Short answer is yes, you should definitely consider visiting Lebanon.Maybe not right now, as there is currently a war in neighbouring Palestine as the Israeli fuckers are committing a genocide in Gaza, but when this is over you should definitely go. This is us hoping the war will end before all of the Palestinian people get completely swiped off earth.
In December 2022, I embarked on a trip to Lebanon, despite the fact nearly everybody I knew told me not to go as it was supposedly dangerous. None of these people who advised me not to go had been to Lebanon, clearly, because I did not listen to them, I went anyway and had a blast. They managed to make me shorten my trip though, so I will probably have to visit again in the future to see the things I missed.
How to get there if you have been to bloody Israel
Lebanon, as well as all the other countries in the middle east, are bitter enemies with Israel (who could blame them) so there is no possibility to go there from Israel even if they are neighbours and there are no flights between the two countries. And there’s more. As soon as you arrive to the airport, you will be interrogated and asked if you have EVER been to Israel. If you say yes or if you have anything on you that could make them suspect you have been to Israel (even if 20 years before), the least is that you will be deported. Fun times.
I was in Israel right before so I took a flight from Tel Aviv to Cyprus and then from Cyprus to Beirut, and in Israel I had asked not to get my passport stamped. I had also previously got rid of anything that could be suspicious (souvenirs, money, even photos) and I answered that I had never been to Israel before so they let me in. Actually, when I got in I was so nervous about it that, sweating and anxious, I queued up in the diplomats line but all went well.
On women’s rights, safety and other bias about Lebanon
Compared to other Arab countries, Lebanon is quite liberal and modern. This means that as a woman you can go around alone and wear a skirt and die your hair if you want, nobody will look at you or have anything to say. You will find all kinds of people, women in burka and women in dresses, but in general the vibes are like most of the European cities. Just with everything written in Arabic.
Beirut is quite representative of this freedom. When I got there, I was expecting some limitations (as in Morocco for example) but what I saw was plenty of clubs all around my area, girls coming home drunk (yes in an islamic country) at night without a worry about safety.
Where to sleep & where to go in Lebanon
Lebanon is a compact country and even if there are several places spread around to see, you could easily base yourself just in Beirut and do day trips to its various attractions. In a week you can see quite a lot of nice places.
Moving around is fairly easy, basically when you are in Beirut if you wanna go North, you get to this Daoura roundabout and catch a bus there, whereas if you wanna go South you go to Cola gas station. The concept of “bus” is a bit different from the European one, as you don’t see normal buses with an actual sign on them, but you flag down minibuses (or even cars) with no signs and ask them if they are going in the same direction. It feels like hitchhiking really, especially when you jump in normal cars, but everyone does it, and you pay very little, like 1 euro for a 2 hours trip. The first times I was a bit overwhelmed (those roundabouts are chaotic and I wasn’t sure where to go) but there was always someone helping me. Lebanese people are super welcoming.
a typical bus ride in lebanon
In Beirut, I stayed at The Grand Meshmosh Hotel, that even though it has this pretentious name, it’s just a hostel with no doors. It was cute and with friendly staff so I recommend it. The area I stayed in, Gemmayze, has lot of life (even nightlife), nice shops and beautiful buildings, so I would recommend that too. And I would recommend this restaurant, where for something like 4 euro you get delicious 3 courses meals.
Apart from the city center, I suggest walking all of the waterfront until you get to the Pigeon rocks.
Cool places to see in Lebanon
Byblos is less than an hour away from Beirut and it has a ancient citadel and beautiful archaeological ruins. It’s on the seaside (as most of the nice Lebanese towns) and great for a few hours stroll. The name in Arabic is Jbeil, if you plan to go remember it as some of the drivers do not know the international name.
Further north you can find Batroun, another lovely town with picturesque streets and unique shops. Your transportation will likely leave you on the main street (the highway really) so you have to walk from there to get in the village, but you can also take a tuk tuk on your way back to the main road. My tuk tuk driver, when I was there, did not want any money from me, offered me a coffee & stopped a taxi bus for me to make sure I would get back to Beirut comfortably. These rude Arabs.
Jeita Grotto is an impressive place quite close to Beirut. It’s a huge cave (actually two caves, upper and lower grotto) with amazing limestone formations. It’s a bit difficult to describe, but it’s astonishing. You visit one cave on a boat and the other walking through it. I don’t have any photos because THEORETICALLY it was absolutely forbidden to take photos. To the point that they would take your phone at the entrance and put it in a safebox, not accepting “I don’t have a phone” as an answer. The funny thing is that when I went (I was the only foreigner that day) all the Lebanese families that were also there, diligently obeyed and gave their phone at the entrance, but when we got inside they ALL took another phone that they had hidden somewhere and started taking pictures. I was literally the only one without a second phone. Naive.
Other cool places to see are Baalbek, Sidon and the Cedars of God, but I didn’t have time for those. Tripoli and Tiro must have been interesting too but I have been advised against it because they are both too close to the borders (Syria and Israel – so conflict zones).
Useful info
Money
Lebanon is experiencing a financial crisis since 2019, which means that their money is constantly devalued and the exchange rate changes drammatically every day – even within the same day. So, you cannot withdraw money with your card (if you are able to, you end up paying 10x more) and you have to exchange money everyday. There are many currency exchange offices around so all you have to do is bringing enough cash and change it as you go.
Taxi
Taxis are quite cheap and a great option for getting around. I even used them for some of the day trips. I used Bolt because I always prefer using an app over hailing a cab in the street. For some reason, though, on Bolt the prices were extremely low, so expect to be asked to pay usually twice the price it states there. They are not trying to scam you, it’s just that otherwise it’s not profitable for them or maybe it has something to do with the inflation, not sure. We are talking about being asked for 2 euros instead of 1 for a journey around the city, so not a big deal really.
Phone & Internet
Lately I am always buying an eSim to get internet everywhere I go, but in Lebanon I couldn’t find it and going through the hassle of getting a physical Sim did not seem worth it. So I just used wifis everywhere and it was ok.
Power failure
Probably due to the crisis, the country experiences power cuts quite often. It did not affect me, but when the entire electricity of the airport went off for 4 times while I was there it was… something.
Airport
Speaking of airports, I think Beirut airport is one of the worst airport I have been to. Not in terms of facilities, they were quite okay, but because for some reason they make you wait for MANY hours to get in/check-in/everything really. I knew it, I had read something about it so I went 4 hours before my flight and still I took it just on time. At some point, when I had been queuing in the immigration line for like 1.5 hours to get my passport stamped, some officers took me and someone else again on the back on the line, for no reason at all.
(I was furious but did not complain because I was afraid it wouldn’t help plus I was afraid they would find out I had lied to them few days earlier about Israel so I had to swallow the pill and listen for another hour in the same queue to this lousy American guy that was desperately trying to small talk with me.)
Overall impressions on Lebanon
I absolutely loved Lebanon, it is a wonderful blend of Arab culture, artsy places, lovely people, INCREDIBLE food, gorgeous nature. It is not too far from Europe, it’s cheap and makes you feel welcome as soon as you get there. Being a tiny country makes it a great destination also for a smaller break so yes I think you should go.
Note: this post had been written 3 years ago but somehow never got published (I had some technical issue at the time and then… life just got in the middle)
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