BootsnAll Travel Community

I just had an opportunity pop up to get out to the middle east for a while in about a month, so I am scrambling to get everything organized. I want to fly into Beirut, then go to Damascus, visit a friend in Amman, and then fly out of Tel Aviv.

My main concern is having a plane ticket with me that says I am flying out of Israel. Is there any way I can visit Lebanon an Syria while planning on flying home from Tel Aviv without getting caught? Also, will having the LP "Middle East" guide which contains info on Israel get me into trouble?

I am an American, so I have started filling out the visa app. for Syria. It seems from what I've found online that visas for Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel are easily obtained on arrival. Does anyone think that I should get a visa for Lebanon or Jordan in advance? Im pretty sure that I will only need a single entry.

Any info is greatly appreciated, and I'm sure I will have some more questions soon.

Thanks!

is it possible to get an e-ticket? that way you can just have the PNR number stored on your email account or something. I doubt there will be any problems unless you flash a paper ticket at the passport control people in lebanon and syria. I haven't been to Lebanon but I doubt you'll have any visa problems as I live in the Mid East at the moment and a lot of my friends (who are not arabic) have been there with no problems. Jordan's no problem.

Good luck and have fun in Tel Aviv, I hear it is amazing!! I want to go but my parents started working in Saudi Arabia so I won't be let into Saudi if I go.

I don't see why you'd need any more visas than just Syria. Jordan's no problem (we didn't even get charged for our visas, but I think that was just a quirk because we entered through Aqaba). The others I haven't been to, but haven't heard of anyone having trouble.

Shahi has a good suggestion regarding the e-ticket, that seems the best option. Odds are good they're not going to do anything more than look at your passport (the most border hassle I got in the middle east was a guy in Jordan who wanted us to open our bags and then promptly told us to close them again without actually looking in them.) Still, if you have a paper ticket, it might be best to also get a fully refundable ticket from somewhere like Amman or Istanbul...just for misdirection. That may not be a bad idea even if you do get an e-ticket. Then get it refunded when you get to Jordan.

The guidebook will be no problem. Just make sure the Israel pages aren't dog-eared or highlighted or anything. Again, unlikely anyone will look, but still best to be on the safe side.

Just noticed that I will be traveling into Jerusalem from Amman on the eve of Yom Kippur. This should make things interesting. Does anybody know how this will affect the travel/border crossings, or what I should expect as far as festivities and availablity of food? I really don't know much at all about the holiday, if anyone can fill me in on what it is like that would be great!

You will be arriving on the holiest Jewish day of the year- the country stops completely- there will be no public transport, no shops open, no cars on the streets, ESPECIALLY in Jerusalem. It's not a festive day, it's a very sombre day-the day of atonement, in which Jews fast and reflect on their past sins and ask G-d for forgiveness.