Share this tour
Offered languages
- English
South Lebanon is the part of the country most first-time visitors skip — and the part that most experienced Lebanon travelers say they wish they had gone to sooner. This private day trip covers three destinations that together span 5,000 years of Phoenician, Crusader, Roman. At your own pace, with an expert local guide at the site where it matters most.
Sidon: a 13th-century Crusader sea castle, the world's only olive oil soap museum, a living medieval souk, and a Silk Road caravanserai. Tyre: a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the Al-Bass complex — triumphal arch, colonnaded necropolis street, and a Roman hippodrome built for 20,000 spectators — is explored with an expert local guide who knows every stone. Maghdouché: the hilltop sanctuary where Mantara — "the one who waits" in Arabic — marks where the Virgin Mary is held to have waited while Jesus preached in Sidon below, revered by Christians and Muslims for two millennia. Private vehicle throughout. Tickets payable on site.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Free pickup is available from any hotel, Airbnb, or residence in Beirut.
Itinerary
-
Beirut (Pass by)
9:00 AM — Hotel pickup Your driver meets the group at your Beirut hotel and heads south along the Mediterranean coastal highway toward Sidon.
Admission ticket free -
1Crusaders Sea Castle
Sidon Sea Castle — Crusader fortress on the water A 13th-century Crusader fortress on a small island just off the coast, connected to shore by a narrow stone causeway with open sea on both sides. Phoenician traders were using this harbour 3,000 years before the Crusaders built here. Your driver covers the full layered history from the castle ramparts — Phoenician port to Crusader fortress to Mamluk conquest — at your own pace.
30 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
2Sidon Souks
Sidon Old Souks — the real thing, not renovated for tourism Stone-vaulted alleyways where spice merchants, goldsmiths, and artisan workshops have traded continuously for centuries — not curated, not renovated, just functioning exactly as it always has. Your driver navigates with local knowledge and points out what makes Sidon's market different from every other souk in Lebanon.
1 hour • Admission ticket free -
3
Soap Museum — the only olive oil soap museum on earth Sidon has been producing olive oil soap for over a thousand years — and this museum, the only one of its kind anywhere in the world, tells the complete story from olive grove to finished bar. Housed in a beautifully restored khan in the old city. A stop that most travelers did not know they wanted until they are inside it.
30 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
4Khan al-Franj
Khan el Franj — where the Silk Road met the Mediterranean A 17th-century caravanserai built by Emir Fakhreddine II for European merchants trading along the Silk Road — arcaded courtyards, vaulted galleries, carved stone facades. One of the finest Ottoman buildings in Lebanon and a fitting close to Sidon before heading south.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5Al-Bass Archaeological Site
Al-Bass Archaeological Complex — expert local guide joins here Arrive in Tyre and meet your expert local guide — someone who has spent years studying this site and who knows its Roman and Phoenician layers at a depth that visiting guides cannot match. Enter through a triumphal arch still standing after two thousand years. Walk a colonnaded street flanked by ancient sarcophagi from the Roman necropolis. Reach the Tyre Hippodrome — one of the largest in the Roman world, built for 20,000 spectators on a 480-metre track, starting gates and turning posts still in place. Your guide places every structure in its full historical context — the kind of visit where you leave knowing what you actually saw.
1 hour • Admission ticket not included -
6Tyre
Lunch in Tyre — optional Fresh Lebanese mezze and seafood at a local Tyre restaurant — Mediterranean right there, ancient city as backdrop. Optional and at your own expense. Your driver recommends the best local spots.
1 hour • Admission ticket free -
7
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 on this hilltop while Jesus preached in Sidon below — a place of pilgrimage for two millennia, revered equally by Christians and Muslims. The Basilica stands above the ancient cave. Panoramic views over the southern Lebanese coast. A quiet, unexpected close to a day that covered 5,000 years of history along the way.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
Beirut (Pass by)
Return to Beirut — approx. 5:30–6:30 PM Drop-off at your Beirut hotel. Sidon's Phoenician-to-Ottoman layers, the Roman world of Tyre with a local expert, and the pilgrimage sanctuary of Maghdouché — south Lebanon done properly.
Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Rating
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Your guide to the flawless travel experience
Popular Countries
Get our app
