Palmyra
A day from Homs, Syria. Independently. Ask that morning.
You can visit Palmyra independently: a day from Homs, Syria, not a night. Sleep Homs the night before. Reports disagree on a special paper: a late-2025 independent note said none; some 2026 operators still sell a permit. Ask that morning. If they send you, walk the colonnade. A tour is not required. Water, a hat, stay on the path. The museum is closed; do not taxi there. Skip the day if the desk says no.
What to see
Getting there
From Homs it is about two to two and a half hours east, about 150 km. Independents do this. A hired car is what most first visits do. Agree the wait and the cash before you leave. You do not need a tour to buy the seat. Wikivoyage in December 2025 still had minibuses from Homs’s southern station; an independent September 2026 traveller used a shared van and said the last seats back were around 2 or 3 pm. That is a note, not a timetable. Confirm that morning. A fare on a page is not the window. Damascus is a long day — three and a half hours each way in 2026 notes. Sleep is Homs the night before — that sleeping base is on the Homs page. The seven-day line on this site does Palmyra then the evening garage to Aleppo. Getting around Syria has the same fight on the paper.
A day here
- 1Ask in Homs that morning — hotel, garage, or whoever is sending cars east. Independents have gone. If they say no, skip it. Hama is on the way to Aleppo. That stop is on the Hama page.
- 2Leave early. Water in the car. Fill fuel in Homs. Arabic 2026 notes say do not plan the return after dark.
- 3Walk the colonnade, then the theatre — a short stop if they open it, not Bosra. Temple of Bel if the walls are open; if they rope it off, keep walking. Stay on the path. The site is partly roped off.
- 4Be on the road back to Homs in daylight. Last shared seats have been around 2 or 3 pm in a September 2026 note — confirm; that is a note, not a timetable. Evening garage Homs to Aleppo if you are on the seven-day line.
- 5Do not add the tombs, the hill castle, or Deir ez-Zor. That is not this day.
