travelling the unknown.

Beirut to Damascus by bus (and vice versa)

April 8, 2025April 12, 2025Xavier Raychell BlanchardeLeave a comment

In case you don’t want to join one of our Syria tours where we usually provide transport from Beirut for free, you can cross the border by yourself. Did you know that you can travel from Beirut to Damascus by bus (or vice versa) for less than 10 USD each way. However, there are many steps involved. Follow along with the article to learn how.

IF travelling from Beirut to Damascus:

First, go to Cola station (exactly at this location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pch6j3Xv2pY7m3i87). You will find minivans heading towards Chtoura in the Bekaa valley. Get in one of them. It currently costs 300,000 Lebanese Lira per person (just over 3 USD). They look like the image below:

After around an hour you should arrive in Chtoura. You can also exchange money to Syrian Lira here. After you get out of the bus, you can find another similar minivan heading to Masnaa (the border crossing with Syria) for 100,000 Lira (1 USD). When you arrive, ignore all of the drivers offering to take you to Damascus, and go and get your passport stamped out of Lebanon.

Once you are stamped out of Lebanon, go through customs and find a car heading to the Syrian side of the border. I suggest paying the driver 1 or 2 USD each to the Syrian side of the border (or the equivalent in Syrian or Lebanese currency), as he is heading there anyway.

After getting stamped into Syria, pass through customs, and you will find a similar minivan heading to Damascus. They currently charge 25,000 Syrian Lira per person (around 2.5 USD). You might have to wait a while for it to fill up before the minivan leaves. He will drop you at Somariyah station (exactly here). You can cross to the other side of the highway and find another minivan heading towards central Damascus from there (Baramkah).

IF travelling from Damascus to Beirut:

If you are travelling the other way around, you basically have to follow the same steps. Make sure you go to Somariyah station (exactly here) and search for a minivan heading towards Jdeidet Yabous (the Syrian side of the border). The minivans are usually located inside the station on the left hand side – ignore the taxi drivers that offer to take you to the border if you’re on a budget.

Once arriving at the border, you can follow the same steps mentioned above, but in reverse.

Travelling from Beirut to Damascus by bus this way shouldn’t take too much longer than going by taxi – around 4 hours should be enough. Safe travels and enjoy Syria!

Syria Visa Fees 2025

February 27, 2025July 7, 2025Xavier Raychell BlanchardeLeave a comment

Since the 6th of June, 2025, Syria visa fees are being imposed at all entry points to Syria. While it was previously possible to enter for free if entering by land, this is no longer the case. If you’d like to visit Syria with us, check out our SYRIA TOURS.

The current Syria visa fees (June 2025) are as follows:

Group 1: Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritania

Free, 6 months stay (although certain requirements for Lebanese citizens to enter)

Group 2: Serbia

Free entry.

Group 3: Algeria, Cuba, Egypt, Pakistan, Tanzania, China, Trinidad and Tobago, Azerbaijan, Peru, Montenegro, Morocco, Angola, Botswana, Chad, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, Maritius, Namibia, Ecuador, Tuvalu, Sudan, Yemen, Seychelles

25 USD, 1 month stay OR

40 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

50 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

15 USD, Transit, 15 days

Group 4: Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Senegal, Armenia, Venezuela, Chile, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Colombia, Brazil, Cyprus, Central African Republic, Uruguay, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Mexico, Niger, India, Benin, Grenada, Ethiopia, Vanuatu, Cote d’Ivoire, Georgia, Luxembourg, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Swaziland, Suriname, Gambia, Guyana, Guinea, Libya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Thailand, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal

50 USD, 1 month stay OR

75 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

100 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

25 USD, Transit, 15 days

Group 5: South Africa, Austria, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Switzerland, Belarus, Belgium, Sweden, France, Germany, Tunisia, Spain, Paraguay, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Oman, The Philippines, Bahrain, Portugal, Denmark, Somalia, Norway, Iceland, Italy, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Guinea Bissau, Finland, Kazakhstan, The Bahamas, Latvia, Lithuania, Lesotho, Malta, Moldova, Macedonia

75 USD, 1 month stay OR

110 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

150 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

40 USD, Transit, 15 days

Group 6: United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Canada

100 USD, 1 month stay OR

150 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

200 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

50 USD, Transit, 15 days

Group 7: Nigeria, Kenya, Uzbekistan, United Kingdom, Australia, Afghanistan, Argentina, Burundi, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Eswatini, Cameroon, Equitorial Guinea, Ghana New Zealand

150 USD, 1 month stay OR

225 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

300 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

75 USD, Transit, 15 days

Group 8: USA, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan

200 USD, 1 month stay OR

300 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

400 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

100 USD, Transit, 15 days

Group 9: Marshall Islands, Congo (not clear which one, or both), North Korea

300 USD, 1 month stay OR

350 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

400 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

150 USD, Transit, 15 days

Group 10: Iran

400 USD, 1 month stay OR

500 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

800 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

250 USD, Transit, 15 days

Group 10: All other countries that are not mentioned

50 USD, 1 month stay OR

75 USD, 2 entries within 3 months OR

100 USD, Multiple entry within 6 months OR

25 USD, Transit, 15 days

Syria Tourism After Assad – is it possible to visit?

February 8, 2025April 12, 2025Xavier Raychell BlanchardeLeave a comment

Tourism in Syria after the fall of President Assad is possible. But is it safe? And what are the conditions that are imposed on foreign visitors. As a foreign national that crossed the border into Syria a mere 6 days after the regime collapsed, and as someone who runs group tours to the country, you’re in the right place to be asking!

Syria tourism — *A fighter from HTS in Damascus*

Is it true that visas are not required?!

Currently (8th February 2025), all nationalities are exempt from visas (which are not currently being issued anyhow), but certain nationalities face restrictions. For instance, if you’re Iranian or Israeli, it’s not possible to enter Syria. For Lebanese, there are certain conditions. But for most nationalities, it is MUCH easier than under the days of Assad.

Currently, it is possible to enter Syria as a foreign tourist by land from Lebanon or Jordan (currently prohibited in most cases from Turkey and Iraq). In most cases, upon arrival at Syrian immigration, you will be asked your purpose of visit, and whether they allow you to enter or not is up to their discretion. In most cases, you’ll be stamped through and welcomed quickly, but there have been cases or people being turned away for seemingly arbitrary reasons (having too many tatooes for instance). Having a document indicating that you have booked a tour, or its itinerary, certainly helps. Entry is also free of charge.

If you choose to fly into Damascus, authorities at the airport are easily letting foreigners in without questions, but they have to pay 50 USD to enter. One issue, though, is whether the airline will let you board without a valid visa. I suggest checking with the airline before booking. Turkish Airlines has announced that foreigners will be allowed to board their flights, but other airlines (particularly Qatar Airways) appears less lenient.

Turkish Airlines conditions to enter Syria — *Turkish airlines conditions to enter Syria*

What is INSANE though is that currently, you are allowed to stay in Syria as long as you wish, as no time limit is being enforced.

Is independent travel allowed?

Tourism in Syria during Assad was very tightly controlled! Meaning that most foreign tourists had to have a guide assigned to them from the moment of entry until the moment of exit, with large surveillance from the intelligence services. Now, tourists are not bound by such conditions, and if you manage to enter Syria, then you can travel freely across most areas of the country (SDF controlled areas such as Raqqa still require special permission). Does that mean that I recommend independent travel? No. Syria has just come out of turmoil, and it is a complicated place to navigate if you’re not familiar. It is safer to go with a guide, and you’ll be having a richer experience.

Is tourism in Syria safe, after Assad?

Currently, parts of the country are still unstable, especially rural regions along the Syrian coast and Homs province. Furthermore, Kurdish forces still control swathes of the East, and it is not clear whether they will come to an agreement with the new government. Also, an Israeli occupation is still holding territory in the south. It is also true that elements of the new government were members, or supporters, of extremist groups. This might sound worrying, but the reality on the ground is that major cities are all safe, as are most areas of touristic interest. Hence, we have decided to resume our group tours to Syria, starting in April. If you are interested, be sure to let us know.

Zet Border Crossing (Iraq – Turkey): how to cross

July 16, 2024April 12, 2025Xavier Raychell BlanchardeLeave a comment

After joining one of our Iraq tours, you might decide that you want to visit Turkey! Well, you can go by land. It’s only been around a year since Iraq and Turkey inaugurated a new border crossing between the two – the Zet border crossing. However, it’s not exactly simple to cross as a foreigner, especially if you’re crossing from Iraq to Turkey. This is partly because transportation to the border is difficult, and also because of the border procedures themself. Make sure you read on if you don’t want to get turned around at the border (like I was!). We decided to cross this border to explore Turkey’s fascinating Hakkari region – one of my favourite destinations in the country that few people visit.

IMPORTANT point: the crossing is only for pedestrians – no cars!

Zet Border Crossing Iraq Turkey — **The Iraqi Turkish Zet Border Crossing**

Crossing from Iraq to Turkey

From Erbil, there is no direct transport to the border. We decided to hitchhike (which was fairly easy) but you can also take public transport to Soran from Erbil Terminal. From Soran, people told us that you can find shared taxis to the Zet border crossing. Keep in mind that it’s good to leave early, because the border closes at around 5pm.

Getting turned around at the border!

When we arrived at Zet border crossing, the Iraqi Kurdish officials refused to stamp me out, seeing as they didn’t recognise my Iraqi federal visa. They told me that I had to return to Erbil (three hours away) to get a Kurdistan exit visa before they would let me cross. This is not the case if you use other border crossings, such as the more common Ibrahim Khalil crossing.

Seeing as we were determined to go to Hakkari and to cross the Zet border crossing, we returned to Erbil to get this stamp! It cost me 60,000 Iraqi dinar (around 40 USD). You can get it by visiting the second floor of the Erbil immigration building. We then returned to the border the following day.

Finally crossing the Zet border crossing

The Iraqi Kurdish border guards, after stamping me out, singled me and my friend out for special checks of our bags. This took quite a while, and involved questioning. It took around an hour to get out of the Iraqi side, despite the fact that it wasn’t busy at all. The Turkish side took less than five minutes, immediately stamping our passports and putting our bags through a scanner before entering.

Onward travel from Zet border crossing

After crossing the Zet border crossing, there are minivans that can take you to Şemdinli town, which itself is very pleasant and scenic. From there, you can either spend the night, or you can travel onward to Yuksekova or Hakkari. Hakkari city itself truly has some of the best people and scenery in all of Turkey, and I totally recommend visiting – especially the Cennet Cehennem Vadisi!

Is Afghanistan safe to visit 2023?

December 2, 2023December 2, 2023Xavier Raychell BlanchardeLeave a comment

I spent roughly the entire month of October and the beginning of November 2023 travelling around Afghanistan. Was it worth visiting? Absolutely! Was it stress-free? Certainly not. While I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for a family holiday, Afghanistan is possible to visit, and for the adventurous, it’s likely to be one of your most rewarding trips. But is Afghanistan safe to visit? After all, the Taliban now controls the country. What was my experience like with them? In this blog I hope to cover these topics.

nuristan afghanistan safe — *Me in Nuristan, one of the most remote places in Afghanistan.*

“Now is the safest time to visit Afghanistan in the last 40 years!”

I stand by this statement. It certainly isn’t the safest country in the world. ISIS still has a rural presence and bombings still do occasionally occur. However, this is the safest Afghanistan has been to visit since the Soviet invasion in late 1970s. That’s because the war has finally ended. Before the Taliban takeover, coming across the Taliban in the country was one of the risks that a traveller might face. Many foreigners were kidnapped, killed etc. However, with the Taliban now in control and seeking international recognition, their motives have changed. They are the ones protecting you and, in fact, they are actually encouraging international tourism.

So, is Afghanistan safe? Well, it’s certainly safer than before.

How did the Taliban treat me?

In general, most Taliban members were respectful and on many occasions even hospitable with us, offering us food, tea and even accommodation (though we didn’t take up this offer). However, my travel partner, Anna, was mostly ignored by them, as she was a female. In one specific circumstance, when trying to get special approval for a female to visit Band E Amir lake (currently banned for women), the man in charge of giving permission even refused to meet with us, simply because he didn’t want to be in the room with a lady… at least that’s how it seemed!

However, I do believe that my interactions with the Taliban were made easier because I can speak intermediate Farsi. Dari (a dialect of Farsi) is the most widely spoken language in Afghanistan, and many Taliban members know how to speak it. As such, they tend to get quite happy simply at the prospect of being able to communicate with me. Furthermore, I learned some basic Pashto greetings (the native language of most Taliban members) which definitely made them feel more comfortable in my presence.

Did anything bad happen whilst you were there?

One incident with the Taliban occurred when Anna was feeling car sick and decided to sit on the front seat beside the driver. While this was not at all an issue at most Taliban checkpoints, one certain checkpoint did have an issue with it. It ridiculous to him that a woman was sitting in the front seat, and also sitting beside an unrelated man (the driver). Scandalous! So, he ended up calling Taliban intelligence. After a non-violent confrontation and rude behaviour with our Afghan friends, they let us go. It potentially could have ended up worse (temporary detention etc.). It’s important to keep in mind, though, that such experiences are the exception, rather than the norm.

Furthermore, two bombing attacks happened in the country whilst we were there, both in areas that we travelled to (though not at the time of bombing). Both attacks were directed towards the Shia Hazara people, with the first targeting a mosque in Pol e Khomri city, and another targeting a gym in Dasht e Barchi area of Kabul. I believe both attacks were attributed to ISIS. Such events do make you worry, but they are still so much more rare than they were before the Taliban takeover. Afghanistan is not 100% safe but it is getting so much better.

Permits!!

As annoying as Afghan bureaucracy is, it is essential to get permits for every province that you want to visit. It took us hours and hours to complete this process in Kabul (for free). You can learn about how to do that on this website. Travelling without the correct permits is risky and there are stories of travellers that have been detained by the Taliban for lengthy periods of time for this reason.

Officially, you should first obtain permits from the Ministry of Information and Culture in Kabul. Then, once you arrive in the province, you should register with their regional branch. However, in most cases, we didn’t register upon arrival in the provinces, and simply showing the permit from Kabul was sufficient. This doesn’t mean that I recommend this – just because we got away with it doesn’t mean that everybody will!

What can I do to minimize the risks?

Firstly, I believe it’s better to try to blend in. Or, if that’s not possible, at least try not to stick out toooo much. For men, this means buying Afghan clothes and perhaps limiting your time in public when walking around with a backpack. For women, this means wearing conservative clothing and letting your male travel companion take charge of most social interactions. This might not sound ideal, but it’s the done thing in Afghanistan.

Secondly, I believe it’s smart to register yourself with the Taliban’s Ministry of Culture and Information in every province you visit. This will ensure that you won’t get in trouble with local authorities. Furthermore, it will make Taliban security forces aware of your movements, so they can keep you safe if need be. The reason that we didn’t always register was because we were sick of the bureaucracy. Waiting in offices for hours on end isn’t so fun.

Thirdly, if you’re not experienced with dealing with such complicated and conservative societies and perhaps you don’t have any Persian/Pashto language skills, then it’s probably a good idea to get a guide. A good local guide will always ensure that you are safe. They will also make sure that interactions with the Taliban all go smoothly.

If you take these points into account, then I believe that for you, Afghanistan is safe.

I want a guide in Afghanistan. Who do you recommend?

I personally recommend Explore Afghanistan Tour Agency. I met with their owner and employees in Kabul, and they were very professional and knowledgeable. Oh, and also, super fun! Furthermore, visiting Afghanistan with them is safe.

You can contact them on their Facebook page by clicking this link, or by messaging them on WhatsApp on the following number:

+93 78 140 6446

Tell them that you read Xavi’s blog and I’m sure you’ll get a good price.