Before you go to Syria: a preparation checklist

This page is a checklist rather than a guide in its own right. Every item is one line, and the detail for it sits on the relevant page of this site. It is written to be read straight through once before you book, and once more beside the open suitcase.

Documents

Without these five, do not set off.

Your passport should stay valid past your return date; the visa is issued on arrival for most nationalities and the rules move several times a year — see the visa page.
An Israeli stamp or evidence of entry to Israel blocks entry; check your passport once with that in mind.
A photocopy of the passport and a photo of the stamped page on your phone, kept in two different places.
If you are coming overland, confirm in advance which crossing is open to which passport.
Register your trip with your own foreign ministry; most run an online service for it.

Money

Cash is the only way. Cards and ATMs do not work for a foreigner.

Bring cash dollars or euros; what you carry in is all the money you will have.
Notes should be clean, untorn and of a recent series; exchange offices pay less for worn paper.
Set aside small notes: taxis, entry fees and tea all need change.
Do not carry it all in one place; some in the room, some on you.
The visa fee is cash too and is paid at the border; budget it separately.

Health

Start early.

Start the vaccination schedule weeks ahead; hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus head the list.
Have the Syria clause and the medical evacuation cover read to you before you buy a policy.
Bring enough of your prescription medicine, in its box; pharmacy stock is variable.
A small medical kit: painkiller, anti-diarrhoeal, rehydration salts, antiseptic, plasters, sunscreen.
Tap water is not drunk; travel with bottled water or a filter flask.

Phone and connection

Work offline.

A local line is opened at an official branch with your passport and entry stamp; eSIM support is still very limited.
Download the map, a dictionary and the pages you plan to read offline; coverage thins outside the cities.
Bring a power bank and a European plug adapter; the power is cut on a schedule.
Back up and tidy your phone before you travel; devices can be inspected.

The bag

Little, but right.

Loose clothing that covers shoulders and knees; a headscarf for women in mosques.
Walking shoes: old-city paving is uneven stone and the steps in castles are high.
Hat, sunglasses and one thin layer; inland nights are cool.
A torch or head lamp; the cut often falls in the evening.
A small gift: tea, coffee or sweets from home earn their space when you are invited in.
Wet wipes and paper towel; they are not always there in the toilets.

What you leave behind

One person at home should hold all of it.

Where you will be each day and which city you are sleeping in.
The names and numbers of the hotels and the driver.
A scan of your passport and of your insurance policy.
Your foreign ministry’s emergency line and the number of its mission in the region.
What happens if you go quiet: who they call, and when they should start worrying.

Going home

Do not rush it.

Keep the departure day free; a closed road or a long checkpoint queue is ordinary here.
Spend or change your remaining pounds before you leave; they are worth nothing outside.
Taking out antiquities, coins or inscribed stone is a crime; nothing like that in your bag.
Go to the airport early; formalities and security checks take time.

The last 48 hours

Four items left.

Confirm the visa rule and the border rule one last time; those two change most often.
Have someone local check the state of your route that week.
Count the cash, separate the small notes, look the bills over.
Back up the phone and make sure the offline map is actually downloaded.