Our time leading up to taking a bus to Bcharre was pretty stressful. The night before we left Weligama our host had his family over for his engagement party. Our tuk-tuk did not arrive on time. Kyle had his wallet stolen on our way back up to Colombo, so we had a limited amount of cash and no cards which worked – one of mine had literally expired just days before. We had a long day/multiple days blended at 3 airports.

Getting From Beirut to Bcharre, Lebanon – Bus to Bcharre

We spent over 12 hours in the Colombo, Sri Lanka airport and I had work due during this period so I sat there refreshing the internet constantly as it would drop for me about every twenty seconds and I’d have to log back in to do research. I’d have to quickly search for info I needed and then take screenshots.

Uploading the documents proved to be very challenging. We ate lots of snack cookies and chips which were like twelve cents at the store which was available to us (okay, that’s not bad, but it wasn’t good for us)! I was also having abdominal pains which were intensifying during our journey there and were terrible on our flights. When we arrived we found that the SIM card – which we were counting on in order to contact our Airbnb host when we arrived in his town – for Lebanon was too expensive. And so on.

Arriving In Beirut

I’ll just start the journey to Bcharre at the Beirut airport (but skip the whole sim card thing). We picked up our luggage and went through security (which was less annoying than at some of the other airports) and immigration. We thought we might need to pay a visa fee but the man didn’t mention it (yay)! Off to a good start.

Even though I had read reviews that they were often late, our pre-paid taxi driver was also ready and waiting for us in the terminal. Kyle had ordered the taxi online though Allo Taxi.

Our driver’s name was Hicham Al Jamal, and he was a life-saver for us. He spoke excellent English, didn’t overcharge us and was highly professional while at the same time maintaining a very friendly and approachable demeanor. Despite simply being a taxi driver he spoke with us as though he were a tour guide, explaining to us what we were seeing as we passed by and elaborating on the city.

We were taking a bus to Bcharre for Dora station, which upon arrival was very confusing. Dora station is really less of a “station” and more of a crossroads of various streets where many buses leave from. As such, it can be very difficult to figure out which is your bus if you don’t speak Arabic or French. Our driver Hicham was genuinely concerned that we get on the right bus and find the exact spot where we needed to be for the bus to Bcharre. He stopped several times to ask people where the bus would pick us up to take us to Bcharre and eventually dropped us off and told us to stay with a man who was sitting on some steps. Hicham ensured we had a guide during our wait for the bus!

He left us to continue on his way, but we were in good spirits knowing how much care he put into ensuring our travels went smoothly. We highly recommend Hicham Al Jamal as your driver if you are in Beirut, he will take care of you.

His number is +76 760559

Or when you order your taxi through Allo Taxi, just request Hicham Al Jamal. Be sure to let him know that we recommended him, he probably won’t remember us, but we do want him to know we appreciated all his help.

A Quick Drink

I assumed this man was the bus driver (but later figured out I was wrong). We had about an hour and a half wait for the next bus to Bcharre so we just waited. We tried talking a little bit with the “bus driver” but he did not speak much English.

After a couple minutes, he went up to a gas station and came back with some drinks for us (very nice of him)! It was kind of fizzy and I only sort of liked it and I already kind of had to pee but I drank it anyway. It had an interesting flavor and we always enjoy trying local stuff.

At one point I saw a friendly cat which captured my attention.

She looked a little beat up in some areas but loved getting pets and made herself comfortable on my lap. She would give me a little love bite sometimes if I stopped petting her.

Lovely Cats

At one point a woman walked by and started talking to me and the cat in French. I had been trying to learn a little French and thought I understood some of it, but not much. I think she might have told me that cat had kittens but I’m not sure where or if that is true.

She then pulled out a container from her purse, opened it, and began pouring cat food on the ground. ‘Why don’t I carry cat food around,’ I wondered. I will need to get a good container for such a thing (since then, I have adopted the habit of carrying cat treats with me everywhere- it’s paid off but I would also like to carry around actual cat food in a container). Anyway, this distracted the cat for a little bit (obviously it wanted to eat the food) before it resumed sitting on my lap. After some more time, a man walked out and brought some fish to the cat. I am glad that some people make efforts to take care of this kitty.

Chatting With A Refugee

Meanwhile, Kyle and the man were trying to talk a little bit more but there was the communication barrier. The guy wanted a picture with Kyle so I took it and then also took one with Kyle’s phone of them together. I figured maybe he wanted to put it on the bus Facebook page because I had seen them post pictures of people on the bus.

There was also a minor amount of communication with this other younger guy. At one point Kyle asks me if he should give a sketch of his (a lion) to the older guy in return for him buying us the drinks. I thought it was a little odd but I had been trying really hard lately to get Kyle to learn about reciprocating kindness so I said yes, sure. I told Kyle to write his name on there so the guy could find him and Facebook but he never did.

At one point (after finishing my drink) I really wanted to find a bathroom. I didn’t realize that it was going to turn into this complicated fiasco of wandering around and the men asking countless store owners, etc. or I would never have asked even though I really had to pee and knew we had a couple hour bus ride and who knows what else after that coming up. Eventually, I ended up going in this terrible bathroom in like a convenience store with no lid, no door, and no toilet paper and had to act grateful.

All Aboard The Bus To Bcharre

Eventually, the bus to Bcharre came and the four of us piled on though Kyle and I struggled quite a bit going in with all of our stuff. We sat in the very back and basically took up that whole area. I was against the window and my pain had returned and I was very tired from lack of sleep and already kind of had to pee again so the journey was uncomfortable to say the least. I sometimes nodded off but when I didn’t I tried to stay calm as the bus navigated windy mountain roads.

When I did decide to look out the window, the view was pretty nice, though.

The whole way we made various stops where people got on and off. Someone who later arrived on the bus had given the guy who was talking to us before a small box with what looked like some basic living items.

He ended up getting off before us in a rather remote looking area. Later, Kyle told me that the guy (who I originally thought was the bus driver) was a Syrian refugee. I assume the younger guy might have been as well.

Arrival To Bcharre

Eventually, we arrived into town. Of course, this did not mean we had arrived at our place. We told the bus driver where we were going and he told us to get off the bus and another bus would be coming for us (though I don’t think he actually said this to us because there was a communication barrier, but it was expressed somehow).

We dragged all of our stuff off and went and sat in front of the bus building in town. The town was pretty cute but we were exhausted and just wanted to be there already.

I think it was about ten or fifteen minutes later that the next bus arrived and we got on. It was going, going, etc. and eventually we thought, okay, we need to figure out where we need to get off.

A Little Help Was Needed

We showed the bus driver the address and they didn’t seem to know the location. We showed some other people on the bus and they didn’t know either. It’s not like it was a big town so we were kind of surprised but I guess the area is a bit spread out. We asked if he could call our Airbnb host (I had the number written down as well) but he wouldn’t but luckily a woman on the bus did this for us.

The woman communicated to the bus driver and our host and let us know that our host would come pick us up. The bus driver dropped us off a little farther down the road and we waited with our things until the host pulled up to pick us up in his two-seater convertible BMW. Kyle said it was okay if I just got in because I wasn’t feeling great and he followed the car up the big hill and down the road with a bunch of stuff.

Into Our Airbnb

Finally, we made it. He took us down the steps, showed us inside – and it was amazing!! We had several bedrooms and several beds to choose from (but they were all, also exclusively our’s), TWO bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room with soft carpet and rugs, and a stunning view. Our host offered to take us to the store and Kyle went with him.

I knew I needed to unpack but at first, I just laid down on the bed for a while and looked out at our peaceful view of the valley after such an exhausting few days. I would actually have to say the past couple months had been pretty exhausting at this point.

Eventually, Kyle and our host returned. Kyle handed me an ice cream cone which our host had bought for me. Kyle already ate his. Meanwhile, he put away groceries. Then Kyle went up to meet his parents who gave us freshly picked cherries from their tree. They were very hospitable. We even had internet sometimes- we originally thought we wouldn’t have it at all.

Even though we were really tired and I kind of wanted to go to bed, Kyle was hungry and began cooking dinner. I unpacked, he cooked, and we enjoyed the rest of our evening before we went to bed.

Extra info:

Before we left, due to Kyle’s demands, I spent quite a bit of time researching how to get from Beirut to Bcharre. The information available is very limited. You basically have two options, though: a bus or a taxi.

Obviously, the bus to Bcharre was the only option for us as a taxi would have been expensive (probably over $60). I was even more worried than I would normally be, though because we would be going on a Sunday which meant the schedule was not normal. So I messaged the bus transport company on Facebook to confirm their schedule.

We used Transport Estephan but I believe there is another company that runs this route as well. In general, with Estephan it runs pretty regularly from the morning until evening.

Here is some of their info:

Monday-Saturday Schedule: (I believe this shows the route from Beirut to Bcharre on the left and Bcharre to Beirut on the right.)
Sunday Schedule

Cost: It cost 7,000 Lebanese pounds ($4.64) per person
Time: It takes roughly 2.5-3.5 hours depending on traffic. Traffic is not too bad between the two cities until you get very near Beirut.
Phone: For Estephane Transport +961 (0)6 671 108 / (0)3 534 701
Other info: The bus to Bcharre leaves from the Dora / Dowra area. We were picked up across from a gas station. If you get to the Dora area and aren’t sure you are in the right area, you should be able to ask around for the bus to Bcharre. Don’t know Arabic or French? Write down your question in these languages in advance.

For those who don’t care to stay in Bcharre for longer than a day, or maybe that’s all you have time for – you can arrange for a tour that will take you from Beirut to Bcharre, the Cedars, and a few other sites in the Kadisha valley. The tour offers a great value.

If you are considering the trip and have further questions, let us know. We really would have appreciated it if we could have found anyone to provide us with more information. Information on this trip and Bcharre, in general, is pretty limited.