3/4 months trip (eastern europe + middle east)
 

Hi everyone,
Im total novice regarding to long distance travelling but now I think is the time to change it...:thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1:

So before I give you any more details i would like to ask if something around 25000kilometers over around 100days (could probably be stretched to max 4months) is really stupid idea?

We will be starting up in Slovakia and thinking to go throught these countries: hungary, serbia, montenegro, albania, macedonia, greece, turkey, gergia, armenia, azerbaijan, iran, turkmenistan, uzbekistan, tajikistan, kyrgyzstan, kazachstan, mongolia to Irkutks (russia).
from there train to moscov and from moscov back to slovakia.

well we just starting to planning up so its just idea at the moment. so it will all depends on visa etc.
Because its all new to us we dont have idea how does it work.

so any tips and help will be much appreciated.

thanks a lot

250 km per day for extended periods qualifies as "speedy" in my book, but I've done it in a variety of areas and so can you--as long as nothing major goes wrong. Much depends on how you like to travel, i.e., how many side trips, how much lounging or around exploring specific areas in detail, whether you favor pavement or gravel and dirt.

If you're really a novice, a short trial journey to work out the kinks is always a good idea. And when you say "we," that implies either more than one bike or yourself and a pillion. Either way, multiple people involved tends to slow things down, since everyone's comfort and preferences needs to be taken into account. I'd always suggest having shorter, quicker alternatives or other ways to bail out along the way.

You'll want to have another look at your route (at least) in terms of the Armenia/Azerbaijan border. I know less about Iran, but my American passport would make that part difficult, so worth checking into if you're British. Hardly anyone ever regrets adding as much time to their trip as possible, so if you can do four full months by all means do it.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

thanks for your reply.

well it will be me and my dad (60years old) so two of us.
we are both novice regarding long distantce bike riding but not novices on the bikes. My dad rides road bikes for years and im hobbie enduro rider.
so from my point of view i would love to do as much as possible offroad :D:D:D

Regarding of that distance (25000 km) that was just rough estimate, thats why i wanna hear opinion of others and if its to much we can make it shorter.

We are not british (we are slovakian) but we might have a bikes on british number plates. i live in england thats why.
But will need to find out what will work out cheaper etc.
Red somewhere already that might be some troubles with british number plates in some countries so will have to check up on that.
We dont have bikes yet so we will be buying them specially for this trip. Because it wont be very comfortable doing it on KTM 450exc and my dads Honda shadow.

so if anybody have some information what will help us please share them. bierbierbier

1) You could certainly do 250 km, even as newbies, but obviously not offroad every day, and more importantly, you won't enjoy it. Assume you will want to have some chill & relaxation days where you just want to see some local museums, hike up a nice hill, or just sit and drink tea all day. It's very important to budget for this time in your plans.

2) Therefore, while it's good to arrange all the visas you need in advance, you should keep track of where you are and at what point you can cut parts of your trip out of the plan. E.g. if you find yourself really enjoying Iran and the South Caucasus, you can always go back to Georgia, take the ferry from Batumi/Poti across the Black Sea to Bulgaria or Romania, and get home in time. Just keep these things in mind.

>We will be starting up in Slovakia and thinking to go throught these countries: hungary, serbia, montenegro, albania, macedonia, greece, turkey, gergia, armenia, azerbaijan, iran, turkmenistan, uzbekistan, tajikistan, kyrgyzstan, kazachstan, mongolia to Irkutks (russia).
from there train to moscov and from moscov back to slovakia.

Like markharf said, you can do either Armenia or Azerbaijan but not both - they've been in a slow war for decades, and actively hate each other. Georgia is more-or-less friendly with both of them. Azerbaijan is what you will probably want, since it has a land border with Iran.

Turkmenistan is a very closed country, getting a visa will be difficult.

Mongolia is a huge detour. If you leave out Mongolia (which may not be that different a riding experience from Kazakhstan?), you would save a lot time and distance, and will only need a single-entry Russian visa. I would say, from Slovakia down to the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, Iran, up to Azerbaijan & Georgia, and see what you feel like doing - taking the ferry from Baku to Kazakhstan, or taking the ferry from Batumi back to Europe.

As Markharf and AnTyx already said, you can't do Azerbaijan after Armenia or vice versa.

Better to choose one.

Both countries have land border to Iran.

Getting Turkmenistan visa is headache. If you get Uzbek visa first you may have a chance. Just try. If you are lucky you can have it. Othervise can apply for a transit visa. 3 days will be enough to see and pass the most of the country.

Enjoy your ride...

thanks for replies.

I red somewhere while ago that it is possible to do both Armenia and Azerbaijan but cant cross the border between them.
But needs to be done via Georgia.
so lets say from Turkey to Armenia than Georgia than Azerbaijan.
anyone done it this way or got experience?

Thanks

You can enter Armenia after visiting Azerbaijan and you can enter Azerbaijan after visiting Armenia. I have personally done both.

What you cannot do is cross the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, or enter Azerbaijan with a passport showing evidence of having visited Nagorno Karabakh (which is de-facto Azerbaijan but occupied by Armenian forces).

If it were my trip, I would fly through the European countries (which you can easily visit another time) and try to make the most of my time in the most interesting countries; Iran and Mongolia.

You don't say when you want to start, but I would try to avoid Iran, Turkmenistan in the hottest months, and on a bike, would want to be in Russia between May and October. So if you start in March it would be good to do the trip in the order you have it. If you start in the middle of summer, do it the other way around.

EO