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ESSENTIAL INFORMATION: LEBANON

Passport & Visas

A full ten year passport together with a Lebanese Visa are required by British and US citizens to enter Lebanon. Tourist visas can be obtained prior to departure from the nearest Lebanese Consulate. Visas are also currently issued free of charge for many nationalities on arrival at the point of entry to Lebanon. Please check with Corinthian Travel whether you can obtain your visa on arrival in Lebanon. Nb. Holders of passports containing an Israeli stamp, or a stamp from any border with Israel (eg Taba) will not be allowed to enter Lebanon. Client’s Passports must have a minimum of 6 months validity from your return date and have at least two free pages.

Accommodation

We use the best hotels available in Lebanon. Beirut has a number of good 5 star and luxury hotels. Outside the capital standards drop to 4 and 3 star. As hotel ratings can vary widely across the globe, to avoid confusion the star ratings given on this website are our own, and approximate to those found in the UK and USA.

Transportation

All transfers in Lebanon are chauffeur driven. The type of transportation used will depend on the size of your party. For groups of 2 we will typically use a saloon car or a minivan. For 3 to 4 people we will use a minivan. These vehicles are all equipped with air-conditioning, heating and proper safety facilities, and can comfortably accommodate 1 piece of checked luggage and 1 piece of hand luggage per person. If you think you will be travelling with more luggage please let us know at the time of booking so that we can arrange the most appropriate vehicle size for you. As driving standards in Lebanon are not the same as in the UK, we make sure that all of our drivers are experienced, and used to local road conditions.

Departure Tax

A LBP 5000 pp departure tax applies when departing Lebanon by air. This is normally included in your ticket.

Walking

Many of the sites in the Lebanon are quite spread out and our tours consequently necessitate a reasonable amount of walking. Whilst the walking is normally easy going, a full-day sightseeing can be quite tiring and sometimes strenuous.

Guides

To enhance the enjoyment of your tour a full time expert guide will accompany you on all pre-arranged sightseeing. This will enable you to benefit from a continuity of delivery as you journey through Lebanon and will enable the information to be tuned to your particular interests. Please note that the guide will be a separate person from your driver.

Language

The official language of Lebanon is Arabic. English and French are widely spoken in tourist areas.

Electricity

The electricity supply is 220v. Plugs are European style with two circular pins so adapters are required for British and US appliances. Visitors from the US will require a transformer. This can be supplied by most hotels.

Mobile telephones / Internet

GSM mobile telephones work through much of Lebanon. It is advisable to check the rates for roaming charges with your phone provider prior to your departure. The internet can be accessed throughout and in most hotels via either wired or wireless internet connections.

Time

Lebanon is GMT + 2. The time in Lebanon is thus generally 2 hours ahead of that in the UK, 7 hours ahead of EST, and 10 hours ahead of PST.

Religion

Muslims constitute 60% of the Lebanese population and Christians 39%. 35% of Muslims belong to the Shia branch of the faith, and 25% are Sunni. Other notable Muslim religious minorities include Druze (5%), Alawi and Ismalili. There are several denominations of Christians. Maronites are the largest group and comprise 25% of the population. The next largest group is Greek Orthodox (8 %). The remainder of Christians are Greek Catholics, Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Assyrians and Protestants.

Ramadan

Ramadan is a ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims do not drink anything from dawn until sunset. During this time some restaurants maybe closed during the day but most tourist attractions and hotels are unaffected. Concentration spans may however be shortened. Some disruption may continue into the three-day Eid ul-Fitr festival that follows Ramadan.

2012 20 Jul - 18 Aug
2013 9 Jul - 7 Aug
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Your Financial Protection: The air holiday packages offered by Corinthian Travel are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL T7335. Where flights are not included your holiday is protected through our membership of the Travel Trust Association. We hold TTA membership number U6485. Please see Financial Protection or our booking Terms & Conditions for further information.