Jordan & Syria tour

[meadow408]

Hello All,

as I know most of you forum users are very well travelled ppl I was wondering if you could share experiences/advices on a trip to Jordan & Syria.

I'm looking into booking a 2 weeks tour with a tour operator (it's me and a friend and since we are two women we thought that a package tour was the best option to get around in those areas) but the offer seems quite wide and diverse and reviews quite sparse therefore I was wondering if anyone has been and/or would recommend a particular tour operator?

many thanks!!

[Marmora Man]

I travelled alone as a 50-something male to Syria, via Europe & Istanbul about 18 months ago. I never felt lonely, threatened or in any way unsafe - tho' I'd acknowledge that two women travellers may seek greater security, so a package might be best. I was able to plan and pre-book most of my accommodation before leaving home and then relied on local transport as and when needed.

It is a fabulous place to go and I'd recommend you take in at least:

Aleppo (claims to be the oldest continuously occupied city in the world at 10,000 years!) - the bazaar / souk is great - not a tourist attraction as it is in Istanbul but a real, working Middle East souk - tho' there are now a few obvious tourist trap shops. Around the city you'll see priceless antiquities just built into the fabric of walls and houses - in UK these would be kept in specially air conditioned display cabinets in the British Museum - there you can see and get up close.

Palmyra - Roman ruins in an oasis in the middle of the desert also a must see with the most incredible remains of a Roman City just lying around and also Crusader castles visible up in the hills above.

Damascus was very metropolitan, even European but still had a special something about it - particularly the huge souk that still has bullet holes in the roof from French aircraft attack in the 40's - there's an ice cream shop "Bakdach ice-cream" in the al-Hamidiyeh souk which is sublime and where, experiencing problems in ordering my ice cream I was helped, bizarrely, by two Syrian GPs who are part of the Lordship Lane surgery and were visiting their daughter and her husband who were studying at Damascus University.

I travelled Syria mostly by bus, taxi and train - and apart from a few language problems (very very few English speakers outside of Damascus - tho' a few more French speakers about) experienced no difficulties. I was there only shortly after a President Bush speech again describing Syria as being part of the "axis of evil" but no one I met was "anti westerners" and my memories are of incredibly friendly people anxious to improve their English and learn more about the world and what we thought of their country by talking to me on every subject - including world politics and religion.

Go there - have a great time

One company that does sell good tours - but at the eco / non invasive end of the spectrum is Explore (www.explore.co.uk)

Also recommend these two articles - which, in part, inspired my trip:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jul/01/railtravel.syria.istanbul

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jul/01/syria.rail

[meadow408]

Thank you SOOO much for your nice message and the useful advice!!

The Guardian's articles in particular have already transported us to these beautiful countries!

thank you again, my friend and I really appreciate your message (tu)

[SteveT]

I never felt lonely, threatened or in any way unsafe, wrote Marmora Man.

Hardly surprising as you are pushing almost 2 metres in height MM:))

[globalskier]

I (female) visited these countries with a friend on a tour 5 years ago. We never once felt in danger or threatened and as Marmora Man said, the locals are among the most welcoming and friendly people you'll encounter anywhere in the world.

I would second everything in Marmora Man's post, and also add Wadi Rum, Petra and the Dead Sea in Jordan as great places to visit. Camp overnight in Wadi Rum if you can, and jump the fence to get in to Petra at dawn to see it at its magical, deserted best.

The main advantage of travelling with a tour (having compared experiences with friends who did it alone) is ease and speed of getting from place to place, especially with border crossings, which is an important consideration seeing you only have two weeks.

We went with On the Go which is great if you are not the sort of people who would normally do an organised tour. They just make sure you get from A to B safely, and the rest is up to you. It's quite basic though - camping on a lot of the nights.

Have an amazing time - it's a fabulous part of the world.

[martell1]

I went with 'Imaginative Traveller' and had a great time. It's an amazing part of the world and the people are very friendly and open.

[chez]

This is really interesting and helpful, thank you.

I'm planning to go to Beirut and then travel overland into Syria (I read that you could do this without paying specifically for a visa for Syria, and Lebanon visas are free)

However I'm waiting for flights to get cheaper - saw one a few weeks ago for 149, now can't get one for less than 300 and feel like i've seriously missed out

[martell1]

We went to Beirut for the day from Damascus (Jan this year) and had to pay for a visa to get back into Syria and it was very expensive.

[chez]

Oh I see - it seems to work better the other way around...

From the fco website I read this:

Entry visas for Lebanon are issued free of charge at the airport on arrival however, there is a charge at the border posts if entering Lebanon by road. On a single entry visa a traveller is permitted to travel to Syria as long as the return to Lebanon is made within five days.

How was your day in Lebanon though?

[Marmora Man]

For my journey to Syria I did apply for a visa here in UK. It was very simple, took 48 hours and cost, from memory, about ?35.

Using that visa to cross the border from Turkey to Syria with limited Turkish & Arabic language skills proved more difficult. A taxi driver helped me - as did a small wad of local currency paid to an official (Turkish side). The taxi was then stopped to shake us down again but the driver was able to argue that we'd paid our "tax"

[PeckhamRose]

Agh I read the title and thought Syria was Jordan's new boyfriend and so what if they are touring!

Then I read the entire post and thought how fabulous that trip would be and wish you well.

What a helpful lot the others are, specially lovely Marmora Man!