Contact : SAAD TOURS

(7NIGHTS - 8 DAYS)

Day 1 - Arrival to Beirut International Airport. Meet, assist and transfer to the hotel of your choice.

Day 2/6 - After breakfast, transfer to the Riviera Hotel to "The National Institute For Scuba Diving in Lebanon" where you can  go for your fun dive. Return transfer to your hotel for overnight. You have the possibility to take half-day tours before or after diving.

Day 7 - After breakfast, a full day tour to visit Ksara (A wine cave where can learn who to make wine & get to taste them) & Baalbeck (An astonishing site of grandiose remains lies in the Bekaa plain, 85Km Northeast Beirut. It is exceptionally reputed for its colossal Roman heritage, the temples of Jupiter, Bacchus, & Venus. Today these temples host many musical festivities). Return to the hotel for overnight.

Day 8 - After breakfast, free time at leisure until time for departure. Transfer to Beirut International Airport for departure flight.

Package includes :
· Meet & assist up on arrival to Beirut International Airport by Saad Tours representative.
· Round trip transfer Airport - Hotel - Airport.
· 7 Nights accommodation at the chosen hotel on Bed & breakfast basis.
· Full day tour to Baalbeck including transportation, guidance, Entrance fees & lunch.
· 5 round trip transfer from hotel to the diving center & vise versa.
· 5 days of fun dive including weight & tank (around 2 to 3 hours each dive)
Scuba diving may not be something you'd associate with Lebanon, but with 120 kilometers (180 miles) of coastline, you should give it a second thought. Many Lebanese have, and diving has become one of the fastest - growing sports. With Lebanon's four months of solid beach life, diving is a favorite summer activity although some are so passionate that even winter weather cannot withhold them from a plunge into the deep. In Beirut alone, there are four professional dive clubs that can teach you the do and don't of diving. And several coastal towns also have internationally recognized instructors (NAU, PADI, and IANTD) that can organize a dive for you.

DIVING SITES :

· The Sharks point -5 reefs starting at 38 meters and dropping to over 50 meters -named after a group of rare small tooth sand tiger sharks that frequent the area every summer. Scientists think that they use the reef as a mating ground, since the same sharks are spotted, year after year. The sand tiger is similar to the gray nurse shark and will allow divers in its proximity. As curious a species as humans, they will come and observe groups of divers at the beginning of a dive and then ake off.

· The "wall", a narrow hole in the ocean floor that descends to abysmal depths. Other reefs, caves and rock formations dot the coastline, with an abundance of shells, sea urchins and starfish. End of summer brings schools of tuna and even the occasional dolphin. But more mysterious are the wrecks, especially if one is aware of the story behind them.

Around Beirut alone are several interesting ones.
· One of the most fascinating is the "souffleur", a French submarine that met its match in 1943 and sank in front of Beirut. At a depth of 35m, the submarine broke in two parts but remained otherwise intact.

. The "Champollion", a cruise liner coming from Jerusalem with pilgrims aboard, which mistook the airport tower lights for the lighthouse, and ran aground near the Summerland hotel. This caused quite a stir since it was carrying the very first batch of 100-pound (LL) banknotes.

· A local militia blew up a big freighter in the bay of Jounieh, the "Alice B", in the 1980's in order to cash the cover money.

There are more, smaller and unknown wrecks, which are a heaven for the divers, such as the Macedonia, which lies at a depth of 16m, and the National star in Sidon at 52m (technical divers only).     It is an impressive sight, to hover above the mast of a ship, slowly descending and landing on the deck as if you were a bird. Fish are especially abundant on these artificial reefs. And for those who really would like to experience something different, there are the night dives. The atmosphere on the dive boat at night is already one of anticipation. At night, most fish sleep and are easily approachable, or they feed, and the hunt makes them come out of their hiding places.

Contact : SAAD TOURS