City by city
Where you can go, city by city
What each place is, whether it's currently safe to visit, and how long it's worth. Damascus and the west function largely normally for visitors; other areas do not — this is the honest split as of October 2026, so check again before you travel. Times are driving times, which in Syria means checkpoints included.
Deir ez-Zor & Raqqa
Once known for its river corniche and Roman bridge, Deir ez-Zor and neighbouring Raqqa returned to state control in January 2026, when the SDF withdrew under a ceasefire deal, but residual ISIS activity and thin infrastructure mean this is not a tourism stop. Travel here is for aid work and business, arranged with local security advice rather than booked as a sightseeing leg.
- Status
- Aid and business travel only; local security advice required
- Worth
- Not a tourist stop
- From Damascus
- 6–7 hours
- Best time
- —
This is the underrated risk. Contamination is widespread in former front-line areas, around Palmyra, and along old defensive lines. The rule is simple and absolute: stay on hard-surfaced roads and worn paths, never enter a ruined building or an open field, and never take a shortcut across ground you have not seen someone else walk.