Lebanon: Solo Female Travel
Overall Lebanon felt safe as a solo female traveller and there are plenty of females who travel across Lebanon alone so you are bound to meet similar solo females along your journey.
The Lebanese people are friendly and welcoming towards females so expect a lot of people wanting to talk to you as people are generally very interested in you and want to find out where you are from and a bit about yourself.
There is a heavy military presence in Lebanon and you will find this mainly in places like Tripoli, Tyre and Baalbek which is understandable as these places are near the border with Syria or near to Hizbollah controlled territory. This did not feel threatening or scary but actually made it feel like it was unlikely for anything bad to happen as there was such high security.
Make sure you dress appropriately in cities outside of Beirut as these are mainly Islamic places so modesty is important. You will need to wear long floaty trousers or skirts that cover at least past your knees and preferably a loose top that covers your shoulders. Beirut is a very liberal city so feel free to wear whatever feels comfortable.
What to expect:
- Staring – it isn’t an unfriendly stare as people are just interested in you and think it is unusual that a female is alone without a group or a male companion
- Catcalling – this is quite common but again nothing unfriendly, it just may make you feel uncomfortable at times if men are saying things to you in Arabic that you don’t understand
- LOTS and LOTS of marriage proposals – if you feel uncomfortable with this then just say you are married or even wear a ring to get rid of any unwanted attention
Taxis:
Be aware when getting into taxis off the street as a solo female. You will find taxis aren’t always marked and they will often beep at you as they drive past to see if you want a ride so it is difficult to tell if they are official taxi drivers or not.
Personal Encounter:
When I was in Lebanon I had a bit of a frightening experience where I took what I thought was a taxi off the street in Tripoli and the guy who picked me up spoke no English but agreed with me a destination to take me and a price for me to pay. When we drove off the driver then picked his friend up and I started to feel uncomfortable as I didn’t know what was happening.
His friend proceeded to tell me he wanted to marry me and have children with me which made me feel uncomfortable. When I said I wanted to leave they said no and drove off with me in the car. Then the driver began to try and touch my hair and my hands so when the car stopped I unlocked the car door and ran away.
His friend proceeded to tell me he wanted to marry me and have children with me which made me feel uncomfortable. When I said I wanted to leave they said no and drove off with me in the car. Then the driver began to try and touch my hair and my hands so when the car stopped I unlocked the car door and ran away.
This was the only bad experience I had throughout my whole trip but I thought I would share this experience to make you aware to be so careful when taking taxis off the street and it is better to use apps like Uber or Grab and take taxis that are marked as taxis.
Safety and Scams:
Taxis/Tours/Guides – Make sure to always agree on a price before starting the journey or tour as if you don’t they will rip you off and charge you a lot more than what you should have paid so make sure to always do this.
Taxis – Because of the financial crisis the prices displayed to you on apps such as Uber and Grab are really cheap which is great for you. However, multiple times I had taxi drivers ring me up to negotiate another price with me than what was displayed on the app and they would not take me unless I agreed to this price. There was also a time that at the end of the journey, the driver became aggressive when I paid him what the price stated on the app and demanded more money from me.
Hizbollah controlled territory – This area is mainly located in the south of Lebanon (past Tyre) and in the south of Beirut so make sure to be aware of this area before travelling to Lebanon. The Hizballah are a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and has a history of carrying out global terrorist attacks. Make sure not to travel to any of these areas as it may not be safe and your travel insurance company probably won’t cover you here.
Lebanon’s borders – Be careful when travelling close to Lebanon’s borders with other countries as there is always a risk of the situation escalating near the borders with places such as Syria and Israel. There is also a risk of terrorist activity so exercise caution when travelling within 5 miles of the border.
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