Turkey->Syria-> Jordan & back again
 

Do I need multiple entry visa for syria in this instance or can I apply at the border again upon returning from Jordan?

foc site says 15 days is max stay in Syria without renewing is this correct. It also says muliple entry visa required?


Whats the score with campsites in Syria/Jordan?

just buy the visa again on the border, in fact get all the visas at the borders, will save you money.

forget campsites, find a hotel, cheap as chips or camp any where.

I was told by the Syrian chief of immigration ' In Syria you can camp any where, it is your oyster, welcome to Syria'

Thanks for clearing that up dmitrij

I much prefer camping to hotels - unless it is one of those hotels that has individual chalets. :palm:

Hi,
I went through a couple of weeks back. For Syria, when you arrive at the border you have to go to the bank counter, they will then issue with currency & corresponding voucher for the exact amount covering Visa & Insurance. Check the costs with the insurance desk first, then make sure the guy producing the slips knows you're on a bike - they just assume a car. I also had a visa which I obtained prior, so they had to start again. Once that was done you have to get a stamp on the carnet (SP100) since the bank only exchanges the exact amount make sure you have the SP 100 for your carnet stamp!!

FYI I did not have to use the my carnet in Turkey - I was told not required.
All the best,


Adrian

Thanks for the border procedure Adrian hope you had a good journey.

However I thought a carnet wasn't necessary for Syria. The ADAC carnet pdf map lists Turkey and Jordan as not required and Syria as Carnet accepted, but not mandatory as for Egypt and Iran.

I have seen posts where other have said a carnet is not required As I saw it, I was not the only one running around with a brightly coloured pad of paper. I am based in Dubai, & was advised by the Automobile & Touring Club here it was a requirement. I really wanted to avoid any excuses for having to "dash" someone. Even at the Bank counter, fixers were offering their services, which really was not necessary, it is nothing difficult, you just accept that the experience will take a couple of hours - my longest wait was 1 1/2 hrs.

For all the borders, I basically parked the bike, helmet off, then off to the nearest official asking, "Can you please help me?" Never had a problem.

All the best,

Adrian

Do the officials speak some English then? I can just about get by on the basics using French.

Broken English every border. Visa at the border. Nice people. Camp where you want. Go to Israel, no problem. Ask for stamp out passport. Lebanon, bad traffic, Beirut so expensive. Jordan, get lost in the desert looking for ruins. Cheap gas. Keep water, have fun. Enjoy the oldest land in Earth. Middle East, rider paradise.

Holy Land

Thanks, great pictures on your blog.

Can you camp anywhere in Jordan as well as Syria ?

When you say there Jordan is not cheap, how much were you spending a week. any experience with the fifteen day Syria visa renewal?

If Syria is the only carnet requiring country on your route, I suggest you go without. You'll get a temporary carnet at the border. That's an official process, no need to bribe anybody. When I was there last year, the temporary carnet fee was somewhat lower than what I would have paid for the carnet in Germany.

If you have other carnet countries on your itinerary, too, then you certainly want to get your carnet up front at home.

I just read this Syrian border procedure written March 09 - for a car.

Quote:

The Syrian side was also relatively straightforward. Armed with my passport, hard cash and a copy of the car registration I approached the customs officer. He very quickly pointed me in the right direction to start the paperwork trail. First you need a small A5 piece of paper in Arabic (this cost Syrian pounds 50) where you have to complete some personal and car details. Once you have this and you have the signature of the captain on it, you ready to move on. The costs of the relevant pieces of paper are as follow. Car insurance for 1 month is US$ 52, diesel tax of US$ 100 and US$ 78 as customs fees for the temporary carnet permit (your customs fee will be US$ 9 if you have a valid carnet from your own country). As it turns out, the $78 carnet fee is a lot cheaper for us than the 470% temporary import duty it would’ve been to include it on our carnet. The next step is to change the $230 at the exchange office. He will give you 3 different receipts with the 3 different Syrian pound amounts so that you can pay for the car insurance and everything else. The next link in the chain is to get the insurance, then back to the custom guys where they issue the temporary carnet. The final link in the chain is to show all the docs to the captain and his pals where you have to pay a final Syrian pound 100 for another small piece of paper and where they write some details in a book. No idea what it’s for though. Oh yes, you also need to have your passports stamped. You get this done in the same building at the police window. With a lot of stamps and a much lighter pocket, you’re free to go. Welcome to Syria!!

Link
pumbaa's home

camping
 

There's a camping just outside of Damascus, 'new kaboun camping
GPS N 33 31, 781
E 36 21, 889
In Palmyra you'll find one just behind the temple of Bel.
At Crac des chevaliers you can camp in front of restaurant/hotel 'the round table'.
You can indeed camp wild just about everywhere in Syria, but I found it wasn't always that easy to find a spot I felt safe camping alone.

In Jordan I campt on the beach in Aquaba, joined the locals for a bbq, had a great time.
But going up north I couldn't find a place to camp from Aquaba to the north side of the dead sea.
Camping along the dead sea or any other border with Israel isn't alowed.

Rinus

As mentioned no carnet needed for Syria, just paid the temporary import tax… English is widely spoken, keep your papers for the return trip, I think it’s the pink slip… the German guy in front of me had lost his and well, he got shitty with the customs dude which didn’t help his situation, the only plus side was his kids running around which pissed of the official they quickly wanted rid of them. Ended up paying for services, including a couple of $’s for a stamp, when I then asked for the stamp he looked very surprised and said I’m registrared in his book and good to go… I was most worried about crossing into Syria but turned out to be easy if you take your time. I hope some of this helps and enjoy, its an amazing place.

Additional camping info

Name : Camping Salaam (Abu Jabr)
Address : Kafaramme, Road to Alebzimo
Tel. : 00963 21 6420 554
Mobile : 00963 944 401 811
Email : syriatravel@gmail.com

Managed by owners : Mohamed Kaddour (Syrian) & Christel Bamps (Belgian)

Languages spoken :
- Fluently : Arabic, Dutch, French, English, German
- Basic : Spanish, Italian

Fees per night : 200 SYP per person, 150 SYP per vehicle

How to get there :
- GPS : N036°08’184”-E036°52’404
- The camping is situated at about 15 km from Bab al Hawa (Turkish/Syrian border post) and at half an hour drive from Aleppo.
- Coming from Bab al Hawa : ride through Tareb and turn left to “Alebzimo”. The camping is on the right side of this road at about 1 km.

keep in mind that 350 syrian pounds is a huge amount for a campsite, its a crazy amount considering this summer i payed 100 syrian pounds for a shared room in a hotel in central damascus. The hotel was ony cheap as it wasnt a hotel used by western tourists and i was the only western person there, but the point still stands that 350 for camping no near the city center is way too much

Syrian visa
 

Just to update the situation on Syrian visas at the border, we just entered from Turkey at Bab al Hawa on 8th November. (Two Brits, one Canadian).

All very simple, helpful staff, visa no problem, but quite a few stages to go through that the staff behind the windows helped us with. Often saying, in fact, "Don't wait that side of the window, come round here in the office!"
When it was all done, we were invited into the director's office for tea , and his assistant saw us back to our bikes and waved us off.
Wonderful welcoming country so far.:welcome: