Aleppo all the way to Aqaba in 40 days, any suggestions?

$300? $300!! Good lord, how do I become friends with you??? I loathed Lebanon but could easily spend more time in Jordan. The only one I'm dying to go back to is Syria...I just can't deal with that air ticket right now. If I could find a bargain to either Amman or Beirut I'd take it just to get to Syria, but even with the more convoluted flights to Syria, they tend to price out the same.

lol ... unfortunately, since my benefits only extend to others on my airline alone (and my airline does not fly over there), you wouldn't be able to get the same fare! :-) I, too, was not impressed with Beirut; and it did not help that, due to a medical problem, I was stranded in the city. The fact that Hizbollah took over the place exactly one day after I left in May and the airport was shut down didn't endear me to the place either (especially as i fortunately left earlier due to the medical problem). My plan was to spend about 10 days in Lebanon this time around to see the place, though I have mixed feelings about that. Not sure i really want to go, but i have a friend there who's been nagging me to come back. As for Syria, I'm going to spend 9 more days there to "finish up", but I'll bet I can easily keep myself busy the entire 3 weeks there, even though i spent 2 weeks there last time! (and this despite the fact I was laid up for 4 days due to food poisoning and my companion had an interview with the Mukhabarat about me!).

btw ... i would be very interested in hearing WHY you loathed Lebanon, since, as I wrote, I have very mixed feelings about doing a tour through the country and am only going back because of my friend

In short, I traveled alone and am Asian (American), and was treated as a prostitute. I mean that literally, not that I was viewed simply as a loose woman, but as someone who should be paid.

This obviously colored my perceptions of whether or not the various sights had been "worth" my time...plus I'd already been in Syria for a few days and knew how wonderful I had it. I don't even post photos of Lebanon on my website (except in my travelogue), because I was so uninspired and feeling defeated.

The two saving graces of Lebanon: the manager of Pension Al-Nazih, who took me in for free after the owner of Talal's New Hotel attacked me, and the incredibly kind man I met on hospitalityclub.org who drove me to his favorite places, introduced me to his lovely girlfriend, and never let me pay for my own food. (Although, he had been vetted by my host in Jordan, I didn't randomly choose him from the HC list). Both fervently wished I could see a different side to the place but I had some turbulent emotions over the whole thing and couldn't wait to get back to Syria.

thank you for replying. well, yes: you would hope that you could overlook the personal experiences and look at the country and the people "above and beyond" what you experienced first hand; just as, in my job, I should be able to make a decision in helping someone based on the problem and not at all on how he/she behaves. BUT: we are human and I don't think professionalism automatically excludes human frailties. Unfortunately, your experience in Lebanon is not unique and quite common for most of the Middle East. If it makes you feel any better -- and I know it doesn't -- fair haired and fair skinned males go through the same thing over there. While I'm excusing no one's behavior, I would say, be thankful it only happened in Lebanon ... that's quite unique considering how women are treated in general over there.

No one else reported similar things to me...regular hassle, but not prostitute hassle. Another Asian girl had had some issues at New Talal's as well and also moved. But elsewhere in the region, while some women dealt with lewd gestures and bizarre comments, I was only asked on dates, which are easy to beg out of.

I've read the comments here about males getting harassed but never met anyone in person who had noticed anything...

Wow! Thank you all for your answers. Well yes I have 40 days off and I thought I could it all on a budget but by reading your comments (someone said "what a luxury!) maybe I haven't done enough research. I understood I could spend 30-40 Euros per day and in some places even less. My boyfriend and I don't mind spending the night in basic accomodation and eating at the cheapest places and using public transport - we definetely have no money to rent a car...but have I missed something? Perhaps Syria and Jordan are more expensive than what I suggested? I want to buy the guidebooks but I am waiting for their new editions which are due in April. I am grateful to all of you, I will probably change my plans and spend 3 weeks in Syria, (leave Lebanon out) and 2 weeks in Jordan, although that's a shame as I enjoy snorkelling very much and was hoping to spend 2 full weeks in Aqaba. Anyway if the people in Syria are so friendly (do they speak English?) it's probably worth spending more time there. As for the flight we don't live that far from Syria and Jordan (Italy, all right, not that near either) so the flight itself tax included is 530 Euros. That's Rome-Aleppo and going out Damasco-Rome. Then we would need to travel by bus all the way to Petra Aqaba and back to Damasco. Do you still think it is feasible? or would journey be too tiring?
PS: What does OP stand for?

Never pensato ai voli low cost? A flight with http://web3.myair.com/ from Bari to Istanbul would cost 50 Euro one way (all in) and the connecting flight (following morning or a t any time) with http://www.pegasusairlines.com/EN/ from Istanbul to Adana costs just 19 Euro one way (all in).
There are frequent buses between Adana - Antakya - Aleppo.
You could fly back from Adana too. This would avoid ziz-zagging through Syria and Jordan in order to see all places.

"Luxury" as in luxury of time. It's not an expensive place to travel, especially not compared to Italy. Times have changed quickly...I spent 19USD per day in 2005, which is unlikely these days. But I'd think going cheaply is still 30USD/day, so it's under your proposed 30-40 euro/day budget.

It's a little rushed but possible to do Jordan's other major sights in a week...many do. Then you can still have one full week of snorkeling. I love snorkeling too but I can't imagine needing more than that :).

I would save up some money to hire a car for just a couple of days in Jordan so that you can drive down the King's Highway - it shouldn't cost you that much. I think I paid something like 20 or 30 JD per day for car hire - I can't remember the exact amount, but I thought it was pretty reasonable.

Public transport in the Middle East is generally fantastic - you can usually get from anywhere to anywhere pretty quickly and pretty cheaply. But for some reason, the King's Highway isn't very well served by buses or coaches or serveeces... plus it's such a pretty drive that it's nice to keep on stopping. That's about the only place in Syria or Jordan where I'd say a car is neccessary...

And yes, I meant 'luxury' in terms of being able to spend 40 days in the Middle East! As Nauga says, the whole region is great for budget travel. Even though it's much more expensive than it once was, Syria is by far the cheapest of the three to travel in. English is very widely spoken, and most shop/information/direction signs will be in both Arabic and English. Having said that, it's always appreciated if you make some attempt to pick up and use a few basic Arabic words...

OP = original poster, ie, you!

Getting to Damascus from Aqaba shouldn't even take you a whole day - it's just straight up the Desert Highway to Amman, and then another 2-3 hours on the highway to Damascus. It should be quite straightforward. Just make sure you get a multiple entry visa to save any faffing around on the border when you reenter Syria.