Road trips
26 April 2012 Price range : 0 - 10 USD
Day 1 (A)- Beirut city center: visit the city center walking and discover the beautiful old district renovated after the end of the war. You'll see a unique mixture of …More
Day 1 (A)- Beirut city center: visit the city center walking and discover the beautiful old district renovated after the end of the war. You'll see a unique mixture of churches and mosques side by side, discovering a small scale of Lebanon and the mixture between all the cultures. All done by walking.
Also, I usually start the visit of Lebanon with the Beirut Musueum, a small but rich overview of all the civilisations which left great foot prints in the Country. You will also have a quick overview of the main touristic sites that you will visit afterwards (Byblos, Tyre, Babblbeck,...) with the main treasures we found there.
In the Beirut Museum, start by watching the movie on the history of the musuem and which state it was found after the war; Also, visit the museum with a guide.
Theme: Cultural & Shopping
Time: 3-4 hours for the city center + 3-4 other hours if you want to visit Beirut Museum. Count a day.

Day 2 (B&C)- Byblos + Jeita:
Byblos, one of the oldest cities in the world continuously inhabited (more than 6000 years), offering an amazing mixture of civilizations side by side (Pharaos, Phenicians, Greek, Roman, Crusaders, Arabic and Ottoman). 75 kms North of Beirut. Wonder in
the old souks (arabic style), visit the archeological site, have lunch at the port (Bab al mina).
Half way from Beirut to Byblos, visit Jeita Grotto, one of the most impressing caves in the world accessible by foot. The grotto is running to be elected one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
Theme: Cultural, landscape
Time: 8 hours depending on traffic; Count a day

Day 3 (D&E&F)- North of Lebanon: The holy valley + Cedars. Visit the Christian holy valley with it's ancient monastries as well as the Cedars, the
highest mountain in Lebanon + ski resort. 75 Kms North of Beirut.
Another option would be to visit Tripoli and St Gilles fortress: The old souks of Tripoli are beautiful and recently renovated. It's great to visit the jewellers souk, the cloths, and soap khan. You need to visit Tripoli with a guide as the city had a few troubles recently. It's tough to visit the Holy valley + Cedars and Tripoli in the same day. Another option would be to visit Tripoli another day for a few hours and than spend the rest of the day in a Beach midway between Tripoli and Beirut.
Time: a hole day
Theme: Spiritual and landscape
The ideal for this option would be to do it with Khalil who is from the region and knows it much better than I do.

Day 4 (G)- Beiteddine and the Chouf Region: The Emirs (Princes) palace in Lebanon, Andalusia style, and traditional Lebanese Villages (17th century). 30 Kms south of Beirut. Have lunch there.
Theme: Cultural and landscape
Time: 6 hours to a hole day

Day 5 (H&I)- Bekaa valley Baalbeck: The most impressive Roman ruins in the Middle East and one of the most impressive in the world. 70
Kms east of Beirut. Have lunch on the borders of the birdawni river in Zahleh.
You can also visit Aanjar, a historic town with Arabic ruins, as well as visit the historic Ksara winery caves, where you can taste wines produced there.
In my opinion, the best way to visit this Region is with a tourist operator unless you are accompanied by a Lebanese who knows it well. I used to advise Nakhal company for this visit, but it seems that they are less professional than they used to be.
Time: a hole day
Theme: Cultural

Day 6 (J&K)- South of Lebanon: Visit the cities of the South, Sidon and Tyre. The old city of Sidon is very typpical from how used to be life a century ago. To visit with a guide.
Mainly Phenician, Roman and crusaders ruins and forts. 50 Kms south of Beirut
Time: a hole day
Theme: Cultural

And of course...:

Beaches in the summer:
Unfortunatly, due to lack of water recycling, almost all of Lebanon's beaches are polluted. The closer the beach is to cities and agglomerations, the higher the pollution level.
Despite that, you'll pass great moments at the private beaches of Lebanon and enjoy swimming pools next to the beach, with great service, music,.... Here are a few good addresses
Edde Sands in Byblos (north of Beyrouth)
Pierre and Friends, in batroun (north of byblos)
Orchid: south of Beirut
Lazy B.: south of Beirut
Theme: Farniente and Party

Ski & Mountain resorts:
I winter, you can heave great snow with a beautiful view on the sea. You can also enjoy the mountains in summer where many Lebanese go to enjoy the good weather, swimming pools and great view. Faraya (up to 2500m above sea level) and Faqra are the Ski resorts the closest to Beirut (30 Kms north of Beirut). The Cedars are the highest with the highest Pic in Lebanon 3100m aboce sea level but you must count 2 hours minimum to go there (80 kms).
Time: a hole day
Theme: Farniente and sports
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