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.
Homs & Hama
Hama's wooden norias still creak on the Orontes as they have for centuries, and Homs is the main stop between Damascus and the coast — both function normally for visitors and sit on every itinerary heading toward Krak or Latakia. Homs's outer districts still show heavy war damage, though, so this is a place to see the centre and move on rather than wander.
- The norias of Hama, lit at night
- A natural stop en route to Krak des Chevaliers or the coast
- Status
- Open; Homs's outer districts still war-damaged
- Worth
- 1 day
- From Damascus
- 1.5–2 hours
- Best time
- Spring and autumn
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.