Netherlands to Mongolia
 

Hey all! My name is Mark, and I am planning a motorcycle trip from the Netherlands to Mongolia next year on my trusty Transalp 600.

The route I had in mind was to first drive to Turkey and continue east until I reach Azerbaijan, and then take the ferry to Turkmenistan. However, I read that the overland borders to Azerbaijan are closed. By any chance, does anyone know if it is possible to get an exemption?

Alternatives would be to go through Russia or Iran. These routes, however, seem unsafe to me, seeing the latest developments in these countries. Are these concerns valid? Many thanks!

No exemptions but you can put your bike on a truck and have it shipped into AZ, while you fly from Tbilisi. Getting out on the ferry is no problem.

Let's assume that you get a visa for Turkmenistan, which is definitely not a given. What next? You still need to go through Russia (or China) to get into Mongolia.

:stupid:
Besides the hassle of having to transport your vehicle into AZ, Turkmenistan visa will still be a big challenge. The alternatives are either Georgia > Russia or Iran > Afghanistan > UZB/TAJ

Aa the others have said, getting into AZ is difficult and expensive. You have to freight your bike in and follow it by air. Once arrived, you can ride round and leave without hindrance. Entry into TM has always been hard, with visas routinely refused for unknown reasons. I believe these days it is only possible to travel with guided group tours and I don't know if there would be one from Turkmenbasi.

You may be able to make all this work, but it'd be expensive and uncertain.

Iran probably isn't a great route at the moment (again, possible, but...). They have a habit of arresting foreigners for obscure reasons to bargain with their governments. Also, it's the only country along your likely route that requires a CDP.

The best bet is through Georgia and Russia. Both countries are perfectly safe for tourists as long as you behave as a guest. Whatever you think of the governments, the officials are polite and efficient and the people are lovely.

There are some practicalities/technicalities of travelling through Russia but nothing that need put you off. I can go through them but for the purposes of planning your route my advice is that's the way to go.

Thanks for the suggestion and for sharing your ideas. Do you have (or know someone who has) experienced riding through this part of Russia?

Thanks for the idea, though it seems quite the hassle to me and something that can easily go wrong (e.g., your bike getting lost). I was unaware that the Turkmenistan visa would be so difficult to obtain. I will look further into it!

I went through it this year coming back from Kazakhstan. Because Russia and Kazakhstan are both in the Eurasian Customs Union the same TIP is valid, so the border is very easy, just passport/visa formalities. As I recall the process was less than an hour in total, far better than Uzbekistan which took about 4 with endless queues. The officials are polite and efficient and there was no questioning or search of my phone (but be aware it could happen, so ensure there's nothing on there that could cause them upset). I went in at Astrakhan and out at Vladikavkaz. There are police road checks along the way but none of them pulled me over. However going between the republics there are military checkpoints and they did check my passport at each one. No problems though and they waved me off with a smile. If you learn a few basic words of Russian and their alphabet it helps. I didn't see any hotels between Astrakhan and Kizlyar but wild camping is legal if you fancy it. Finding hotels was a bit of a challenge, even though I'd booked ahead with Ostrovok, as GPS is scrambled in the cities :D

Dealing with money in Russia
 

I'm starting a RTW trip in March 2026. Planned route (always subject to change) has me going through Europe, Balkans, Turkey to Georgia. Then through Russia to Kazakhstan, etc.
My only concern in Russia is having to carry cash since you can't use western credit cards (I went through Russia 8 years ago and this wasn't a problem). My concern is carrying enough cash, which I would think could make you a bit of a target.
I may be going from Kazakhstan up to Vladivastok which would be quite a long trip through Russia, so the money issue is even more worrying.
Any brilliant ideas for handling this?