Europe to Thailand - best route

[mawer]

Hey there,

I am currently planning a rtw trip starting in spring of 2023.

As of now I am still struggling to find a decent route for the first part of the journey (Europe -> Thailand).

Several recent developments have made this route tougher than expected when I first decided to start by heading east.

Iran is getting increasingly dangerous.

Russia might be problematic.

China, Turkmenistan are closed.


I am aware no one here can predict the future, but still, I'd greatly appreciate your guys opinion on what route west seems most realistic in about half a year.


If I can get a Russia visa going through Russia and Mongolia to Vladivostok and shipping to SE Asia from there seems like the best option rn.

What do you guys think?


Thanks

[Snakeboy]

All the things that includes the words «best», «good» etc are highly subjective and personal. So what is best for me might not be best for you…..

Yes China is closed now and will probably be for a good while longer as latest news suggest they have a surge in Covid cases now. But who knows for how long…?

Also Myanmar borders are closed for the moment and for how long nobody knows. A shipping option from India or Nepal to Thailand or Malaysia could be an option but that might not suit everybody.

If you can get a visa for Russia and secure a shipping spot from Vladivostok or other places on the eastcoast of Russia - that might be a good option. You can still ride Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, several of the Stan countries and then continue through Russia and Mongolia and easten parts of Russia. A multiple entry visa for Russia is required though.

As mentioned above riding Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India-Nepal and ship to Thailand or Malaysia is another option. Maybe Myanmar borders opens for overland travels again also if you are lucky.

Going through China, either it is the short jump from Kyrgisstan via Kasghar and Khunjerab pass to Pakistan or the long way round China from Kyrgisstan to Laos seems like the most unlikely option from my point of view.

Just my 5 cents though….

[Surfy]

The usual routes in direction to east did looks that way in the past:



The blue transsibiria seems the easiert part to me, just one visa. But dont lead to Thailand directly...

China and Myanmar - who knows what will be possible at 2023.

Most of the time something is impossible until someone has successfully tried it and reported it.
When was the last time someone really tried? How seriously did he try? This information is mostly missing.

Has the traveler just been rejected at the border? Has he tried multiple boundaries? Did he try to contact the embassy in his home country to get an agreement? Has he contacted anyone from the tourism department? Has anyone with the required language skills tried to get a permit/permission (at the border and/or other officials)?

I did so often read somewhere about "what it is not possible" currently and at the same time I was watching travellers virtually doing exactly what was not possible.

Iran and Russia - there are travellers on there currently. I did mention some of them in my Buschfunk..

Surfy

[Toyark]

Save a truckload of £/€/$/ Baht and fly there London to Bangkok currently £557 return!
Then rent your moto/scooter locally and spend some of the dosh you saved on la dolce vita in Asia without stress.

(Und das alles ohne den oben genannten nutzlosen Klickköder...)
Merry !!

[mawer]

Thanks for your guys' opinions.

I can definitely exclude directly flying there as an option. I want to experience the multitude of cultures and challenges along the way. Additionally, locally renting doesn't really work, cause this is only the first section of a planned rtw trip. Flying rtw and only riding in select places isn't really what I want to do..

Anyways, I think the best option is for Turkey to be the first destination, leaving open all possible routes for spontaneous changes if the route I'll end up choosing doesn't work out (eg visa trouble Russia, increasing danger Iran etc.).
If further research deems it possible my personal favourite is Russia, Mongolia, Vlad. If anyone has recent experiences regarding Russian Visas (for German citiziens) and Shipping from Vlad to Thailand I'd greatly appreciate a message.

Cheers

[Muijsmans]

I'm currently working on a similar route. Planning to ride from Netherlands to Malaysia starting in March 2023.

I've heard from my local contact at the tour agency (Drive China / Adventures & Tours) that china borders might be opening early next year... Just rumour for now but i'm keeping hope

[missridealot]

Hey you, I would like to stay connected I'm planning the same Route, are you still in that plan or did you changed?
Trying to get informations about the borders from the embassies directly going to contact Turkmenistan, China and India, if they reply I´m going to let you know.
I´ll start in May from Austria or Croatia (it's up to my job) and end up in Indonesia somewhere.

[VictorG]

Hello,
If you want, there are two French guys who are doing this journey at the moment. You can see their progress on their instagram : (@road_to_thailande) https://www.instagram.com/road_to_thailande/?hl=fr

[Legins Log]

Hi folks, further to this conversation, i am leaving on the same rtw trip in may this year, a piece of news to add to this route problem: i applied for an iranian visa, application was rejected within 3 days, they couldnt have even looked at it. I phoned their london embassy who said no reasons for refusal will be given, and when i pushed a bit saying i need to know whats wrong so i can sort it and reapply, i got what was clearly a scripted reply, that i took to mean, without them saying it "dont bother you're wasting your time" i got the impression it was political, maybe caused by us supporting the opposing team in a certain conflict. Just my opinion of course. Has anyone got any info about just turning up at the border and see what happens, i will be in turkey anyway.

[eurasiaoverland]

Originally Posted by Legins Log

Hi folks, further to this conversation, i am leaving on the same rtw trip in may this year, a piece of news to add to this route problem: i applied for an iranian visa, application was rejected within 3 days, they couldnt have even looked at it. I phoned their london embassy who said no reasons for refusal will be given, and when i pushed a bit saying i need to know whats wrong so i can sort it and reapply, i got what was clearly a scripted reply, that i took to mean, without them saying it "dont bother you're wasting your time" i got the impression it was political, maybe caused by us supporting the opposing team in a certain conflict. Just my opinion of course. Has anyone got any info about just turning up at the border and see what happens, i will be in turkey anyway.

It would pay to do some online research before applying for visas. If you are travelling on a British passport, you have no chance of getting an Iranian visa independently. Even if you proposed an organised tour with a tour operator, you would still be pushed back as UK citizens are not permitted to drive in Iran as far as the latest experience goes. These are well known facts.

What will happen if you just turn up at the border with no visa? That is easily answered. What would happen if an Iranian turned up at a UK border with no UK visa?

[GPZ]

Originally Posted by eurasiaoverland

What will happen if you just turn up at the border with no visa? That is easily answered. What would happen if an Iranian turned up at a UK border with no UK visa?

Well, I bet you wouldn't put money on that..........

[Hound_Dog]

Originally Posted by Legins Log

Hi folks, further to this conversation, i am leaving on the same rtw trip in may this year, a piece of news to add to this route problem: i applied for an iranian visa, application was rejected within 3 days, they couldnt have even looked at it. I phoned their london embassy who said no reasons for refusal will be given, and when i pushed a bit saying i need to know whats wrong so i can sort it and reapply, i got what was clearly a scripted reply, that i took to mean, without them saying it "dont bother you're wasting your time" i got the impression it was political, maybe caused by us supporting the opposing team in a certain conflict. Just my opinion of course. Has anyone got any info about just turning up at the border and see what happens, i will be in turkey anyway.

Just turn up, awesome idea. Report back.

[Il Bandito Lontano]

Originally Posted by Legins Log

Hi folks, further to this conversation, i am leaving on the same rtw trip in may this year, a piece of news to add to this route problem: i applied for an iranian visa, application was rejected within 3 days, they couldnt have even looked at it. I phoned their london embassy who said no reasons for refusal will be given, and when i pushed a bit saying i need to know whats wrong so i can sort it and reapply, i got what was clearly a scripted reply, that i took to mean, without them saying it "dont bother you're wasting your time" i got the impression it was political, maybe caused by us supporting the opposing team in a certain conflict. Just my opinion of course. Has anyone got any info about just turning up at the border and see what happens, i will be in turkey anyway.

Could the problem be that you are trying to visit the country without proof of doing so with an established tour? This is required for UK, US and I think Canadian citizens.