Syria Travel Forum

I will be travelling to Damascus on the 18th of October for 9 months.

I am in urgent need of a furnished apartment with at least one bedroom (sleeping 2), kitchen and bathroom near the centre, (within reach of Damascus University).

Does anyone know of any decently priced places? I would be very grateful.

Thanks.

Maybe somebody knows if I can find in Damascus or Aleppo a shop which sells essential oils (aromatherapy)? Thank you!

I am travelling to Syria from the U.S. for 2 weeks and was wondering if anyone knows of a reasonable way to rent a cell phone either from the U.S. or in Syria for the time to keep in touch with family (mostly calls back to the U.S.)

Thanks in advance

Hello to everyone!

Me and my friend are planning to go in October from Damascus to Bosra and back (whole day). We would like to hire a taxi/car with the driver. What we do expect to pay? It will be our first time in Syria and we know not too much about prices.

Thank you very much!

Has anyone had any problems traveling from the us to damascus and bringing electronic gifts? My husband hasn't been back to damacus in 5 years, and want's to bring his brother and sister a laptop as gifts. He also has his own laptop, so is there limits to how many you can bring? he will be flying their via air france. I have been checking 1,000's of websites and can't seeemed to find anything about limits, however one of his friends told him that he was turned away because he had to many laptops???? any help would be great!!

next week i'll be in aleppo how much taxi cost me from airport to city center & is any body have idea about smermeis hotel or al-fisal is it clean or not?

hi!
next week i'd like to travel from aleppo to turkey. i hope somebody can help me ;o).
is there a bus from aleppo to gaziantep? how long does it take? how often does the bus run?
what's about a bus from aleppo to adana? how long does this way take? how often does this bus run?

thanks a lot!

Just as I am about to fly to Syria to be married to my fiancee, I discover that I have to have my birth certificate and a letter from the minister of my church
authenticated by the US State Department, then have them translated into Arabic and sent to the Syrian Embassy for certification. Does anyone know about this process? Why is it necessary and how can I go about it it in the quickest manner possible? Help, help!
Rebecca

Hi,

I've just joined Virtual Tourist Syria Forum and thought I'd see if anyone has had any experience of sending parcels from Syria to Europe (Poland)? What are the costs/do you have any parcel service points you could recommend in Damascus or Aleppo?

Best Regards

I am an American and have been invited by e-mail to come visit Kafarbohom, Hama, Syria. Is it possible for me to marry there? My friend belongs to the Greek Orthodox church. Would they allow, perform and accept such a marriage there? Would that change my visa in any way? Would we, as a couple, be accepted at Syrian motels?
Shukran and bless you for your help

Is there any huge shoping center (mall) in center of Damascus, where people can buy luxurious goods

thanks fo your help

Hi there

I've already booked Blue Tower hotel
Could somebody tell me where is it? On the web site there is information that it's in center but I haven't got a clue where is exactly....

Is many minets taks to go by foots from Blue Tower to the Ancent City of Damascus or its better to take a taxi

many thanks for your help
regards,

Serggio

I'm keen to go to Syria to do a course in Islamic Studies in October for a year and don't know which one to choose. I've looked at the Abu Nour and Damascus University and they both look good but I can't seem to find any registration details online. I already speak Arabic and am keen to get a deeper understanding of the Qur'an and the Hadith...I know it's getting late too and wondered whether I would be better off just arriving in Damascus in early October and registering in person?? Any ideas??

Hi and ahlan everyone,

I'm plannning to travel to Damascus around the 18th of October and am looking to rent a one bedroom apartment that sleeps 2 people, preferably furnished, with TV, and western bathroom and kitchen that is fully equipped.

It would be good if it is near the centre of the city for convenience.

Does anyone know of any good contacts that are reasonably priced for this?

Many thanks

Ameet

im planning to study arabic at abunour.Is there anyone going to this place

Has anyone made this trip? I am planning on visiting Syria in November by train from Turkey. Is this possible. I am from the USA..and will be travelling with another American. Does anyone have any idea what the price is for transport from Turkey to Damascus? Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks
Trevor

I shall be traveling to Syria in September/October and touring in a hire car. I am looking for accommodation for one night in the Al Barah, Ma'arrat an Nu'man area and would appreciate some help.

Hello, I am travelling to Damacus from Amman (Jordan) by train in October.
I would like some help with visa requirements for Syria. According to their WEB page if we don't have a Syrian embassy or consulate in my country (Peru) we can get a Visa at the border with Jordan. Is that True?? How difficult is the entrance for south americans?
Your help would be appreciated
Thanks

Hello,
I ended up traveling solo in syria because my husband had to cancel his trip. Can anybody recommend a reliable travel agent who can put me in a package tour so that I have to avoid all the hassle of having to organize everything by myself..or does anybody care to join me for some trips and visits? I had planned to visit Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra, Apamea, Mar Musa, The Dead Cities, Maloula, maybe Bosra.
I am 25 yo Italian speak English, French, Finnish, some german

Thanks,
Barbara

Hi everyone, I am an US citizen and I just decided with not much notice a trip to the middle east. I would really love to visit Syria but at this point I don't have the 5 business day required to issue the visa. So I am planning to fly to Beirut and from there go by land to Damascus. Does anyone know if I can get a tourist visa to stay 1 week right at the border? and if so, how much would it cost me? Another possibility, could I just fly directly to Damascus and get a visa at Damascus International Airport? Shukran, thank you for your input. Eric.

Hi there

Is it possible to make 1 day tour Damascus - Palmira - Damascus
I heard that about 200 kilomiters between these cities....

many thanks for your help
regards

Hi,

I am looking for an apartment in Damascus for one month in October.

I would like it in the Salihiyeh/Shaalan/Cham Palace area, 2 bedrooms, with internet access.

Two questions:
1 - can you recommend an estate agent?
2 - how much should I be paying?

Thanks.

Hi everyone (again)!

We're going to spend 9 days in Syria. Now, I have a few questions concerning the itinerary.

We'll arrive to Amman, so we'll start our trip there driving first to Damascus. We'll spend there 2 1/2 days, then to Palmyra. From Palmyra we don't know whether it's more advisable to go directly to Aleppo (how long would that take??), spend 2 days there and afterwards visit the area of Hama/ Apamea, Krak des Chevaliers etc and then back to Damascus to return to Jordan. Or to go from Palmyra to the area of Hama, Apamea, Krak des Chevaliers etc, then to Aleppo and then back to Damascus.

How long do you think that we would need to visit all the area of Hama, Apamea, Krak etc (all what is in between Damascus and Aleppo)? The idea is to drive back to Jordan and visit Bosra on the way back to Amman. We would spend then about 9 days in Syria. What do you think of this itinerary? Do you think it's doable in 9 days?

Could you please recommend any clean hotel in Aleppo and Palmyra?

Thank you very much in advance for you advice!!

Selam aleikum!

We (my best friend and wife, 1 dutch, 1 french and 1 turkish) will be in Syria in one week and were wondering as we don't want to get caught in the tourist trap too much if there were any friendly VT locals we could meet. For dinner, a nice conversation or an evening stroll through the city. Primarily we're thinking of travelling to Damascus and finish in Aleppo. The rest of the trip will take shape as we interact withe the locals!

So, if any of you friendly VT'ers feels like meeting us, we'd love to hear from you!

Allah hafiz,

Pierre

Hi fellow travellers,

I'd appreciate some help on a few questions related to my trip to Syria and Jordan in two weeks.
1. itinerary help: any comments welcome on the following itinerary:
day 1 - (coming from Jordan) bosra
day 2-3 - damascus, trip to Maalula
day 4 - early morning to palmyra
day 5 - homs, trip to crac
day 6 - hama and lattakia (doable in one day by public transport?)
day 7 - aleppo

i know it seems tight, but don't wanna skip anything. plus, i'm not much of a fan of big cities, so was thinking early morning to see hama for a few hours and then on to lattakia for a rest on the beach (or better ideas for a bit of seaside relaxing?). is bosra worth the whole day or should we just spend a few hours and move on to damascus?
any must-sees i left out? how does it seem, considering we'd be taking public transport?

2. also the neverending question - what's appropriate for a female to wear? t-shirts ok? knee-lenght skirts? flip-flops? any help welcome!

thanks for any help you can give me!
L.

Is it still possible to visit Quneitra? I suppose the information in the LP is still correct to obtain a permit? any help is welcome!
Ciao!

Hi,

I've read there is a night bus from Aleppo to Amman. Does it still exist?

When returning we would like to from Aqaba to Lattakia (yes, I know, it seems a weird route, but there are reasons for it). What is the shortest way to do this? Are there night buses to shorten this (for example Aqaba -> Damascus)?
Thank you!

We will be travelling to Syria from the end of July till the end of August. In which regions is a bus reservation or accomodation reservation "necessary" and if so, how many days in advanced should we book? Roughly, we will visit Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra, Hama & Lattakia.

Thanks!

Hi,

When precisely is a visa extension necessary? If you are more than 15 days on a row in Syria or if you are more than 15 days in total in Syria? We will travel about 10 days in Syria, then 14 days in Jordan and then again about 10 days in Syria. So in total we will be for more than 15 days in the country, but never 15 successive days. Do we need an extension?

Thank you!

Hi,
Planning to visit Damascus and had a few Qs. since my last visit there was ages ago
-which hotel is better Al majid which i`m more inclined towards, Sultan or Salam having read the last two hotels reviews here ,overall and location wise as i would like to visit the old city ,souk al hamediah and ommayad mosque ? Al majid is in assaffra is that close to omayad mosque,hamidiah etc.?whithin walking distance or ?
-Which hotel is close to buses that leave for palmyra ,busra as i would like to go for a day trip? how far is Almajed from the that particular bus station?
-Is it ok if i wonder around in Palmyra on my own ,any possibility of being hassled.
-Are currency exchange outlets widely available , better rates than banks? do they have a uniform rate or ? how many Syrian liras to a US dollar ?
-Do you still need to declare the amount of currency you bring in and leave with ?
-how much is the airport taxi ,is that counter where you pay and get a coupon still there ?
-ok last one, do you need to hand in your passport when checking in hotels like almajed for instance .
Thanks for any replies.