chris,
hello! check out my new post, I crossed to Syria with no problem, just had to wait a looong time to get the visa. I would do it again, it sounds worse than it actually is.
my advice, go for it! Syria is PRECIOUS!
My itinerary: Halepp for two days, visited the Citadel there and the Souq's and roamed around, then from there moved on to Hama, there are some huge water wheels to check out in the city, from there I got a cab (shared with others, $8 each, you can also take buses for less $$) and visited Palmyra and the neighboring sites and was out the whole day doing that, then I also visited the Dead Cities, Apamea, and other sites on the way (sharing a cab as well). There are millions of things to see, Syria is filled with archaeological sites so I recommend reading up before leaving that way you can enjoy the places you will see. From Hama we went down to Damascus.
I traveled to Beirut from Damascus, the ride costs about 4 dollars or so, 200 Syrian Pounds and takes 3.30 hours from the Al Sumaria Bus Station. I received my visa at the border within 15 minutes, I had to get 17 dollars exchanged into Lebanese currency then provide an address and that's that. You should have no problem going into Lebanon as an American. You stay in Lebanon for free up to 48 hours, a 15 day visa costs 17 dollars and there are others for longer stays. In Lebanon you can do: Tripoli, Byblos, Baalbek, and travel to the south as well.
Edited by: nantlalli
