Road conditions in Mongolia and Kazakhstan - Leaving in two weeks
 

Hi everyone!

I'm setting off in a couple of weeks and plan to get to Ulaanbaatar in a month and a half. I'll be entering Kazakhstan on the 2nd week of July and Mongolia at the end of the month. Can anyone give me fresh info on the current state of the roads for the following route? (and on river crossings in Mongolia)

KAZAKHSTAN:

Atyrau (from Astrakhan)
Aktobe
Aralsk
Kyzlorda
Shymkent
Almaty
Shonzhy (Charyn Canyon)
Sarkand
Ayagoz
Semey

MONGOLIA

Olgii (from Tashanta)
Khovd
Altai
Bayankhongor
Ulaanbaatar
Sukhbaatar

Thanks very much!!

It seems that i go this direction ( at least in Mongolia ) maybe a week or 1 1/2 before you.

So i can post the conditions here in the HUBB then

I decided to cancel Kazakstan and take more time in Mongolia
( and i think that Russia is also beautiful, if you dont take the main roads )
I stay in Ulanbataar till the 5th of august and then return to Austria via the Baltic countries

Thanks!

My best case scenario would be to get to UB on Saturday the 4th of August, if I do, I'll buy you a beer bier
How are travelling back? I'll ride to Isrkutsk and try to get the bike on the train, then ride to Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, France and home.

I thought about Irkutsk and train too..

But it seemed to be a hassle, so i planed ( or didn't plan ) that i go to Irkutsk, ask at the train station and then either go by train to Moscow or ride to Moscow, then Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republik and Austria

Astrakhan to border, road is fine. There is a bridge washed out but there is a temp floating pontoon. From memory it was about 150Rb so make sure you keep some before the border.

From Russia into Kaz the road is in poor condition for about 100km. It then gets better and is fine around Atyrau. we went to UZB so cant comment any further.

G

In General.

Kazakhstan is all asphalt - sometimes good, sometimes bad sometimes sections under repair.

Mongolia has almost no roads. At least as far as Altai its just paths across the earth. From Altai City to UB they are building a road. Within about 400 - 500 km of UB its asphalted.


But in general there is no comparison between Kazakhstan and Mongolia. One has roads in various states of repair, the other has no roads (except within 400-500 km of UB).

After Bayankhongor, to UB snd to Sukhbaatar, you will be fine. The border to Bayanhongor will be the rough section

We made the road from atrakhan to atyrau today. The pontoon bridge is still there 100rb for two bikes. the road was fine, but not perfect. Many big pot holes, and wrinkeled asfalt. Just keep the speed above 80km/h and you dont feel it so much.

Thanks for the info guys!

Walter, I downloaded, trimmed and copied your waypoints into my Garmin, great job, I bet they have been very useful for a lot of people here!
Have you stayed in some of the hotels you've included for Kazakhstan and Mongolia? I was wondering what the prices are on average... see if I can afford a proper rest from time to time!

For those of you who have travelled this route before: I have calculated about two weeks for Kazakhstan and then a week from Tashanta to UB, is this realistic?

We just went from ataray to aktobe. On the A27 . The road is in very bad state. 70 % of the asfalt isnt there anymore. Is is not a problem to pass , but with low speed <60kmh. It is better to go on the dirt tracks along the road.

How long did it take you? And are you caming or staying at hotels? Any recommendations? Thanks!

It took us two days, we when to a hotel in ataray. It cost around 100 dollar for a good room. But you get others alot cheaper. Then we camped yesterday. It is was fantastic.

Calculate 300 km a day.

I have stayed in many / most of tge hotels on the map. Kazakhstan is not a cheap country. In the cities the hotels in KZ are typically 100 bux a night for a double or more. In small towns they are more like 40-60 bux a night per double room.

In Mongolia they are typically 10 -15 bux a night

That also the prices we find here. We found a cheaper hotel 20dollars a night for a double room, but that was old run down soviet style hotel where the upper floors a closed because of water damage. Fungus on the walls and no working toilet and paper thin matresses. We used our camping gear inside the room to sleep nicely. 42*54'46"N 71*22'21"E in Taraz if anybody is interested.

The road from aktobe to almaty is all new asfalt. But several section are not finnished yet. Especialy around baikonur spacestation. There you have to drive on dirt tracks along the construction sites, around 200km in all. But they seem to be almost finnished, they should open the new sections this year.

Thanks for the info!

I'm setting off tomorrow at 7am, first stop, Grenoble. Travel safe and I'll keep in touch from the road!

Mongolia
 

Hello
5 of July we will start to Mongolia from central Poland
LR 110 and Toyota LC.

see you on road.

Bartosz