From Kyghistan via PamirHW Iran back to Switzerland

[Silvio Maridati]

Hello everybody
I'm looking for current advices for our trip in July and August 2017.
Route: We start on July 1st in Bishkek then Kyrghistan, Tadjikistan with Pamir Highway, Usbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Aserbeidjan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and back home to Switzerland.
Allready organised or in progress is transport of Bikes incl. baggage from CH to KS, all necessary visas and insurances and flight tickets.
Now our question:
1.) time table - we planned to be at the Turkmenistan border by end July start August. Is one month to get there sufficient? This due to the silly Turkmenistan transfer visa regulations of max 5 days which obliges us to mention a speciffic date of entry in the visa application form of Turkmenistan.
2.) on all visa application forms you got to mention an address of a hotel or guesthouse you are going to stay while being in the country. As overlanders we never know in advance where we gonna stay. So how do you manage this situation?
3.) money - we learned that enoug cash money is recommended. How much do you calculate per day when using homestay facilities and restaurants etc.?
Cash should be in US$ right? Prefferabely pieces of 1$ and 5$ correct?
4.) Helmet in aircraft cabin - we fly with Turkish Airlines from Zurich via Istambul to Bishkek. While our bikes are on the road to KS we use ohters for holidays. So we need our helmets. Can we carry them as cabin luggage on board, since we will be travelling in bike clothes allready?

Any other advise is highly appreciated. Thank you.
Silvio

[sasco]

Originally Posted by Silvio Maridati

Hello everybody

I'm looking for current advices for our trip in July and August 2017.

Route: We start on July 1st in Bishkek then Kyrghistan, Tadjikistan with Pamir Highway, Usbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Aserbeidjan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and back home to Switzerland.

Allready organised or in progress is transport of Bikes incl. baggage from CH to KS, all necessary visas and insurances and flight tickets.

Now our question:

1.) time table - we planned to be at the Turkmenistan border by end July start August. Is one month to get there sufficient? This due to the silly Turkmenistan transfer visa regulations of max 5 days which obliges us to mention a speciffic date of entry in the visa application form of Turkmenistan.

2.) on all visa application forms you got to mention an address of a hotel or guesthouse you are going to stay while being in the country. As overlanders we never know in advance where we gonna stay. So how do you manage this situation?

3.) money - we learned that enoug cash money is recommended. How much do you calculate per day when using homestay facilities and restaurants etc.?

Cash should be in US$ right? Prefferabely pieces of 1$ and 5$ correct?

4.) Helmet in aircraft cabin - we fly with Turkish Airlines from Zurich via Istambul to Bishkek. While our bikes are on the road to KS we use ohters for holidays. So we need our helmets. Can we carry them as cabin luggage on board, since we will be travelling in bike clothes allready?



Any other advise is highly appreciated. Thank you.

Silvio

I'll probabli see on the road,. I am starting in Slovenia on 09.06.2017 to Ukraina, Russia, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan, Kirgizia and over Kazakhstan back home. So I figer I ll see you in Pamir.
Saso


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[Silvio Maridati]

So you might be dealing with the same issues as we will have to.
I'm looking forward to see you un the road somewhere out there and in the meanwile for some substantial answers to my questions in the thread.
Cheers Silvio

[Declan]

Originally Posted by Silvio Maridati

Hello everybody
I'm looking for current advices for our trip in July and August 2017.
Route: We start on July 1st in Bishkek then Kyrghistan, Tadjikistan with Pamir Highway, Usbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Aserbeidjan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and back home to Switzerland.
Allready organised or in progress is transport of Bikes incl. baggage from CH to KS, all necessary visas and insurances and flight tickets.
Now our question:
1.) time table - we planned to be at the Turkmenistan border by end July start August. Is one month to get there sufficient? This due to the silly Turkmenistan transfer visa regulations of max 5 days which obliges us to mention a speciffic date of entry in the visa application form of Turkmenistan.
2.) on all visa application forms you got to mention an address of a hotel or guesthouse you are going to stay while being in the country. As overlanders we never know in advance where we gonna stay. So how do you manage this situation?
3.) money - we learned that enoug cash money is recommended. How much do you calculate per day when using homestay facilities and restaurants etc.?
Cash should be in US$ right? Prefferabely pieces of 1$ and 5$ correct?
4.) Helmet in aircraft cabin - we fly with Turkish Airlines from Zurich via Istambul to Bishkek. While our bikes are on the road to KS we use ohters for holidays. So we need our helmets. Can we carry them as cabin luggage on board, since we will be travelling in bike clothes allready?

Any other advise is highly appreciated. Thank you.
Silvio

Last year I rode from Ireland to Bishkek in just over 6 weeks - 14,500km and route via UK, Munich, Greece, Istanbul Georgia Armenia Iran Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan. I didn't do the Pamir on that occasion.
Bishkek to Dushambe via Osh and the Pamir can be done in 10 days no problem. Dushambe to the Turkmenistan border 5 or 6 days depending on what you want to do. I transited Turkmenistan in 3 days via Darvaza gas creator and it took me 6 days to cross Iran.
I wrote "no plans as yet" on my Turkmen application form re accomodation and no problem - except when I arrived at the border the immigration young pup grilled me about where is my hotel reservation as I had none but he got fed up eventually.
Re costs you can survive in central asia for $20 a day no problem including fuel food and accomodation if you stay in hostels. I had a tent too and used it several times when out in the back of nowhere.
You can get cash from ATM no problem in most places but I ususlly had a stash of € and $. Credit cards okay too except in Iran.
Hope the Turkmen transit visa works out - it's a bit of a lotto right now.

[Silvio Maridati]

Thank you very much Declan for your helpful information. You indeed answerd mostly all of my questions!
Last one: Have you any experience concerning motorboke helmets as handlugage in aircrafts?
Thank you!

[shu...]

Originally Posted by Silvio Maridati

Hello everybody
I'm looking for current advices for our trip in July and August 2017.
Route: We start on July 1st in Bishkek then Kyrghistan, Tadjikistan with Pamir Highway, Usbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Aserbeidjan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and back home to Switzerland.
Allready organised or in progress is transport of Bikes incl. baggage from CH to KS, all necessary visas and insurances and flight tickets.
Now our question:
1.) time table - we planned to be at the Turkmenistan border by end July start August. Is one month to get there sufficient? This due to the silly Turkmenistan transfer visa regulations of max 5 days which obliges us to mention a speciffic date of entry in the visa application form of Turkmenistan.

Yes, that is plenty of time to get to Turkmenistan. (We were riding in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan last August (2016). Just to give you an idea: if you wanted to ride straight through, you could ride from Osh to Murghab in 2 days and from Murghab to Khorog in one day.

2.) on all visa application forms you got to mention an address of a hotel or guesthouse you are going to stay while being in the country. As overlanders we never know in advance where we gonna stay. So how do you manage this situation?

Just look online (Tripadvisor or Booking.com, etc). Choose something that doesn't require a deposit wherever you like and make a reservation. Get your visa, cross the border and cancel the reservation if it doesn't really work for you. Nobody is checking to see if you made it to that hotel.

3.) money - we learned that enoug cash money is recommended. How much do you calculate per day when using homestay facilities and restaurants etc.?
Cash should be in US$ right? Prefferabely pieces of 1$ and 5$ correct?

I would carry USD and EUROs in bigger bills as emergency money. Get local cash every 3-4 days from ATMs- that's how locals do it too. If the ATM is broken, some hotels will take USD/EURO, or you might find a bank to exchange it.


4.) Helmet in aircraft cabin - we fly with Turkish Airlines from Zurich via Istambul to Bishkek. While our bikes are on the road to KS we use ohters for holidays. So we need our helmets. Can we carry them as cabin luggage on board, since we will be travelling in bike clothes allready?

Yes, this is no problem. I carry my helmet in a light weight nylon backback or small duffel. Protect the shield with a plastic bag, and pad the bottom of the bag with some clothing. Your helmet will be fine. I have done this several times and never heard a single remark from Airport Security or from an Airline (including Turkish Air)

Any other advise is highly appreciated. Thank you.
Silvio

It will be very hot in August in Turkmenistan. Carry extra water when you ride. Buena suerte!

....................shu

[Silvio Maridati]

Hey shu
Thank you very much for all those info.
Now everything seems to be clear for us.
Once again thank you a lot.
Silvio

[Tomkat]

There's no reason why you can't take a helmet in cabin luggage, though security can be funny especially in countries where motorcycling is less common. Just make sure it's inside a bag or rucksack, preferably in its own helmet bag.

For Turkmenistan the visa situation seems to be very hit and miss. To get a tourist visa you need to be part of an organised tour with a guide, which is expensive. Otherwise you must get a transit visa and the authorities turn down nearly half of those for no reason with no appeal possible. If you do get one you have a very narrow window and you do need to keep to the dates, perhaps not as easy as it sounds if you are driving there. The other option is a visa on the road, which you can get from some embassies in the region, but it takes a full 10 working days which is a long time to be hanging around. Also note it is a TRANSIT visa so you must exit to a different country from the one you entered. In the end Turkmenistan has little to offer but one big hole in the ground and with all the admin that's the main reason not many people bother with it. If you're doing the silk road cities of Uzbekistan and the Pamir Highway you won't regret the experience.

If you are determined to go to TM though, speak to Travel Notoria who are local and very helpful.

[Declan]

Originally Posted by Des Senior

There's no reason why you can't take a helmet in cabin luggage, though security can be funny especially in countries where motorcycling is less common. Just make sure it's inside a bag or rucksack, preferably in its own helmet bag.

For Turkmenistan the visa situation seems to be very hit and miss. To get a tourist visa you need to be part of an organised tour with a guide, which is expensive. Otherwise you must get a transit visa and the authorities turn down nearly half of those for no reason with no appeal possible. If you do get one you have a very narrow window and you do need to keep to the dates, perhaps not as easy as it sounds if you are driving there. The other option is a visa on the road, which you can get from some embassies in the region, but it takes a full 10 working days which is a long time to be hanging around. Also note it is a TRANSIT visa so you must exit to a different country from the one you entered. In the end Turkmenistan has little to offer but one big hole in the ground and with all the admin that's the main reason not many people bother with it. If you're doing the silk road cities of Uzbekistan and the Pamir Highway you won't regret the experience.

If you are determined to go to TM though, speak to Travel Notoria who are local and very helpful.

Yeah, Turkmenistan was a pain in the arse. When you apply for the transit visa you will be asked for the intended route. I made the mistake on mentioning Darvaza where the gas creator is as a via point and my transit visa was denied. But in fairness a staff member in the Turkmenistan Embassy in London told me to apply again but only to mention the entry and exit points. So I reapplied to London and they duly sent my application back again to be processed in Turkmenistan and finally I got the "letter of permission" just a few days before I reached the Turkmen border. If it was to be refused a second time then I would have had to make a u-turn in Iran and would have had it all to do to get back to Armenia before my Iranian visa expired - the joys of travel!
Another thing to note is that whilst the "letter of permission" stated 5 days, as I had indicated on my application form, the young pup of an immigration boy decided 3 days would be enough. He presented me with an official document that had a rudimentary map of Turkmenistan on it and he marked the route that I must follow and dictated the places that I would stay each night - which ironically included Darvaza. But I played his game and told him he was a great boy and soon after I found myself riding towards Ashgabat! I was stopped by the police during the transit, which I actually did in 2 days and they checked my document to ensure I was on the intended route. Otherwise I found Turkmenistan to be an interesting but weird place with nice people.

[Silvio Maridati]

A warm thank you to both of you Des Senior ans Declan.
We intend to realy just drive throug Turkmenistan.
After having experienced the PHW we will have seen enough "holes in the ground" I assume, so we need an other not even a burning one;-))
Thank you mates for all your valuable inputs!
Cheers Silvio