BEIRUT LEBANON: $20 Challenge (in 2025) 🇱🇧

BEIRUT LEBANON: $20 Challenge (in 2025) 🇱🇧

First country I’ve been to where you could pay in two currencies. They gave me 
$10 US and the rest in pounds. Quality of the chicken here is fantastic. By the way, guys, G Wagons are like Honda Civics 
over here. You’re the boss. That’s true. What’s up, everybody? Welcome to beautiful, sunny 
Beirut, Lebanon. Today, we’re going to do a little challenge. We’re going to see what we 
could get with $20 US. I’ll tell you the truth, I’ve seen many people do this challenge with like 
$5 and $10. I’m not sure how dated those are, but for example, $5 today will get you a 
10-minute taxi ride within the city. Obviously, because of the economic situation and all 
the things it’s been through in recent years, prices have gone up a lot. So, $20 really 
won’t get you that far. But honestly, in comparison to many countries, still even though 
the economic situation isn’t that great here and prices have increased, you’ll still be shocked 
at how much more you could get in comparison to, for example, Canada or USA and many parts of 
Europe. So right now 1 US is approximately 89,000 Lebanese pounds. 89,000 to 90,000 I 
would say. I’ll put it in the screen for you guys. Once upon a time that 890,000 would 
have been close to $100 US. Lebanon is the first country I’ve been to where you could 
pay in two currencies. So, every shop owner takes both US currency and Lebanese currency. 
And what’s also interesting is, for example, if you pay in US dollars, sometimes they’ll mix 
the currencies and what they give back to you. So, for example, if your change is $15, they’ll 
give you $10 in US currency and $5 on whatever the conversion is to Lebanese currency. So, it’s 
11:00 a.m. right now. Let’s start off with some breakfast. We’re here at Takush Bakery. So, look, 
I gave him $20. The minutiae was 200,000 Lebanese pounds. They gave me $10 US and the rest in 
pounds. Thank you. When you do have this, prepare yourself. It’s really hot in the beginning 
because that oven is literally on fire. So this is what it looks like inside. That’s zat, which 
is very famous in Lebanon and this part of the world. And then I got cocktail. So it’s mixed 
with cheese. So it’s half zodat, half cheese. In my opinion, this is the best breakfast 
you could get. You get it on the go. It tastes amazing. You get it on the go. You don’t 
have to sit down anywhere. Especially if you’re in a rush or if you’re only here for a few 
days. You don’t want to waste time sitting down all day. All right. Now that we’ve 
secured our breakfast, that’s done with, it’s time to have our morning coffee. One thing 
you’ll notice here in Lebanon, every other block, you’ll see these coffee machines right over here. 
Yeah. So, you’ll see them on the sidewalk. Every other block, this is where most people get their 
coffee from in Beirut. Can I get one coffee? How much is it? 50,000. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. 
Thank you. 50,000 Lebanese pounds. They make it like an espresso, but they add sugar. Some people add milk. 
Over here, they like a lot of sugar in it. Bye-bye. And here it is. Nice espresso. Give it 
a second to cool down. Hold on. Hold on. One, two, and three. That’s enough time. Oh, still hot. 
Ah, but that’ll wake you up. It’s a strong coffee. 50,000 Lebanese pounds. You can’t go 
wrong. Wait, 50,000? I gave him 100. Oh, I forgot to get my change. Ah, forget about it. 
It’s only 50,000. We’ll leave it. So now, guys, it’s not minus 50,000. It’s minus 100,000 
Lebanese pounds. I see some souvenirs over here. I just don’t know how much they cost 
as well. Okay. Do you speak English? English? English? No. No. How much dollar? Like 
these ones? How much? Uh uh $1 and half. $1 and half. Any single one? Yeah. Oh, very 
nice. Okay, you have more inside. Yeah. I’m looking for souvenirs. Something small. 
This I love Lebanon. Very nice. The cedar tree, which doesn’t get more Lebanese than this. 
Ja Lebnon. I have no idea what that is. $3. Yes. Can I give you Lebanese pounds? 
How many Lebanese pounds would that be? Lebanese 3,000. Uh 300,000. 300,000. 
Right. Thank you. Thank you so much, my friend. Do you have a small bag? Yeah, 
small bag. Thank you. What was your name? Shu. Mahm. Mahmood. My grandfather’s name was Mahmud. 
You and my Baba. Baba Mahm. Uh-huh. Me. Baba. Baba. It’s irrani. Irani. Yeah. Iranian. 
Yes. Souvenirs secured. 300,000 Lebanese pounds. What kind of Audi is this? I have never 
seen that before. That is so cool. It almost reminds me of the electric. Beautiful. What? 
Hey. Hey, back off. Back. Hey, you live when these cats need to chill. Oh, it’s the little 
one that’s giving him a hard time. Oh god. Fast forward 1 hour. It’s time to eat some food 
at the best schwarma shop in all of Lebanon. Bar. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I find the 
chicken schwarma in Lebanon to be much better than the beef. No matter where I go, the 
quality of the chicken here is fantastic. Those guys working at that restaurant are 
the coolest guys. Look, he even topped off my uh sandwich with a piece of chicken 
on top and he put some garlic over it, too. Telling you right now, best sha in Beirut. Unbelievable. So juicy. Now, rather than paying $5 to 
go to our next destination, we’re going to walk off to 
Sharma for about 30 minutes. The only downside to saving $5 on a taxi ride 
within Beirut during the day it gets really hot. So right now it’s the beginning of September. It’s 
33° right now. For example, this 30 minute walk that I’m doing right now in a taxi would have been 
about 7 minutes. Finally, I found the garbage. Hi. How much my friend? 25. 25. Okay. Here 
is 50. 25. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Chukan. Bye. Bye. Minus 25 Lebanese pounds. 
Oh, yeah. I was just taking some B-roll of this church in the street over here. I 
almost tripped over whatever this is. Not sure what happened there. By the way, guys, it 
feels like 90% of the traffic lights don’t work in Lebanon. So, you just got to go. Everyone’s going 
a different direction. It’s not for beginners. Next up, we are in Zetuna Bay, which is a marina 
right here in the middle of downtown Beirut. It’s such a beautiful place. All these nice yachts 
over here, bunch of restaurants with patios, and because it’s so hot, all their patios have 
air conditioning. So, they have these massive air conditioning units along every single row, 
so nobody really feels how hot it is. Look, you see them? Like, for example, right over 
here, right over here, and right over here, and keep everybody nice and cool in this heat. 
So, you could come for a stroll over here. You could grab a bite over here. Unfortunately, today 
it’s not in my budget. They have both foreign and local Lebanese brands here. So, you’ll find, for 
example, Starbucks, and then you’ll find Lebanese coffee shops, Lebanese restaurants. I see a pink 
berry here, which is foreign. So, they have both. You could find both foreign and locally owned 
restaurants. In the evening once it cools down it gets really busy here and I think that’s the 
best time to come sunset to evening. You can also enjoy the view of these beautiful boats if you 
guys are interested in this stuff. This one’s the coolest one here in my opinion. The best part 
of all this, it’s free to visit here. That is actually not a bad deal. $15 per person for this 
breakfast. Considering the location you’re in, that’s a great deal. But that would use up most 
of our budget for the day. So we’re going to skip that. Now we’ve come upstairs. So that’s Dayuna 
Bay. We’re going to head over to the modern side of downtown Beirut. As you can see, there’s 
all these beautiful skyscrapers and high-end buildings over here. The building of Four Seasons 
right over there. It’s still under construction. Looks like it’s almost done, which is a great 
sign. It means Lebanon’s economy is coming back. We are going to cut through all this traffic over 
here and jump on the other side of this building. By the way, guys, G Wagons are like Honda Civics 
over here, especially in this part of Beirut. You see them everywhere. thing you notice about 
Lebanon, you’ll find churches and mosques everywhere. And sometimes they’re even touching 
each other. That’s how close they are. Very diverse place. Especially here in Beirut, every 
street is different. Every little neighborhood is different. Like I might go on a 5-minute walk, 
I might become completely Muslim. I might go on a 5-minute walk again. You’ll randomly see three 
different types of churches. One’s evangelical, one’s Catholic, one’s Orthodox. It’s a very 
diverse city. It’s beautiful. And in this area, this is where you get all the rich Lebanese 
people, especially during the day. They’re all hanging out here. All the rich housewives 
always at a place called Patchi eating their small little chocolates in the patio drinking 
some coffee. All the younger cool people, they’re always at Am Sharif, which is 
right across the road. And you hear a lot more French in this area mixed 
with Arabic and some English. Like it’s not uncommon to hear bonjour kamasa. But 
today, this place is also out of our budget. One sandwich and a bottle of water at for 
example M Sharif will run you close to $15 US. Over here is Patchy with the white umbrellas 
and right across the road over there is M Sharif. This is a very beautiful brand new 
area of Beirut and there’s still a lot of construction going up. New buildings going up left 
and right. Right next to the area we’re just in, there’s a new outdoor indoor mall called 
Souk Beirut I believe it’s called. It just completed this summer. It just opened up and 
it’s a really nice place to just walk around and enjoy all the views. Maybe do some shopping 
if you’re looking for some clothes while you’re here. And the best part about it, it’s free 
to walk around here if you’re on a budget with $20. Not a bad place to walk around. Right over 
there at the entrance, you’ll see a massive I love Beirut sign. I feel like every city has one 
now, so why not go there and take a picture? And obviously, all this is free. churches, 
mosques. You could go into any of them. I still haven’t seen this church open. I even 
came here I came here Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t even open. The mosque has always 
been open. I’ve been in here twice already to take pictures. It’s so beautiful inside. 
As you can see, it’s a really busy area here, too. You can also see the famous egg. 
It was supposed to be a movie theater, but because of the situation in Lebanon back 
in the 70s and 80s, it was never completed. Yes, it is open. And as you could see, people 
are walking in right now. Completely free to go into. You don’t have to be a Muslim to go 
inside. You could be Christian. You could be whatever you want. Go inside as long as you’re 
dressed appropriately. And even if you’re not, oh well, the prayer just started. 
Even if you’re not dressed right, they’ll give you a robe to put on 
and you could walk in. That’s the beauty of Lebanon. Mosque, church, Roman 
ruins, church, all next to each other. [Music] Obviously, I got hungry again. So, time for 
some falafel. I think it’ll be a decent price because falafel usually isn’t that 
expensive here. I’m at this place. Falafel Abu Alikaram. Hi, my friend Matt. 
Haba wah falafel sandwich. Sandwich. Yeah. Shakran. Some tomatoes, turnipss, pickles. Wow. How much, 
my friend? $2. $2. Okay. This is Okay. 200. Yeah. Now I’m going to eat it. Yeah. Thank you. 200 
Lebanese pounds for a falafel sandwich. That’s a great deal, guys. Let’s go. First bite. I got 
no falaf on the first bite. The second bite, I’ll get some. All right, second bite. Mhm. Very 
delicious. And if you’re not a fan of eating meat for every meal or you’re vegetarian, Lebanon has 
tons of options for you that don’t have meat in it. It has honestly one of the best cuisines 
in the world. For me, it’s my favorite. It’s number one. Nothing could beat it. These purple 
turnups, I swear I could eat them all day. Got some sparkling water from the grocery store. 
126. Hello. How many Lebanese pounds right now? Sorry. 115. I got cut off there by 115,000. 
I have 510,000 Lebanese pounds left. Let’s go grab some ice cream at a place called Booza. 
Apparently, they have some really cool Lebanese flavors. Hopefully 500 Lebanese pounds is enough. 
And there it is right over there. Booza Society. Nobody is here. Hello. You’re closed. 
Are you open or closed? I’m open. Oh, take your time. Take your time. Don’t worry. Oh, 
yeah. Here. See, they have a bunch of Lebanese flavors. Halawa, Arabic coffee, a smiley 
zistachio sounds good to me. Do they have a special booza? I have no idea what that says. They 
put numbers in their words sometimes and I have no idea what it says. Sorry for bothering you. No, 
no. I was removing ice cream from the machine. Oh, you make it here? Yes. Wow, that’s amazing. 
[Music] Wow. Oh, that’s amazing. It’s my first time having this kind of ice cream. What’s the 
most popular Lebanese one? Sa. That’s a popular flavor. Can I have it, please? Oh, sure. Let 
me try it first. Right. And then followed by the only followed by this one. Salah. Sahab and 
mis. That’s salah is coffee, right? No. Sahab is salab. Salab. Salab. It’s coming from the roots of 
an orchid. It’s a plant-based. What? Which one do you like better? Zatar or sahab? No. Personally, I 
always have sahab. Really? I’ll have the one that you always have. I trust your flavors. You want to 
eat the same way I eat? Yes, I trust you. You’re the boss. That’s true. You don’t have energy. No. 
Perfect. Not that I know of. It’s a mix because in that biscuit, this is only biscuit I can mix 
flavor in it. Okay. The other one is per scoop. Okay. Okay. Okay. This is sad. So I start with 
the ashta or cold sahab and whiskey here. Oh, okay. You mix it. Then you have osmalier. 
Osmali is a Lebanese dessert. Okay. That I transform into an ice cream. Okay. Everything 
is made in house. This is halawa or halva. Wow. You mix everything. Uh I make something the 
way I eat it. Okay. This is coffee. Wow. I hope you don’t have problem. No, no, no. I’m okay. an 
almond prin. It’s a caramelized almond. Wow. Then you have a little bit of pistachio. I usually get 
pistachio when I have ice cream. Really? Usually. Yeah. So, I’m going to do something. And I finish 
it with chocolate hazelnut. Wow. And everything you have, it’s made from raw material. I don’t use 
anything coming from the industry of ice cream. The pistachio is roasted and grilled in house. I 
put it on top because you like pistachio. Yeah, it’s my favorite. So, you can refer the quality 
of my ice cream to the pistachio, please. Thank you so much. Wow, that looks great. Have it with 
a picture. I already showed Ba Society outside. Everyone’s going to know. Ba Society Hamra. Yes. 
Other things. Perfect. And how much do I owe you for this, sir? before. Please eat it first. Eat 
the taste of pistachio. Okay, I’ll taste it first. It’s the real deal. And you actually taste the 
pistachios in the ice cream. Yes. That’s what I like. It’s You actually feel and taste the 
pistachios. It’s very good. Very fresh. So, we don’t call it ice cream. We don’t call it gelato. 
We call it buzza. Ba. Buzza is the Arabic word for the ice cream. Really? Ice cream is an American 
way of doing it. I see. Gelato is an Italian way to do it. Booza, it’s another way to do ice 
cream where the flavor are more concentrate, less overrun, which is air in the ice cream. Wow. 
Okay. And then voila. This is the result. You’re amazing. Honestly, very nice meeting you. Thank 
you. Your name? Jean. Jean. My name is Kurush. Kurush. Yes. You’re from Turkey? No. Iran. Iran. 
Yeah. Welcome. Thank you. I’m I’m from Canada, but originally Iranian. Funny because I was working on 
doing the Iranian ice cream made with the pistol of the saffron. But unfortunately, saffron is so 
expensive. Man, next time I’m in Lebanon, I have it on video. Mark my words. I’m going to bring 
you a bag full of zaffron. Uh, it is so expensive that I cannot do it because to sell it will be 
too expensive because saffron is very expensive. When I come back, I’ll bring you some. Maybe you 
can make a special batch for your customers. I will make I I have so much saffron at home. We 
have so much. Oh, yeah. We have so much. That’s lovely. Yeah. So, I look forward Iranians love 
zaffron in their ice cream and rose water. They love rose water. This one. No, no, don’t worry 
about it. Don’t worry about it. It’s my pleasure. I’m okay. My pleasure. You’re amazing. Sorry. 
It’s okay. I I trust your hands. They are clean because I will always in the ice. I trust your 
hands. Thank you so much. Just this. Yes. Very good rose water taste. So, you make all of this 
yourself? Yes. These are my personal recipes. Oh, the rose water gets stronger, too, after you eat 
it. Yes. This is this is the way that the artisal ice cream should be the commercial ice cream. It 
hits you the flavors at the beginning and after the more you eat you feel nothing. The artisal way 
of doing ice cream because we use raw material, nice raw material and very expensive roast 
material because the pistachio you felt it. It’s not the same pistachio that you ate. Even the rose 
water it got stronger as I ate it. Exactly. So the when the ice cream start to heat inside your 
mouth, the flavors are released. Exactly. That’s the things. And then when you swallow it, you have 
all the flavor that comes with and not just stay in the mouth. When it just comes inside and then 
after you have nothing, you just swallow something cold. Here you swallow everything. It’s truly 
amazing. Thank you so much. This is why I want to do something like that. It’s truly amazing. 
Okay. Thank you so much. You’re most welcome. How much do I owe you? So, this one is going to 
be 600, please. Okay, no problem. Here’s one, two, three, four, five. Here’s five. I’ll give you 
another 100 right now. Yeah, no problem. Your name is Kuros. Kuros? Yes. With an R. Yes. I’m named 
after an old Iranian king. In English, his name is known as Cyrus. Ah, Cyrus. Cyrus the Great. Cyrus 
the Great. Kurush, it’s a pleasure. Very nice meeting you. This is amazing. I’m going to enjoy 
this while I go walk around this beautiful city. You can walk around and you can stay here. We are 
open every day. 10 to 9:30 like Sunday. Thank you, Sean Kurush. It’s a pleasure. Thank you. Good to 
see you. Byebye. Enjoy your good night. Bye. That was the best experience I’ve ever had while buying 
ice cream. Man, that ice cream was so good. Every layer was a different flavor cuz of the way he 
packed it in. One of the best ice creams I’ve ever had in my life. We did go over our spend limit and 
we went over by 90,000 Lebanese pounds. Honestly, overall, $20 well spent. Let me know 
what $20 could get you in your country. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel. 
It costs you nothing and it helps me out a lot. I’ll see you guys in the next one. 
Goodbye from beautiful Bay Beirut, Lebanon.

Join me as I explore Beirut, Lebanon with just $20 USD and see how far your money can really go in this vibrant Middle Eastern city. From grabbing a delicious shawarma, to trying traditional booza (Lebanese ice cream), to picking up some souvenirs, Beirut surprised me with its mix of affordability, culture, and flavour.

Whether you’re planning a trip to Lebanon or just curious about daily prices in Beirut, this video gives you a real look at street food costs, local treats, and what $20 can buy in 2025. 🇱🇧

#beirut #lebanon