7-day Syria itinerary
Seven days in Syria is two nights in Damascus, two in Homs, two in Aleppo. Maaloula in the morning, then north on the M5. Krak west from Homs. Palmyra the other Homs day — drop it if the desk says no. A 15-day stamp covers the week. The coast and Bosra are extra nights. Day seven is south and out. You do not need a licensed tour.
Damascus → Homs → Aleppo
Checked 13 September 2026 against independent 2025–2026 notes on Palmyra from Homs, Arabic and English garage names on the northbound road, and the city days already on the city pages. Hours and papers move. If a garage or a Palmyra paper below is wrong, tell us.
How do you spend 7 days in Syria?
Seven days in Syria is two nights, two nights, two nights. Old cities on foot. Between them a garage seat or a hired car. You do not need a tour.
| Sleep | Nights | That stretch |
|---|---|---|
| Damascus | 2 | Arrive, then the old city |
| Homs | 2 | Maaloula then north; Krak des Chevaliers west |
| Aleppo | 2 | Palmyra or skip, then the old city |
The stamp is on Visa on arrival. Check it at the desk: 15 days or 30. Either covers a week. Cash pounds in town, dollars for hotels and the hired-car day — Cash in Syria. A foreign card is not the souq or the garage. The road is Getting around Syria.
Do I need a tour for a week in Syria?
No. Ordinary US, British, EU, Canadian and Australian passports collect the stamp at the land desk, then walk this line independently. Operators still sell a licensed week as if it were required. It is their product, not the border.
Is 7 days enough in Syria?
Yes for this line: Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, with Maaloula, Krak, and Palmyra as a day you can drop. It is not enough for the coast, Bosra, and Palmyra as a night. Those are extra nights, or a longer trip. Three nights in Damascus only is the 3-day Damascus itinerary.
Day 1 — Arrive in Damascus
Come in from Beirut or Amman by road, or from Damascus airport if the airline boarded you. Pay the taxi in cash and agree the fare before you sit. From the airport it is about half an hour.
Sleep inside the walls — Bab Touma or the souq. Evening only, a first look. Check the stamp before you leave the desk: 15 days or 30. Airport arrivals more often get 15; either covers this week. Crossing hours and fares are on How to get to Syria. The old city is tomorrow: Damascus.
Day 2 — Old city in Damascus
The old city is this day. Start Hamidiyya from the citadel end, then the Umayyad Mosque. The rest of that day — the souq, Azem if it is open, the closed day — is on Damascus. Do not add the National Museum today.
Day 3 — Maaloula, then north to Homs
Maaloula is a morning from Damascus in a shared van or a hired car. It is not the M5. Ask the hotel which bay runs to Maaloula — not the Homs bay. Independent 2025 quotes sat around US$60–80 with Saydnaya; Maaloula alone is less. Last seats back have been around 2 or 3 pm in a September 2026 note; confirm that morning.
Then the northbound garage — Harasta or al-Abbasiyeen — to Homs. You get off at Homs. That garage morning is Damascus to Aleppo by bus. Sleep in Homs, around Clock Square. Rooms and the next bays are on Homs.
Do not add Bosra this week. It is south, a different day.
Day 4 — Krak des Chevaliers from Homs
Krak des Chevaliers is a day from Homs, not from Damascus. About 45 minutes to an hour west. Shared car or a driver. Ask the hotel which bay runs west. There is no Palmyra-style paper.
A 2025 hired-car day from Damascus was about US$200; from Homs it is shorter and cheaper. Walk the castle. Confirm the last seat back that morning; seats thin out in the afternoon. Sleep in Homs again. Do not add Palmyra or the coast the same day.
If you have an hour left, the norias in Hama are about 30 minutes north. A stop, not a night.
Day 5 — Palmyra from Homs, then Aleppo
This is the long east day. Palmyra from Homs is about two to two and a half hours each way. Independents still do it as a day trip in 2026.
Hire a car for Palmyra. Agree the wait and the cash. Be back in Homs in daylight. Then the evening garage to Aleppo — about two and a half hours plus checkpoints. Shared vans both ways plus that garage is not this day.
Reports disagree on a paper: a late-2025 independent note said none; some 2026 operators still sell a permit. Ask in Homs that morning. If they say no, skip Palmyra and take Hama on the way to Aleppo instead. Papers out at checkpoints. No photographs of uniforms. Sleep in Aleppo.
Day 6 — Old city in Aleppo
The citadel and the old city. Often closed Tuesday — confirm at the gate. Skip the museum. Evening in Jdeideh. That day is on Aleppo.
If day 5 ran long at Palmyra and you arrived late, this is your only full Aleppo day. Do not add Idlib.
Day 7 — South to Damascus, then out
Ask the hotel which southbound bay. Garage south, about five hours plus checkpoints. If there is still time for the Beirut or Amman crossing that evening, go. Masnaa and Jaber hours disagree — that fight is on How to get to Syria.
If you fly the next morning, sleep in Damascus and leave slack. Do not plan Tartus or Latakia on this week. The coast is extra nights.
What if I cannot visit Palmyra?
Skip it. Do not wait in Homs for a paper that may not come. Take Hama on the M5, then Aleppo. You still have a castle day and a full Aleppo day. Palmyra is a day you keep or drop — not the reason for the week.
Can I add the coast or Bosra to this 7-day itinerary?
Not on these seven days. Bosra is south of Damascus, a different morning. The coast is extra nights on Latakia and Tartus. If you only have three nights, use the 3-day Damascus itinerary.