*Note: This article is a follow-on from my first and second guide on How to Travel to Damascus and Where to Stay in Damascus. Be sure to visit to get the comprehensive guidance!
Once in Damascus, depending on where you are staying, you have several options for moving around the city. The roads are generally in good enough condition, which makes road travel quite common and easy. Do expect some traffic though!
Taxis: Yellow or white taxis are prevalent around the city, and can easily be flagged down in the normal way one would flag a taxi. Alternatively, don’t be surprised if they honk at you, looking for business and to let you know they are available. Prices are negotiable in SYP; cheaper than what you would find in major cities like New York or London, but surprisingly more expensive than in cities like Amman or Cairo (not by much, but still more expensive).
A trip between Abu Rumana and Bab Sharqi (a 15 minute ride with no traffic) cost me 40,000 Syrian pounds (around $4USD); this could change as the currency depreciates or appreciates. Be aware – there is little English spoken and you may have to direct them using your own Google maps (which does actually work in Damascus!). The cars themselves are also not of the highest quality, but hey, this is a war-torn country… At the least, as of writing, they are still a quite safe way to get around.
YallaGo!: Due to sanctions (here we go again), our normal ride share services, like Uber or Careem, are not yet available in Syria. So, they created their own version! YallaGo! is an app that you can download which functions almost exactly as any other ride share app does. You will need a Syrian phone number to activate your account, and payment is only available in cash, but it does work well enough (and safe enough) to get around the city. Expect drivers to call you (only in Arabic) to confirm the location they will pick you up, and also expect the car itself to be old and used. It’s also usually cheaper than a taxi.
Minibus: Damascus also has minibuses available to get around the city. I’ve not used them personally (note the cheap nature of taxis and YallaGo!), but for those with a good enough level of Arabic, you could likely attempt to figure out the system.
Getting around the old city: if travelling in Bab Touma or Bab Sharqi, or anywhere around the Umayyad Mosque or Hamidiyah Souk, you are probably better to walk. Streets are very tiny, and not very drivable (although some cars still try). Which brings me to…
Walking: Damascus is a surprisingly small city, and is quite flat as well even though it’s surrounded by mountains. If you are staying in Bab Touma, Bab Sharqi, Abu Rumana or Saroujah, you may find little need to use a car, particularly on a beautiful day. There are sidewalks on most streets for ease. However, use extreme caution when crossing a busy road. Pedestrians do not have the right of way in Damascus, and although it’s unlikely that the driver will actually hit you, you may find yourself in a game of “chicken” trying to see if they will stop to let you cross. Use caution.
Next up, we will discuss survival tips for while travelling in Damascus. Yalla!
Angela was born and raised in the United States, but has spent the last 15 years of her life travelling around the globe as a humanitarian, responding to some of the world worst crises. She spent the last 11 years of her life travelling around the Middle East, supporting the humanitarian crisis in Syria. All of this work only spurred on her love of travel. Angela has now been to almost 50 countries, 8 of which are in the Middle East region. Yalla Habibti was born out of a deep love for the Middle East, and a desire to bring the beauty, history and culture of this region to encourage more women to visit! Angela still works full time as a humanitarian as well as providing advice and recommendations here on Yalla Habibti.
