Small group tour of Lebanon

Planet

On this tour in Lebanon, to help protect the environment, we avoid any domestic flights. and the associated CO2 emissions as much as possible. We also conduct many of the included sightseeing tours on foot to reduce the amount of driving each day.

Drinking water and the waste associated by single use plastic water bottles is something we are working hard on in Lebanon as well as other destinations. All travelers are encouraged to bring their own refillable water bottles and we are rolling out a program of providing large water canisters in our vehicles on group tours to take refills from. We are also offering water filtering bottles to travelers, all of which can vastly reduce waste generated by our customers both during the tour and on an ongoing basis.

Our Lebanese guides are strict in monitoring and preventing littering to protect the sites we visit and waste bins are provided in all vehicles. If trash cans are not available, we facilitate the collection and later disposal of any waste generated during our tours.

Many of the sites we visit whilst in Lebanon are incredibly important historical and natural wonders, and we encourage our travelers to treat these sites as such, sticking to marked paths, not climbing on ruins, picking wild plants or flowers, and avoiding disturbing the local wildlife as much as possible.

People

On our Lebanon Encounters Tour we aim to see more of the country and its people than just the main tourist sites. We therefore work with locally owned boutique style hotels or deluxe guesthouses whilst in Lebanon.

Our Lebanon tours are all run by local Lebanese guides, as we feel they can provide both historical information and more insight into modern day Lebanon and culture than international tour leaders.

We also try to consider the social and cultural aspects of the local community and how to respect the customs and traditions of its inhabitants. Our tour notes will provide advance information on dress codes and particular local customs, and our guides will expand on this in their explanations during the tour. This means we can create valuable and rewarding opportunities for our travelers and allow local people to mingle and exchange ideas and thoughts without causing any unintended offence.

In Lebanon, we support local crafts makers and artists by visiting a couple of carefully selected local shops and a vineyard in the Ksara Caves. Here travelers can learn about the historic methods of producing wines as well as purchasing souvenirs if they wish. We also aim to visit homebased manufacturers whenever possible where delicious Za’atar and Sumac are produced using traditional methods. All products sold in these shops are sourced from the surrounding local communities.

Furthermore, we provide each traveler with a tipping guide or arrange a tipping kitty that will help to ensure that those numerous people working hard to make sure our vacations run smoothly and are a great experience, are rewarded as they should be.