What to Pack for Lebanon

Byblos' cobbles and Baalbek's sun-baked Roman flagstones will wreck flimsy shoes. Expect uneven stones, stepped alleys, and long, hot slogs through mountain quarters, bring solid support.

Coastal humidity turns laundry into a waiting game. Quick-dry fabric means you can swim the Mediterranean at noon and have a dry shirt for the cool, damp Chouf evening.

Compression cubes squeeze bulk out of the layered wardrobe you'll need, linen for the beach café, fleece for the mountain night when the breeze picks up.

A packable tote folds to fist-size, then swallows souk purchases in Sidon or cedar-trail picnic supplies. Stash it away when you're just strolling Beirut's corniche.

Lebanon runs Type C, D, and G sockets. One universal adapter keeps you charging in crumbling Beirut apartments, glossy hotels, and remote guesthouses alike.

A 20,000 mAh power bank keeps your camera alive while you chase Roman columns or follow Qadisha Valley trails where outlets are rumor, not reality.

Braided cables survive the scrum of shared taxis and the grit of beach sand. Cheap cords die fast on the Lebanese road.

Noise-canceling buds muffle Beirut's horn chorus, the echoing call to prayer, and the non-stop banter of *service* taxis when you need five minutes of quiet.

Lebanese wiring is a lottery. Voltage spikes are common. An increase-protecting strip guards your gear and lets you charge everything from one stubborn outlet.

A TSA-approved toiletry bag keeps liquids visible for airport security and corrals small essentials whether you're in a city hotel or a cedar-shaded eco-lodge.

A basic first-aid kit handles scraped knees on mountain trails and calms sunburn after a day on the coast, buy the fancy stuff later at any pharmacy.

Those serpentine climbs to Bcharri or the final haul up to Harissa's statue twist stomachs. Pop dramamine before the driver guns the engine.

Solid shampoo bars skip liquid limits, survive hard Lebanese tap water, and won't explode over your clothes on the back seat of a minibus.

An RFID-blocking wallet shields passport and cards from skimmers working the crowded lanes of Tripoli souk or downtown Beirut's throng.

A slim money belt hides thicker wads of Lebanese pounds when you're threading through archaeological sites or bar-lined alleys after dark.

A TSA lock secures your duffel in hotel storage. Smaller cable locks deter light fingers in packed souks or on hectic bus rides.

A memory-foam neck pillow saves your spine on the flight into Beirut and again on dawn drives up the coastal highway to the mountains.

Black-out eye mask blocks the weak glow of hotel curtains at sunrise and lets you nap off an overnight red-eye into Lebanon.

A collapsible bottle weighs nothing empty. Fill it from filtered sources before you roam Tyre's ruins or Beirut's blister-hot museum sidewalks.

A windproof umbrella shrugs off sudden Mediterranean squalls in winter and spring gusts that whip off the sea.

A foldaway daypack hauls pottery from Beirut's artisan quarter, peaches from a roadside stand, or a towel to the public beach at Tyre.

Trekking poles steady knees on Qadisha Valley's steep goat tracks and on the root-tangled paths of the ancient cedar forest.

A pocket headlamp lights pre-dawn climbs to watch sunrise over the peaks and finds your footing on village lanes once the generators quit.