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  • Vacation outside Lebanon on a budget

Long term contracts can require a proof of income, proof of residence, etc.

For prepaid, there should be no issue. Just imagine "no, you are an Arab, you vill get no Zim Karte. Das ist verboten!"

In the UK I tried Lycamobile and GiffGaff and it doesn't get any easier.
I have heard that Germans might give you a hard time when trying to buy a sim card, however I was able to buy a sim card in Dresden with no issues (T-mobile).

Note that if you buy sim card from one country in the EU it is valid and can be used across europe as long as you have credit.
what an awesome trip Johnaudi!
When i travel on vacation i prefer to stay at one area, take my time to discover it, instead of hoping fast into several places.

A note for SIM cards in Europe. Many operators have a data only bundle. You get a SIM card with 4G but without a phone number.
I find this great as its cheaper than the one with a phone number, and its very easy to get and activate (no papers or whatsoever)
this is too crowded for new travellers .. better visit 2 or 3 countries at most
and looking at your time , this is too tiring to enjoy
duke-of-bytes wrotethis is too crowded for new travellers .. better visit 2 or 3 countries at most
and looking at your time , this is too tiring to enjoy
It really depends on the person I guess, we've had plenty of time to relax.
We even had time (and energy) to go workout at the gym around 6 times on the whole trip!
If you are on a real tight budget, here are some more tips:

Like I said previously, some destinations such as Cyprus or Romania are pretty cheap depending on the season. Go on skyscanner.net, and make a search, in "from" enter "Beirut" and in "to" enter "anywhere", then as a date select a whole month, and you can see the cheapest flights to anywhere in a particular month. It can get really cheap using this method.

Your biggest expense would be accommodation, normally - unless you are addicted to partying or something. These vary a lot from one city to another. For example, in Germany, rent in München (Munich) costs almost twice the rent in Leipzig or Halle.

Airbnb should give you an idea of prices and availability wherever you are going, and they also have an option for searching "shared rooms".

Likewise, you can stay at a hostel (look on hostels.com or other sites), where you could for example rent a bed in a 12-bed dorms for 10 euros a night or even less, breakfast included. Be aware that you will not get the best sleep, it is likely that you would be waken up in the middle of the night by a group of drunken teenagers coming back from a party, or that for example, your neighbor would have very strong smelly feet.

Warning: Be very careful with cheap hostels and hotels in London. London is very expensive. Everyone thinks that it is a developed city, and it is. However you might see some hotels that have prices that are too good to be true. That is because you will be sharing your bed with bedbugs and cockroaches. When it comes to London, most of the stereotypes are true, for the better and for the worse.

Whatever you pick, be sure to do a bit of research in advance, because sometimes cities have events, festivals, etc. that can cause almost all accommodation to be booked out or over-priced.

There are also free options although I never tried these. Specifically couchsurfing or workaway where you get a bed and possibly other facilities in exchange of putting in a few hours of work on some project.

If you are into this traveling style, you should pack lightly (big backpack preferred). Also note that laundromats can be expensive, depending on the area.

The upside is that you can meet many young travelers from all over the world, and this style of traveling also generally grants you more freedom to make last-minute changes.

For going from one city to another, you can get good deals on airplanes or trains if you buy in advance. However you can get really cheap deals on coach (eg: eurolines)(if you are willing to spend 8 hours sitting in a bus), or carpooling such as blablacar or mitfahren.de (for Germany).

That's it really. For food, the cheapest option is buying cheese and bread, etc. from the supermarket. Some hostels have shared fridges where you can store your food and hope that it does not disappear. You can occasionally find discounted food in supermarkets, or for example pizza-by-the-slice shops if you go just before they close, same things with markets (they will be trying to get rid of it - just ask).

And please share any other discoveries that you make.

This advice is mainly for Europe. If you got to Africa, for example, you can surely travel for cheap, but the specifics would be different.
Thanks @rolf! Added some sections to the thread.
You are welcome, @Johnaudi.
Thank you for starting and maintaining this.
Guys, I know this should be on a different thread but I am open for a group vacation in the next 2 months. Is anyone up for it?

About me:
I want to go on a vacation soon, I am not experienced and I prefer I go with friends/group but my attempts failed with the people I know.
I am open to any idea or any trip plan we can come up with (knowing that the coming winter will limit our options badly).

You may say I'm a dreamer but I am up for a group trip with my fellow geeks, if not, I would be grateful for suggestions for a solo traveler.

Yes to all the below
Johnaudi wrote
  • Are the people willing to take long flights (hence, patient)?
  • Does the people's mental and physical condition allows them to take long walks (20 minutes+)?
  • Are they able to wake up very early?
  • Are they able to sleep late?
  • Do they have a visa? And if not, is it easy for them to obtain?
Guitaret wroteGuys, I know this should be on a different thread but I am open for a group vacation in the next 2 months. Is anyone up for it?
Where to? Do you have any ideas?

As for suggestions, let me just say that if you buy your ticket now, you can fly all the way to London (through Cyprus) in late January or February, for $80. From there on, you can hop around Europe using Ryanair / Easyjet.
A lot of my group/friends are having financial issues lately, hence are not able to participate in any traveling any time soon. (Although 2 of them are still for for new year's/early jan)
We were planning to go back to Amsterdam via Transavia for new year's, but being just 2-3 people, accommodation becomes extremely expensive. Expanding our group would allow us to divide the daily payment furthermore, as well as allowing us to meet new people.
Yet due to the economic crisis lately, it becomes relatively hard for me to find someone willing to invest in a trip.
The upside of the crisis is that flights from Lebanon are dirt cheap as airlines try to fill the seats.

As a bonus you get to use your dollars at a fair rate and you can withdraw and come back with a wad of euros or even dollars (there are USD cash machines in London). Plus a well needed rest.

For new years eve, Berlin can get pretty crazy. Just a suggestion.

I hope that someone else will be interested by group travel however 3-4 is already a good size.
rolf wrote
Guitaret wroteGuys, I know this should be on a different thread but I am open for a group vacation in the next 2 months. Is anyone up for it?
Where to? Do you have any ideas?

As for suggestions, let me just say that if you buy your ticket now, you can fly all the way to London (through Cyprus) in late January or February, for $80. From there on, you can hop around Europe using Ryanair / Easyjet.
Europe, USA (preferable not an Arabic country or Turkey)
I am open to anything, I like visiting new places and try new food, any attraction but I am not a big fan of partying even though I don't mind doing it on social occasions.
Johnaudi wroteA lot of my group/friends are having financial issues lately, hence are not able to participate in any traveling any time soon. (Although 2 of them are still for for new year's/early jan)
We were planning to go back to Amsterdam via Transavia for new year's, but being just 2-3 people, accommodation becomes extremely expensive. Expanding our group would allow us to divide the daily payment furthermore, as well as allowing us to meet new people.
Yet due to the economic crisis lately, it becomes relatively hard for me to find someone willing to invest in a trip.
As long as it is before the end of the year because my annual leaves expire then.
We shall be in touch privately to get info.
Thank you a ton for this exhaustive write up, I'm planning a trip to Vienna on NYE and this came in the right time.
Is the ryanair cheap fares deal actually legit??? Did anyone try it? A friend told me that it couldnt be true, since beirut airport takes a fee for your ticket, and it just cant be.
So anyone actually bought a ticket and took ryanair flight?
NuclearVision wroteIs the ryanair cheap fares deal actually legit??? Did anyone try it? A friend told me that it couldnt be true, since beirut airport takes a fee for your ticket, and it just cant be.
So anyone actually bought a ticket and took ryanair flight?
Hello, I've been a personal user of two RyanAir experiences (Athens-Rome and Rome-Germany).
We were surprised by how cheap it was, upon purchase, they try many tricks to make you pay extra.
If you select a seat, you will pay extra, I suggest choosing random allocation.
They will require you to select a package, obviously go with the cheapest option. You can add a 10kg onboard luggage and upgrade to priority for 14$ (Onboard in luggage alone is 12.5$). Adding a 20kg checked in luggage costs 25$. No need to go for their 50$+ packages... You can get a 7-10kg bag/backpack with you at any purchase free of charge. In case you do not select any options, you can actually get the ticket for its listed price. (Which is the cheapest, e.g. 10 euros)

They require you to "check in" online 24 hours before the flight. In case you haven't checked in and get to the counter, each ticket will pay a 50 euros late fee. I managed to do that in the last 5 minutes of the allocated time given. (Which just takes the names and passport numbers of each traveler)

The plane was very silent and relaxing, in fact, the most silent and relaxing flight I've ever been on. Of course you wouldn't expect a meal nor entertainment, but do note that they do offer paid meals on board.

According to a recent law, the airport takes the fee only if your flight is above 1000km away. (needs to be checked)
Thanks for the input, i don't know why but im still skeptical about it (beirut flights), guess ill have to try it.
Yes airport take taxes but I guess they have an agreement with Ryanair / Easyjet (both fly to Lebanon) and BEY airport taxes are low anyway.
Yeah the prices are legit - hello bro, welcome to modern world. It's not called "low-cost" for nothing.
However usually to get such good prices you have to book 2 - 3 months in advance.
If all flights are so cheap, it means that airplanes are empty. I suspect that if airplanes stay empty, Ryanair and Easyjet will stop the flights at some point. So do not wait too long before trying.
You get nothing on the airplane for free, get your own food, water (from the duty free) or you will have to buy then onboard which is expensive.
For Lebanese, the biggest obstacle will be the visa.