| Lebanon is a tiny
country: you can drive from one end to the other in about three
hours. Most people use service taxis to get around, a huge number
of which run like buses on set routes; they carry around five passengers,
each of whom chip in for a fifth of the fare. The other system,
private taxis, have a more traditional approach with the taxis taking
you where you want to go for a negotiated fare. There are also many
'pirate taxis' cruising for fares. These are more expensive than
service taxis, but look exactly the same, so it's best to ask before
you get in.
Buses travel between Beirut and
other major towns, but service is infrequent and un-timetabled.
There are plans to restore the country's inter-city bus service,
but those plans are still on the drawing board. It's far less
likely that the country's rail service will ever be restored.
Car rentals are fairly expensive
in Lebanon but if you shop around you can find surprisingly reasonable
prices. The country is notorious for the bad condition of its
roads and the hair-raising style of its drivers. Road rules are
effectively non-existent, traffic jams are ubiquitous and there
are no speed limits. On the up-side, in theory everybody has agreed
to drive on the right, and fuel is cheap and easy to get.
|
Getting Around