Air
Following the military action in Iraq, there is an enlarged risk
of terrorism in the Syrian Arab Republic. For
further advice please contact the relevant local government travel
advice department.
The Syrian Arab Republic’s national airline
is Syrian
Arab Airlines (RB). British Mediterranean (a franchise partner
of British Airways) operates regular services from London to Damascus
and 2 services to Aleppo.
Approximate Flight Times
It takes 6 hours traveling from London to
Damascus, and 4 to 5 hours traveling from London to Aleppo.
Damascus International airport
Damascus (DAM) is 25 kilometres (18 miles) southeast of the city
(the travel time is 30 to 40 minutes). 2 other international airports,
Latakia and Aleppo offer connections to Amman and Beirut airports.
Airport facilities
A bus service runs every 30 mins from 6.00 am
to 11.00 pm, and return is from the city centre. Taxis are available,
however it is advisable to negotiate fares beforehand if there
is no taxi meter in the cab. Facilities include
banking, snack bars, restaurants, a duty free shop and tourist
information.
Aleppo International airport
Aleppo (ALP) (Nejrab) is 10 kilometres (6.5 miles) from the city
(the travel time is 20 minutes).
Airport facilities
Taxi and bus services go to
the city. Facilities include banking, snack bars, restaurants,
and tourist information.
Latakia International airport
Latakia Airport (LTK) is situated 25 kilometres (16 miles) from
the city. Although there are no planned flights serving this airport,
some chartered flights run here.
Departure Tax
S£ 200. Children under
10 years of age and transit passengers (continuing their journey
within 24 hours and not leaving the customs zone) are excused
from paying the departure tax.
Sea
The main ports are Latakia, Banyas, and Tartus.
The nearest car ferry sails to Bodrum in western Turkey. Beirut
(Lebanon), however, is served from Alexandria, Greece and Cyprus,
and Damascus can then be reached in a couple of hours by road.
An appealing alternative is to take a ferry either
from Italy (Ancona, Brindisi or Venice) or from Greece (Piraeus)
and go as far as Turkey (Bodrum, Izmir or Kusadasi). From any
of these ports it is easy to join the main road south via Dinar,
Aydin, Antalya, and the steep rugged coast through Alanya, Anamur,
Tarsus, Mersin, Iskenderun, Antakya, to Aleppo or Latakia.
3 days should be allowed for the sea crossing and another 3 for
the drive. Certain lines offer a mixture of cruise
and car ferry, the return journey
could be made via Bodrum, Rhodes, Heraklion, Santorini and Piraeus.
Cruise ferries are organised by Greek, Cypriot, Italian and Turkish
companies and their programmes vary year by year. Please contact
a travel agent for further details.
Road
The main international routes
are from Istanbul, via the E5 road to Adana, Ankara and Iskenderun
in Turkey. Enter at Bab-al-Hawa for Aleppo, or at Kassab for Latakia.
From the south, the most excellent routes are from Aqaba on the
Red Sea in Jordan.
To enter the Syrian Arab Republic with a car,
a customs certificate must be produced, it is obtainable from
Automobile Clubs and Touring Clubs against a deposit.
Bus
Services are available across the desert, with
routes from Aleppo and Damascus to Istanbul, Damascus to Beirut
and Tripoli, Damascus to Amman, and Damascus to Riyadh.
Links go through Ankara (Turkey) and Istanbul. There is a change
at Ankara for the Taurus Express to Aleppo. |
