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Syria | Lebanon | Jordan |Combined tours | Contact us | Home
Syria has played an important role in the history of mankind, often being to as the “Cradle of Civilisation”. Many of the greatest achievements of ancient times started in the fertile land of Syria and later spread to encompass the whole world. Stunning Crusader Castles such as Crac Des Chevaliers or the beautiful Greco-Roman city of Palmyra complement the historical cities of Damascus and Aleppo.
Please note the information below is intended as a guide only - please study this carefully. Entry and health requirements, exchange and currency information are subject to change often without notice. Please check with the appropriate authorities prior to travel to obtain the latest information.
All passport holders require a visa to enter into Syria. Please ensure that your passport is valid for at least six months beyond your intended stay.
Conditions: Not to have on passport an Israeli visa or stamps of Egyptian / Jordanian borders posts with Israel.
There are no compulsory vaccinations for travellers visiting Syria but there are several vaccinations that are certainly recommended. Recommended vaccinations include: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis A & B, Typhoid, Cholera, Rabies, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
The currency is the Syrian pound (S,) known locally at the lira. There are 100 piastres to a pound but it is unlikely you will ever need to know this, as few transactions involve the use of coins at all. Indeed only the ten pound coin is still around and the main purpose for keeping it alive seems to be for use in public telephones. Notes are S£5, S£10, S£25, S£,50, S£100, S£500 and S£1000.
US$1 = S£52
The banking system in Syria is entirely state owned and the majority of the Commercial Banks of Syria will change cash and travellers cheques in most major currencies. There are also a small number of officially sanctioned private exchange offices. These change cash and sometimes travellers cheques, at official bank rates but generally do not charge commission.
In general, wages are very low and tipping is therefore a way of life. We would suggest a tip for every service performed satisfactorily eg 10% in restaurants. Your local guides and bus drivers work very hard to ensure that you enjoy your stay - please reward them accordingly. Your local representative or tour guide will be able to provide you with the appropriate information regarding gratuitous.
You will find the café Internet in each place you go .
Baggage allowances all depend on the airline but are generally as follow:
First Class 40kg
Business Class 30kg
Economy Class 20kg
Temperatures range widely from blistering summer peaks to snow-laden winter troughs. During summer, daily highs average around 35ºC on the coast and inland in the fertile hinterland where most of the population lives. However, get out east into the desert and they rise to an average 40ºC and highs of 46ºC are not uncommon. In winter an average daily temperature in Damascus might be 10ºC, although it can get colder and snow is not uncommon.
In early summer and autumn, natural fibre clothing is most comfortable. In summer, only pure cotton clothing is recommended. From December through March it can get quite cool, so a jacket, warm pullover and scarf may be required. A sunhat and sunscreen are recommended for the whole country throughout the year.
For non Syrian nationals there is a local tax of SYP200 to be paid for leaving Damascus Airport.
Syria is an extremely safe country in which to travel. You can walk around at any time of the day or night without any problem, although the area around the bars in central Aleppo and the quasi red-light zone in Damascus should be treated with a little caution. This aside, most Syrians are very friendly and hospitable and if someone invites you to their village or home you should not hesitate about taking them up on it.
The current in Syria is 220 volts, 50 AC. Sockets are the two pronged variety.
Syria is full of great photo opportunities. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times as during the rest of the day sunlight can be too bright and the sky too hazy, resulting in washed-out photos.
In Damascus and Aleppo there is a good choice of film available, sold at specialist photo shops that seem to take pretty good care of their stock. Film generally costs as much as, if not more, than it does in the west.
Photography in military zones such as "strategic areas" like bridges and public buildings are forbidden. Taking pictures of anything that suggests any degree of squalor, even the hectic activity of the marketplace, can offend some people's sense of pride. Sensitivity about the negative aspects of their country leads some Syrians to become quite hostile about snappers.
While Syria does not have much in the way of high street shopping, it more than compensates with its souqs. Every town and village has a small souq of some sort, although by far the best are in Aleppo and Damascus. Prices are quite cheap by western standards, although you will have to be prepared to bargain hard.
Particularly good value are: metalwork, copper and brassware, woodwork, carpets, rugs & kilims, musical instruments, leatherware, silk, brocades & textiles, gold, silver and jewellery.
Arabic is Syria's official language. Though French is also spoken - and English is rapidly gaining ground - any effort to communicate with the locals in their own language will be well rewarded. No matter how far off the mark your pronunciation or grammar might be, you will often get the response "Ah, you speak Arabic very well!"
Monuments of Syria: An Historical Guide, Ross Burns
Syria - An Historical and Architectural Guide, Warwick Ball
The Gates of Damascus, Lieve Joris
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, Amin Maalouf
Spring (March to May) is the best time to visit as temperatures are mild and the winter rains have cleared the haze that obscures views for much of the year. Autumn (September to November) would be the next best choice.
While the coastal regions and the cities are bearable, travel in regions like the north-east, the desert, and visits to the large exposed sites like Palmyra, Apamea and Bosra, can become real endurance tests.
Conversely, winter can be downright unpleasant on the coast and in the mountains with heavy rain and plummeting temperatures. In fact, from November to February be prepared for some nasty weather all over the country.
Most of Syria's religious and state holidays last only one or two days and should not seriously disrupt any travel plans. The exception is Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. During daylight hours many restaurants are closed, while bars cease business completely for the duration .
Damascus :
Before becoming the capital of the Arab World during the Umayyad period , Damascus had played a prominent part in the ancient history of the near east . Coming into existence in a fertile oasis and developed through the labors of its first inhabitants who cultivated the soil and made the site habitable , Damascus has behind it a prodigious past which has made it one of the oldest cities in the world .
Famous for its Quarters of Ancient Damascus , Museums , Markets , the Historical and Archaeological Sites .
Aleppo :
It is a city which readily leads you back into the past , a sort of time continuum in which flashes of the past , rather than dissipating with time , accumulate in the present .
It is still an animated Arab Bazaar city where the traditions of the Arab middle ages do not seem all that remote .
Less evident is the period of Byzantine , Roman or Greek occupation , though their stamp is there in the present street layout and the basic shape of the walled city and citadel .
Amrit :
A strange site whose provenance is still contested ; a neo- Phoenician religious center which is heavily influenced in its architectural style by the Achaemenid Persians . It is the only extent site in Syria whose remains , though fragmentary , convey this mixture of civilizations reflecting the ability of the Phoenicians to absorb and syncretise outside influences .Apamea :
From Apamea , nestled on the East side of the Orontes Plain before the green starts to fade towards the desert to the east , you look out on a stunning sight , over the rich farmlands reclaimed from swamp towards the hazy skein of the Jebel Ansariye to the west .
Palmyra :
Palmyra is one of the great sites of the ancient world . The remains of this oasis city , midway between the Mediterranean seaboard and the thin cultivated zone of the Euphrates , seem suspended in time in this harsh desert environment . An elusive and highly romanticized goal of European travelers over the centuries , even today a visit to Palmyra is an experience which alone makes the trip to Syria worthwhile .
Bosra :
After Palmyra , Bosra is the most important site of the roman period in Syria , primarily because of the magnificent and exceptionally intact Roman Theatre ( Early 2C AD ) . The somber and unyielding basalt of this volcanic region may dull for many the impact of the Roman remains but if you visit on a sunny day , especially in winter , the effect can be memorable .
Dura Europos :
When the first wall paintings at Dura were uncovered by accident by a British expeditionary force in April 1290 , few could have expected that the incident was about to provide a new perspective on early Christian and Judaic art . For Dura’s remains would not only illustrate the part it played in the drawn-out struggle between cultural , political and military influences of the east and the west but shed an unexpected new light on early representational art of the Christian and Jewish traditions . This part of the Syrian desert is thus of major historical and artistic interest .
Ebla :
This may be one of the most important Bronze Age sites discovered since the Second World War but it yields few of its secrets to the naked eye . Some impression can be gained , during an hour’s walk around the site , of the scale of the ancient city and the siting of its main defensive works , including the citadel area . The impact of Ebla , however , is more to be judged in the material slowly emerging from painstaking research
Hama :
In the past , Hama enjoyed a reputation as one of the more charming of the Syrian towns , more successful than most in making of its environment a pleasant and picturesque setting through the use of the Orontes River as the city’s lungs and cooling device .
Homs :
Homs is strategically placed on the natural access route from the Syrian desert to the coast by the break in the coastal mountain chains known as the Homs Gap . Its siting is also determined by the Orontes River which flows through the city . Today it is the key point in the Syrian Road and rail networks and the base for several major industries .
Krak Des Chevaliers :
As the Parthenon is to Greek temples and Charters to Gothic cathedrals , so is the Krak Des Chevaliers to Medieval castles , the supreme example , one of the great buildings of all times .
Many superlatives have been spent on this building but few do it full justice . The difficulty of finding the apt description is that , no matter how many times you visit the great fortress , it never presents the same face . In tempests or the winter gales that seem to want to rend it apart , it is glowering and forbidding ; on a springy day , its lovely warm stone hues blend with the wildflowers and the gentle light ; in the heat of summer it broods , indifferent to the sun-blasted bare fields .
Lattakia :
Like most other sites of the Levantine coast , Lattakia has played its role in entertaining all of Syria’s conquerors . Little of that wanton quality remains but there is a residual trace of Mediterranean and Levantine air in the older quarter , conveying a whiff of the Alexandria-or Beirut-that-might-have-been when the sea breeze sweeps through it in the late afternoon .
Maalula :
Though rich in historical and religious associations , Maalula preserves only a few remains of its past . It is , however , a village of some charm , its tempered houses piled up the lower slopes of an escarpment rising sheer above the village .There is an uncompromising beauty to the setting and the gorge that cuts into the escarpment at the back .
Ugarit :
Ugarit is one of the few Bronze Age sites in the Middle East which offers identifiable remains to the casual visitor and not simply to the specialist scholar or those who have the time to familiarize themselves with the wealth of published information extracted from the site . Unlike other centers of the period , the palace and religious buildings were built in stone .
Seidnaya :
Seidnaya is more notable as the place of religious pilgrimage than for any outstanding remains . In fact , few reminders of its origins can be distilled from centuries of legends .
The Chapel and Convent is perched on an outcrop of rock , looking rather like a castle from some angles .
Qalaat Saladin :
While its defenses are less intact than the unstudied symmetry of the Krak Des Chevaliers and it is less sombre and brooding in its aspect than Marqab , this is an example of Crusader castle - building at its most romantic. Much of this is due to the site . a ridge between two spectacular ravines leading down from the commanding reaches of the Jebel Ansariye . The fall of the land takes the eye down to the coastal plain and beyond it the Mediterranean sparkling in the distance .
Mari :
Mari is a site of central importance . Discovered in 1933 , the excavation of this rare example of a Mesopotamian palace found with its accoutrements and archives virtually intact has been one of the keys to the unraveling of the history of Syria / Mesopotamia region during the early millennia of recorded history .
Rasafeh :
It is located south of the Euphrates and north of the Syrian semi - desert , 160 Km south east of Aleppo . Rasafeh palace was originally a church , built to commemorate a Roman officer .
|
DAY |
SYRIA 3 DAYS - 2 NIGHTS |
|
DAY 1 |
DAMASCUS / M.& ASSIST AT AIRPORT TRANSFER TO HOTEL . |
|
DAY 2 |
DAMASCUS / F.D OLD CITY : OMAYAD MOSQUE / SALADIN TOMB /ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST / AZEM FOLKLORIC MUSEUM / ST. ANNINS CHAPEL /ST. PAULS WINDOW / HAMEDYAH BAZAR / NATIONAL MUSEUM . DAMASCUS HOTEL . |
|
DAY 3 |
DAMASCUS / TRANSFER TO AIRPORT . |
|
DAY |
SYRIA 4 DAYS - 3 NIGHTS |
|
DAY 1 |
AMMAN / BOSRA / CHAHBA / DAMASCUS HOTEL BY JORDANIAN BUS |
|
DAY 2 |
DAMASCUS / SYDNAYA / MAALULA / CRAC DES CHEVALIERS / PALMYRA HOTEL |
|
DAY 3 |
PALMYRA / CITY TOUR / P .M . TRANSFER TO DAMASCUS HOTEL |
|
DAY 4 |
DAMASCUS / OLD CITY TOUR / DARAA / AMMAN HOTEL BY SYRIAN BUS |
|
DAY |
SYRIA 8 DAYS - 7 NIGHTS |
|
DAY 1 |
DAMASCUS / M . & ASSIST AT AIRPORT / TRANSFER TO HOTEL . |
|
DAY 2 |
DAMASCUS / OLD CITY TOUR & MUSEUM / DAMASCUS HOTEL . |
|
DAY 3 |
DAMASCUS / MAALULA / HOMS / CRAC DES CHIVALERS / TARTUS / LATTAKIA HOTEL . |
|
DAY 4 |
LATTAKIA / UGARET / ST. SIMEON / ALEPPO HOTEL . |
|
DAY 5 |
ALEPPO / F.D. OLD CITY TOUR : CITADEL + MOSQUE + MUSEUM + BAZAR / ALEPPO HOTEL . |
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DAY 6 |
ALEPPO / EBLA / HAMA / APAMEA / PALMYRA HOTEL . |
|
DAY 7 |
PALMYRA / FD . TOUR : MUSEUM + TEMPLE OF BEL + THE TOMBS + THE COLONADED STREET + THE ASSOCIATED PUBLIC BUILOINGS / P.M . TRANSFER TO DAMASCUS HOTEL |
|
DAY 8 |
DAMASCUS / BOSRA / JARASH / AMAN HOTEL BY SYRIAN BUS . |
|
DAY |
SYRIA 9 DAYS - 8 NIGHTS |
|
DAY 1 |
DAMASCUS / M & ASSIST AT AIRPORT / TRANSFER TO HOTEL . |
|
DAY 2 |
DAMASCUS / OLD CITY TOUR + MUSEUM /DAMASCUS HOTEL . |
|
DAY 3 |
DAMASCUS /MAALOULA / HOMS / CRAC DES CHIVALEIRS / TARTOUS / LATTAKIA HOTEL . |
|
DAY 4 |
LATAKIA / UGARET / APAMEA / HAMA / EBLA / ALEPPO HOTEL . |
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DAY 5 |
ALEPPO / F.D. OLD CITY TOUR / ST. SIMEON / DANNA / ALEPPO HOTEL . |
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DAY 6 |
ALEPPO / HAMA / PALMYRA HOTEL . |
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DAY 7 |
PALMYRA / CITY TOUR / P.M. TRANSFER TO DAMASCUS HOTEL . |
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DAY 8 |
DAMASCUS / FREE DAY AT LESUR / DAMASCUS HOTEL . |
|
DAY 9 |
DAMASCUS /TRANSFER TO AIRPORT . |
|
DAY |
SYRIA 15 DAYS - 14 NIGHTS |
|
DAY 1 |
DAMASCUS / M . & ASSIST AT AIRPORT / TRANSFER TO HOTEL . |
|
DAY 2 |
DAMASCUS / SHAHBA / QANAWAT / SWEDA / BOSRA / DAMASCUS HOTEL . |
|
DAY 3 |
DAMASCUS / F.D. OLD CITY TOUR + MUSEUM / DAMASCUS HOTEL . |
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DAY 4 |
DAMASCUS / SEDNAYA / MAALULA / CRAC DES CHIVALIERS / HAMA HOTEL . |
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DAY 5 |
HAMA / ELBARA / SERGELA / EBLA / ALEPPO HOTEL . |
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DAY 6 |
ALEPPO / F.D. OLD CITY TOUR / ST. SIMEON / ALEPPO HOTEL . |
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DAY 7 |
ALEPPO / TABQA / JAABAR / RASAFA / HALABEYA / DER EZZOR HOTEL . |
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DAY 8 |
DER EZZOR / DURA EUROPOS / MARI / PALMYRA HOTEL . |
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DAY 9 |
PALMYRA / F.D. TOUR / P.M. TRANSFER TO HOMS HOTEL . |
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DAY 10 |
HOMS / SAFITA / TARTOUS / SALADIN / UGARIT / LATTAKIA HOTEL . |
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DAY 11 |
LATTAKIA TOUR & FREE DAY AT LESURE / LATTAKIA HOTEL . |
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DAY 12 |
LATTAKIA SALADIN CITADEL / SAFITA / LATTAKIA HOTEL . |
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DAY 13 |
LATTAKIA / ALEPPO HOTEL . |
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DAY 14 |
ALEPPO / FREE DAY AT LESURE / ALEPPO HOTEL |
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DAY 15 |
ALEPPO / TRANSFER TO ALEPPO AIRPORT |
Syria | Lebanon | Jordan | Combined tours | Contact us | Home
