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

Hello everyone,
planning to go to the Middle East for first time next summer in August. We have about 40 days, would it be feasible and a good idea to start from Aleppo and go all the way to Aqaba by land? If so, would it be possible to include Lebanon? and which sites do you recommend the most?
thank you for any help given

Totally feasible. Route is fine. Two weeks each in Syria/Leb/Jordan (or, if you're including Israel/Palestine, 10 days in each) will give you an excellent feel for the region - you'll absolutely love it. This amount of time will also let you get off the beaten track a bit, and really get under the skin of the places you're in. Give several days to each of the big cities (Aleppo, Damascus, Beirut, Amman, Jerusalem) to let you compare & contrast, and hit the big sights with a couple of days each (Palmyra, Baalbek, Petra etc), but the thing that will swing this trip into something special will be giving yourself a good amount of time to get out into the countryside, the small villages, the minor sights. THAT's where you'll best be able to get a handle on the people and what moves them. Investing in renting a car to cover the backcountry will repay in getting you (quickly) to places you'd never see otherwise - and letting you stop on the way to sniff the air and see the fields.

Get a mix of books (LP is good on Syria, Rough Guide is best on Jordan) and read the small print - it's the places in between the headline attractions that make things special. By allowing 40 days you've given yourself a real chance to explore more widely than most. Take it!

Gems of Syria - Jordan (from North to South):
St. Simeon and the dead cities, Aleppo, Apamea, Hama, Krak des Chevaliers, Palmyra, Ma'aloula, Damascus, Hauran (above all Bosra), Pella, Um Qais, Djerash, Madaba, Kerak, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba.
Lebanon: Baalbek, Byblos, Beirut, Beit-ed-Din, Saida, Tyr
Syria/Lebanon: museums closed on Tuesdays, bazars and Islamic buildings closed on Fridays

So nice to find somebody asking this question and not "can I make it in 8 days?"

Just thinking the same thing! 40 days, what bliss...

One of my biggest regrets for Syria is that when someone invited me to stay with her, I didn't have the time. I was on a daytrip from Hama with my hotel manager and a couple other guests, and the guest who'd been learning Arabic already knew the host in the village we'd stopped in. The host intrigued me as she was relatively old to be unmarried, blatantly uninterested in marriage, but stuck caring for her brother's 6 or 10 kids, I dunno, there were lots. But the night the other guest would be spending out in this village was 3 or 4 days later, when I'd already be in Aleppo. I hope the next time I go I'll get another invite, somewhere in Syria.

Other than the places listed, I also really liked Deir Mar Musa. Oh, and the hammam in Amman, while much pricier than any in Syria, is a really great experience.

I just did it the other way in just about 2 1/2 weeks, excluding Israel, so you will have plenty of time to rest and enjoy!! Petra and Aleppo were the two highlights for me. Wadi Rum was pretty good too.

40 days!?!? LOL: I guess it would depend on how you travel and how fast (i.e., what you like to do when you get somewhere). I was in the region last April/May and in the course of 3 weeks did Syria and Jordan and had plenty of time. (I travelled by rental car).

I spent 3 weeks as well, and nearly every day I look back and wish I'd had more. 2 weeks for Jordan, a month at least for Syria. But I was on a frequent-flier miles ticket, and I wanted to push my return flight from Istanbul out by a month and the only choices for limited FF seats was 2 months or nothing. OP is very, very lucky!

OP is indeed very lucky. I've tried to do something like this before, but open-jaw flights in the Middle East always seem to be ferociously expensive compared to return flights. And 40 days... what a luxury!

Apart from the places already suggested, I'd also recommend:

Homs (Syria). There are very little in the way of traditional tourist sites in Homs, but Homsis are incredibly friendly and hospitable, even by Syrian standards. The food I've had there is easily some of the best I've had in Syria, and the Christian quarter is great fun and easily rivals Bab Touma for liveliness. It's also quite modern and liberal, being a university town - in many ways it feels much more like a Lebanese city than a Syrian one. Syrians seem to think it very strange that anyone would actually want to visit Homs, but I actually much prefer it to Hama.

Bcharre/The Cedars (Lebanon). The mountains in northern Lebanon are breathtakingly beautiful, even in summer, and there's plenty of good hiking to be had.

Zahle (Lebanon). Worth it even if it's just for a day trip: Zahle is renowned for its food, and you won't be disappointed by a meal there.

King's Highway (Jordan). One of the most beautiful drives you'll ever have!

Dana Valley (Jordan). Absolutely fantastic hiking through a valley inhabited by friendly Bedouin.

If you're travelling north to south, and plan to visit Lebanon, it would make sense to enter Lebanon via one of the two nothern border crossings from Tartous (also another fun city to visit) or Homs, but exit via the Beirut-Damascus highway.

Enjoy your trip - I truly envy you. I was last in Syria for Christmas, and already am trying to think of ways to get back there soon... Those three countries are easily my three favourite countries I've ever been to.

well, to be fair, the three weeks i was there (of which a week was spent in Beirut) was not sufficient for an in depth exploration of the place. Luckily, I work for an airline, so the cost to do this round trip from Arizona (about $300) was not the problem: it was the amount of vacation time I had. Having said that, I AM returning this April to "finish up" what I could not do in Syria. So, upon reflection, I have to agree with the above, that 1 month in Syria would be about right; minimum 10 days in Lebanon ... and as for Jordan, aside from Petra and Aqaba, I was not overly impressed with what the country had to offer (I live in Arizona; Wadi Rum is nothing special for someone who lives in the American version of Wadi Rum! :-). To me, however, what was most impressive about the region was Syrians' friendliness and hospitality. This made a huge difference to me in where I wanted to be. The Beirutis seemed to be more concerned with proving that they're French than being hospitable (though they were certainly polite and welcoming) and the Jordanians (Palestinians?) always look angry (but were also very helpful). But the Syrians are perhaps the friendliest and most hospitable people in the region and that has been the biggest factor in my opting for a return and seeing places I did not get a chance to see on this last trip.

$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.