Jordan to Syria: Amman to Damascus overland

One gate carries the road between Amman and Damascus: Jaber on the Jordanian side, Nasib on the Syrian side. It stands 80 km north of Amman, and from there another 100 km remain to Damascus. Driving time comes to about three hours; what stretches the day is the time spent at the border itself.

The state of the crossing

Jaber–Nasib is the only practical passenger gate between Jordan and Syria; the crossing at Ramtha handles mostly freight. In March 2025 the two administrations agreed to run it around the clock, 24 hours, and that was still the position in August 2026 for passengers and cargo alike. Jordan’s own tourism site, meanwhile, continues to publish 08:00 to 18:00. Both figures are in circulation and both are sourced. Call and confirm before you set off.

The second point matters more: this gate has closed without notice several times in the past two years. The reason has usually been the security situation in the south, and the closures lasted days rather than hours. Plan around that — do not hang a return flight on the assumption that the gate stays open.

Buses

Scheduled buses to Damascus leave from Amman’s Abdali terminal; JETT runs two a day and a ticket costs around 10 dinars, roughly 15 dollars. The morning departure goes at about 07:00. Another company adds a single afternoon run whose ticket can reach 25 dinars. The advertised journey is three and a half hours, but in practice it runs between five and eight, because the bus waits until every passenger has cleared the border and one person’s problem holds up the whole coach.

Shared and private taxis

A shared taxi asks 25 dinars a seat, about 35 dollars, and leaves when it fills. It costs more than the bus, but at the border you wait behind four people rather than forty. A private car door to door is quoted at around 140 dollars; when the same car sells its seats individually the figure drops to about 60 dollars a person. Settle the price before departure and ask separately whether the fees are inside it.

Getting there on the Jordanian side

Queen Alia airport lies south of Amman and the Abdali terminal sits in the middle of the city; an airport bus and taxis connect the two. Landing and crossing to Damascus the same day does work, but only off a morning flight, because most departures for Damascus go early. Spending a night in Amman is a reasonable alternative: you reach the gate rested the next morning and you keep a margin for delay. Buying the ticket a day ahead is the simplest way not to miss the early bus.

What you pay at the gate

Leaving Jordan by land carries a departure tax of 10 dinars. On the Syrian side the visa is issued at the gate and paid in cash; the amount follows your nationality and the detail sits on our Syria visa and entry rules page. Cards are taken at no stage. In the other direction, entering Jordan from Syria, the Jordanian visa costs 40 dinars at the gate; if you plan to stay a night and claim the tourist card, read the conditions in advance.

The sequence is familiar: Jordanian exit control, the neutral strip, Syrian entry control, baggage. An hour in total on a good day, two on a busy one. Holiday returns and Friday afternoons are the heaviest hours.

From the gate to Damascus

On the Syrian side the road joins the M5 motorway and runs north through Deraa to Damascus. Deraa is both the centre of the Hauran plain and the junction of the Hejaz railway; it is a city you can see in a few hours’ stop and it has its own page here. Checkpoints along the way are normal. Shared taxis into Damascus set you down at a garage in the south of the city, not at your hotel door.

When to travel

Morning. Three separate reasons point the same way. The queue at the gate lengthens as the day goes on. Evening departures are not wanted on the Syrian side. And arriving in Damascus in daylight makes the first night easier in every respect — hotel registration, buying a phone line, the first exchange. What to have with you: passport, the visa fee in cash, the exit tax in dinars, and enough dollars for a first day in Damascus. Our page on combining Syria with its neighbours shows how this crossing fits into a wider Jordan and Lebanon itinerary.