Aktau - Baku ferry information
 

For anyone gunning it for Aktau and the ferry to Baku: I arrived here on Sunday August 4th and immediately located the ticket office. I stayed one night in a hotel, three nights in the parking lot next to the ticket office, and am now camped at a beach about 30 km south of the ticket office. I enquired today at the ticket office as to a departure time (as I have done everyday) and was told that the boat would be leaving Monday, August 12th (fingers crossed). I rode like the wind from Dushanbe to Aktau, thinking I would make a boat to Baku, only to get here and start waiting. Just a heads up.

Cheers,

Beaudin

Playing the Waiting Game...
 

Good luck with your wait Beaudin, getting a ferry across the Caspian Sea is probably the most frustrating experience in the 'Stans.
Fingers crossed that the boat will be leaving on Monday.:yes:

For those who aren't aware, there is NO schedule, the boat runs approximately every 10-14 days, and it is often very delayed. Conditions on board are not great- unless of course your idea of fun is hanging out with a load of truckers knocking back vodka non-stop for the whole 2-3 days:lol2:

Waiting
 

Hey Beaudin,
Talk to the Turkish truck drivers (Netcom trucks) who will be waiting
at the gate - they know when it will be loading.
Jim

Hi, thanks for the responses.

Hope you got across the Caspian lake..we were coming from the other side and it took 5 days before we got to Aktau. Well actually it took 1 day to get there and 4 waiting for stock to arrive at the port.

We were on a rail cargo ferry called the Quarabakh or something like that...look for a woman called Ula, she cooks some very nice chicken! Don't believe her lies of when we will port though ;)