• Beirut - 9:00 AM — Departure from Beirut
  The driver meets the group at the hotel and travels south along the Mediterranean coastal highway towards Sidon.
• Crusaders Sea Castle - Sidon Sea Castle — Crusader fortress on the water
  A 13th-century Crusader fortress situated on a small island just off the coast, linked to the shore by a narrow stone causeway with the Mediterranean on both sides. Explore vaulted halls, rampart views, and learn the full history of a harbor used by Phoenician traders 3,000 years before the Crusaders. The driver shares the complete history of Sidon’s waterfront from the castle ramparts.
• Sidon Souks - Sidon Old Souks — a living medieval market
  Spend an hour in stone-vaulted alleyways where spice merchants, goldsmiths, fabric traders, and artisan workshops have operated continuously for centuries — entirely authentic, unchanged, and unlike the renovated souks of Beirut. The driver navigates with genuine local expertise.
• Soap Museum - Saida - Soap Museum — the only one of its kind in the world
  Sidon has been producing olive oil soap for over a thousand years — and this museum, the only one of its kind globally, tells the complete story from olive grove to finished bar. Located in a beautifully restored khan in the old city. A truly fascinating and unexpected stop.
• Khan al-Franj - Khan el Franj — the Silk Road caravanserai
  Constructed by Emir Fakhreddine II in the 17th century for European merchants trading along the Silk Road — featuring wide arcaded courtyards, vaulted galleries, and carved stone facades. One of the finest Ottoman buildings in Lebanon and a fitting final image of Sidon before heading south.
• Al-Bass Archaeological Site - Al-Bass Archaeological Complex — specialist local guide joins
  Arrive in Tyre and meet a specialist local guide — someone who has spent years studying this extraordinary site and knows its stories at a level unmatched by visiting guides. The Al-Bass complex begins with a triumphal arch still standing after two thousand years, leads along a colonnaded street flanked by ancient sarcophagi, and culminates at the Tyre Hippodrome — one of the largest in the Roman world, seating 20,000 spectators on a 480-meter track. The local guide places every structure — the starting gates, the turning posts, the necropolis lining the approach road — in its full Roman and Phoenician context. The difference between seeing an impressive site and truly understanding one.
• Tyre - Lunch in Tyre — optional
  Enjoy fresh Lebanese mezze and seafood at a local Tyre restaurant — steps from the Mediterranean, with the ancient city as a backdrop. Optional and at your own expense. The driver recommends the best local options.
• Basilica of Our Lady of Mantara - بازيليك سيدة المنطرة - Basilica of Our Lady of Mantara — where she waited
  Mantara means “the one who waits” in Arabic. Christian tradition holds that the Virgin Mary waited in a cave here while Jesus preached in Sidon below — a sanctuary that has drawn pilgrims for two millennia, revered equally by Christians and Muslims. The Basilica of Our Lady of Mantara stands above the ancient cave. The panoramic views over the southern Lebanese coast from this hilltop are among the finest in Lebanon. A quiet and genuinely moving close to a day that covered 5,000 years of history along the southern coast.
• Beirut - Return to Beirut — approx. 5:30–6:30 PM
  Drop-off at the Beirut hotel — Sidon’s Phoenician-Crusader-Ottoman layers, the Roman world of Tyre with a local expert, and the pilgrimage sanctuary of Maghdouché, covered exclusively in a single private day.

• Private transportation
• Tour Leader
• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• In-vehicle air conditioning
• Local Guide in Tyre

• Lunch
• Gratuities

Explore 5,000 years of history in South Lebanon through three remarkable destinations on this private tour, all in one well-organized day from Beirut. In Sidon, discover a 13th-century Crusader sea castle, the unique olive oil soap museum, a vibrant medieval souk, and a Silk Road caravanserai. In Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Al-Bass archaeological complex showcases one of the most intact Roman urban landscapes in the Mediterranean, explored with a knowledgeable local guide who offers in-depth insights. In Maghdouché, visit a hilltop sanctuary where the Virgin Mary is believed to have waited while Jesus preached in Sidon, a site revered by both Christians and Muslims for two thousand years. Enjoy the expertise of a local driver throughout the journey, with a specialist guide joining at Tyre to provide expert interpretation. Entrance tickets are payable on site.

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