I rode from Ireland across Iran and Turnmenistan last year. It would be a true shame to miss out on Iran - world champions of hospitality.
I mulled over the carnet thing for months. My problem was that the bike was never going to come back home to Ireland. Right now it's in Kyrgyzstan. But to recover the carnet bond you need a certificate of location and I couldn't imagine the Kyrgyz authorities assisting me with this.
So I bit the bullet and went with Hossein at overlandtoiran.com. I think I paid a flat fee of €400. The service was efficient and I had no problem. I'm not endorsing the service but simply relating my own personal experience.
Turkmenistan is worth a visit if only to see an unusual and quirky country. But its a reallt lotto to get granted a transit visa - I got it through their London embassy and was lucky. For what its worth don't give overload information on your planned route - better to mention just the entry town and the exit town.
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