A month from the Chinese border to Italy?

I'd say this is barely enough to do anything other than drive the most direct route.

I would also say to maximise your time in Mongolia.

As Maria has said, Altai is well worth riding through. Once you hit Novosibirsk there's really nothing along the main TSH of any interest until the Urals.

Once you hit the Urals, you can head south a bit into the mountains of Bashkortostan. Near Miass you can take a road south towards Beloretsk, then follow it westwards, and connect back to the main road just outside Ufa.

As well as the nice scenery, this also cuts out the worst part of the M5 which (at least in 2011) is a winding two lane highway full of trucks and cars illegally overtaking (it's almost all double white lines) when the police aren't watching.

You could actually stick on small roads by riding down to Orenburg then west to the Volga in Samara, south to Saratov then west to Voronezh, Kursk and Kyiv, thus avoiding Moscow.

As for weather, this year is very unsettled so you just have to see what you get.

EO

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.

thanks for the tips,u have probably read an old post ,I managed 2 and 1/2 months for this tripstarting on may 23rd now .thats not bad..

yes I d like to avoid Moscow..not interested in cities much ,unless I reallly have to for service etc

Hi Forestwiz,

Depending on your itinerary you should not need a carnet and you can bypass Iran, which requires one.

From Mongolia (Olgii town), you can cross the Siberian Altai, then turn south toward Shemonaika small crossing to Kazkahstan (very fast small border, no hassle). No visa or fee required for most passport holders and no registration. You have 15 days.

The East part of Kazakhstan is beautiful, with comfortable towns to rest. Once again, from the southern town of Kegen, you can cross into Kyrgyzstan (small border crossing, no hassle, friendly staff). Kyrgyzstan is magnificent. No visa required.
Tajikistan you need a visa but can do it online, hassle free.

You can then either cross Uzbekistan or get back via Kazakhstan (not sure what the situation is now with UZbek, probably still need a visa).
Uzbek has magnificent ancient towns, like Khiva, Samarkand or Bukhara. Entering Uzbek is long and bureaucratic though, but free!

Kazakh you can get another 15 days to cross.

From Kazakh, you can get back to Russia. You then have lots of choices. Either go down via Georgia (no visa required) and into Turkey, or explore Russia and enter Europe via Scandinavia/Ukraine/ Baltic states…..

None of these alternatives require a carnet and only few (Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) require a visa.


As you can see there are many options. It is a very big part of the world. Border crossing can be long, if you pick a busy one. Avoid the main ones with millions of trucks and locals. I usually pick the small ones.

Keep in mind that Russia, Kazakh, Kyrgyz (and Belarus) are part of a custom union, so the Temporary Import document for your bike, issued to you when you enter the Zone, you must keep it until you leave the Custom Zone. Only get it stampeded at borders within those countries. It means fast border crossings and less red tape.

Regarding weather, last summer, it was horrendous. Even in Kazakhstan in July, when I expected very hot weather, we had massive storms and not that hot! In Russia, the weather was terrible too. Rain, cold, storms. It never really stopped that summer L . Unlucky.

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Sounds great Maria !should look like something like this I guess?
https://goo.gl/maps/qQXcm6vwGau

Although this require a double entry visa for Russia that I will have to get in Mongolia.I have Italian pport which should be fine to apply for a single(not sure double,will check!

I also had thought to go through the north of Europe, Finland Norway/Nordkapp ,Sweden etc.. but thats probably a much colder ride (?)

How much time do you have from Mongolia/Russia border to Italy?
Did I understood right and you have only 1 month?

Let's say,
Russian Altai: you can cross in 2 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 5
Kazakhstan: you can cross in 2 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 5
Kyrgyzstan: you can cross in 3 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 7
Tajikistan: you can cross in 4 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 7
Uzbekistan: you can cross in 3 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 7
Kazakhstan again: you can cross in 2 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 4
Russia Volga region: you can cross in 2 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 5
Georgia: you can cross in 2 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 5
Turkey: you can cross in 2 days, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 5
Greece: you can cross in 1 day, if you want to enjoy your time there, minimum 5
Italy, let's say 1 day to reach home

It's minimum 24 days: I'm not saying you can't do it, but why?
Petrol, visas, a lot of kms, and never stopping.
It's up to you, since is your trip and not mine, but I suggest you to change your plans and take it easy, enjoying the beautiful places you will cross.

If you have only one month from Mongolia to Italy, and you want to reach Italy on your vehicle, avoiding the stans and crossing only Russia, I think it's your only option which makes some sense.

ciao

I just answered the same comment b4... I have 2 and 1/2 months now from Mongolia

Ok, so let's try to make a plan:

Maria already wrote you about Altai, and that's fine. Russian visa.
Kazakhstan, from Shemonaika you can go south. It's mostly steppe. I would suggest you a visit to Charyn Canion. You can count around 4-5 days. No visa for Italians up to 30 days.
Kyrgyzstan, it's an incredibly beautiful country. Mountains. You can spend months exploring side valleys etc etc. Put Song Kul lake at the center of your itinerary, don't miss the beautiful gravel road Kazarman-Jalalabad and enjoy the wilderness. I would stay 2 weeks in this country. No visa for Italians up to 30 days.
Tajikistan, here you have the Pamir Highway. The Wakhan valley it's worth the detour. Also in this country you can find a lot of side valleys to explore, if you have time. High mountains. 10 days. Evisa with GBAO permit.
Uzbekistan. Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, 2 days each, plus other 2 if you want to visit Aral sea at Muynak. It will be hot and sometimes on boring roads. 8-10 days. Visa needed.
Kazakhstan again: here you can choose to reach Russia through the steppe or to take the ferry from Aktau to Baku.
1st option, you would need double entry russian visa
2nd, you would need visa for Azerbaigian
1st option it's only steppe in that part of Kazakhstan, with some beautiful city in Russia (Astrakhan, Elista)
2nd option, it's not the right season probably, since it will be hot, but Mangystau region can offer some beautiful spots. Baku is interesting city.
Then you have Georgia, Turkey and Greece: 3 beautiful countries. No visas for Italians. Based on how much time you have left, you can decide to just ride through them, or to visit.
Georgia has some beautiful mountains. Tbilisi is a nice city.
Turkey, wow, A LOT of different things to see. Spend at least 2 days in Cappadocia if you've never been there.
Greece, Meteora it's on the way to Italy, so don't miss it. Then, a lot of things to see and visit also here, but it's Europe and you can fly in 1 hour from Italy, so probably for this trip you are doing, I would choose to use time in Asia.

Cheers,
cristiano

hi Maria.how long did it take to enter Uzbekistan? .I m at Mongolia border now..trying to plan ahead .thanks!

Hi Forestwiz,

It really depends which border you pick.

As a rule the bigge, majors borders, the longer it takes. That is why I usually chose small borders so that there is no queue of thousands of trucks and locals trying to pass.

When we came into Uzbek from Kazakhstan, from Bayneu, it was the main border so there were so many trucks and cars.... it took us 5 hours with the help of Russian Moldovan bikers ( long story!) and their "fixer".

So pick small borders, it makes crossing faster and borders guards are less hassled and friendlier.

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Yes thats a good ol trick that i always apply whenever possible.but there isn t much choice coming from Dushambe wherei need to get visa,going to Samarkand.
5 hours at border..thats a long time..ouch