Lebanon is a country you can cross before lunch.
Roman temples in the Bekaa, a river cave under the mountain, a sea castle at Sidon, old cedars at nineteen hundred metres. Every one is a day out of the capital.
Baalbek, the coast road, the ridge above Jounieh, the cedar gorge.
The four days a first Lebanese week gets built around. What each one costs, and what the people who took it say.
01The long day eastGuided Small-Group Tour to Baalbek, Anjar and Ksara with LunchRoman temples at Baalbek, an Umayyad trading city at Anjar, then the Ksara cellars on the way back over the pass.
02The coast runGuided Small-Group Tour to Jeita, Harissa, Byblos with LunchThe grotto, the shrine above Jounieh and a harbour that has been working for seven thousand years, all in one morning north.
03Twenty minutes off the ridgeParagliding Trip Over Lebanon – Jounieh BayJounieh bay from a paraglider. The coast makes a great deal more sense once you have seen the shape of it.
04Up the holy valleyGuided Small-Group Tour to Qadisha, Bcharee & Cedars with LunchThrough the Qadisha gorge to Bcharre and the old cedars above it, nineteen hundred metres up and two hours from the sea.
Four directions out of Beirut, and what each day costs.
The city sits in the middle of everything. North to the cave and the old harbour, east over the pass to the Bekaa, south to the sea castles, up the gorge to the cedars. Pick a direction and the day plans itself.
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · Guided Small-Group Tour to Qadisha, Bcharee & Cedars with Lunch
North to the caveTwo stacked caverns, then the shrine above the bay.
East over the passThe largest Roman temples standing anywhere, plus a cellar stop.
South to the sea castlesSidon, Tyre and the Maghdouche cliffs in one run.
Up to the cedarsThe holy valley to Bcharre and the trees on the flag.
All 150 day trips out of the capital →
Six places inside a morning of the Lebanese capital.
A Roman sanctuary in a valley town, a harbour older than most alphabets, a river cave under the mountain, a shrine on the ridge above Jounieh, two Phoenician sea ports, and a gorge with the last old cedars at the top of it.
The days out of Beirut that carry the most travellers.
Every Lebanese tour on the site →More people take these than anything else leaving the city. Prices, timings, and what each one actually includes.
1
Guided Small-Group Tour to Baalbek, Anjar and Ksara with Lunch
Review of a small-group Beirut tour to Baalbek, Anjar and Chateau Ksara, with Roman ruins, Lebanese lunch, wine and hotel transfers.
From · $65
Read our review →
2
Guided Small-Group Tour to Jeita, Harissa, Byblos with Lunch
from $60
3
Paragliding Trip Over Lebanon – Jounieh Bay
from $100
4
Jeita Grotto,Harissa&Byblos Full-Day PRIVATE-CAR Trip from Beirut
from $75
5
First Paragliding Club in Lebanon – Since 1992
from $90
6
Anjar, Baalbek & Ksara Day Trip – With Lunch (4G on Board)
from $95
7
Jeita Grotto – Harissa – Byblos Trip
from $37
8
Byblos, Jeita Grotto & Harissa Day Trip -With Lunch (4G on Board)
from $98
9
City Sightseeing Beirut Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
from $23
The biggest Roman temples ever built stand in a Lebanese valley town.
Six columns of the Temple of Jupiter are still up at nineteen metres. Next to them the Temple of Bacchus is more complete than anything left in Rome. Baalbek is two hours east of the coast over the pass, and almost everyone does it as one long day with Anjar and a cellar.
What a day out of Beirut actually costs.
Every tour on the site grouped by price. Lebanon gives a great deal back for the money, and the shared minibus runs are most of the reason.
Shared minibus runs north to the cave and Byblos, city walks, airport runs and the odd half day.
The full-day standards: Baalbek and Anjar with lunch, Sidon and Tyre, the Qadisha and cedars run.
A car and a guide to yourself, multi-stop days, and the trips that run over two or three days.
Lebanon eats at a long table, and most days here end at one.
A cellar in the Bekaa cut into rock, a home kitchen in Beirut where you roll the vine leaves yourself, and the lunch bolted onto nearly every day trip in the country. Book the kitchen early; there are only a handful of them.
Three things that only happen in Lebanon.
Ruins and good lunches exist all round this sea. A river cave you cross by boat, wine aged in Roman tunnels, and a stand of trees on the national flag do not.
The Jeita Grotto
Two caverns sit stacked in the limestone above the Nahr al Kalb. You walk the upper gallery past stalactites the size of church columns, then cross the lower one by boat on the river that cut the whole thing. Cameras stay at the entrance, which is why hardly anybody has a photograph of it and everybody remembers it.
- 1Guided Small-Group Tour to Jeita, Harissa, Byblos with Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 361 reviews
- 2Jeita Grotto,Harissa&Byblos Full-Day PRIVATE-CAR Trip from Beirut★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 222 reviews
- 3Jeita Grotto – Harissa – Byblos Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 169 reviews
Wine Under Roman Tunnels
The Bekaa has been making wine since the Phoenicians shipped it. Chateau Ksara still ages it in tunnels the Romans cut and monks rediscovered in the eighteen hundreds: two kilometres of rock cellar holding a steady cool while the valley outside touches forty in August. Most Baalbek days stop here on the way home, which is not an accident.
- 1Guided Small-Group Tour to Baalbek, Anjar and Ksara with Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 511 reviews
- 2Anjar, Baalbek & Ksara Day Trip – With Lunch (4G on Board)★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 181 reviews
- 3Baalbek – Anjar – Ksara Trip From Beirut★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 80 reviews
The Cedars of God
The grove above Bcharre holds a few hundred trees on a slope at nineteen hundred metres, and some of them have been there well over a thousand years. This is the cedar on the flag and the timber Phoenician ships were cut from. There is very little of it left, and snow shuts the road above the village for part of every winter.
- 1Guided Small-Group Tour to Qadisha, Bcharee & Cedars with Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 39 reviews
- 2Cedars of Lebanon, Qozhaya, & Bcharre – With Lunch (4G on Board)★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 34 reviews
- 3Cedars, Bsharre & Kozhaya Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 15 reviews
Four Lebanese bookings that will not wait for you.
Most of this country can be arranged over breakfast. These four answer to winter closures, a mountain road, wind on a ridge and a single morning departure.
- 01Jeita Grotto,Harissa&Byblos Full-Day PRIVATE-CAR Trip from BeirutThe grotto keeps a closed day and the lower cavern shuts when the river runs high in winter. Turn up on the wrong morning and it is a locked gate at the end of a mountain road.
- 02Anjar, Baalbek & Ksara Day Trip – With Lunch (4G on Board)Baalbek is over the pass and back, so operators run it as one morning departure. There is no afternoon version of this day.
- 03Bcharre – Qadisha Valley & Cedars Forest From BeirutSnow closes the road above Bcharre for stretches of the winter and the cedar reserve goes with it. The season decides this one, not you.
- 04First Paragliding Club in Lebanon – Since 1992Flights off the Jounieh ridge only go when the wind allows, so operators move bookings rather than run them. Leave a spare day.
In February you can ski Faraya in the morning and eat on the Beirut corniche at two.
The mountains hold snow from December into March while the coast stays in double figures, and people here genuinely do both in a day. It shapes the winter list. The cave and the cellars stay open, the cedar road above Bcharre does not, and the city carries on regardless.
By where the road goes out of Beirut
Beirut, the coast road, the Bekaa, then the mountain: how a first Lebanese week usually runs.
The capitalThe newest Lebanese tour reviews.
More new Lebanese reviews →
Private Full-Day Tour to Jeita Grotto, Harissa and Saint Charbel from Beirut
Read our review →
Beirut to Jeita Grotto and Byblos: Daily Tours with Lunch
Read our review →
Journey Through Time: Half-Day Private Tour to Baalbek
Read our review →
Small-Group Tour to Sidon, Tyre and Maghdouche with Lunch and Tickets
Read our review →
Beirut to Sidon, Tyre and Maghdouché: Daily Tours with Lunch
Read our review →
Private Full-Day Tour to Byblos and Tripoli from Beirut
Read our review →
PRIVATE Tour to Cedars of God, Besharre & Qozhaya Valley
Read our review →
Small Group Tours to Jeita Grotto and Byblos with tickets
Read our review →
Lebanese wineries guided tour with tastings & lunch
Read our review →
Small-Group Tour with Lunch to Jeita Grotto, Byblos and Harissa
Read our review →
Small-Group Tour with Lunch to Baalbek, Anjar and Ksara
Read our review →
Beirut to Qadisha Valley, Bcharri & Cedar: Daily Tours with Lunch
Read our review →