Beirut/lebanon

I've been there. Anything in particular you want to know?

Not OP but also interested.

>safety
>costs
>ease of getting around
>food/drinks/parties
>girls

>>1238410
Pretty much what this guy
>>1238414
Said

>>1238410
Also would like some input on Roman ruins in the area

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>>1238420
Baalbek it's the show stoper, but the anjar ruins are interesting too..

>>1238429
How is sidon? There's alot of history in that city

>>1238414
>safety
Totally safe in the christian areas you wouldn't want to venture into some hezbollah suburb though or shacks full of Syrians as some partying westerner

>costs
Expensive as fuck for some things, like say a drink in a club. $150 for a bottle of vodka in a club (most is bottle service), or $10-20 for a reg drink. Cheap for other things like rent which is $600 for an amazing looking studio, and cheap kebabs on the street and lower cost restaurants.

>ease getting around
Just go to Hamra street, it's full of bars and restaurants and you can walk around. Uber and taxis exist otherwise

>parties
See Hamra street. Most of the nightclubs in Beirut have severe face control meaning bouncers won't let in anybody unless they appear well dressed and have money so better look that way but I avoided clubs and just went to bars which were much more fun than the turbofolk techno horseshit played in nightclubs at volume 100000. Ratios inside bars and clubs were favorable, tons of girls which is surprising for an Arab country I expected sausage fest. Private parties when the bars close everybody invites you to one.

>girls
A lot of virgins surprisingly. It will seem like every girl wants to go home with you then you'll run into really hot girls who don't spread for anybody without a ring. Since you'll be the only tourist there who's not Arab (I'm assuming) you'll prob get attention from girls as the bombings and shit going on in the south and in Syria kind of killed tourism.

Your typical Beirut girl wears hundreds of dollars worth of designer clothing just to go the corner store to pickup tampons in the middle of the night. Lot's of Syrian girls from Damascus go there too to party if you go during the summer.

>>1238420
Hire a security driver to get through the dozens of military checkpoints along the way. There's a bus but prob would take longer because checking everybody's papers at each checkpoint. There's also a Hezbollah "theme park" in Mleeta

>>1238446
Hezbollah isn't hostile to tourists though? Sure there are areas to avoid, but if you're obviously a foreigner, can't you wander around their areas and enjoy their hospitality? They're not fucking ISIS.

>>1238451
They're not, but you would absolutely never wander in some Shia neighborhood it's full of gangsters plus they may accuse you of being some CIA spy or something. Don't go in there unless it's part of some official tour to Mleeta or something

>>1238453
... or you have a friend who invites you and can tell you which streets not to go down or be near at night. Lot's of Gs covered in gold necklaces with handguns and bats in tinted shitbox cars think worst area of Philly and that's a hezbolla suburb in Lebanon just more cleaner, with less cops

>>1238414
>beaches
Since it was mentioned in the OP. The main thing to remember is that the closer you are to Beirut, the dirtier the water. Lots of sewage and garbage being dumped straight into the Med. Go to Batroun, they have nice beaches and the water is fairly clean.

>safety
It's not that unsafe, and shit generally happens in areas where no tourists ever go. Southern Beirut or the northern Beqaa Valley for example. Ask around before going to Baalbek and Tripoli, they can be a bit dodgy, though they were fine when I was there a year ago. Border ares are definitely a no go.

>costs
Beirut is fucking expensive. Rest of the country not so much.

>ease of getting around
Very easy, though traffic at rush hour is a nightmare. Minibuses run all day to all the major cities, from the Dora (written Dora but pronounced Dawra) roundabout for destinations in the north, and the Cola intersection for destinations in the south.

>food/drinks/parties
Beirut is the party place, not so much in the other cities. It is really expensive though. Other anon mentioned Hamra street, there's also the Mar Mikhail area which I find nicer tbqh. Lots of bars and clubs. Food can be found dirt cheap if you find some local shop. Try the Manushe (or Lebanese pizza), it's fucking awesome. And don't leave without having tried argile (shisha/hookah/water pipe). There's a bar in Gemmayze called Em Nazih, they have good food, local beer on tap and cheap argile.

>girls
Download Tinder and try your luck. Lots of girls who are looking for foreign men.

>>1238420
Tyre and Baalbek definitely. Tyre and the south is completely safe, ignore the memers who claim otherwise just because of Hezbollah. It's the best city in the country if you ask me. Byblos and Aanjar are also very nice, though the ruins are Crusader and Umayyad respectively, not Roman.

>>1238430
I didn't really like Sidon. The castle is okay, but that's it really. To each his own though, it's worth the stop on the way to Tyre.

>>1238511
Fuck. Should I hire a security professional just to grease palms and drive me around? Cost really isn't any concern I've got about 30 grand to drop on this trip

>>1238636
Lebanon would not be my choice of country to blow 30 grand in

>>1238636
I traveled the entire country by public transport, and on only two occasions did I hire private transport, once when going to Mleeta (no buses) and once when driving around the south with friends, just because it was easier. It's your choice really, if you have the money and don't mind spending it, then sure why not. It's definitely more convenient, but rush hour is rush hour, you won't be able to "jump the queue" at checkpoints just because you hired a private driver. If you're asking if you NEED an armoured car and three burly guys with guns following you around, the answer is most definitely a no.

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There's nothing to see in Baalbek besides the roman ruins. Just hire a taxi driver to take you there for a daytrip

50 dollars will be enough for him to take you there and bring you back

>>1238636
>I've got about 30 grand to drop on this trip

Ameribro friend for hire right here.

Safety in numbers. And I'm fun, fit, educated, etc.

Charging only airfare an lodging.

When do we leave?

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>>1239255
*and lodging.

I blew it, didn't I?