How to Travel from Israel to Lebanon (and Vice Versa)

Israel, Palestine and Lebanon are popular countries to travel in the Middle East, and they’re all conveniently located beside each other; HOWEVER, if you plan on traveling to these countries, you need to know that even though they’re all neighbours, they DO NOT get along. What this means is that you have to be informed about their policies and be very strategic about how to go about getting from one to the other. For example, if Lebanese customs finds out that you were in Israel or Palestine, you will be banned from Lebanon (but, luckily, Israel doesn’t stamp passports anymore).

I traveled to Israel, the West Bank in Palestine and Jordan in 2015, and in 2019 I went back to Israel and Palestine, and then Lebanon. I chose to travel from Israel to Lebanon because it seemed like it would be the easier and smoother option.

So in which order should you visit- Israel then Lebanon? Or Lebanon then Israel? Here is everything you need to know:

TRAVEL FROM LEBANON TO ISRAEL

Firstly, everyone who travels to Israel gets interrogated about why they’re visiting Israel and what their intentions are.

If you have passport stamps from any Arab or other Islamic countries (like Malaysia or Indonesia), you will be interrogated further.

If you have passport stamps from Arab/Islamic countries like Lebanon or Iran (ie. countries who do not recognize Israel and deny entry to Israelis), you will be interrogated more heavily and potentially detained.

My Portuguese friend visited Israel after Lebanon and Iran and was detained for 5 hours upon arrival in Israel.

Israel’s rules are not definitive like they are in Lebanon, but it is still possible to get banned from Israel (and therefore Palestine also). I have an American friend who got banned from Israel for 10 years because he was honest and said he was going to work and study at Birzeit University in Ramallah, in the West Bank. He had been to the West Bank a few times before and had always been honest about his plans with Israeli customs, but apparently his luck ran out.

Israeli security may interrogate you when you leave Israel also because security is just as tight upon departure.

For more information on how to travel to the West Bank in Palestine and what to expect, see here.

TRAVEL FROM ISRAEL TO LEBANON

If you travel to Lebanon after Israel and if Lebanon finds out you were in Israel, you will be denied entry into Lebanon. Luckily, this is easily avoidable because Israel does NOT stamp your passport (unless you need a visa to work or study in Israel, in which case you’ll never go to Lebanon with that passport) and Lebanese customs ask very few questions, if any at all, so it’s not as scary as it sounds. However…

If you’ve traveled to Jordan to/from Israel by land, Lebanese customs will know you were in Israel from your Jordan stamp. I traveled to Israel, Palestine and Jordan in 2015, so I had to wait until I got a new passport in order to visit Lebanon because I had these Jordan stamps in my old passport.

However, I met a German girl who had the same Jordan stamp in her passport and the Lebanese customs lady acknowledged it, but chose to ignore it. So it really depends on who you get at Lebanese customs and how they feel that day, but it’s not worth the risk because that was definitely the exception, not the rule. My Lebanese customs man didn’t say a word to me; he just looked through all the pages in my passport, stamped it, scowled at me and shooed me away. And I couldn’t have been happier.

NEED TO KNOW

You must travel to a neutral place in between Lebanon and Israel because even though they are neighbouring countries, there are no buses or direct flights between the two. Cyprus is a popular buffer at only a 1 hour flight from Tel Aviv (to Larnaca) and a 45 minute flight from Beirut (also to Larnaca). I have a friend who only had a short layover in Cyprus in between Tel Aviv and Beirut and Israeli customs asked about his plans and accommodation in Cyprus. However, I stayed in Cyprus for 2 days, but Israeli customs didn’t ask me anything about my plans for Cyprus, so it depends on who you get and what kind of mood they’re in that day. But it’s a good idea to be prepared with a hostel/hotel name in Cyprus just in case.

You can also go to Jordan in between Israel and Lebanon, but NOT by land (see above).

WHAT’S THE ISSUE BETWEEN LEBANON AND PALESTINE?

I asked this question- Isn’t Lebanon cool with Palestine? They’re Arab and predominantly muslim also, and usually these nations stick together. I asked a few locals in Lebanon for clarification- The answer is “not necessarily”, but it also depends on who you ask.

The Palestinian refugees are not treated well in Lebanon; they are not given passports or the right to work in Lebanon because the government doesn’t want them to take away jobs from the Lebanese. So what are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians supposed to do to survive in a country where they can’t work and also can’t afford to leave? Live in poverty and sometimes resort to crime. Realistically, what is the other option?

In addition, when the Palestinian refugees came to Lebanon, the ratio of Muslims to Christians increased greatly, and there was, and still are, major tensions between these two religious groups. Consequently, I was told that some Lebanese Christians blame the Palestinians for the civil war in Lebanon from 1975-1990. The Palestinians just can’t catch a break.

CONCLUSION

You can visit Israel and Lebanon in whichever order you prefer, but traveling to Israel first will go much more smoothly. This way you avoid further interrogation and potential detainment from Israeli customs by not having a Lebanese stamp in your passport.