Getting there & away
Land
Bus
You will find two main bus stations in the city of Damascus.
Harasta terminal (Karajat Harasta), 6km northwest of the city centre, is for departures to northern destinations. To get here, take a microbus from Al-Merjeh or the eastern end of Shoukri al-Quwatli for S£10, or a taxi for around S£80.
The new Al-Samariyeh terminal (Mezzeh West) has replaced the old Baramke terminal. Just opened at the time of research, it was a massive new car park with covered waiting areas and poor signage. It’s on the far western outskirts of the city. This is where you catch buses going to southern destinations such as Bosra, Der’a and Suweida, and buses and service taxis to Beirut and Amman, along with some international services to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and the Gulf.
In addition, there are several other microbus and minibus stations serving regional destinations.
North of damascus
All the big private bus companies run Luxury Pullmans from Harasta terminal. Prices are similar and destinations include Aleppo (one way VIP/non-VIP S£230/150, five hours), Deir ez-Zur (S£200, seven hours), Hama (S£90, 2½ hours), Homs (S£75, two hours), Lattakia (S£120, 4½ hours), Palmyra (S£150, four hours) and Tartus (S£110, 3½ hours).
The touts can be annoying: as soon as you’ve cleared the security checks at the entrance, expect to have your sleeves tugged by guys wanting to lead you to their office. Ignore them and make a beeline for one of the two most reputable companies, Kadmous or Al-Ahliah. Booking in advance is rarely necessary and you’ll never have to wait more than an hour or two to get a seat on your bus of choice, but if you feel more secure booking in advance head to the handily placed Kadmous ticket office, in the arcade by Victoria Bridge.
South of damascus
A number of bus companies head south, but Damas Tours is the best, running good buses with air-con out of the new Al-Samariyeh terminal to Bosra (S£80, two hours, every two hours from 8am until 10pm) and Suweida (S£60, one hour 40 minutes, approximately every hour from 8am until 8.35pm). Al-Muhib also runs buses south at exactly the same times as Damas Tours and for the same price. Der’a (S£60, one hour 20 minutes) is serviced by Al-Soukor and Al-Wassim.
Lebanon, jordan & egypt
From Al-Samariyeh terminal, private bus companies have frequent services to Beirut (S£200, 4½ hours), departing every hour or so between 7.30am and 6.30pm, plus several buses daily to Amman (S£400, five to seven hours depending on border formalities – although some travellers have reported formalities taking so long as to extend the full trip to eight to 10 hours). Service taxi is considerably faster.
Services to Egypt (from US$50 including ferry fare from Aqaba to Nuweiba, around 30 hours) vary dramatically depending on the season, with few services in winter and many more in summer.
Turkey
Buses to Istanbul (S£2000, 30 hours) and other Turkish destinations, such as Antakya (S£450) and Ankara (S£1600), all depart from the Harasta terminal. If you can’t get a direct bus, take a bus to Aleppo, from where half a dozen buses run regular services across the border. This is also a cheaper option for those on a tight budget.
Car & motorcycle
Travellers are increasingly hiring cars for the convenience it brings. A popular option is to also hire a driver for a day. For car-rental options try the following:
Budget (499 9999; opposite Four Seasons Hotel Damascus)
Europcar Saahat Umawiyeen (222 9300; Sheraton Damascus Hotel & Towers); Sharia Shoukri al- Quwatli (222 9200; Le Meridien Damas)
Hertz ( 223 2300; www.hertz.com; Cham Palace)
Train
One of the landmarks of Central Damascus, Hejaz train station is currently closed for extensive (and repeatedly delayed) redevelopment into a shopping mall, hotel and transport hub. All services go from Khaddam train station (888 8678), about 5km southwest of the centre. Take a taxi here for around S£50 from Al-Merjeh. There are several services a day via Homs and Hama to Aleppo, on clean new trains, including an overnight service (1st/2nd class S£300/250, six hours). Tickets for trains can be bought at both the Khaddam and Hejaz stations, providing you can find someone on duty.
The Damascus to Amman train service stopped running in 2006, although there are indications it may resume at some stage in the future.
Air
The Damascus international airport (543 0201/9) is located 26km southeast of the city centre. There’s a money exchange and a couple of ATMs in Arrivals, although the ATMs are not always in operation. The departure tax is S£200.
From Damascus, SyrianAir flies several times daily to and from Aleppo (from S£1200, one hour), and far less frequently to Deir ez-Zur (from S£1400, one hour), Qamishle (from S£1600, 80 minutes) and Lattakia (from S£1000, 45 minutes); frequency of services to the last three destinations can vary dramatically according to season and demand. Return fares are double the single fare.
Airline offices
You’ll find many airlines have their offices on Sharia Maysaloun and Sharia Fardous, one block to the south of Maysaloun. Their opening hours are typically 9am to 6pm Sunday to Thursday (closed Friday).
There are several SyrianAir (central sales & reservations 00963 11 168, airport 00963 11 169; www.syriaair.com) offices in Damascus, but the main office (245 0098; Sharia Said al-Jabri), across from Hejaz train station, is the best, with staff who speak English. It’s more convenient to check timetables and buy tickets online.
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