UK to Australia - Which route through Asia?
 

Hi All,

So I've quit my job, bought a DRZ 400 and am preparing to set off in September to ride to Australia but still undecided on my exact route.

The original plan was to head South East through Europe to Turkey, then Iran, Pakistan, India and on to SE Asia. However I believe I will struggle to get an Iranian visa at present (British Passport), so I am now looking at heading North through Georgia and Azerbaijan then getting a boat across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan. This is where I'm getting stuck. I understand China is very difficult to transit on a foreign bike and I'm assuming Afghanistan is pretty risky. What are my options?

Thanks

Your best bet could be to look out on here for others crossing the corner of China into Pakistan and travel with them to share the cost of the guide or other Brits who have a guide through Iran and see if you could share with them.

Options are as mentioned above to go through China 1: From Kyrgizstan into China and down to Pakistan. The short crossing of China and 2: Go through China from Kyrgizstan or Kazakhstan into China and exit to Laos. Will be a longer and more expensive crossing of China of course. 3: Crossing China from Mongolia to Laos, will also be a relatively long and expensive China crossing.

All crossings of China requires mandatory guides and permits and must be arranged well in advance and are expensive for what they are.

Has getting a visa for Iran become more difficult for a UK citizen lately?

Thanks for the info. Sounds like through China into Pakistan is probably my best option. I'd like to visit Pakistan and India so this works well for me.

There's a lot of political tensions with Iran atm, I've not heard anything official but heard from other Brits that is tricky to get a visa at present. There's also the issue with bikes over 250cc not being allowed into the country.

Have you made any progress on your travel plans. I'm thinking of riding from Netherlands to South East Asia in 2022, hopefully pandemic is under control by than.
Maybe worthwhile to share some things.