The Best Time to Visit Syria: The Weather Season by Season

Syria is small but its climate varies: a humid, mild coast, cool mountains, a dry interior that is hot in summer and cold in winter, and a steppe of extremes. So the "best time" depends on what you want to do.

Spring (March – May): best for everyone

Mild, sunny weather, green plains and flowers everywhere. The best time for cities, ancient sites and long walks. May is the season of the Damascene rose, and Easter may fall in these months.

Summer (June – August): for the sea and the mountains

Damascus and Aleppo are hot and dry, often above 35°C, and the steppe hotter still. But summer is the season of the coast and the mountain resorts, where the air is cooler. See our coast guide and mountain escapes. In the cities, sightsee early and rest at midday.

Autumn (September – November): the second golden season

The summer heat breaks, the sea stays warm in September, and it is the season of grapes, pomegranates and olives. September brings the Feast of the Cross in Maaloula. Autumn is ideal for a trip combining cities, ruins and the coast.

Winter (December – February): quiet and cold

Days are short and cold; snow may fall in the mountains and occasionally on Damascus. There are fewer visitors, the old cities are beautiful in their calm, and Christmas in Damascus is magical. Bring warm clothes — old houses are cold.

In short

Cities and ruins

March – May, September – November

The sea

June – September

Mountain resorts

July – August

Palmyra and the steppe

Spring and autumn only