Lebanon might be scarred by conflict, but the vibrancy of its culture, the warmth of its people and the splendour of its ancient ruins all remain larg...
The cultural crossroads between east and west, the Middle East tends to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, and for many people the images that ...
Reviews
2 Reviews of Highlights of Lebanon vacation
3.5 out of 5 stars
SHOW
0
1
1
0
0
Reviewed on 05 Jan 2020 by Anne-~Marie Craven
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Mass at 7am at the St Franciscus monastery
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared for bad weather at Christmas time
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Not particularly
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
The guide and the driver were excellent and the organisation was good. Food mostly very good when it was organised and included. Emmanuel the guide took us to several good cheap and cheerful place for Lebanese food when it was not part of the package. What I really missed was a proper booklet with programme notes and history which other travel organisations provide. Also we were not provided with maps which would have been very helpful and not expensive for you to provide. The Palmyra hotel although great historically was freezing cold and had no hot water - you need to think about this when it is cold.....
Read the operator's response here:
We do not provide booklets with notes and history but we do provide some very comprehensive trip notes on each trip which are available to download prior to departure directly from our website.
We have passed on the comment regarding the Palmyra hotel directly to the hotel as they may have had an issue with their heating but we have specifically chosen this hotel for its history – it’s the only hotel to have stayed open through all of the troubles and it has an amazing location opposite the site of Baalbek. There is little choice in this area of Lebanon and we’ve received some excellent feedback for the ‘Palmyra experience’.
All in all we are pleased you enjoyed the overall experience and thank you for your valuable feedback
Reviewed on 12 Oct 2019 by Chusri Lee
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Baalbek Roman archaeological site
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared to walk a long distances with the hot heat but worth it
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Not much as now open to the tourists to experience even though security is still in every corner of the country
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
7 out of 10
Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for your review, I’m pleased to hear that overall you are would rate this trip highly. Yes, Lebanon has only just opened up to travel again, so in regards to conservation and environmental impact – this will build momentum as we build relations with our local suppliers. That being said, we ensure that the local people benefit economically by employing them as leaders, guides and drivers – and in doing so we encourage responsible travel. Similarly we minimise the impact on the environment by traveling in small groups and constantly looking for new ways to reduce our waste.
Responsible Travel
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) vacation so that you can travel knowing it will help support the places and people that you visit, and the planet. Read how below.
Planet
Lebanon is a small Middle Eastern country with a variety of different landscapes and terrains, and we are very keen to conserve this beautiful country. While we travel between cities by bus, we do the majority of our sightseeing on foot. Spending time exploring ruins from the Phoenician, Roman and Byzantine eras and then strolling through the narrow lanes of the souqs. All of our leaders have been trained on how to promote responsible tourism, particularly focusing on reducing the use of single-use plastic. On this trip the leader will advise you where to refill water bottles with clean, safe drink water, therefore reducing the necessity to buy plastic water bottles throughout your trip. As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.
People
Traveling in Lebanon means you are rarely far from a coffee seller or a stall selling fresh fruit. We regularly stop and make the most of the chance to chat to the sellers whilst we enjoy some strong, sweet, black coffee. During this itinerary we spend one night in a simple hotel in the grounds of St Anthony's Monastery. The money from our stay contributes to the maintenance of this beautiful building dating back to the 4th century, set in the fertile Qadisha Valley. As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.
protection
