I’m back from my trip to Lebanon and while there I realized I should post about the financial situation in Lebanon at the moment. It’s a bit of a mess but if you do it right then it could be a pretty affordable trip. If you’re planning a trip to Lebanon this summer or looking for an affordable place to travel to, this post is for you.
You might have been to Lebanon before and think you don’t need this guide, but a lot of things have changed over the past couple of years because of the financial system collapse, the pandemic, and the massive Beirut explosion. The currency has devalued considerably and the cost of living there has skyrocketed for the residents, but to our advantage, has become cheaper for tourists.
I’m going to try and keep this as simple as possible so as not to confuse you or scare you off.
Previously, 1 US Dollar equaled 1,500LL. Now it’s around 1 USD = 30,000LL, it varies slightly from day to day but this was the rate as I was typing this post. This rate is what Lebanese call the “market rate” or “black-market rate”. The banking sector in Lebanon on the other hand has a different rate which as I’m writing this post is 1 USD = 25,000LL. The banking sector rate is the conversion rate if you use your credit cards in Lebanon. To make matters more complicated, all the online currency conversion apps are inaccurate because they still use the old 1$ = 1,500LL rate.
So tip #1, don’t use currency apps to convert the currency, use a calculator. A friend who used a currency convertor thought she was quoted 350KD for a haircut when in reality it was just 18KD.
Tip #2, take all the money you want to spend on your trip with you in dollars. If you use your credit card there you are going to technically be paying more and in some cases, you could be paying the a much much higher price (more on that below). The only thing you should use your card for is paying for your airline ticket and hotel, for everything else you should be paying cash in Lebanese Lira. Once you check in to your hotel ask them where the closest money exchange place is. I personally use Western Union / OMT stores or Whish ones and they’re both easy to spot. You should find them scattered around Lebanon but your hotel can point you to one near you. Go there and exchange enough money you need for a day or two. The reason I wouldn’t recommend exchanging more is that the currency has devalued so much, that you’ll be walking around with a huge wad of cash. 300$ exchanged to LL is going to give you ninety 100,000LL notes, the image above is how that looks like. Here is a money exchange shop in Gemeyze.
Tip #3, figure out how you are going to carry the wads of cash around because they won’t fit in your wallet. Most guys carry fanny packs in Lebanon, I just exchange for a day or two and so the wad is small enough to fit into my front pocket.
Tip #4, don’t leave Lebanon with Lebanese Lira. I don’t think anyone outside Lebanon will exchange them back to KD or Dollars, and by the time you come back to Lebanon next time, the money might not be worth anything. So make sure you exchange them back to Dollars at the exchange shops. If you’re leaving on a Sunday and need an exchange shop that opens on Sundays, here is one.
Tip #5, as I mentioned earlier, currency apps are not accurate since they still think 1$ is 1,500LL. Some websites and apps do not display the correct USD prices because they convert them from LL. For example, if you try to book a car with Avis Lebanon, the pay now price is the correct amount, but the pay later price is not. That’s because Avis has to list the LL rate for the pay-on-collection option since you would be paying for it when in Lebanon and the law says they have to list the LL rate. But, the Avis website uses an online currency exchange software that thinks 1,500LL is 1$ and so the pay-on collection price ends up being ridiculously high. You can see what I mean in the screenshot above. I have a friend on this trip who used a food delivery app and paid with his credit card in USD even though we had told him not to use his credit card in Lebanon. The app converted the LL to USD using the wrong rate and he ended up paying $200 for a chicken sandwich. He spoke to customer support and they’re thankfully refunding him the money back.
Tip #6, if you want to know the latest market rate and bank rate for the LL, use the lirarate.org website.
I think that’s all of it. So the gist of it is don’t use currency apps, don’t use your credit card in Lebanon, and bring all the dollars with you to Lebanon and exchange them to LL as you need them.
If you have any questions let me know in the comments.
