Tyr Beach – Taken from BeirutNightLife
I was in Ayia Napa a couple of weeks ago and all the beaches were accessible to everyone for free. You only had to pay in case you want a long chair, a towel or drinks. Unfortunately for us Lebanese, the majority of Lebanon’s coastline is privatized and entrance fees to the 250+ beach clubs can range from 10$ to 40$ or more.
Nevertheless, there are still public and free beaches that one can access all along the coast, mainly in Batroun, Anfeh, Amchit and Tyr areas. Glamroz posted some of them but I know for sure that there are more, so please do share the names of any free or public beaches you know of in Lebanon. Once I compile all the answers, I will group them into one final list with their location and pictures if available.
Here’s the list I got so far:
Ta7et el Rih, Anfeh: The beach is located 65 Kilometers north of Beirut and 15 Kilometers south of Tripoli. There are no entrance fees.
El Herri, Chekka: My mum used to take us there when we were kids and the (sandy) beach was amazing and for free. There are a lot of small beach clubs, like Benny Beach St Helene Beach and Saint Antoine, with a relatively cheap entrance fee (less than 10$).
Tyr (Sour) and Naqoura Beaches: Most of the beaches in Tyr and Naqoura are for free. Al Fanar beach in Tyr is free for sure but that’s the only one I know of. The Tyr bay is one of the cleanest and most beautiful in Lebanon.
Batroun and Amchit beaches: There’s of course Pierre and Friends which is one of the most popular free beaches in Lebanon and a great place to relax and have a drink. There’s also White Beach which has a small entrance fee and a lot of other beaches along the coast.
Nakheel or Rabbit Island in Tripoli: This is an island located at some 11 km off the coast of Tripoli. You have to plan a trip there as there are no shops or restaurants and you need to take a boat to get there. You will find plenty of them once you get to the Tripoli port.
Nomad Beach Club – Jbeil
There are also free beaches in Ramlet el Baida in Beirut, Ouzai and along the Sidon coast but some of them are not very clean. You can also find few free and public beaches on the Jounieh bay but I don’t have their names or they simply don’t have a name. I will be waiting for everyone’s feedback to make a final list.
i was also in Aya Napa a month ago
free parking, free entrance and only 1 Euro in case you want a chair
all these beach clubs we have are illegal and i also blame the people who goes there and support such places
but sadly that’s us! we adore luxury , vip beds , pool bars and all that fake stuff. we have a totally different view of how beach is supposed to be. Lebanese people adore to spend there times in man made stuff.
nothing beats a wild and untouched beach where you just sit and enjoy the sound of the wind and the waves away from loud music, ugly pools and so on
i wouldn’t set a foot in these places even if it was for free
check were most of the foreigners living in Lebanon go..most of them to public beaches! analyze that ..
Exactly!! Well said!
In all countries Other then our beloved Lebanon beach is a RIGHT . I personaly stongly dislike all private beach club there are excessive in everyway mostly with ridiculous entrance fees and food prices and not to forget the horrific music!!!!!
Again and again the government is giving illegal licenses. Don’t blame the people that go to private beach after a hectic week of work trafic and living in boxes they have no choices. I am sure if the beaches where accessible to all the citizens we will see more healthy and happy people. We have to start a movement and force government to make and give access way to all beaches.
Hi, regarding free beaches i did not go through all the list but the last time (last year) we went to pierre and friends in the morning, they said that if we want to go in we have to eat at their restaurant with a minimum charge of 20$ (maybe 25, i dont remember for sure)
I am not saying that it is always like that, but when they know they are going to have lots of people they start charging you to get in.
I dont even understand the concept… Public beaches should be accessible to everyone, and a restaurant who set himself between the beach and the road should not consider himself as owner of the beach. It should be cleared out that even if a restaurant occuppy the whole damn reafs hes like any other lebanese the only difference is hes selling food by the beach and must not have any right to force people to eat at his place if they want to go in.
Thank you
The beaches themselves are free. No one can stop you from hanging out near the water even if there are resorts.
Last time I was in Lebanon (2011), I constantly went to the beach at Edde Sands. I used to go in from the side entrance (near bird’s nest orphanage) and no one bothered me. Moreover, once someone from the municipality came to see if anyone had asked me to leave. They wanted to make sure no one was giving people a hard time for being there.
I think you can even go in for free from the entrance of resorts if you just want to use the beach. I haven’t tried it myself, but I know others who have.
That’s true in theory, or so I’ve heard. But we’ve never been successful at just using the beach.
I am particularly interested in Ste Helens Beach , El Herri , Chekka. My parents took me there when we would come to Lebnon, but it was so long ago and now, I am so nostalgic and dreaming about Helens , with eyes wide open. Firstly I would like if somenone here could tell me if Hellens beach is exactly on the same spot where it used to be in thein late 60s or did it move a couple of meters from the old spot?I am looking at the photos of todays beach and I kind of recognize the place but it seems like it moved a little bit from the old spot?please if anyone(OLDER) knows this help me. I am far away, live in Serbia, but I surely do plan to visit again, for starts, I would like to know this information I asked? thanks a lot to you all in advance.
Vera, LOVE FROM SERBIA.