UK citizens need a Syrian visa. Either buy in advance
from the Syrian embassy at 8 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PH, tel.
020 7245 9012,
www.syrianembassy.co.uk or buy at the frontier for about
$52.
Page last
updated:
17 January 2012
To Syria by train?
The magnificent gate to the citadel in Aleppo.
Why not?
Syria is a wonderful country to visit and Syrians are
amongst the most hospitable people you will meet anywhere.
It's always been a very safe country for travellers, too, safer than
most western countries, at least until recent events - check
current advice at
www.fco.gov.uk! It's easy to reach Aleppo and
Damascus overland from London or any other city in Europe,
using a
daily sleeper train from Istanbul to Adana in southern Turkey, then
by daily bus or weekly sleeper train to Aleppo. This
page tells you how.
First, you need
to reach Istanbul. For journeys starting in London,
Paris or Vienna, see the London to Turkey page
for train times, fares and how to book.
The train journey from London to Istanbul takes 3 nights
with daily departures all year round. For journeys starting in other European
cities, find train times with
http://bahn.hafas.de.
Step 2:
Istanbul to Syria...
Once in
Istanbul, it's easy to travel overland to Aleppo & Damascus
in Syria, taking a daily air-conditioned sleeper train
leaving Istanbul late at night, travelling through great
scenery in southern Turkey next day and arriving in Adana in
southern Turkey in the early evening. This is a
relaxing journey in the comfort and privacy of a modern
air-conditioned sleeping-car. Spend the night in
Adana, then take daily buses or a taxi from Adana to Antakya
and from Antakya to Aleppo, arriving in Aleppo in the
evening.
Times, fares & information here.
Incidentally,
there's also a twice-weekly train from Gaziantep in south
eastern Turkey to Aleppo, but the problem is that all Turkish
domestic trains to Gaziantep from either Istanbul or Ankara
are still suspended due to long-term engineering
work, rendering this new train pretty useless for travellers
from Europe or Istanbul to Syria. For info on this
Gaziantep-Aleppo train, see
www.tcdd.gov.tr/yolcu/ortadogu.htm. It's in
Turkish only, but understandable with help from
Google's language tools.
Background on trains from Istanbul to Syria:
A brief history of the Taurus Express...
Agatha
Christie's novel, 'Murder on the Orient Express',
doesn't start in Istanbul, or on the Orient Express.
It opens on the platform at Aleppo, next to the two
blue-and-gold Wagons-Lits sleeping cars of the Taurus Express
bound for Istanbul. The Taurus Express was
inaugurated in February 1930 by the Compagnie Internationale des
Wagons-Lits, the same company that operated the Orient
Express and Simplon Orient Express, as a means of
extending their services beyond Istanbul to
the East. It ran several times a week from
Istanbul Haydarpaşa station
to Aleppo and Baghdad, with a weekly through sleeper to
Tripoli in Lebanon. After the second world war,
the Wagons-Lits company gradually withdrew and
operation of the Taurus Express was taken over by the
Turkish, Syrian and Iraqi state railways. Up
until the late 1980s, a twice-weekly Istanbul-Baghdad
service was maintained, with weekly through seating
cars from Istanbul to Aleppo. For political
reasons, the through service to Baghdad was suspended
and the main train curtailed at Gaziantep, but the
weekly through seats cars Istanbul-Aleppo were
maintained. In 2001, the Aleppo portion of the
Toros Express was speeded-up and given a proper
Syrian sleeping-car instead of the two very basic
Turkish seats cars.
You could once again travel in the security and comfort
of a proper sleeper from Istanbul to Syria, and it was
a great way to go. Unfortunately, long-term
engineering work meant this weekly direct
sleeping-car and indeed the main Istanbul-Gaziantep
'Toros Express' was suspended indefinitely from June
2008, and as at 2011 shows no sign of being
reinstated.
Until June
2008, a direct sleeping-car used to run from
Istanbul to Aleppo once a week, attached to the
Istanbul-Gaziantep 'Toros Express'. Both the
Toros Express itself and this Istanbul-Aleppo
sleeping-car have been cancelled indefinitely since
June 2008, due to long term engineering work in
Turkey. While this weekly sleeping-car remains
suspended, here's how you can travel from Istanbul
to Syria, using a comfortable daily air-conditioned
sleeper train for a night and a day across great
scenery to Adana in Southern Turkey, a
hotel in Adana for the night, then daytime bus travel
from Adana to Aleppo in Syria. Total journey
time 2 nights, 2 days. There was also a weekly train
from Adana to Aleppo on Friday nights in summer
2010, although this has now stopped running.
It may or may not reappear in 2011, possibly in May.
Istanbul ► Aleppo via Adana...
Step 1:
Travel from Istanbul to Adana by daily air-conditioned sleeper train,
leaving Istanbul's Haydarpasa station on the Asian
side at 23:50 and
arriving in Adana at 18:35 next day after a remarkably
scenic & comfortable journey across Turkey. This
train is called the Içanadolou Mavi
Tren, and it has a civilised
air-conditioned sleeping-car with 1 & 2-bed
compartments with washbasin,
reclining pullman seats
& an air-conditioned restaurant car.
If you
leave Istanbul on Thursday evenings, you can connect
in Adana with the weekly train to Aleppo (see step 2
option 3 below), arriving in Aleppo on Saturday
morning. On all other days of the week, you'll
need to take buses or taxis from Adana on to Syria,
see step 2 options 1 & 2 below, and in this case
you'll need to spend the night in a hotel in Adana.
Alternative step 1 via Ankara: If you have any
trouble getting a sleeper on the direct Istanbul-Adana
train, you can also travel from Istanbul to Adana via
Ankara. Indeed Ankara is
well worth a 24 hour stopover if you have the time. Take a modern
air-conditioned daytime train
from Istanbul Haydarpasa station (depart 10:30 daily) to
Eskişehir, changing
there onto the connecting high-speed 250km/h train to
Ankara, arriving 16:30. A
restaurant car is available for lunch. Then take the Cukurova Mavi train
from Ankara
to Adana, departing Ankara at 20:05 daily and arriving
Adana at 07:25 next morning,
sleeping-car available with restaurant
car).
See the Train Travel in Turkey page for details of
each of these trains.
Step 2,
option 1, daily: Travel from Adana to Antakya then on to Aleppo by
air-conditioned bus. Buses run every hour
from Adana to Antakya (15 Turkish lira) where you
change onto another bus from Antakya to Aleppo (18
Turkish lira). There are at least 2 bus
companies running at least two daily buses each from
Antakya to Aleppo, Özhan Turizm (www.ozhanturizm.com) &
Hatay Luks Nur Seyahat (www.hatayluksnurseyahat.com), although their
websites are only in Turkish. It's easy to buy
tickets at the bus station when you get to Antakya.
www.ozhanturizm.com have departures from Antakya
to Aleppo at 08:00, 11:00 & 13:00, journey time 3
hours. On their website, click 'seferlerimiz'
(timetables) then 'Tarifeli' (scheduled times).
Hergün means
daily, hareket saati is departure time, variş
saati is arrival time, dönüş
saati is return time (from Aleppo).
Step 2,
option 2, daily: Travel by taxi. Alternatively, you can travel from
Antakya to Aleppo
by service taxi taking 3 passengers for around £5
each. The service taxis leave when they are
full, mainly in the early morning or afternoon, taking
3 to 4 hours to reach Aleppo including the border
crossing. Another seat61 correspondent
took a
taxi all the way from Adana to Aleppo and reports that it took
5-6 hours including 2 hours crossing the border and
cost $90 for all three passengers. If you have
any feedback,
please
email me.
Alternative step 2: Weekly train from
Adana to Aleppo: A twice weekly train was
reinstated a few years ago, then reduced to weekly,
on Friday nights, then (December 2010) discontinued
again. It may return in May 2011. If I
receive any more information, it will be posted
here.
Step 1:
Travel from Aleppo to Antakya & Adana by daily buses:
There's a
daily direct Syrian bus from Aleppo's Karnak bus station to Antakya
& Adana, leaving at 05:00.
Turkish company Özhan Turizm (www.ozhanturizm.com) have departures from Aleppo at
12:00, 15:00 & 17:00 for Antakya, journey time 3
hours, fare around 350 Syrian pounds. On their website, click 'seferlerimiz'
(timetables) then 'Tarifeli' (scheduled times).
Hergün means
daily, hareket saati is departure time, variş
saati is arrival time, dönüş
saati is return time (from Aleppo). Or there are minibuses to Antakya with bus connection
to Adana, leaving from the small bus station down a
side street next to the Ramsis Hotel (opposite the
Baron's Hotel) for 800 Syrian pounds. The
minibuses leave a 05:00 and 14:00, journey about 6
hours 30 mins to Adana. If you catch a very
early bus, you may manage to connect in Adana the same
day, otherwise you'll need to overnight in Adana.
Alternative step 1: Weekly train from
Aleppo to Adana: A twice weekly train was
reinstated a few years ago, then reduced to weekly,
then (December 2010) discontinued again. It
may return in May 2011. If I receive any more
information, it will be posted here.
Step 2:
Travel from Adana to Istanbul by daily air-conditioned
sleeper train: Take the
Içanadolou
Mavi Tren to Istanbul, leaving Adana at 14:00
arriving Istanbul 08:58 next day. The Içanadolou
Mavi Tren has a very civilised and comfortable
air-conditioned sleeping-car with 1 & 2-bed
compartments with washbasin,
reclining pullman seats &
restaurant car,
see the Train Travel in Turkey page for details &
photos. It's a very scenic & enjoyable journey.
Alternative step 2 via Ankara: You can also
leave Adana at 19:30 on the daily 'Cukurova Mavi Tren'
sleeper train overnight to Ankara, arriving 07:35 next
morning (pullman seats & air-conditions sleeping-car
with 2-berth compartments). Then take the 11:10
Ankara to Istanbul high-speed service arriving
Istanbul Haydarpasa at 16:50. Or take a later
train, seeing a bit of Ankara if you like, it's well
worth a stopover.
Istanbul to
Adana by daily train costs just TL 73 (about £33 or $50)
sharing a 2-bed sleeper, TL 90 (£41 or $61) in a
single-bed sleeper, or TL 28 (£12 or $19) in a
reclining seat.
Adana to
Antakya by bus costs around TL 15 (£7 or $10).
Antakya to
Aleppo by bus costs around TL 18 (£8 or $12)
Alternatively, contact
Tur-ISTA Tourism Travel Agency,
Divan Yolu Caddesi No. 16/B, 34410 Sultanahmet, Istanbul,
Turkey. Telephone +90 (212) 527 7085 or 513 7119. Fax
+90 (212) 519 3792. E-mail
erdemir@tur-ista.com. I can personally recommend
their service. They are near the Sultanahmet tram
stop, a short way from the Blue Mosque.
You can
also buy your
Istanbul-Adana ticket at the station when you get to Istanbul, preferably a few days in advance, especially
if you want a sleeper as these can sell out although
you'll usually find pullman seats available even on
the day of departure.
You
should buy Adana-Antakya-Aleppo bus tickets or
tickets for the weekly Adana-Aleppo train when you
get to Adana.
How to
buy tickets, northbound...
Buy bus
tickets in Aleppo.
Buy your
Adana-Istanbul ticket when at the station when you get
to Adana. There are normally pullman seats
available on the day, and often sleepers.
Alternatively, if you're
sure of your return date, you could pre-book your
Adana-Istanbul tickets in advance, either online
following the step
by step advice on the Train Travel in Turkey page,
or by contacting
Tur-ISTA Tourism Travel Agency,
Divan Yolu Caddesi No. 16/B, 34410 Sultanahmet, Istanbul,
Turkey. Telephone +90 (212) 527 7085 or 513 7119. Fax
+90 (212) 519 3792. E-mail
erdemir@tur-ista.com. I can personally recommend
their service. They are near the Sultanahmet tram
stop in Istanbul, a short way from the Blue Mosque.
You can collect the tickets as you pass through
Istanbul heading south to Syria, or they may be
willing to send the tickets to you for a fee.
What's the journey like?
Your journey starts on an evening ferry across the Bosphorus, from the European side to Haydarpaşa
station on the Asian side. The ferries sail from the
Karaköy ferry terminal on the
Galata side of the Galata Bridge every
10-20 minutes, the crossing takes 20 minutes, and the fare
is 1.50 YTL. Enjoy the wonderful views of the Istanbul
skyline, with the Haghia Sofia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi
Palace reflecting the evening light.
At the historic Haydarpaşa station,
if you haven't yet
stocked up with supplies for your journey, there are snack
kiosks at the station, so now is your
chance. The train ravels overnight, then the following
day snakes through great Turkish scenery towards the Taurus
mountains.
Above: The snow-capped Taurus
Mountains, seen from the Istanbul to Adana train
on the way to Syria. Photo courtesy of
Conor Meleady.
What is
the Istanbul-Adana sleeper train like?
The
Içanadolou Mavi Tren
uses modern air-conditioned 'TVS2000' coaches, as good
as any in western Europe. Quiet and smooth
riding, the train has
reclining pullman seats,
a sleeping car (shown below) with 1 & 2 bed
compartments convertible to a private sitting room
for daytime use. The air-conditioned
restaurant car features tablecloths, proper china &
metal cutlery (do you get that on a long distance
bus or even a plane??), and serves cheap hot meals,
wine & beer as the train snakes its way through the
mountainous Turkish scenery. Highly recommended!
Above left: A 2-berth sleeper compartment
in night-time mode, with upper and lower berths folded
out, and (above centre) in daytime mode with beds
folded away. Centre photo courtesy of Shigeki Murao. More sleeper photos.
Above: The restaurant car serves inexpensive meals
& beer. A 3-course meal and a half-bottle of
wine cost only about TL11 (£5 or $8).
Eating in these elegant
restaurant cars on proper china beats balancing food on your knees
on a bus, any day...
Travellers' reports...
Traveller David Earley reports from a trip in 2008:
"The trains from Istanbul to Ankara and on to Adana
were excellent [Baskent Express then Cukurova Mavi
train]. At least 8 other people were travelling on the
train who had booked for the Toros Express. We took a
cab to the bus station at Adana and they put us on a
bus to Antakya. They were obviously anticipating
people wanting to travel to Aleppo, as they had two
taxis to meet us at Antakya. We were then driven at a
suicidal speed to our destination!
Interestingly, Turista seemed to be encouraging us to
take a bus all the way from Istanbul to Aleppo. I am
glad we did not do this as we heard from another
traveller that this is a dreadful experience and there
is nothing to see on the journey. We also
enjoyed the Aleppo-Damascus train service really
excellent."
When you arrive in Aleppo, whatever your normal
budget, the most wonderful and historic
place to stay is the Hotel Baron, on Baron Street. Opened in 1909, it was one of the most famous
hotels in the middle east, used by Agatha
Christie, Roosevelt, Mutafa Kemal Attaturk, Lindbergh and T. E. Lawrence. It
will cost you all of $45 for a single room or $55 for a double to stay there,
an experience in itself! Email the hotel on
hotelbaron@mail.sy
or call Telephone (00 963) 21 211 0880.
For more information and booking, see TripAdvisor's
Barons Hotel page or
www.travelintelligence.net/wsd/hotels/htls_1074_Baron_Aleppo_review.html.
Above: The
Baron's Hotel, Aleppo
The lobby...
The bar...
Some rooms have now been modernised to western
hotel standards, other rooms have been restored with older
furniture and tile floors - ask for a restored room if
possible. The lobby,
lounge, bar and restaurant have not changed for decades, and
exude faded grandeur par excellence...
Lawrence of Arabia fans will want to book TE Lawrence's room, room
202. You may get to meet the larger-than-life hotel
manager,
Mr Walid, who can arrange visits or cars to local sites such
as St Simon's church (highly recommended), or even long-distance day trips to
Krak des Chevaliers or Palmyra (both unmissable).
If you need to
travel between Aleppo and Damascus, take the train.
It's fast, very comfortable, and unbelievably cheap. There
are several daytime air-conditioned trains between Aleppo
and Damascus, also an overnight train with a sleeping-car
with 1 & 2 bed compartments.
All the trains shown here run daily.
Aleppo ► Damascus
Damascus ► Aleppo
Train
number:
170
10
174
16
230
Train
number:
171
7
11
173
231
classes:
1,2
1,2
1,2
1,2
Sleeper
classes:
1,2
1,2
1,2
1,2
Sleeper
Aleppo
depart
03:50
05:40
15:35
16:45
00:10
Damascus (Kadem)
depart
-
06:50
15:10
16:50
00:01
Hama
arr/dep
05:40
07:05
17:26
18:10
02:12
Homs
arrive
07:05
09:14
17:40
18:51
03:13
Homs
arr/dep
06:26
07:46
18:17
18:59
03:28
Hama
arrive
08:05
10:04
18:33
19:29
04:10
Damascus
(Kadem)
arrive
08:54
09:40
-
21:02
06:24
Aleppo
arrive
09:55
11:29
20:23
20:50
05:58
1,2 = 1st
& 2nd class with buffet car.
Sleeper =
Sleeping-car
with 1 & 2-bed compartments with washbasin, plus 1st &
2nd class seats.
Always double-check train times locally. Aleppo to
Damascus is 367 km (229 miles).
Damascus Kadem station
is located 3-4 kilometres (2-3 miles) southwest of Damascus city centre, a taxi to
or from
the centre costs about 100 Syrian pounds ($2) and takes 25
minutes when traffic is busy. It's reported
that there's a free shuttle bus which leaves the Hedjaz station
an hour
before the departure of each Aleppo-bound train from
Damascus Kadem, but please confirm this at the Hedjaz station ticket
office. Allow plenty of time to catch a train, as for
some reason they may want to check your passport and X-ray
your bags!
Homs stations: It's reported
that Homs now has two stations, Homs 1 (nearer the centre) &
Homs 2 (on the outskirts), trains normally serve Homs 2,
some may still serve Homs 1,
please check locally.
Fares
Aleppo-Damascus
by modern express (trains 7-13)
1st
class = 240 Syrian pounds
(£4 or $5)
2nd class = 200
Syrian pounds (£3 or $4)
Aleppo-Damascus
by older train (trains 170, 173)
1st
class = 180 Syrian pounds
(£3 or $4)
2nd class = 140
Syrian pounds (£2 or $3)
Aleppo-Damascus
sharing 2-bed sleeper (train 230 or 231):
505
Syrian pounds (£6 or $9)
How to buy
tickets...
You must buy
tickets in person at the station, you cannot buy them
online.
In Aleppo,
you can buy your ticket on the day of travel or the day
before (but not further ahead than this) at the main railway
station in the city centre. It's a three stage
process, so bring your passport and allow plenty of time.
The stages are: 1. Get your passport checked by an
official; 2. Buy your ticket; 3. Take your
passport and ticket to a security man who will check them
and write the details down in a book. Easy!
In Damascus,
you can buy your tickets on the day of travel or the day before
travel (but not further in advance than this) at the ticket
window inside the old historic Hedjaz station in the city
centre, even though this station now has no trains (the area
at the back where the narrow-gauge Hedjaz Railway tracks
once were has been a building site for several years).
This saves you trekking all the way out to Damascus Kadem
station outside the city centre, although one recent report
says they had to go to Kadem to book the overnight sleeper
as the Hedjaz station ticket office couldn't book it. Alternatively, you
can of course buy tickets at Damascus Kadem on the day of
travel, but allow plenty of time and expect to have to show
your passport.
New 100mph trains Aleppo-Damascus...
Trains 7 to 16
use new 100 mph air-conditioned diesel
trains delivered from South Korea in late 2006.
3-D tour of new train interior.
3-D photo of new train cafeteria. The number of
Syrians using trains is increasing: Passenger numbers
in 2010 are expected to
be double those carried in 2006, at over 4 million passenger
journeys. Though reports suggest these new trains are
now often being hauled by locomotives - clearly the purchase
deal didn't include maintenance!
Above:
One of the new 100mph Syrian express trains at Damascus... Photo courtesy of Olly
Lambert
Above:
1st class seats in the new train...
Photo courtesy of Olly Lambert
Above:
The view from the driving cab... Photo courtesy of Olly
Lambert
Above: The cafe car
Above:
Crossing the desert between Aleppo & Damascus... Photo courtesy of Olly
Lambert
A 2-bed
sleeper compartment with the beds folded out...
2-bed sleeper, beds
folded away to form a private sitting room...
Travellers' reports...
A recent traveller on the Damascus-Aleppo overnight
sleeper says, "I was a woman in her mid-twenties and
was a little conscious of travelling on my own. The
actual service was surprisingly good. I was ushered in
and told the procedure about tickets and not to open
my door for any other knocks till the morning. The
cost one way was 290 Syrian pounds (about £3), pretty good value considering I had the whole
room to myself for no extra cost."
On daytime trains, the air-con in first class is
almost too good, the armchairs are comfortable and
reclining with loads of legroom. A girl came
round soon after departure handing out a complimentary
sweet to each passenger.
If you have any further feedback, please
e-mail me!
Please double-check all train times locally. All train
are daily. There is some spectacular mountain scenery
on the Aleppo-Latakia route, with the best views from the
north side of the train.
Fare Aleppo to Latakia: On fast modern trains
41-45, Aleppo to Latakia is 135 Syrian pounds 1st
class,105 Syrian pounds 2nd class.
On older trains 242-246, Aleppo to Latakia 70 pounds 1st
class, 50 pounds 2nd class.
Bring your passport when buying tickets. As a
foreigner, it's reported that you may have to get your
ticket stamped at another ticket window after buying it.
Trains also run Damascus-Latakia, Latakia-Tartous, and Hama-Tartous - see
www.cfssyria.sy for times and fares (in Arabic only,
but you can easily translate using
Google language tools).
In many ways, Aleppo is a nicer and
more relaxed city than Damascus, and it's a wonderful place
to spend a few days. Using the historic Baron's Hotel
as your base, explore the souks (covered market), the
citadel with its famous gateway, and the main mosque.
The small ruined church of St Simeon, just outside Aleppo,
is well worth a visit for its windswept peaceful location on
a remote hilltop, with the ruins of St Simon's pillar in the
centre.
Hama
A pleasant town, famous for its 'nurias'
or waterwheels. It can be reached by train, on the
Aleppo-Damascus main line.
A nuria
(waterwheel) in central Hama.
The
entrance to the citadel of Aleppo.
Palmyra
The famous ruined Roman city in
the desert, and one of the highlights of a visit to Syria.
It can be reached by bus from Homs or Damascus, journey time
from Damascus 3-4 hours) or by hired car and driver.
There are reportedly no direct buses between Aleppo and
Palmyra.
Krak des Chevaliers
This is the best-preserved
crusader castle in the Middle East, and one of the
highlights of a visit to Syria. British castles
tend to be either ruins or converted into stately homes, but
Krak is the closest you'll get to a castle as it was when it
was in use by the crusaders. It
can be reached by bus or taxi from Hama or Homs (it can help
to know that the village next to the castle is called Hosn,
minibuses go there from Homs), or as a long-distance day
trip from Aleppo or Damascus with hired car and driver for
around $100.
Fans of T E Lawrence will also want to visit - Lawrence
visited and studied the Krak during his pre-war tour of the
castles of Syria.
Above: Krak des
Chevaliers...
Above: Inside the
Krak.
Damascus
Syria's capital
is busy and grubby, but there's a fair amount to see.
Martyr's Square is the centre of the modern town, a short
walk from the souks leading to the ruins of the Roman Temple
of Apollo and the Umayyad Mosque. Visitors can enter
the mosque for 50 Syrian pounds. Outside the mosque is
the tomb of the crusader's most famous adversary, Saladin.
The Temple of Apollo.
The Umayyad mosque,
Damascus.
The tomb of Saladin.
No flying was involved in the
taking of these photos: All travel from London to
Aleppo & Damascus and back was overland by train...
There
is no railway to Beirut, but buses link Damascus with
Beirut (Charles Helou bus station), 115km, journey time 5 hours,
a whole range buses daily. Buy tickets and check exact
times locally, as the bus companies do not have any website.
Damascus to
Amman (Jordan) & Egypt...
There used to be a twice-weekly
Damascus-Amman train over the famous Hedjaz Railway, but it
was cancelled due to track damaged. It's been partly
reinstated, see the Jordan page.
Alternatively, there are
several daily buses from Damascus to Amman taking about 4 or 5 hours. For times, fares
photos and information,
see the Jordan page. For onward
travel to cairo in Egypt by bus or by bus & ferry, also see
the Jordan page.
There is a weekly train with sleeping-cars and restaurant
car from Damascus & Aleppo every Monday via Lake Van in Turkey (where passengers
leave the Syrian train, take a ferry and join an Iranian
train at the other side) to Tabriz and Tehran in Iran.
Fares are not expensive. Times and fares are available
at
www.tcdd.gov.tr (click 'English' then 'passenger' then
'trains to the Middle East'). Also try
www.raja.ir
(click the house logo then 'English' top right) and
www.cfssyria.sy. Between Syria and Lake Van the train
has 1- and 2-bed Syrian sleeping cars. Between Lake
Van and Tehran the train has Iranian 4-berth couchette cars,
all air-conditioned. There's a traveller's report on
this train on the Iran page.
Update late 2010:
This Damascus-Tehran train was cancelled in April 2010 in
both directions, due to track rebuilding work in Turkey, but
it's now (November 2010) reported as running again.
To
get the best out of a trip to Syria, you'll need a good
guidebook, and I've found the Lonely Planets and Rough
Guides to be about the best out
there for the independent traveller.
Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable
insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover
cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.
An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance..
Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up a £1,000 bill
in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. It
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also works for laptop or PDA data
access. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If
you're resident in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try
