Tripadvice needed Europe -> Mongolia

[Donkey]

Hi all,

i'm planning a "Silk-road" trip using some helpful guidebooks. Starting from Rotterdam, the Netherlands to UB Mongolia via

- Balkan (Europe) (Bosnia, Bulgaria)
- Turkey
- Iran
- 'Stans
- Russia
- Mongolia.

My biggest question to you is very subjective, but what kind of duration should I think of? I am considering to ride it within 2.5 months, should that suffice?

Budgetwise, I am thinking (apart from the motorcycle) rougly 10k for such a trip.

Will it be easy to wild camp in the countries? Or perhaps the hostels are sufficiently cheap to not even bother..

I want to cross Europe within a week (since I live there, there is always a chance to see it).

Turkey preferably I'd visit Istanbul for a few days, Ankara, the Ihlara valley and the Goreme valley after which I would ride to Trabzon (and on).


Iran; still to be looked into where to go.
Ofcourse Teheran
Perhaps;
Ishafan
Masule
And perhaps even Persepolis

'Stans the Pamir Highway.


I hope you guys perhaps have some good suggestions, but mostly how many days should i bargain for at my job?



Cheers,

Donkey

[maria41]

Hi,

Is your ride ending in UB? Are you flying back ? In that case, 2 ½ months is enough time.

It took us 3 ½ months to go to and back from London to UB, taking our time, on two 125cc bikes!
Although we cheated a bit on the way back by using the trans- Siberian from Irkutsk to Moscow and various ferries back to the UK, but we took our time.

Camping in Russia is permitted pretty much anywhere and same in Kazakh and Kyrgyz. If it is remote and discreet you can pitch you tent. We camped occasionally but keep in mind registrations rules. It can be pain in the bum, especially in Uzbekistan as they check at the exit so you have to stay in hostels and get registered most of the time.

The “Lonely planet of central Asia” is probably the worst (WORST!) guide book ever, wrong maps, wrong info, banks / ATM machines never where they should be, fantasy maps and more. Make yourself a favour a burn it if you have it!

For more info I wrote my RR here

Maybe see you on the road. We will be in the region this summer.
Cheers

[StartAdventures]

Hey Donkey,
When do u plan to start ? I think is better you start as soon as possible. I got bad snow storm in Iran and Turkey around end of September . Lucky me I just made something like 70 km under snow but I drove below 0 Celsius for hundreds of km(not funny)
If u have short time arrange visas before even if I think the only can give problem is the Turkmenistan visa. I did in Dushanbe it took 2 weeks.
However yes the money if u wild camp is more then enough.
I wild camp everywhere even in Tokyo city center, even made a small campfire. However yes Uzbekistan hostel are so cheap that there is no point to camp and they make registration for U. Remind u need registration also in Kazakhstan and Russia at least one night. In Russia they usually never check but why risk ? The only thing I suggest is to visit Georgia too , and can enter to Iran trough Armenia. Slow down in Iran and central Asia. I found them amazing. Speed up in Kazakhstan and Russia. But in Russia visit Altay region. Have safe travels

adventures in life never ends

[Donkey]

Originally Posted by maria41

Hi,

Is your ride ending in UB? Are you flying back ? In that case, 2 ½ months is enough time.

It took us 3 ½ months to go to and back from London to UB, taking our time, on two 125cc bikes!
Although we cheated a bit on the way back by using the trans- Siberian from Irkutsk to Moscow and various ferries back to the UK, but we took our time.

Camping in Russia is permitted pretty much anywhere and same in Kazakh and Kyrgyz. If it is remote and discreet you can pitch you tent. We camped occasionally but keep in mind registrations rules. It can be pain in the bum, especially in Uzbekistan as they check at the exit so you have to stay in hostels and get registered most of the time.

The “Lonely planet of central Asia” is probably the worst (WORST!) guide book ever, wrong maps, wrong info, banks / ATM machines never where they should be, fantasy maps and more. Make yourself a favour a burn it if you have it!

For more info I wrote my RR here

Maybe see you on the road. We will be in the region this summer.
Cheers

Hi Maria,

Thank you for the time schedule and the helpful advice! I was really wondering what amount of time I should calculate in order to see enough (but never everything).

Are there any places that you recommend heartfully? And in Uzbekistan did you book hostels in advance due to this policy?

@Start adventures;

I will leave next year May(work-permitted). So hopefully skipping the snow storms and reaching the Pamir highway in summer time.

The Altai region looks beautiful, I presume there is an easy access between Russia and Mongolia in that region?

And you mentioned that with wild camping the budget should be sufficient, I calculated rougly 80 euros a day (Fuel/Food/Sleep), so i hope that its More than enough!


What kind of milage would one do in Iran/Central Asia (guesstimate)?

[maria41]

Hi Donkey,

Lots of beautiful places to visit. Georgia is stunning. Kazakhstan has beautiful national parks off the beaten track though, Uzbekistan has stunning historic towns. Do not miss Khiva. It is wonderful! Then go via Bukhara and Samarkand.

I did not get to Tajikistan 2 years ago (riots and Pamir closed). I will try this year. So for now I cannot comment.

Kyrgyzstan is stunning. The road from Osh to Bishkek (Still part of the Pamir highway technically!) is one of the most spectacular roads I have ever been through.

Osh is a pleasant town to stop and do repairs and rest. Contact Home - MuzToo Central Asia Motorbike Travel (I think Patrick is still over there?) if you need a mechanic or tyres or parts…. Helpful guy. He organises bike tours but he may be of help.

Good climate in Osh, decent hotels and internet, and you can even eat great salads (and pizzas!) at the California Café without fear of Deli Belly!

The Altai is absolutely stunning. Try to explore a bit before crossing into Mongolia. On the way, in Manzherok, you can contact Алтай-МОТО. Vladimir has now space for people in the moto-house and also a big workshop for repairs/tyres/spare parts. His main business is Siberian Enduro Events organisations, Enduro Schools/promotion and Enduro guided tours of the Altai, but he can be of help to travellers. He is a really nice guy and give good advice.

In Uzbekistan take enough cash with you as there are hardly any cash machines and they are usually broken. And most banks (and big hotels) won’t give you advance on your card. Usually because “the machine is broken” or they don’t have Dollars/money! It can turn into a massive problem, so bring enough dollars to get by. Euros can work but better rate with $$$.

Crossing the Russian Altai, it is really worth taking the short cut from Oskemen / Shemonaika border and taking small short cuts rather than main road through Semey. The main road is loaded with trucks and no fun. The short cut is detailed here in the HUBB by Walter Colebatch and is stunning (the shortcut I mean, not Walter )!

I will travel again across northern Russia, and the Stans this summer. I will report back when I come back end of September. So I may give you more recent info

And don’t forget vaccinations. TBE (Tick Born Encephalitis) is taken extremely seriously by the Russians, so it must be really bad. They even have special insurances for tick bites illnesses, so make sure you get vaccinated and you are careful with ticks.

That’s all for now! See how busy I am at work