Are you planning to travel to Syria? If so, this blog is written just for you.
You will find everything you need to know about Syria before you go.
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Post updated Jan 2024
Our travel to Syria was a very memorable experience. We travelled overland from Lebanon in September 2019.
Syria used to be one of the most popular destinations in the Middle East, and now is finally opening up for travellers again.
While general tourism to Syria is probably still a few years away, curious travellers are waiting to see this magnificent country.
Let’s cover how travelling to Syria is possible and the steps you must take to make it happen.
How to get Syria Visa
Can you travel to Syria right now? Are tourists travelling in Syria at the moment?
Yes, and yes. To travel to Syria, you must obtain a visa unless you are one of the few Arabic nations that don’t require a visa for Syria.
So, how do you get a Syrian tourist visa?
Your Syrian visa can be obtained from your nearest Syrian Embassy or at the border. However, to get your visa, you will currently need a special security clearance that needs to be organised through a travel agency in Syria.
Important: US passport holders can now visit Syria again (March 2023), but the process can take longer. You must travel with a tour operator; no independent travel is currently allowed.
If you decide to travel to Syria with a travel agency on a tour (see more on that below), this security clearance will be included in your tour cost and it usually takes only a week or two, unless you have a US passport.
You will then be able to obtain your visa at the border. The cost of the visa depends on nationality; some examples are listed below:
Syrian Visa fee at the border:
- Australians and New Zealand is 130 USD
- European passport holders pay 50 – 100 USD (Slovak passport was 70 USD)
- Americans 160 USD
- British 140 USD
When you leave Syria, you will also have to pay an exit fee of 2,500 SYP, around 5 USD.
You cannot get your visa at the border if you don’t have security clearance.
If you try to visit independently, this security clearance cost varies from USD 270 – 500 per person and is obtained through the travel agency.
The Syrian Visa at the border is a stamp only, valid for 15 days from entry.
Please Note: you will not be eligible to get an ESTA visa for the USA if you have visited Syria.
You must apply at the US embassy for a different type of tourist visa and pay a fee of USD 160. You also cannot have an Israel stamp in your passport; you will be refused entry.
And if you are trying to visit every country as we have, note that with a Syrian stamp in your passport, you might not be allowed to enter Libya.
Recommended Tour Agency for Travel in Syria
We travelled in Syria with Golden Target Tours and would highly recommend this local tour operator.
Contact Khaldoun at +963 944 372 700 (WhatsApp) for more information, or you can contact him via email: [email protected]
Check out our Visa Page for helpful information on how to get a visa for some countries
Travel Planning Resources
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18 Comments. Leave new
Aside from all the helpful information, I really appreciate the focus on supporting the local economy and being safe and respectful. It seems very easy for travelers to forget that sometimes, in pursuit of the best story or the most-liked instagram photo.
Spending some time in Syria is on my SO and my list for next year! Tons of great info that will help us make our plans, thank you Marty!
Thanks, Fred, glad you found the information useful. 🙂
Syria is still my favourite country in the world due primarily to its people, the most hospitable you can imagine. I lived there for 3 years as a student in Damascus and can’t wait to return. You post is very encouraging. I hope I can take my 9 year old there in the near future!
A very interesting blog post content quality is also good .Thanks for sharing with us.
Hi, We are group of five friends, planning for Syria trip this April 2020. I am just seaching on google and found your blog with detailed information. Really helpful. Keep writing.
Visited Syria in 2009 (before the war) and fell in love with it – the history, the kindness and hospitality of the people and the food – the best hommus and the pomegranate molasses! I think we may have even stayed at the same hotel in the Old Town, I recognise the courtyard where we were greeted with a glass of juice as we signed in.
We visited Paul’s church and saw where he was hoisted over the old city wall in a basket to escape the Romans, tried the ice cream in the souk and visited the museum in Damascus.
We did a big loop from Damascus to Palmyra, Aleppo, Resafah, the Dead cities (including St Simeon’s stone), Apamea, Homs and Hama, Krak de Chevalier, Maaloula and Sadanya and back to Damascus. We were fortunate to see and photograph so many sites that are now damaged or destroyed. In a grotto at Maaloula there was a painting of Mary, painted by Luke that was very sacred to the local Christians, I wonder what happened to that?
I remember a local shopkeeper in Damascus inviting us into his shop where he and his buddies were having fresh, warm bread and zata’ar, he pulled up a chair and made more tea and shared their mid-morning snack with us.
Everyone went out of their way to help us with directions even though we didn’t speak Arabic, they took us to where we needed to go, even though it was out of their way. We walked around in the wee hours of the morning and never felt unsafe.
I am so happy to hear that things are returning to normal and maybe one day we can revisit this beautiful country and have another cup of Berber coffee with cardamom at Cafe 66 on the route to Aleppo.
Thank you for this post and the hope that Syria will recover and the many refugees may be able to return home
Thank you for this lovely report. I travelled to Syria in 2019 and plan to go back this Easter holiday and I am actually looking for travelcompanion. One must for me is Palmyra, which I did not visit in 2019 since we did not have the time. I am Austrian and a very experienced traveller
Thanks, Heidi, we would love to see Palmyra one day too. Safe travels.
They are very beautiful hearts and hospitalet people in world , their country is destroyed but they still warm welcome u the scam rate is 0% and there is no theft around. I didn’t travel but o heard from my pakistani friends and recently some of indians went there
And also im planing to go there on ‘jun’ im from pakistan and i speak fluent arabic and working here in hongkong living with my family
If any one who watching this comment and want to travel to syria we can travel together because im alone i need someone im 29 years old and working in hk airport +85255444181
Hello!!! Thanks for this article !! I am actually planning to go to Damascus in a few week, without a private guide. Bus the problem is that I can’t find any accommodation in Damascus online. Even Beit al Mamlouka didn’t answer me when I sent them an email. Do you know how can I do to deal with this problem ?
Hello, we assume you’ve already secured a visa for Syria then? If the hotel isn’t answering your emails, we’d recommend asking a taxi driver to take you to a hotel that is popular with visitors. They usually have a few good ideas.
You need to update your report because an American passport holder is not allowed in Syria. So if you are a dual citizen and not on the banned list then you can be qualified for security clearance.
Hi Kay, thank you so much for pointing this out. All updated. 🙂 Happy Travels. Marty
Hello all, sorry in case I overread it but do you have a recommendation on budget hotels where they still speak English? I will travel Syria end of September and I am so much looking forward to it. I am a solo female traveler and so grateful for all your insights you shared – so much appreciated! Greeting from Germany, Veronika
Hi Veronika,
No, we don’t have that information for you about budget hotels in Syria. At the time of our visit to Syria, we had to travel with a driver/guide and all hotels were pre-booked for us as part of our package. We recommend you search online on Wikipedia or perhaps some traveller groups on Facebook may have some of this information. We wish you all the best 🙂
Hi, many thanks for this usefaul information 🙂
Could you recommend a tour operator?
Best Doro
Hi Doro,
Yes, we can. We travelled in Syria with Golden Target Tours and would highly recommend this local tour operator.
Contact Khaldoun at +963 944 372 700 (WhatsApp) for more information, or you can contact him via email: [email protected].
I’ve updated our blog post with this info too.