Island
Arwad
Arwad is Syria’s inhabited island, about 3 km off Tartus. A boat from the harbour, about 15–30 minutes. Cash pounds. Independent travellers do this without a tour. Confirm the last boat back that morning — sea and season stop them. Walk the lanes. Extra nights, or a day from Homs if this is the only stop. Not Latakia. Not the seven-day. Checked 13 September 2026.
- Hours
- Boats from Tartus harbour. Operator 2026: daytime; times vary with season and sea. Boats were running in the 2026 season. Arabic May 2024 notes said some boats stopped by mid-afternoon after fuel changes; older visitor notes said evening. There is no last-boat timetable. Confirm the last boat back that morning.
- Ticket
- Cash pounds for the boat. Confirm at the harbour. Arabic January 2024 had boatmen at 5–6 thousand against a 3,000 official; May 2024 Arabic put a passenger at 15 thousand after fuel. Later independent pages print no 2026 number. Operator 2026 lists no DGAM ticket on the island itself. The January 2026 antiquities fee list, as that operator published it, does not name Arwad.
- Respect
- It is a neighbourhood. Walk the lanes. Do not treat the boats or the houses as a set. You do not need a tour. If you swim off the island, covering swimwear — June 2025 tourism rule; men a shirt off the water. Confirm at the harbour.