Lebanon Travel Costs – Is Lebanon Expensive to Travel?

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When researching Lebanon and Beirut in particular there’s one thing that will always come up- the cost of travelling to Lebanon, because ‘is Lebanon expensive to travel’ is a common question because it’s not known as a budget destination.

I knew I wanted to go to Lebanon and after reading a few Lebanon blogs I gauged the understanding that it was quite expensive in Lebanon and on par with Western European prices rather than Middle Eastern prices like Turkey and Jordan.

I really wanted to go and couldn’t let the price of Lebanon put me off, and I’m so glad I didn’t because it doesn’t have to be an expensive as you think and you can visit Lebanon on a budget if you try! This is how!

Lebanon Travel Costs

Is Lebanon expensive to travel?

Before I tell you how much money I spent in Lebanon so you can budget for your trip to Lebanon let me explain that Beirut is a city of contrasts. The locals will tell you people are rich or they’re poor, and this is obvious when exploring Beirut, even as a tourist.

Downtown Beirut is where the modern Beirut Souks/ Shopping Mall is, it’s full of high street and designer brand, International restaurants and fancy looking cafes.

Then there are areas like Gemmayze which is the ‘hipster’ type area and also where I stayed when I was in Beirut at The Grand Meshmosh Hotel. This neighbourhood as some fancy coffee shops and restaurants too but not as fancy as Downtown and it’s easy to find cheaper places too.

Then you have areas like Hamra where the American University although I didn’t spend that much time there.

I wanted to tell you this that so you know that, like every city, Beirut has different options available so it’s hard to answer ‘is Beirut expensive to travel?’ because you can eat in fancy places, go out and enjoy the Beirut nightlife, smoke all the shisha which will make you spend a lot of money in Beirut, or you can stay in a hostel and eat in local, small restaurants and  spend not too much, which is what I did!

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• For more of my Lebanon posts see:
• How To Spend One Day in Beirut!
• A Day Trip to Byblos from Beirut!
• The Meshmosh Hotel Review!

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Lebanon Spending Costs

Here is what I spent whilst I was in Lebanon to help you budget for your trip. I stayed for 6 nights and 5.5 days and the conversion rate is based on $1.00USD to 1,500 Lebanese Pound.

(Lebanese Pounds and US Dollars are both accepted in Lebanon)

Taxi from Airport at Midnight – €30.00 / 45000LP

Lunch – Vegetarian Wrap at a Restaurant in Gemmayze – $2.56 / 4000LP

Coffee at Hotel – $2.56 / 4000LP

Dinner – Salad at Hotel – $5.30 / 8000LP

Lunch & Coffee at Hotel – $6.60 / 10000LP

Dinner – Salad in Restaurant in Gemmayze – $4.65 – 7000LP

Biscuits from Small Shop – $0.65 – 1000LP

Taxi to Byblos – €30.00 / 45000LP

Byblos Castle Ticket – $5.30 / 8000LP

Lunch in Restaurant in Byblos – $14.00 / 21000LP

Taxi from Byblos – $33.00 / 50000LP

Ice cream in Beirut Souk – $3.30 / 5000LP

Beirut Free Walking Tour Tip –  $6.60 / 10000LP

Dinner – Wrap in Gemmayze – $3.30 / 5000LP

Day Tour to Chouwen with Explore Lebanon Tours – $80.00 / 120000LP

Harissa Entrance Ticket – $6.00 / 9000LP

Coffee at Harissa – $3.30 / 5000LP

Fruit for Dinner from Small Shop – $0.75 / 1500LP

Lunch Falafel Warp in Hamra – $2.30 / 3500LP

Drink at Starbucks – $5.65/ 8500LP

Taxi in Beirut – $9.30 / 14000LP

Dinner – Salad at Hotel – $5.30 / 8000LP

Local Beer at Hotel – $4.00 / 6000LP

Taxi to Airport in Afternoon – $13.25 / 20000LP

Total $274.00 / 413,000LP (Not including accommodation)

You’ll need a sim card when you arrive in Lebanon, make sure you read up on buying a sim card in Lebanon.

I wish I had pre-booked a taxi from the airport as it was a very stressful situation using a local taxi driver from outside who conned me with the price because I did not have a sim card and couldn’t use Uber. I would book this Beirut Airport to City transfer in future, or this one, they are the same price but less hassle!

Day Trips around Lebanon will increase the costs of your trip as they are not that cheap, but that’s because it’s not much of a visited Country meaning you get a unique experience (there is a positive!).

Prices of day trips from Beirut have decreased since I went with more on offer. This is the cheapest day tour online which takes you to many places: Cheapest Day Tour to Book: From Beirut: Jeita, Harissa, and Byblos Tour – 8 hours

Also have a look at these tours to get an idea of how much they will cost you so you can plan how much it will cost to visit Lebanon because I think you have to leave Beirut in order to really enjoy Lebanon! One thing I found is that there are not booking offices in the City like in other places, day tours will need to be booked online.

I really don’t think what I paid for nearly 1 week in Lebanon in a Middle Eastern Country which is said to be expensive is that bad!

Note that I didn’t go out drinking, which Beirut is popular for, and I didn’t take many taxis, instead preferring to walk/risk my life walking (Uber is a popular and cheap way to get around Beirut). I travelled to Lebanon solo rather than as a family with children, I didn’t eat any crazy fancy meals but I ate well, and I did do 2-day trips which as you can tell equated to over half my spending alone, but they were well worth it!

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Accommodation in Beirut:

Beirut doesn’t have as much accommodation on offer as many other cities it’s size however there a number of hostels and lots of hotels in Beirut covering all budgets.

Have a look for the best option for you on Booking.com here!

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One last cost you need to think about is Insurance, do you have travel insurance for Lebanon yet? I used World Nomads as it is designed by travellers, for travellers and it covers you in all sorts of Countries and Activities!

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• For more of my Lebanon posts see:
• How To Spend One Day in Beirut!
• A Day Trip to Byblos from Beirut!
• The Meshmosh Hotel Review!