Bridging the 120km gap between Beirut and Damascus is a journey that ranges from a smooth, door-to-door transfer to a multi-stage bus challenge. As long as you pass Masnaa border on the Lebanese side during opening hours (06:00-23:00 Syrian time), there are three ways to do this trip.
Private or shared taxis
If your budget permits and you have little patience for delays, opting for a private taxi is the most recommended option. For a sum between $50-75 (shared) and $75-150 (private ride), a driver will whisk you from Beirut's city center or airport to your destination in central Damascus. This route spares you the joy of dragging luggage between vehicles at the border. As an extra benefit, the drivers can often help you navigate the various desks and bank counters you need to visit. Use one of our recommended drivers to avoid surprises (see our listings here), or else, be sure of the total price and exact drop-off point destination before accepting a ride.
The scheduled Singer Tours bus
For comfort matched with a fair price, the Singer Tours bus that runs 2-4 times per week from Lebanon to Damascus is a good option. Originating from Sidon in southern Lebanon, their bus picks up passengers at Beirut's Cola Bus Station at 06:40, arriving at the Nahr Aishah bus station in Damascus around 11:15. The return trip from Damascus departs at 14:00, arriving back in Beirut around 16:30 (all times local). They wait for all passengers to complete border procedures, which could take a bit longer if someone is having trouble with paperwork. The trip takes about three and a half hours in total. Tickets cost $20 one way. Always confirm departure dates and times beforehand with Singer Tours, also linked below.
Shared minibuses or taxis via Chtoura
The budget-conscious and the terminally adventurous usually opt for the local way, which costs roughly $10-$15 in total, but requires changes in Chtoura in the Bekaa Valley and at both border offices. Count on about 4 hours for the whole trip. Start at Beirut’s Cola intersection bus station; ignore the taxi drivers and find the minibuses parked 50m up the road from the large buses (map with the exact location for the minibuses); a seat to the transit hub of Chtoura in central Lebanon costs about 300,000 Lebanese pounds ($3.30). After about an hour on the 45km-long loopy mountain pass (to stay entertained, ask the locals to translate the slogans visible on commercial vehicles), you are dropped at Chtoura Square (map) where you can purchase Syrian pounds at a reasonable rate. Taxis shuttle from here all the way to Damascus for about $30, or $20 when shared with others; this is well-organised for Lebanese terms, with a friendly dispatcher helping assign you to a departing taxi. The adventurous can hop on the next minibus or a shared servis taxi costing about 100.000 LBP ($1.10) for the short 15km, 20-minute drive to the Lebanese border office at Masnaa (map). After clearing Lebanese customs, hitch-hike or pay a driver a few dollars to drive you to the Syrian border post at Jdeidet Yabous (map), 8km away across the pass. Once through, find a local micro minibus for the final 45-minute, 35km stretch, costing 25,000 Syrian pounds ($2.5), to Somariyeh bus station (map) on the western outskirts of Damascus, from where you can take a taxi the rest of the way into the city centre. There are also minibuses from the opposite side of the main road charging around 4,000 Syrian pounds ($0.40) to the central Al-Baramkeh transport hub (map), and from there buses to the old town and Bab Touma square area charge 2,000 SYP ($0.20).
When travelling from Damascus to Beirut, simply do the above in reverse, keeping in mind that Lebanon charges a 1,000,000 LBP entry stamp duty ($12). This can be paid in any currency at the border. To get to Somariyeh bus station in the west of town, buses depart from near the citadel in central Damascus (map); tickets are 3,000 SYP. On arrival in Chtoura in Lebanon, peckish travellers should head straight to the Laiterie Massabki dairy shop for delicious arishe w aasal cottage cheese sandwiches made by 'uncle' Amo Elias (open 06:00-20:00, Massabki Building on the main road, map, +961 1 883 459). Minibuses for Beirut often wait around or chaotically drive around in circles for a long time to fill all the seats, so to speed things up you could take a tuk-tuk 1km up the hill to the Qob Elias intersection, where you can flag down a minibus that's already headed west. The Chtaurama Center restaurant and shop overlooking this crossroads is a fabulous place to fill up on freshly baked Lebanese cheese or za'atar manakish, and they can exchange Syrian pounds as well.
Alternative border crossing points
The main Syrian point of entry is at Jdeidet Yabous (Masnaa on the Lebanese side), which occasionally closes in turbulent times. In that case, the Joussieh border crossing (Al Qaa on the Lebanese side) between Homs and Baalbek is open 24 hours per day as an alternative to travellers heading to or from Lebanon. A third crossing at Arida on the Mediterranean coast is currently only open for foot traffic after the bridge crossing the river was washed away in floods.
Private or shared taxis
If your budget permits and you have little patience for delays, opting for a private taxi is the most recommended option. For a sum between $50-75 (shared) and $75-150 (private ride), a driver will whisk you from Beirut's city center or airport to your destination in central Damascus. This route spares you the joy of dragging luggage between vehicles at the border. As an extra benefit, the drivers can often help you navigate the various desks and bank counters you need to visit. Use one of our recommended drivers to avoid surprises (see our listings here), or else, be sure of the total price and exact drop-off point destination before accepting a ride.
The scheduled Singer Tours bus
For comfort matched with a fair price, the Singer Tours bus that runs 2-4 times per week from Lebanon to Damascus is a good option. Originating from Sidon in southern Lebanon, their bus picks up passengers at Beirut's Cola Bus Station at 06:40, arriving at the Nahr Aishah bus station in Damascus around 11:15. The return trip from Damascus departs at 14:00, arriving back in Beirut around 16:30 (all times local). They wait for all passengers to complete border procedures, which could take a bit longer if someone is having trouble with paperwork. The trip takes about three and a half hours in total. Tickets cost $20 one way. Always confirm departure dates and times beforehand with Singer Tours, also linked below.
Shared minibuses or taxis via Chtoura
The budget-conscious and the terminally adventurous usually opt for the local way, which costs roughly $10-$15 in total, but requires changes in Chtoura in the Bekaa Valley and at both border offices. Count on about 4 hours for the whole trip. Start at Beirut’s Cola intersection bus station; ignore the taxi drivers and find the minibuses parked 50m up the road from the large buses (map with the exact location for the minibuses); a seat to the transit hub of Chtoura in central Lebanon costs about 300,000 Lebanese pounds ($3.30). After about an hour on the 45km-long loopy mountain pass (to stay entertained, ask the locals to translate the slogans visible on commercial vehicles), you are dropped at Chtoura Square (map) where you can purchase Syrian pounds at a reasonable rate. Taxis shuttle from here all the way to Damascus for about $30, or $20 when shared with others; this is well-organised for Lebanese terms, with a friendly dispatcher helping assign you to a departing taxi. The adventurous can hop on the next minibus or a shared servis taxi costing about 100.000 LBP ($1.10) for the short 15km, 20-minute drive to the Lebanese border office at Masnaa (map). After clearing Lebanese customs, hitch-hike or pay a driver a few dollars to drive you to the Syrian border post at Jdeidet Yabous (map), 8km away across the pass. Once through, find a local micro minibus for the final 45-minute, 35km stretch, costing 25,000 Syrian pounds ($2.5), to Somariyeh bus station (map) on the western outskirts of Damascus, from where you can take a taxi the rest of the way into the city centre. There are also minibuses from the opposite side of the main road charging around 4,000 Syrian pounds ($0.40) to the central Al-Baramkeh transport hub (map), and from there buses to the old town and Bab Touma square area charge 2,000 SYP ($0.20).
When travelling from Damascus to Beirut, simply do the above in reverse, keeping in mind that Lebanon charges a 1,000,000 LBP entry stamp duty ($12). This can be paid in any currency at the border. To get to Somariyeh bus station in the west of town, buses depart from near the citadel in central Damascus (map); tickets are 3,000 SYP. On arrival in Chtoura in Lebanon, peckish travellers should head straight to the Laiterie Massabki dairy shop for delicious arishe w aasal cottage cheese sandwiches made by 'uncle' Amo Elias (open 06:00-20:00, Massabki Building on the main road, map, +961 1 883 459). Minibuses for Beirut often wait around or chaotically drive around in circles for a long time to fill all the seats, so to speed things up you could take a tuk-tuk 1km up the hill to the Qob Elias intersection, where you can flag down a minibus that's already headed west. The Chtaurama Center restaurant and shop overlooking this crossroads is a fabulous place to fill up on freshly baked Lebanese cheese or za'atar manakish, and they can exchange Syrian pounds as well.
Alternative border crossing points
The main Syrian point of entry is at Jdeidet Yabous (Masnaa on the Lebanese side), which occasionally closes in turbulent times. In that case, the Joussieh border crossing (Al Qaa on the Lebanese side) between Homs and Baalbek is open 24 hours per day as an alternative to travellers heading to or from Lebanon. A third crossing at Arida on the Mediterranean coast is currently only open for foot traffic after the bridge crossing the river was washed away in floods.
