Sidon & Tyre Day Trip from Beirut: Crusader castles & souks

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/12

Duration8h

GroupUp to 25

LanguagesEN · FR

PickupAt your hotel

What do three UNESCO towns and a monastery reveal about Lebanon in one day?

You visit three heritage sites — Tyre Castle, Sidon Sea Castle, and Maghdouche church — with a licensed local guide who speaks English and French. Lunch, all entry fees, and hotel pickup from Beirut are included. Plan for a full day out; that's what lets you move through three towns without rushing or organizing transport yourself.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Tyre, Sidon, and Maghdouche

Visit the Castle of Tyre
Visit the Sea Castle of Sidon
Visit the old souks and soap museum
Visit Our Lady of Maghdouche

The Experience

So you've got eight hours and you want to actually see something — not just drive past it. The route south from Beirut hits Tyre first, where the Crusader Castle sits right on the water, and your guide will walk you through what's left of the fortifications and explain why this place mattered so much. It's a UNESCO site, which means the restoration work is real, and you can feel the difference between what's been carefully rebuilt and what's just old stone. After that you're in Sidon, where the Sea Castle rises out of the harbor like something from a postcard, and then there's the old souks — narrow, crowded, the kind of place where you stop and actually look at how people live and work, not just photograph it.

Lunch happens somewhere in the middle, and it's a set menu of Lebanese mezze, a main dish, fruit or dessert, and a soft drink — nothing fancy, but it's real food, the kind locals eat. Your guide is licensed and speaks English and French, so there's no guessing what you're looking at or why it matters. The third stop is Maghdouche, where the Al-Saydeh Ancient Church sits on a hillside, and the whole thing has this quiet, spiritual weight to it that catches people off guard. The drive itself is part of the day — you're moving through the Lebanese coast, seeing how the landscape changes, and your guide fills in the history as you go.

Pickup and drop-off are included if you're staying in a Beirut hotel — not Airbnb or hostels, just hotels in the city proper. The vehicle is air-conditioned, which matters in summer. You're out for the full day, so wear comfortable shoes and bring water, but this is the kind of trip where you actually absorb something instead of just collecting checkmarks.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off from Beirut, a professional English and French-speaking guide for the full day, entrance fees to Tyre Castle, Sidon Sea Castle, and Maghdouche church, a set Lebanese lunch with mezze, a main dish, fruit or dessert and a soft drink, and transport in an air-conditioned vehicle throughout.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditions

Operated by Nakhal & Cie

Is this one for you?A good fit if you want to see three major Lebanese heritage sites in one day without arranging your own transport or guide — the fixed itinerary and included pickup mean you show up at your hotel and the rest is handled. Expect to be out for the full day with walking at each stop; that's what makes fitting three towns and lunch into one trip possible.