Originally Posted by
sydakllon
I actually think I'm going to drive myself - so head early from Beirut to Baalbek (around 2 hours drive), visit for a few hours, then drive to Cedars Forest (looks like 1.5 hours). Visit a couple of hours. Then drive another 1.5 hours to Byblos. And then 30 mins back to Beirut. Could probably get a driver, but I like driving and if we had the car, we could scoot down to Tyre the next morning or something. We just drove in Jordan and I can't imagine it being any different. Maybe too long of a day, but I've been told can definitely do Byblos and Baalbek together, going over the mountains to get to them vs backtracking through Beirut.
Sorry to hear about your problems which forced you to cut short your trip. However, I am hugely impressed by your intrepidness - renting a car is something I'd not ever regarded as doing in Lebanon. The area around Baalbek is very close to areas of the Bekaa Valley/Syrian border areas which have significant security concerns. Here's our current Foreign Office advice which, I know, always errs on caution - -
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/lebanon
I just wouldn't want to take a wrong turning or have a wayward satnav.