Time to allow for trip

[twinehammark]

Hi, sorry if this has been covered before but due to constraints on my internet usage I don't have enough time to go through all the threads on this site.

I am planning a trip to come from Japan or Magadan back to the UK via Mongolia,the Aral sea, and maybe China. Does anyone have an idea how much time I should allow for this? I have about 10 weeks.

As I expect many of you have done this before, I heard that entry routes into Mongolia are fairly limited, is this true and if so how can I find a good entry point?

Thanks for your help on this, sorry if its being a pain by bringing it up again, feel free to direct me to a thread if you know of one.

Cheers

Mark

[MotoEdde]

How much time is up to you...your ride, your timeframe...
Most people enter/exit Mongolia from Russia via Sukhbatar(in the East as there is a paved road to UB) and in the West at Tashanta. There is another entry point East of Sukhbatar that will take you to I believe Chita...BUT that route is unpaved...for the most part to UB.

The Aral Sea may be more approachable from the Uzbekistan side than the Kazakhstan side, BUT as the roads/tracks in Kazakhstan are bad, BUT after Mongolia, you will be prepared.

China requires $$$ BUT some of done it on the sly...search the HUBB for details using the Google...as the HUBB search engine won't do you any favors.

HTH

[Chris D (Newcastle NSW)]

Mark,

Here is a good source of info that may answer some of your questions.

The Kingsmill's Overland Travels

From my reading of Geoff Kingsmill's story he appears to have driven across Russia from East to West in 10-12 weeks. He was in a 4WD.

Cheers

Chris

[twinehammark]

Thanks for all your help guys, the trip is slowly coming together!

[Bill Shockley]

Twine,
Unless you are the Ironman 10 weeks it will be tough to do just on the main roads. If you don't speak Russian, think about 7 time zones of no English.
No tires and no parts.

Vlad to Chita 2 weeks
Chita to Ulan Batar 1 week.
Ulan Batar to Novosibirsk 2 weeks
Novo to Budapest 2 weeks
Budapest to UK 1 week

Man, that is no breakdowns, visa hassles, wrecks, or side trips to China or Kazakhstan, forget Magadan.
3-4 months is more realistic if you plan to see anything or have any fun, hang out, etc.
bill

[usl]

Good point ... Travelling through russias interior sections can be very dıffıcult if you dont know russian..