Our Syria holidays & tours
Visiting Syria is a challenging prospect, but an enticing one for adventurous travellers. With carefully crafted itineraries, our Syria holidays explore a country that has long been off the tourism radar. Our knowledgeable Syrian guides reveal their country’s storied history and culture while showing you around the cosmopolitan charms of Damascus, the ancient treasures of Palmyra, Apamea and Hama, and the vibrant souks of Aleppo. Our holidays empower local artisans with visits to specialist handicraft markets, and support community-driven initiatives, whether that be inviting guests to join in with tree-planting and rubbish-clearance, or simply sitting down for tea with a Syrian family to learn about their lives.
Syria guided history and cultural tour
Ancient cities, crusader castles and the ruins of Palmyra
From
£2649 to £2999
10 days
ex flights
Syria tour, tailor made culture
Explore ancient sites and historic cities
From
US $1300 to US $2550
10 days
ex flights
Syria holiday, ancient wonders
Welcome to Syria, ancient and modern
From
€845 to €1850
7 days
ex flights
Contact Us
Call us for a chat about our holidays. We are happy to discuss your holiday and help in any way we can. No bots, queues or awful hold music.
01273 823 700
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Syria map & highlights
Flat and massive, a land of fertile plains and dry desert, Syria has few natural defences, explaining the waves of invasion that have crossed it over the centuries. The country has a 177km strip of Mediterranean coast, is separated from Lebanon by mountains, and from Turkey by the world’s third longest wall. Many of Syria’s main cities are in the west of the country, reached by road. Tours tend to start in Damascus and then head inland to visit Palmyra, north to follow the Euphrates River to Aleppo, and then on to the Valley of the Christians, with its monasteries and crusader castles.
Aleppo
1. Aleppo
It’s impossible to visit Aleppo without hearing about the war, the city’s long besiegement, and the destruction of homes, businesses, the Great Mosque of Aleppo, and the central souk. But this is just one event in the ancient city’s astoundingly long history. Wander through 14th-century neighbourhoods, and discover traditional craftmanship – coppersmiths, silversmiths, calligraphers, dyers, and threaders. Beauty and industry, enduring despite adversity.
Damascus
2. Damascus
The narrow streets of the oldest city in the world lead through markets and shops, past hammams and madrasas, the old Christian and Jewish quarters and to the massive, eye-catching Umayyad mosque and Al-Hamidiyah souq. Not all sights are as conspicuous: traditional Damascene houses look unassuming from the outside, but behind their impressive doors are palatial homes arranged around serene courtyards, where plashing marble fountains drown out any city noise.
Hama
3. Hama
Hama is famous for the huge Orontes River waterwheels – called norias – which irrigate the area’s surrounding farmland. Water scarcity is a huge and growing issue in Syria, which is experiencing increasing instances of drought due to climate change. Yet all is peaceful walking along the city’s riverside, past weirs and wheels and silvery reeds. An hour’s drive through the valley gets you to Apamea, once a Roman city, famous for its huge colonnades.
Krak de Chevaliers
4. Krak de Chevaliers
With mangonels and tunnels, the Mamluks laid siege to the Knights Hospitallers’ castle for a brutal, long month in 1271, before forging an order to surrender that got the castle to wave the white flag. The defeat of the Christian forces marked a significant turning point in medieval history. The crusades waned, and Muslim influence began its rise. Nearly 800 years later and the enormous castle still stands as impressive as ever.
Palmyra
5. Palmyra
Damaged, but not destroyed, Palmyra is a huge, magnificent ancient city which, under powerful 3rd Century queen Zenobie, became one of the wealthiest in the world. It stands in ruins on its oasis, the Silk Road that enriched it long faded. The site’s grand red chains of still-standing columns and its sweeping amphitheatre are stunning in scale. Palmyra was famously occupied and partially blown up by ISIS. You can visit their underground tunnels and imagine a grim subterranean existence under the beautiful ruins.
Saladin Castle
6. Saladin Castle
Syria’s northwest is full of Phoenician and later crusader history – and most memorably, enormous crusader castles. The fantastically well-preserved Qal'at Salah El-Din, named after the conquering sultan, Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, known in the west as ‘Saladin’, dominates the landscape. When you approach, you can almost feel the thundering of hooves.
Our Syria holidays reviews
5
1Syria holidays reviews
Anne Higgins04 May 2025
Finally being able to visit Syria. Excellent, super guides and learnt lots.read more
