Hey guys, how are you doing. Good good, yeah? Before I unpack today’s topic, is it me or September has refused to end. It’s still remaining 7 business days until they pay salary. I am legit surviving on eagle’s wings.
Anyways, I visited Lebanon last Christmas and it was amazing. It has a flair of Europe and Middle East. So imagine Europe and Dubai but on a budget, this is me saying you are getting a feel of both regions with less than N700k. Moreover, Dubai is not issuing visas to anyone that is below 40yrs and single (Who did single people offend like this, pick your call, no, is to be asking “who gave you my number”).
Dubai is no longer for the young and booless🏃♀️). Also, getting a Schengen visa is like losing weight while eating Poundo and Egusi soup every night. So Nkechi my dia, Lebanon is your best bet.
Enough of Dubai, lets get back to why Lebanon should be on your bucket list. The Lebanese currency has been greatly devalued. The country is going through economic crisis, this is bad for the citizens but profitable for tourist. One Dollar to the Lebanese Lira is 31800LR. So with 1000USD, you are legit an Otedola in Lebanon. Enough of my economic analysis of another person’s country and really get to the gist of why we are where we were we are (*in VP Osibanjo’s Voice), if you don gerrit, then forgeabourit.
Flight:
We flew Egyptair from Abuja, it cost us N246,000 each for the return ticket. There was a 2-hour layover at Cairo and then 1 hour from Cairo to Beirut. If you live in Lagos, you can use Middle Eastern Airline (MEA) or Egyptair. MEA is a direct flight to Beirut but it does not fly everyday, so your best bet is Egyptair. Like I had written in previous newsletters see here, flights are a lot cheaper on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
On getting to Cairo, we were the only black people at our waiting gate and you need to see the stares from the Egyptians, maybe they thought we were the Israelites running away from Pharaoh. I remember our tour guide in Lebanon asking if I was famous in Nigeria, famous bawoo, lol. I am not even famous in my office. Famous ko Feminist ni. Oya sorry, enough of my dry jokes. Let me continue with the trip breakdown
Visa:
Lebanon is visa on arrival for Nigerian passport holders and cost about $20. There’s a requirement that you must have USD2,000 in cash, return ticket and hotel reservation. Additional details here - Embassy of Lebanon. With the way, we were dressed, no one asked for any shi shi, I will write about how to dress and act at the airport to avoid unnecessary questions and delay.
At Cairo Airport
Arrival and getting around in Beirut:
We used Bolt to get to the hotel around 1am and it cost us about 3USD. Throughout our stay in Lebanon, we didnt spend more than 10USD per trip on Bolt within Beirut.
We hired a tour guide that took us around each city we visited and it cost $90 for a four seater car per day (inclusive of petrol and time of the tour guide). If you need a tour guide, I will highly recommend the tour guide I used and you can find his details on Instagram - Tour Guide. Nich is the best tour guide ever, his personal car had an issue a day before we arrived so he used his girlfriend’s car. That act alone was super thoughtful, he even took us to places that were not in the budget.
Please don’t use a tour guide recommended by Instagram influencers, they will charge you double, I was going to do that until I found Nich whilst scrolling through Instagram and my trip was better for it. Everyone I had recommended Nich to, came back singing his praises, see bah, I am your plug’s plug. * dodges Oraimo cord.
Feedback from Moe Odele
Phone and Internet Connection:
I bought a Vodafone sim in the city – which cost about $10, with 10GB data. The internet was super fast and we didnt even finish the data, MTN see your mate.
Payment:
Hotel and tour payments were made in USD. All other payments were charged in local currency.
Hotel:
Roche is a nice area in the city centre where you can find hotels with lovely views. You can get 5* hotels for 100USD, check it out here. We made the mistake of not booking in Roche, our hotel was alright but no nice view, omo we were seeing people’s non pots and towel from our hotel window😩.
Citi-Apart Hotel
The highlight of our trip was a resort, an hour away from Beirut. It is called Scappa Resort, check it out here. It cost us 140USD per night cos we booked on a weekend, it is cheaper on weekdays and you get a special discount if I book on your behalf. Bolt ride to the resort costs about USD22. Lebanon is cheap, you will enjoy luxury on a budget.
Activities:
It was winter in December so we couldn’t do the boat cruise. However, there are activities like quad biking, cable car, tour of the Jeita Groto, arguably the 7th wonder of the world. They don’t allow cameras inside.
Visited one of the first churches in Lebanon, the water at the church legit helps with bloating or acid reflux. Amen, Amen!
Food:
If you dont do anything else in Lebanon, please eat!!!!. Food is affordable and nicee, you will order three course meal with drinks and all the orishirishi and they will bring the bill and it will cost just 50USD for two people. Lagos Island restaurant in the murrrrd!
My highlight was the food. The Lebanese make the best wraps and Kebabs. If you are a three square meal kinda guy, Lebanon is for you. If you are a single babe looking for husband, your missing rib is in Beirut, somebody shout faya!!!!!! *in Pastor Jerry’s voice*
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much I enjoyed writing it. Please share on twitter or instagram and tag @Munachimsoooo or @MunafromTravelletters_ on IG.
Ps: If you are looking for a travel buddy to either Kigali or Lebanon, please reach out to me and I will be happy to pair you with someone.
Until next week
Love
Muna
Hey Muna. Lebanon for me. Please who can you pair us with for Christmas?
Very informative i will be going there next year