Libya: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Libya feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 36 written places.
Deeply hospitable and tea-fuelled; guests are honoured and conversation unspools slowly over small glasses.
✓ Considered polite
- Accept the small glasses of sweet tea - rounds keep coming and the third often arrives with peanuts
- Dress modestly everywhere - long trousers and covered shoulders for everyone, and a headscarf for women at mosques
- Use your right hand for greeting, eating and passing anything
- Bring sweets or pastries if invited to a home
✗ Better avoided
- Look for alcohol - Libya is entirely dry
- Photograph people, especially women, without clear permission
- Show public displays of affection
- Eat, drink or smoke in public during Ramadan daylight hours
Worth knowing
- It is a cash economy - dinars only, and cards barely exist outside a few hotels
- The weekend is Friday and Saturday, and Friday morning is near-silent until after prayers
- Tipping is modest - round up in cafes and tip guides and drivers a few dinars
- Cafes pour tea and coffee late into the night - evening socialising replaces bar culture
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.