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Getting There by Air
The Syrian Arab Republic’s national airline is Syrian Arab Airlines (RB) (website: www.syrian-airlines.co.uk).
Approximate Flight Times
From London to Damascus is 6 hours and to Aleppo is 4 to 5 hours.
Main Airports
Damascus (DAM), 25km (18 miles) southeast of the city (journey time – 30 to 40 minutes). To/from the airport: A bus service runs to and from the city centre. Taxis are available, but it is advisable to negotiate fares beforehand if there is no taxi meter in the cab. Facilities: Bank, restaurants/snack bars, duty-free shop and tourist information.
Aleppo (ALP) (Nejrab), 10km (6.5 miles) from the city (journey time – 20 minutes). To/from the airport: Bus and taxi services go to the city. Facilities: Bank, restaurants/snack bars and tourist information.
Latakia Airport (LTK) is situated 25km (16 miles) from the city. Although there are no scheduled flights serving this airport, some chartered flights run here.
Departure Tax
Aleppo (ALP) (Nejrab), 10km (6.5 miles) from the city (journey time – 20 minutes). To/from the airport: Bus and taxi services go to the city. Facilities: Bank, restaurants/snack bars and tourist information.
Latakia Airport (LTK) is situated 25km (16 miles) from the city. Although there are no scheduled flights serving this airport, some chartered flights run here.
S£200. Children under 10 years of age and transit passengers (continuing their journey within 24 hours and not leaving the customs zone) are exempt.
Getting There by Water
Main ports: Latakia and Tartus.
The nearest car ferry sails to Bodrum in western Turkey. Beirut (Lebanon), however, is served (from Egypt, Cyprus and Greece) and Damascus can then be reached in a couple of hours by road. An attractive 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 Aydin, Dinar, Antalya, and the steep rugged coast through Alanya, Anamur, Mersin, Tarsus, Iskenderun, Antakya, to Aleppo or Latakia. Three days should be allowed for the sea crossing and another three for the drive.
Certain lines offer a mixture of cruise and car ferry; the return journey could be made via Bodrum, Heraklion, Rhodes, Santorini and Piraeus. Cruise ferries are organised by Cypriot, Greek, Italian and Turkish companies and their programmes vary year by year.
The nearest car ferry sails to Bodrum in western Turkey. Beirut (Lebanon), however, is served (from Egypt, Cyprus and Greece) and Damascus can then be reached in a couple of hours by road. An attractive 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 Aydin, Dinar, Antalya, and the steep rugged coast through Alanya, Anamur, Mersin, Tarsus, Iskenderun, Antakya, to Aleppo or Latakia. Three days should be allowed for the sea crossing and another three for the drive.
Certain lines offer a mixture of cruise and car ferry; the return journey could be made via Bodrum, Heraklion, Rhodes, Santorini and Piraeus. Cruise ferries are organised by Cypriot, Greek, Italian and Turkish companies and their programmes vary year by year.
Getting There by Rail
Links go via Ankara (Turkey) and Istanbul. Change at Ankara for the Taurus Express to Aleppo.
Getting There by Road
The principal 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 east, the best routes are from Aqaba on the Red Sea in Jordan.
Bus: Services are available across the desert, with routes from Aleppo and Damascus to Istanbul; Damascus to Amman; Damascus to Beirut and Tripoli; and Damascus to Riyadh.
Documentation: 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. An International Driving Permit can also be obtained from these organisations, which is obligatory for holders of licences which do not use the Latin alphabet.
Bus: Services are available across the desert, with routes from Aleppo and Damascus to Istanbul; Damascus to Amman; Damascus to Beirut and Tripoli; and Damascus to Riyadh.
Documentation: 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. An International Driving Permit can also be obtained from these organisations, which is obligatory for holders of licences which do not use the Latin alphabet.
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