Hi Ollie

A friend of ours (travelling on American passport, but just backpacking, not overlanding) applied for his turkmen and iran visa in Uzbekistan. he had a 40 days visa for Uzbek and needed the 40 days because he had to wait around for a couple of weeks for his Iranian visa and another week or so for the Turkmen visa. You have to have one before the other (can't remember which way around)

We just finished the reverse route(well almost) of what you want to do. This would be my suggestion and here is our experience with timeframes.

I think you can quite easily get from St Pete through Moscow to Volgograd and entering Kazak at the Atyray border in 3 weeks. There is hardly anything to see between Moscow and Volgograd (obviously depending on the route - we took the most direct route because of winter weather)

For us, St Pete and Moscow was just about the highlight of our trip and definitely worth the extra kms (We didn't go to Iran and Turkmen though)

Maybe you can do russia (St P>Moscow>Volgograd) and then through Azerbaijan into Iran (not sure if this is possible) and loop up through Iran, Turkmen Uzbek etc. (Besides from desert and steppe, there's not much in west Uzbek and Kazak as well). I think you can enter Uzbek from Turkmen close to Nukus in Uzbek. This way you will be able to maybe apply for the Iran and Turkmen visa in Moscow (again not sure if possible??) and you can still do the rest of central asia going uzbek>tajik(pamir)>kyrgyz>kazak>russia etc.

We bumped into someone in Dushanbe who works in Kabul (for almost 5 years) and we asked him what he thought of entering Afghan with a vehicle because we were considering this and he said that we would be a very easy target for kidnappings etc and he would not recommend it at all. He said that there has been a big increase in kidnappings of american/british and any other rich nationality where a high ransom can be demanded. He also said that entering northern pakistan would be looking for trouble at the moment. He even adviced our backpacking friend who was going to go to Kabul not to walk around to much, but use taxis and to stay in hotels with armed guards at about US$70 per night. I'm not sure if he was trying to use scare tactics and if he was exaggerating or not, but thats his advice.

If you cut out Russia then you cut out Mongolia as well. Is this a place you wanted to go to (very nice place btw)?

Hopefully this won't confuse you any more than you already are...

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www.seeyouwhenwegetthere.com

I would endorse what the others have said about getting all your visas before you leave Europe. We also use Stantours and they are usually correct because they deal with it on a daily basis.

Also I would advise to avoid Afghanistan. The chances of being kidnapped are quite high.

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2008 KTM 990 Adventure S

I was in 'stans this summer (Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran) and I made visas there for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan. It is possible but takes time and hassle. Uzbekistan visa I got next day (with LOI) however some other foreigners who applied at the same day with no LOI need to wait 1 week. Most hassle was with Turkmeistan transit visa (in Tashkent) and at the end they gave me different entry point and route that I asked for. LOI speeds things up. I (Estonian) needed LOI even for Kyrgyzstan, while most other nationalities do not. Got help from Stantours, but getting LOI may take a week or more.

If your country issues 2 passports then that eases things down, so you can apply on different embassies at the same time. You can also send one passport into Iran embassy in your country when you are approaching Iran and then ask someone to mail it back to you with visa. Getting Iran visa in stans is ranges from very difficult to not possible.

Someone previously told that 'stans were quite boring. Contrary, I think Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are very nice if you wander some small mountain roads. Bishkek also has some really crazy architecture. Other countries are less interesting.

Hi,
When aI was there (summer 2006 - 2007) all backpackers seemed to use Bishkek to apply for visas. So did I. I applied there for Kazahkstan, Pakistan and India. The Kazakh one took a few days, the Pakistani one was issued on the day and the Indian in a couple of days.
I don't know how's the situation now but you can email Yoshi or Tolkum who run the Shakura Guesthouse in Bishkek and they always have information left by backpackers staying there, many of them are in Bishkek just to apply fopr visas.
( Sakura Guesthouse - Bishkek - Lonely Planet Hotels & Hostels )
Most travellers will go to Bishkek, apply for visas and while these where issued leave to visit Yssik Kul or Osh and return to Bishkek to collect visas. Many consulates allow you to take your passport while they process the visa. Take photocopies of it with you. Another way is to go to a "Notari" who can make an official copy of your passport, as good as the original in that country. I know of people who got them just to prevent for the police 'retaining' your passport expecting something in return for it. Notaries are very, very cheap and each ex soviet republic has them.
Kazakhstan it's very interesting but it's also vast and the distances between centres of interest huge.
I arrived to CA via Ukraine, Russia --Rostov na Donu, Volgograd, Astrakhan the Kazakhstan-- Atiray... It was really cool all the way. East of Volgograd it's a bit boring but I enjoyed nevertheless.
David at Stantours is very good. He helped me a lot, but check with others in the region and at the Thorntree website.
Everyone complains of the time and the seamingly randomness the Iranians have to issue visas (except in the UAE where I got it in just two days!).
I hope this helps.
DD

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Smile

Hey guys - thanks for all your answers - if anyone else has advise keep it coming cos I still don't have a clue But I need to re-read all of this and have a think.

The only thing that I have confirmed is I won't be 'hopping' across the Wakhan Corridor to Pakistan. Looks so simple on the map, but apparently there is no easy route ...

We are now thinking about 'hopping' over to China and taking the quick route down to KKH. With all the extra expense and paper work that involves ..

Hmmm

thanks

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

At present it is not possible. The border between Russian and Azerbaijan is closed for non-CIS citizens, and obviously the Russia - Georgia border is closed full stop. Basically, westerners cannot cross the Caucasus mountains at all at the moment.

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wrong
westeners can not cross russian Caucasian border but the way Turkey-Georgia-Azerbaijan-iran/turkmenistan still passable

THAT'S TRUE . . .

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

So, thanks to everyone for their advice, we have made 2/3rd the decisions we need to.

We did consider coming down through Russia and looking at catching the Socci/Trabzan ferry (I think it was that one). Thus we would be able to enter Iran after getting the visa from the UK. But this would mean that we would have to route through China and back down the KKH, which is fine, but we would stuggle to get down the KKH by closing time.

So, instead we have decided to miss out Russia (do it another time) and come down through Bulgaria and follow this route:

Turkey - Iran - Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan - Tajikistan - Kyrgyzstan.

The last bit is what we are undecided on. I was thinking that we should head from Kyrgyzstan down the Torugart Pass into China and then down the KKH.

My wife (who remember is not going to Russia as she desired) thinks it will be a shame to miss out the SE corner of Kazakhstan, and would like to enter there.

Does anyone know if this is worth the hassle and if so, should we look at a double entry visa in Kyrgyzstan or perhaps push across the Chinese border at Khorgos? I think she is excited by the gorge and mountains, but i have a feeling we will see plenty along the pamir etc.

Any thougths welcome, and thanks for the help.

Cheers

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009

Once in CA it will take you anything up to a month or longer to arrange. I've heard of people who managed to arrange it a lot faster. Usually they pay top price for that. Lots of people have been rejected at the Tougar pass, it is well known for it.
Have a great adventure.
dd

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Smile

Cant see any reason why Khorgos would be more difficult than Torugart Pass. The other way if anything, but you will have a guide etc... yes? Then its just more money for a longer trip through China.
I would have thought SE Kaz was well worth it for the canyon but to make sure, go to Almaty and Lake Balqash as well!

Remember, you will probably only go once!

Pic is the lake reflected in the clouds... nothing to do with lens reflections.

Cheers,
John

Attached Images

 

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Nostradamus Ate My Hamster

Great thanks John, probably enough encouragement there to make me want to do it

We are using Stantours to sort our guide, and also visa/LOIs. Will drop him another email on Monday and see what difference it makes to the price.

thanks

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Ollie

www.jollyfollies.com

Land's End to Sydney 2009