Classical Libya Tour 775 EUR! Open for Booking!

The tour is private, scheduled on dates of your choice; there are no fixed-date scheduled departures.

Tour Length 7 Days/6 Nights

An introductory tour of Libya including the Roman cities of Leptis Magna and Sabrata and the oasis town of Ghadames.

All prices are based on a minimum of 2 participants.

Inclusive of 3- star accommodation Full board and the excursions in the programme.

Itinerary

Day by day:

Day 1: Tripoli

Scheduled flight to Tripoli and transfer to your 3 star hotel in the centre of town. In the afternoon enjoy a walking tour of the center of Tripoli with our guide – get an impression of this fascinating city with its long and changing history. Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight at your hotel.

Day 2: Tripoli & Sabratha

Jamhariya Museum / old medina / Italian quarter / modern Tripoli

We visit the Jamhariya Museum, which was built with the help of UNESCO and is one of the best museums in North Africa. It contains an impressive collection of Roman and Islamic artefacts, including fine mosaics mostly lifted from nearby Sabratha and Leptis Magna. We also explore the old whitewashed medina (old city), which is full of mosques and is the historic heart of Tripoli. Compared to the bazaars in Istanbul, Marrakech and Cairo, the old souk here is quiet and peaceful. No one seems to be in a hurry and we have time to explore at our leisure. We make a stop at the Gurgi Mosque and the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, which is the last structure remaining from 163 AD, when Tripoli was an ancient Roman city known as Oea. The old British Consulate dates from 1744 and was first built as a home for the founder of the Karamanli Dynasty. We also enjoy a great view over the medina from the rooftop of the House of Yusuf Karamanli, where you can also see how Libyan rulers lived in the early 19th Century. The afternoon is free for you to do your own exploration of the Libyan capital.

Sabratha

Like Leptis Magna, Sabratha was a Phoenician trading-post that served as an outlet for the products of the African hinterland. It was part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It is beautifully situated, overloooking the shores of the Mediterranean, and we spend the morning exploring its splendid theatre, baths, fountains and mosaics. We will have lunch in a local restaurant in Sabratha. We return to Tripoli to spend the evening sightseeing before having dinner.

Day 3: Tripoli / Jabal Nafusa / Ghadames

After breakfast, we’ll leave Tripoli for the Saharan oasis of Ghadames, the jewel of the Libyan Desert. Our first stop of the day will be at Qasr al-Haj, Libya’s most famous and spectacular qasr - a circular, completely enclosed granary – built centuries ago, offering insights into traditional Berber life as it was in ages past. Continuing on, high into the Nafusa Mountains, we will stop at the Old Town of Nalut. Here we will explore another ancient qasr, perched on the hilltop with stunning vistas of the surrounding mountains and plains. We’ll walk through the narrow passageways that lead to the numerous cave-like rooms that stored the grain and foodstuffs – some still in use today. The fortified house or Qasr is more than 300 years old. From Nalut, we’ll continue heading south towards the immense Sahara, stopping for lunch in the desert. During our drive through the desert, we are likely to see camels roaming near the road. We’ll end our day in Ghadames Oasis at our comfortable, rustic hotel.

Day 4: Ghadames

Described as the “Jewel of the Desert,” Ghadames is an attractive oasis town located on the edge of the Sahara near the point where the borders of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya meet. Once the southern outpost of the Roman Empire, the old town of Ghadames is very picturesque, with labyrinthine streets lined with mud brick buildings. Ghadames has preserved its cultural purity, which we will see during visits to the Cultural Museum, the Great Mosque, and the Main Square, which was once used as a slave market. In one of the preserved mud-brick houses, we will be treated to a traditional lunch served in the local manner. This evening, we’ll travel to the nearby desert to watch sand dunes in Algeria change hues from gold to blazing red at sunset.

Day 5: Ghadames / Kabaw / Gharyian / Tripoli

Leaving the Sahara early this morning to return to Tripoli, we’ll stop en route at the village of Kabaw to visit an excellent qasr built by the local Berbers over 800 years ago. The qasr’s hilltop location and limited entry show how precious grain was in this culture. Continuing on, we’ll visit the amazing underground village of Gharyan. Now abandoned, this village was carved into the cliffs, providing the ancient Berber community with protection from the harsh weather and safety from attacks. Our last stop of the day will be the small village of Gouasem, famous for its pottery market. Dinner in Tripoli.

Day 6: Leptis Magna & Villa Sileen

Today we visit the outstanding site at Leptis Magna, one of the greatest ancient sites in the world. It was originally a Phoenician trading port, and prospered for nearly 1000 years before Vandal invasions and sand storms brought its downfall. In its heyday during the reign of Libyan Emperor Septimus Severus, it was second only to Rome and housed over 100,000 people. This vast city remained buried for some 1300 years, and it wasn’t until the 1920s that a major excavation by Italian and Libyan archaeologists revealed the limestone and marble wonders that we explore today.

Villa Sileen (closed for restoration)

A MUST VISIT VILLA

This destination is actually just what the name indicates; a villa. But being of 20 rooms, adorned like no other building from ancient times in North Africa, this is a must-see for a Libya tour.
The villa belongs to Byzantine times, and was as a leisure home for one of Leptis Magna's wealthiest families.
Every floor has its own unique mosaics. Many show human figures, which are bordered by intricate patterns. Most walls have frescoes of humans and pastoral scenes. Walls of the baths are in marble.
The experience continues out into the garden, which faces the sea. Even here, there are beautiful mosaics.
The villa is still undergoing restoration, but we can arrange a permit for you to visit from Leptis Magna.

Day 7: Departure Day

At leisure until transfer to airport for flight home after what it had been unforgetable tour. A tour that you will remember for the rest of your life.

Note: All museums are closed on Mondays

Tour includes:

- 6 nights hotel accommodation in good 3 star hotels.
- Meals: Full board throughout
- Private vehicle, normally a saloon car for one or two people
- Accompanied by an experienced English speaking local guide. Your guide will look after you exclusively.
- Local driver for your vehicle, exclusively for your tour.
- Entrance fees to all mentioned sites.
- Private guided transfer from and to airport.
- Guide's and driver's meals, accommodation where applicable.

Tour does not include:

- Camera and video entrance fees to the sites and museums.
- The driver & guide tips
- Extra services in hotels such as phone calls, laundry and room service...Etc.
- Visa entry fee €85.
- International ticket

Sherwes Travel Tour Cancellation Policy

• 7-14 days prior to arrival date in
Libya – no penalty.
• Less than 7 days prior to arrival
date in Libya – 25%
• After arrival date to Libya (or without notice) - no refund
• An administration fee of €65 will be applicable to all

Prior to departure, Sherwes Travel reserves the right to cancel a tour, and will provide a full refund of all payments. Sherwes Travel has never cancelled a tour, but would do so at its sole discretion should travelers' safety be of concern. Sherwes Travel is not responsible for expenses incurred by travelers in preparing for a canceled trip.

Once travelers are in-country, Sherwes Travel will provide comparable alternate tour arrangements, if the cancellation of a particular tour is deemed necessary. Should travelers elect not to accept these arrangements, this will constitute voluntary refusal of services, and no refunds will be given. Pro-rata refunds will be made if alternate arrangements are not comparable to the original tour services.
Please note: Domestic flights may be replaced by ground transportation, if the domestic flight schedule renders flights impossible within the constraints of a tour and/or the tour dates; in this case, the missed flights are non-refundable as the ticket price will be used to make alternate land arrangements.

Cancellation by individual members of group tours is handled on a case-by-case basis, as it may require recalculation of the tour price, depending on the number of individuals cancelling (the reduced size of the group may affect the per-person price).

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