Beirut - Baalbek 48 hours ?

Thorn Tree forumCountry forumsMiddle EastLebanon
Enter custom title (optional)
This topic is locked
Last reply was
1.8k
…
Send as an e-mail
Send as an e-mail
7samurai
7samurai

I want to round off of my visit to Syria and Jordan by a 48 hour visit Beirut/Baalbek In December

How does this sound ?

Arrive Beirut Saturday Morning December 25th from Damascus - Spend the day sightseeing in Beirut and overnight stay.

Sunday - December 26th - a day trip to Baalbek. Overnight stay in Beirut.

Monday - December 27th - Beirut to Damascus. Last day in Damascus

Questions -

What is the best way to go from Damascus - Beirut and vice versa ? Time and cost ?

Which tour agency to take for an organised day trip to Baalbek, Anjar and the Ksara winery, with lunch at Zahle ?

Good hostel to stay in Beirut/ must see of Beirut in such a short time ?

Can i go from Amman straight to Beirut ? Or is it much more convinient and cost effective to do from Damascus ?

Thanks for any info. I want to make the most of my 18 days in this region. For sure will be back to explore more of it

View last reply
Report
1
estonian
estonian

Fastest way is to use shared taxi between Damascus and Beirut. It's taking much faster at the border although. There may be direct shared taxis from Amman to Beirut. It's better to check it out at least day before. I don't know what is the current station for shared taxis to Damascus and Beirut in Amman. If there are no direct taxis to Beirut just take one to Damascus and then change for taxi to Beirut. Not 100 % sure but both ones should use the same station in Damascus.

Please note that 25 of December is public holiday at all these countries. So there may be fewer traffic on roads and some places may be closed and so on.

Not 100 % sure but I think that Ksara is closed on Sundays during a winter. You can visit Baalbek although with minibuses from Cola station in Beirut. Not sure how busy this road is during a Sunday.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
2
adamski_
adamski_

as estonian says, catch shared taxis; i would personally catch a seperate one from Amman - Damascus and then another one to Beirut. Damascus to Beirut only takes about 4/5 hours, including border crossing. As time is really short you may want to consider hiring a private taxi from Damascus as Baalbek is more-or-less on the way from Damsascus, so you could take a slight de-tour and visit it and then spend 2 half days and one full day in Beirut, which is a great city!

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
3
cedarrick
cedarrick

Rounding off a visit to Syria and Jordan with a visit to Beirut and Baalbek for 48 hours sounds rather insulting to the rich history and culture of the Land of the Phoenicians, lebanon.Better stay an additional 48 hours in Damascus in the souks and visit Maaloula for the second time; in case u have been there already, and light a candle for your safe return home.Once home plan immediately a full fledged visit to Lebanon,the land of the Cedars. www.facebook.com/enjoylebanontours

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
4
7samurai
7samurai

See in a different way, how about getting a taster of Lebanon ?

Then come back fully in the near future for a longer time.

If work was not an issue, will have spent weeks in the region. Got to use any free time i get. As such a tight schedule.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report

This topic has been locked by a moderator.

Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner