Is Syria safe to visit
Old Damascus and Aleppo are daily life: souqs, cafés, evening streets. Independent travellers are here. This page is the usual circuit, not a news bulletin.
Checked 13 September 2026 against the Syrian tourism ministry’s first-half 2026 arrivals (as reported in Arabic and by SANA), independent 2026 notes on the old-city circuit, and foreign-ministry pages where they change insurance. If a practical detail below is wrong, tell us.
Syria’s tourism ministry counted 3.52 million arrivals in the first half of 2026. Most of that figure is Syrians living abroad coming home (about 2.13 million in the same reporting); foreign and Arab visitors are the rest. Independent travellers walk the old cities without a tour. Markets are open. That is the trip this site is for.
Where visitors actually go
The usual first circuit is short and calm to move around: Damascus, then north through Homs or Hama to Aleppo, with side days to Maaloula, Krak des Chevaliers, Bosra, and Palmyra from Homs. You use shared cars and walking — Getting around Syria. The week on that line is the 7-day Syria itinerary. Three nights in Damascus only is the 3-day Damascus itinerary. You will pass checkpoints on the intercity roads. What to show is below.
| Place | How visitors use it |
|---|---|
| Damascus old city | Walk, souq, mosques, courtyards. Stay here first. |
| Aleppo old city and citadel | A few days. The day is on Aleppo. |
| Homs | Sleep here. Krak west, Palmyra east. |
| Hama | A stop on the M5. Norias. Not a night. |
| Krak des Chevaliers, Maaloula, Bosra | Day trips from the line between Damascus and Aleppo. |
| Palmyra | A day from Homs. Stay on the marked site. |
| Latakia and Tartus | The coast is a different holiday from the old-city circuit. Most first visits skip it. |
| Suwayda | Not on the usual tourist line. |
What happens at a checkpoint?
On the M5 and on the roads in from Jordan and Beirut, the car stops. That is ordinary. Keep the original passport and the visa stamp in your pocket. Copies stay in the bag as backup.
Papers out. Be polite. Phone away. Do not photograph uniforms. Then you continue. You are usually a passenger on a garage seat, not a self-drive hire. The road is Getting around Syria. The northbound morning is Damascus to Aleppo by bus.
If they hold the car: wait, papers, no argument, no camera. If they turn you around, take the other road or wait for morning. Suwayda is not this circuit. Neither is Quneitra. Stay on the line in the table.
What about my passport?
The stamp is on Visa on arrival. Advice from your foreign ministry is insurance and consular help, not a second circuit.
If you hold a US passport: Level 4 advice matters for Syria travel insurance. There is no US embassy in Damascus; the Czech Republic handles protecting-power paperwork. Numbers are under If you need help. Detail: Can Americans travel to Syria?.
- United Kingdom, Canada, Australia: against-travel advice still sits on many high-street policies. Can British citizens travel to Syria? · Can Canadians travel to Syria? · Can Australians travel to Syria?.
- Most EU passports, including German, French, and Dutch: the same circuit. Can EU citizens travel to Syria? · Can Germans travel to Syria? · Can French citizens travel to Syria? · Can Dutch citizens travel to Syria?.
Is it all right for women?
Yes — women have been travelling the circuit independently in 2026: hotels, minibuses, walking the old cities. Dress so you are not the loudest object in the room. Cover shoulders and knees. Carry a scarf for mosques. How that feels: Solo female travel in Syria. Clothes: What to wear in Syria. Idlib is more conservative than Damascus; ask that morning if you go. You do not need to hire a guide. Operators still sell that old rule. Do I need a tour to visit Syria?.
Insurance
Read whether Syria is named, and what the exclusions are. The policy check: Syria travel insurance. A blog link is not a policy. If the sentence is vague, it will not pay.
What to do on the ground
- Original passport and stamp in the pocket. Copies of the photo page and visa in the bag.
- Palmyra is a day you can keep or drop. The ruins receive visitors; stay on the path.
- A second way home is useful: Beirut or Amman. See How to get to Syria.
If you need help
Police 112, ambulance 110, fire 113. Confirm them when you arrive. Some operator pages swap 110 and 112. The hotel that morning is the check. Tap the numbers below this article.
British nationals who cannot get local help call the FCDO in London: +44 20 7008 5000. Canadians call the Emergency Watch in Ottawa: +1 613 996 8885. Australians call the Consular Emergency Centre: +61 2 6261 3305.
Americans: there is no US embassy in Damascus. Czech protecting-power desk — in Syria 0969-333644, from outside +963-969-333644, email damascus.usis@mzv.gov.cz. From the United States 1-888-407-4747. From overseas +1 202-501-4444. If you cannot reach them, the US embassy in Amman: +962 6 590 6500. Confirm the numbers before you fly. Do not plan a US passport replacement in Damascus. Detail: Can Americans travel to Syria?.
If this fails
- The high-street policy follows against-all-travel advice: do not fly on it. Syria travel insurance.
- A checkpoint holds you: wait, papers, no argument, no camera. If they turn the car around, take the other road or wait for morning.
- The hotel says skip a road that morning: skip it.
- Someone says you need a tour to be here: you do not. Do I need a tour to visit Syria?.
What this page will not tell you
A news list. A live map of checkpoints. A driver phone list.
That Syria is perfectly safe, or that you should stay home. This is the usual circuit, for people who are going.
How we write: How we write.
Emergency numbers
Find where you are, call the numbers, share your coordinates.
Confirm the numbers when you arrive.