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Unless you are traveling to the northeast part of Syria, you will never spend more than five hours on a bus in Syria. That is how long it takes to get from Aleppo to Damascus. In most bus stations, everything is written in Arabic. Before you check out of your hotel, have someone from the front desk write down the name of the bus station in Arabic and English. Also have them write down the name of your destination. After buying your bus tickets, have the ticket agent write the bus and platform numbers down. Better yet, you might try to convince him to walk you to the right spot. The quality of the buses varies greatly. None are too extravagant. Theme: Bus
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 syria by fouads |
 Class A - special by TheWanderingCamel
The roads are reasonable and, apart from the Damascus/Aleppo and Latakia/Aleppo Highways, they are rarely very busy once you get out of the cities.
Driving in Damascus and Aleppo can be a little daunting at first, but take it carefully, watch out for the signs, be prepared to go around the roundabouts more than once, don't panic, do as our friend Ahmed advised us "You must learn to use the horn, Mr L" and you'll be fine.
Signage is adequate, with road signs in both Arabic and English. Sometimes, way out in the country, they may seem to disappear, but just as you think you've taken a wrong turn, another one will appear - a bit rusty and battered maybe, but still there.
The German Freytag and Berndt map of Syria is excellent.
We rented with Europcar and were very satisfied with their service.
Petrol is cheap. Leave a Comment
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You can get to Syria from Istanbul by plane, train or bus. Trains are long and infrequent. Several buses travel between Istanbul and Syria each day, but the journey is long. And direct flights can be expensive. An alternative may be a plane/bus combination.
Book a flight on Onur Air from Istanbul to Adana, in southern Turkey. I paid $92 for a roundtrip flight. Taking a bus would be slightly cheaper, but you save a day's worth of travel. From Adana's airport, take a taxi to the bus station. There are frequent buses to Antakya/Hatay. This will take three hours. It's a nice ride through the mountains and some stretches offer views of the Mediterranean Sea. I advise staying in Antakya at least one night so you can visit St. Peter's church. The next day, you can either take a bus or a service taxi to Aleppo or Latakia. Aleppo takes about three hours and Latakia should take two hours.
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The best way to travel from Damascus to the major cities around Syria and neighbouring countries is by coach. Several companies work around the clock providing comfortable transport from either the Haraste Terminal (known as Haraste Pullman to taxi drivers) or Baramke depending whether you are going to the North or to the South of Damascus. For instance Aleppo is to the North of Damascus so you take the coach from Haraste.
The major bus companies have offices in the cities from where you can buy tickets (recommended for most trips especially those for Damascus after a weekend) or else you can buy it from the terminal. You have to show your passport to buy the ticket, presumably for insurance purposes. Seat numbers are assigned and you can always ask a fellow passenger to point out the seat for you if you do not understand Arabic.
Tickets cost from SYP100 upwards. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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 by Bavavia
Be prepared to surrender your passport for domestic flights within Syria, dont worry, you will get it back at your destination.....it is just a rule and you must give it to them just as you enter the last security check point and waiting to board plane, that is when they take it. When you arrive, they have someone handing them back out to you. Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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 Taxi! by TheWanderingCamelLeave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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Wherever I asked, I rarely heard anyone mention anything positive about using Syrian trains and generally people would try to put me off, recommending the bus as a better option, yet when I persisted, my experience of using them was a pleasure: sitting on clean spacious comfortable seats, finding helpful staff and arriving at some beautiful stations. Perhaps it’s true they don’t run as frequently as the buses, but they are certainly more comfortable and are outstanding value for money, especially to travel first class.
I had heard that the stations were quite far out of town but I never had any trouble getting to my hotels and found the taxis quite inexpensive; the ones waiting at the bus stations had always tried to overcharge me but this never happened at the train stations. Although the counter staff were extremely helpful, it seemed that few of them spoke English so, unless you speak some Arabic, it might be worth asking someone at your hotel to phone and make a reservation.
Full, easy to use, timetables with distances and costs for national and international services can be found in English, French and Arabic on their website. Leave a Comment Theme: TrainPhone: ++963 21 2294602Website: www.cfssyria.org Other Contact: E-mail: info@cfssyria.org
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You can came to Syria by bus in many ways :
From Turkey you cane have bus every day from Istanbul or Adana direct to Aleppo and after Damascus .
From Jordan There is every day bus to Damascus and one Direct to Aleppo .
From Lebanon you have every day buses to Damascus and Aleppo Theme: Bus
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I travelled to Syria on the train from Amman in Jordan. It took a lot longer than the bus or service taxi (twelve hours, as opposed to four and a half) but was an unforgettable experience, due to the friendliness of fellow passengers and the train staff and the fascinating history of the railway (the carriages currently in use date from 1926 and were Turkish made although the diesel engines are fairly modern.) A first class ticket, for a cushioned rather than wooden seat, cost only 2 Jordanian Dinars and I enjoyed it so much I used the same route a week later to return!
The train departs form Mafraq station at 8 am each Monday and arrived at the outskirts of Damascus at 8pm, several hours later than the scheduled time, although I had been told verbally this would be the likely arrival time. There is no food to purchase on either train; most people brought food along with them and frequently shared it with everyone else. It was also possible to leave the station at Mafraq to purchase falafel sandwiches and drinks. Also at Mafraq there were basic toilet facilities which the station staff unlocked on request; the Syrian train had on board toilet facilities.
Border formalities are completed at Mafraq in Jordan and Deraa in Syria where customs checks are carried out before the Jordanian train returns to Amman and passengers transfer to the Syrian train to continue their journey.
It is important to know that the train now terminates at Damascus Kadem station on the outskirts of the city and not at the majestic Damascus Hejaz station, marked on maps of the city, where the narrow gauge tracks have apparently been removed. The taxi to the centre of town, during heavy evening traffic, charged 100 Syrian pounds including waiting for me to change money at the exchange office. Leave a Comment Theme: TrainPhone: Amman Station:06.489.5413Website: www.seat61.com Other Contact: Website: nabataea.net
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