Private Tour : Qadisha Valley, Cedars Forest und Jubran Museum

My wife and I went on a private tour to the Baalbek temples, Jeita grotto and the Biblios castle. We had an amazing experience. Lebanon is an incredibly beautiful country with wonderful people, delicious food, unique natural wonders and amazing historical sights. A highlight of our trip was spending the day with our tour guide Hassane. Hassane is a Lebanese chef and tour guide, he speaks perfect English, French and Arabic and is incredibly knowledgeable about history, food and culture in Lebanon. Hassane did an amazing job making the trip from location to location sometimes even more entertaining than the sites themselves. He is a very friendly and open person and is happy to share his thoughts, experience and knowledge on most any topic. In the morning we were picked us at our hotel and taken to have local coffee and breakfast (yoghurt and honey in flatbread). Afterward we drove to the Baalbek, where we toured through the remains of a massive Roman template. After, we drove through the Lebanese country side and mountain (incredibly beautiful) to the Jeita grotto which are natural underground caverns with the worlds largest stalactite. Afterward we went to the town of Byblos to have lunch at Malena, a beautiful restaurant over looking the ocean.once lunch was done we visited the Byblos castle for even more history and views of the water. Afterward we had a short drive back to our hotel. My wife and I both had an amazing experience and would recommend it to anyone visiting Beirut. Also ask for Hassane as your tour guide. The distances are quite far at times but Hasanne made the time in the car fly by.

A short car ride away from Bcharre are the Cedars of God, a beautiful reserve holding the ancient and epic trees Lebanon is famous for, the Cedars of God are absolutely majestic. These mammoth trees have been around longer than any thing and their subdued magnificence exude an almost spiritual aura. Outside the reserve you'll see several souvenir and snack shops. The reserve is open from 10 am till 6 pm daily.

I was picked up promptly by Shelky (Mike), and he is a great conversationalist. I arrived in Beirut 4 hours before the tour started, and we chatted for the entire day. We started with a visit to Monastery of St Anthony of Qozhaya, and after looking at the oldest printing press in the region, we headed to the Cedars of God. This such a pleasant and serene location, before heading over to Baalbek. I had a fantastic local tour guide, and there were two other people that were a part of the tour which made it more pleasant as I was able to enjoy this with a wonderful married couple. The only downside to the trip was an experience with a Mr. Ibrahim which runs one of the souvenir shops. Once in the shop, we had agreed on a price, and I turned away so I could count out the money, and he not see what was in my wallet, but he walked around and started trying to get me to give him more, and even reaching to my wallet. He started giving money back and taking more, and ultimately I ended up losing 30 USD, and in a country where USD is the prime currency, it shorted me for the last 24 hours I was there. This was not Mike's fault, but I felt as if I had been robbed in this exchange, and soured me for the rest of the time I was in Lebanon. I highly recommend avoiding business with this gentlemen at Baalbek.