Middle East - Anthony Ham [386]
Secure your Syrian visa (see Border Crossings above) before leaving home, to allow you to make the easy four-and-a-half-hour drive from Beirut to Damascus by bus or service taxi. Once in Damascus, meander the Ottoman lanes of the Old City (Click here), haggle for spices in Souq al-Hamidiyya (Click here) and marvel at its stately Umayyad Mosque (Click here), before settling down for a single Thousand and One night at the delightful Dar al-Yasmin (Click here).
The next morning, take a bus to Homs (Click here) and another on to Crac des Chevaliers (Click here), to transport yourself into a Crusader castle fantasy, with towers fit for a bevy of Rapunzels. Then it’s back to Damascus, via Homs (staying the night, if you’ve time, to imbibe its laid-back, friendly air), to hop aboard a bus that will whisk you back from the thrum of life in ancient Damascene lanes to the pace of the Beirut fast lane, a few hours – and a century or two – away.
* * *
BUS
Buses to Syria from Beirut leave from the Charles Helou bus station (Map). You must go there in person to book your ticket and, while buses are rarely full, it’s still worth booking a seat the day before you travel and to check that services are actually running.
Buses for Damascus (LL7000, 4½ hours) depart half-hourly between 5.30am and 7am, after which they run every hour until around 7pm. Buses for Aleppo (ask for Halab; LL10,500, 6 hours) leave half-hourly from 7.30am to midday. There are also three buses per day to Lattakia (LL9000, 4 hours) at 10.30am, 2pm and 5.30pm; six to Homs (LL8500, 4 hours) at 7.30am, 9.30am, 1.30pm, 5pm, 7pm and 9.30pm; and four to Hama (LL9000, 6 hours) at 9.30am, 5pm, 7pm and 9.30pm.
From Tripoli – border openings and security situation allowing – there are also usually plenty of services running to Syria, with frequent departures throughout the morning to Homs (LL6000, 1½ hours), Hama (LL6500, two hours) and Aleppo (LL8000, four hours). Services to Lattakia (LL6000, two hours) and Damascus (LL10,000, four to 4 ½ hours) usually depart in the afternoon. Check with the companies on Tripoli’s main square for details of times and prices.
At the time of writing, there were no services running from Tripoli to Amman in Jordan, Cairo in Egypt, or to İstanbul in Turkey, but it’s worth checking to see if bus lines have been reinstated.
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
Since Lebanon levies a steep charge at the border for bringing in your car (calculated on a sliding scale, depending on the vehicle’s value), it’s not really advisable to try bringing your own vehicle into the country. If you’re touring the Middle East in your own car, your best bet is to park it securely in Damascus, and take the bus into Lebanon from there.
Return to beginning of chapter
GETTING AROUND
There are no air services or trains operating within Lebanon, but the country is so small (you can drive from one end to the other in half a day) that you don’t really need them. In and around Beirut and the coastal strip, the bus, minibus and taxi network is extensive, cheap and fairly reliable. To fully explore the hinterland of the country, though (especially around the Qadisha Valley, Bekaa Valley and the south) it’s well worth hiring a car or negotiating a private taxi, to avoid waiting for hours for a bus that eventually decides not to arrive at all.
Bicycle
Lebanon’s steep terrain and the state of many urban roads demand a rugged, all-terrain bicycle. There are few designated bike lanes or routes, however, and drivers – whose driving style could politely be described as ‘loose’ or ‘creative’ – aren’t exactly used to giving space to cyclists plying the country’s roads. If you’ve thighs and nerves of steel, however, cycling the countryside is certainly stunningly scenic and the fresh mountain air a joy; Click here for first contacts in the Lebanese cycling world.
Bus & Microbus
Buses travel between Beirut and all of Lebanon’s major towns. There are three main bus pick-up and drop-off points in Beirut:
Charles Helou bus station (Map) Just east of downtown,