut. Our representative will be pleased to suggest a restaurant or an informal café, or a night club, depending on whether you prefer music into the wee hours, fine cuisine, or an authentic Arab meal . . . you’ll find it all in Beirut.

Day 2—Beirut, Sidon, Beiteddine, Deir El Kamar (BL)
After breakfast, we’ll call for you at your hotel, and whisk you off toward the south. Our first stop is the port city of Sidon, an ancient Phoenician city that tells its story through a heritage of sandstone mosques, a medieval Crusader castle, an Ottoman palace, and a Roman theater. We’ll continue inland to Beiteddine, known for its intricate nineteenth-century palace where medieval armaments and Phoenician treasures are displayed. Just outside of town is Deir El Kamar, with its tile-roofed sandstone palaces, and center of tradition and the arts where you can stroll pleasant lanes and stop in at galleries. Lunch is included today at the Baadaran Village with the locals : The village of Baadarane up in the Chouf mountains is known for its traditional Lebanese architecture from the period of the Emirs. Some say the origins of the name origins are Phoenician and translate Baadarane as “a rest station,” citing its role as a Roman army post in 20 B.C. The local tradition of looming is still in evidence here and visitors to the village can view Nazih,a local craftsman demonstrating his skill.

Day 3 – Beirut, Ksara, Anjar, Baalbek, Bshareh (BL)
We’re off in a different direction today, toward the Bekaa Valley. Ksara is the oldest winery in Lebanon, developed by French Jesuits in the nineteenth century following a long local tradition. We’ll continue to Anjar, a mountain-girt village where Armenians from Turkey found refuge in the last century, and developed their own Christian community. Farther on is Baalbek which, as Heliopolis, whose majestic Roman temples were a sonder of the ancient world. We’ll wander through and wonder at the ruins, before we continue to Bshareh. Lunch is included today at Deir El Ahmar WADA village with the locals: Deir El Ahmar :
Visiting WADA, the Women's Association of Deir El Ahmar, in the Bekaa region , is an authentic rural experience. The local women are known for their culinary talents and offer lunch to visitor as well as and selling traditional products. Many farmers are happy to play host and open their homes for an authentic bed and breakfast featuring true Lebanese hospitality and traditions. The surrounding area has several unknown historical sites such as the Roman temple of Jupiter and Astarte. Visitors can also participate in seasonal farming activities.

Day 4 – Bshareh, Cedars, Gibran Museum, Qadisha, Byblos (BL)
Bshareh is the home village of painter and writer Khalil Gibran. We’ll visit the museum dedicated to the life and work of the author of The Prophet. We’ll continue through countryside carpeted with Lebanon’s famed cedars, used to make the ships that plied the seas in ancient times. We’ll traverse the Qadisha, or Holy Valley, its steep slopes perforated with cave chapels and monasteries cut from solid rock by monks, its peaks marked with some of the highest red-roofed villages in Lebanon. Finally, we’ll reach Byblos, where we stop for the night.
Picnic lunch is included today in Qadisha Valley .
Qadisha : The impressive Qadisha Valley, classified as an UN World Heritage Site, in Lebanon’s northern region is one of Lebanon’s best kept secrets. Inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC to the Roman period, the valley is scattered with cave chapels, hermitages and monasteries cut from rock. Since the Early Middle Ages generations of monks, and hermits found asylum here. At the bottom of this wild gorge runs the Qadisha River whose source is at the foot of the Cedars. Several walking trails lead through the valley along wild bushes, fir and pine trees to shady spots to enjoy a picnic.

Day 5 – Byblos (BL)
Byblos is one of the oldest inhabited cities anywhere, well worth the day we spend appreciating its many layers. Phoenician temples remain from thousands of years before the time of Christ, while a castle and the Church of St. John the Baptist bespeak the ebb and flow of the Crusades through the city. But Byblos is more than history. Its seaside location and backdrop of mountains make it a favorite locale for browsing, shopping, and lingering over a repast and beverages on terrace with views to ships, slopes, and treasured buildings. Seafood lunch is included today at a local restaurant, if you prefer other cuisine / dishes , please let's know in advance .

Day 6 – Byblos, Jeita, Harissa, Beirut (BL)
Surprises continue today, as we head toward the Jeita Caves, a vast limestone complex south of Byblos and north of Beirut, inhabited in prehistoric times. The caves hold the world’s largest known stalactite, and shelter a river that supplies water to Beirut. We’ll stop at the hillside shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon at Harissa, high above the city of Jounieh, noted for its statue with a chapel inside, as well as for spectacular views. By nightfall, we’ll find ourselves back in Beirut. Lunch is included today enroute : a charming local restaurant.

Day 7 – Beirut (BL)
Our last full day includes a full tour of Beirut. Beirut gleams with well-preserved Ottoman buildings and rebuilt quarters with the latest in avant-garde architecture. We’ll see the central neighborhoods, the marina, and of course the National Museum with its treasures from times ancient to Ottoman. There will be time for last-minute shopping today in the many fine and surprising boutiques of the city, where Oriental wares and the latest western fashion are on offer.
We have researched some of the best local Beirut restaurant for your culinary pleasure
( lunch included ) , and this is one of them : the Basha’s Shawarma ! This popular Beirut is the best place in town to try out this tasty Middle Eastern specialty ( the Shawerma ) , if you are vegetarian then we'll go for the excellent spinach pies.

Day 8 – Departure (B)
We’ll call for you after breakfast, and see you to the airport to begin your homeward journey.
While this tour may operate any day you arrive, please keep in mind that sites do close at least once a week , and on different days of the week, so we may amend the program slightly
accordingly. Add Syria . If you prefer to have a 7 day program , please click here .

Your tour includes :