Beirut tide times

Beirut faces the eastern Mediterranean on Lebanon's central coast, with a waterfront that has been rebuilt, damaged, and rebuilt again across generations of conflict and development. The Corniche — the 4.8-km seafront promenade from the Ain el-Mreisseh fishing harbour in the west to the Manara lighthouse — is the city's most democratic public space, used around the clock by walkers, fishermen, elderly men with cards, and families. The St. George Bay on the east side of the Corniche and the Pigeon Rocks sea stacks at the southwest end of Ras Beirut are the most photographed features of the coast.

The tidal regime in the eastern Mediterranean is microtidal: spring range at Beirut is 0.3–0.4 m, semidiurnal with significant seiches. Seiches are standing-wave oscillations in the sea basin caused by atmospheric disturbances — they operate independently of the astronomical tide and have periods of 10–40 minutes with amplitudes up to 0.3–0.5 m in the eastern Mediterranean. A seiche event at Beirut presents as a rapid rise and fall of 0.2–0.4 m over 20–30 minutes with no preceding meteorological warning visible at the surface. This is the primary unpredictable water-level variable on the Beirut coast, affecting the safety of swimmers, fishermen standing on low rocks, and small boats at harbour moorings.

The Corniche fishermen — a permanent fixture at the concrete railing — fish from the promenade wall 3–6 m above the normal waterline. At low spring water, the rocks at the base of the Corniche seawall are fully exposed and provide additional fishing access. At high spring water, those rocks are submerged by the combined effect of the 0.3–0.4 m tide and any seiche component. Night fishing from the Corniche railing for octopus, sea bass, and mullet is productive year-round. The mullet concentrate under the Corniche lights after dark.

For sea swimmers, Beirut's Corniche has no sandy beach — the coastline here is either sea wall or cut-rock platforms (private beach clubs have imported some sand). The rock platforms at Ain el-Mreisseh and at the base of the sea stacks near Raouché are accessible at low water for shore entry. The water is 24–28 °C in summer and 17–19 °C in winter. The Mediterranean here is relatively clear in calm conditions; after rain events, Beirut's storm water drains discharge directly onto the coast and dramatically reduce water quality for 24–48 hours. The coastal pollution situation is well-documented; check the BORED diving association's water quality reports before ocean swimming.

The Pigeon Rocks (Raouché) sea stacks are one of Beirut's iconic natural features: two large limestone arches rising 20–25 m from the sea, 150–200 m offshore. The stacks are accessible only by small boat — motorised dinghies and paddleboards make the transit from the small beach at the Raouché promenade. At low spring water, the sea level is 0.3–0.4 m lower and more of the rock base is exposed; at high water the stacks appear to rise directly from the sea surface without a visible rock platform. Kayakers can paddle through the arches in calm conditions; swell from the west and northwest can create surge in the arch passages at 0.5 m or more and requires caution.

For photographers, the Pigeon Rocks at golden hour are a strong subject from the Corniche promenade above. Early morning, before 07:00 in summer, provides east-facing light that illuminates the rock face. The view of the rocks from the sea by kayak or small boat provides compositions unavailable from the promenade. The Corniche itself — long exposures of the promenade at night with the city skyline and the sea below — is a classic subject.

All tide predictions for Beirut come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum. Note that seiches — the dominant water level variable on this coast in calm weather — are not captured by the model.