Lebanon – 5 Day Travel Itinerary and travel guide for female solo backpackers
Why did I decide to come and travel to Lebanon? I don’t even know, the same reason why I went to other places in the past: Curiosity. People in both Oman and Jordan told me that Lebanon is an amazing place to go to, so I had a week to spare and here I am. I had a week off from university, so I spent 5 full days in Lebanon. I am convinced that there is much more to explore and you can easily make it 10-14 days, but I take what I have and make the best out of it. So here it comes: My recommendation for: Beautiful Lebanon: A 5 Day Travel Itinerary
Arrival
I arrived at night at the International airport of Beirut: I got picked up from a friend of the hostel, who overpriced the pickup at $25, however, I felt more secure and relaxed with that option so I went for it. Otherwise I recommend taking a Bolt from the airport to the city:
But remember, the most important lesson in Lebanon: Since about 2020 the country is a CASH ECONOMY. Do never ever get Libanese pounds from an ATM. The currency originally was pegged at the dollar, however, due to the economic crisis, the currency experiecned huge devaluations. And with huge I mean going from 1.500 per $ down to currently about 100.000. So you definitely do not want that!
Usually, you can pay everywhere in $ so for the inital arrival $ work too. I didnt have any yet so I was evern more relieved to be able to go together with Karl from the Hostel.
Hostel in Beirut: Beirut Hostel – cheapest hostel in the city
Day 1 – Beirut
The first day I decided to explore the city a bit: from the Hostel Beirut I just started walking, went to the supermarket and to little different food and snack places to try local food. I walked along the Armenia street to downtown, along the Mohammad Al Amin Mosque and to the American University of Beirut. Following my my feeling and stopping wherever I felt like it. After, I also walked towards the harbour, in which there was the explosion in 2020. I found a little souvenir shop with an old Lebanese couple, both of them 80+ years, with which I talked about the changing dynamics in their country. Their shop exists for over 70 years, its a family led business so I really recommend you to go there!! You can find it near Warwick Palm Beach/Karamna Lebanese Restaurant on Google Maps. All the other souvenir shops got destroyed by the explosion and even though their shop did too, they managed to rebuild it.
At night I went to Riwaq Beirut, a little bar/restaurant, which is super cute. Special thing about the day I went there: On Wednesdays they have Comedy night – it was sadly all in Arabic but still culturally super interesting.
Food in Beirut
Food in Libanon is amazing! So here come some Beirut recommendations:
- Le Chef: Most famous place but still very good.
- T-Marbout: Lebanese food
- Feren Rmeil: Local bakeries, in which you get the best Man’ouches
And many cute cafes.
Day 2 – Tripoli
On my second day, I decided to already go to Tripoli. After a good Man’ouche it was time to take the local bus, which is super easy and cheap. I did not do much that day, just checked in to my Tripoli hostel.
I recommend walking around the markets, but one of my favorite spots really was next to the Tripoli Citadel – next to that citadel, walk on the street parallel to the river and you will have the MOST beautiful view on the tripoli houses as well as the mountains with snow.
Day 3 – Tripoli, Bcharee and Batroun
In the morning I was walking around Tripoli again, getting myself some breakfast snacks from one of the many bakeries around. Pretty much after that I took the bus to Bcharee, which leaves at the big roundabout in the city center (just ask in your hostel/hotel). Also, always ask beforehand about the price, as prices change a lot according to the currency fluctuations.
The drive is so worth it, its super scenic and beautiful and going just for that is amazing. I went to see the Qadisha Valley, and hike there, as its supposed to be beautiful. However, when I got there, I checked out two places (View Lodge & Tiger House Motel) and I was the only guest there, which I generally don’t mind as much but I really didn’t feel great there, my gut feeling told me to leave. So I left again, hoped in the next best bus and hoped to go back to Tripoli – which was not the case, the bus was straight on the way to Beirut – quick decision making was required, so I got a hotspot from a super nice half Lebanese/German in the bus and decided to go to Batroun. There I rented this super cute Airbnb for one night (put link) and had the best time! In the afternoon I just walked around, ate a bit and watched the sunset on the coastline.
Cute places to eat/drink
- Kokos Bakery for a Brioche
- Hilmis Lemonade for Lemonade
- Khoury Shopping Center for all supermarket supplies
- Next to Khoury shopping center you get great Manakesh for like 2-2.5 Euro
- Georges Maloouf Kitchen has great seafood sandwiches
- Also I was recommended the Ahwet Zeitouna Batroun for Lebanese food, sadly didn’t go there though
As a sunset spot the little cathedral is beautiful (Saint Stephen Cathedral) – I really recommend stopping by for a visit.
Accommodation Tripoli: City guest house – about $15 a night, great location and super nice employees
Day 4 – Batroun and Beirut
My airbnb host let me do a late check out, so I opted for a super chill beach/tan morning: Locals like to go to a place called Ray’s I was told!
Later I took the bus back to Beirut by just stepping out on the highway and driving to the city center for 1$.
In the evening I did a spontaneous hairdresser visit and then had dinner at Le Chef.
Day 5 – Beirut
My last day in Lebanon! I was once again staying at Hostel Beirut and after breakfast I went with a guy I have met in the hostel to the Beirut beach, which is 1 km further than the pigeon rocks, called ramldt al Baida. Use Bolt to get around if you don’t want to walk the whole way!
Then we slowly walked back in the direction of the hostel, I recommend looking at the Holiday Inn, which is not in use anymore but one of the buildings most visibly shouted at during the Civil War which started 1975.
Concluding comments
Overall I can REALLY recommend Lebanon. It’s great for a short 5 day trip like I did it, but its also great to visit for a bit longer, even two weeks. Just to name a couple examples, here is what else you can do:
- Walking tours in Beirut
- Cable Cars like 20 min away from Beirut
- Tyre
- Baalbeck for Roman ruins
Recommendations/Precautions
- Inform yourself about the current exchange rate on lira.org
- Bring enough cash or if you have to use the ATM only withdraw Dollars!!!!
- Don’t bring too much luggage and don’t be scared by the media, Lebanese people are super friendly and its like in every country: Have a healthy amount of precaution and respect for the different cultures and also what areas you walk around alone at night.
Lebanon is a great clash and combination of cultures where you will never get bored. Regardless of just having around 6 Million inhabitants, the country is full of history and traditions as well as many immigrants from e.g. Armenia or Syria. Tripoli is SO different from Beirut, Islam and Christianity both play such an important role in the country and its really fascinating to see the co-living of the two religions but also the beautiful churches and mosques.
Overall, Lebanon is fascinating. It is very sad to see so visibly the impact of the economic crisis on Beirut, this very modern city, with a lot of cool places, cafes, restaurants and shops.
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovemarafee/?hl=de
Read more about the why and value of the blog: https://travelmarafee.com/sample-page/
Find more blog posts about Latin America here: https://travelmarafee.com/category/travel-itineraries/latin-america-destinations/
Add your thoughts and comments about the “Beautiful Lebanon: A 5 Day Itinerary” below!
#oneweekinlebanon #lebanontravelitinerary #lebanontravelguide #femalesolotravellebanon