UK to Samarkand, via Iran?
 

Thinking about next year's trip and after Africa this year I'm looking east. I'll have about 6 weeks and plan to mainly use tarmac, and when looking at the map Samarkand caught my eye. Samarkand has a nice silk road sound to it and is about the right distance. I thought of going via Baku and the ferry across the Caspian sea but maybe returning via Iran. However, it seems Iran needs a Carnet and maybe a guide which is putting me off.

I'll also need to decide whether to take the 1200GS or the G650 XCountry (which I took down to Gambia). On good roads the 1200 is best but the xCountry is more nimble if the tarmac runs out.

Thoughts and suggestions?

We did such a trip this June/July. Samarqand and Khiva are beautiful places, but highlights were Iran, "Hell's Gate" in Turkmenistan and Charyn Canyon in Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan is also nice, and a visit to Moynak in Uzbekistan to see the boats in the desert that once used to be Aral sea is a must. It took us seven weeks exactly. We went counterclockwise, through Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and back to Zagreb. I travelled with my wife on R1200R and we went everywhwere we wanted to go, except the last ten kms through the sand in the Karakum desert to the Darvaza crater. We found a local guy with a 4x4 Toyota to take us there. A single rider on Xcountry can get there with a little effort, but a 1200GS is way too heavy for that sandy part. If you skip that, 1200 is a good choice. The roads are excellent, especially Turkey and Iran, a bit worse in other coutries, but if we made it two-up on a road bike, you will have absolutely no problem at all. I do not know for you, but we, as Croatian citizens are allowed to travel in Iran as we want, without any guides, and the Iranians are the best people we have ever met, and we have been to over sixty countries. Yes, you need a CdP for Iran. As far as going from Baku to Turkmenistan... think twice before you board a ferry. In Turkmenistan we met some Brits who were stranded on the ferry for a week for no apparent reason. And Azerbaijan is also risky bussiness. Last year (2013) we were asked for a 4000 USD cash deposit for bike when we entered Azerbaijan on our trip through the Caucasus. It seems that have changed a bit in 2014, as some people went this summer through the Azerbaijan without the deposit. Asia is great, and we are sad that this year we do not have enough time do go east again, so we'll go to Iceland instead. Seen some nice pics from there too...

I think paperwork and bureaucracy are going to be a major deciding factors. In a nutshell:

Russia - if you go in and out via Russia, you will need a business visa as the tourist visa is not valid for more than 30 days. Do not plan on getting a Russian visa outside your home country.

Azerbaijan - If you have a visa for 30 days, you should be able to get into the country for 30 days with a vehicle. If your visa is valid for less than 30 days, you will only be allowed the vehicle in for 72 hours. For sure there is no deposit to pay for the 72 hour crossing (I have done this twice; 2010 and 2014), but the 30 day entry is only on the word of an Azerbaijani customs officer I was speaking to last summer.

Iran - You can do it without a carnet, but you will need to pay roughly USD 500 at the border. Search the forum for more info. The RAC are crooks and will take far more from you though. Worse still, if you are a US, UK or Canadian citizen, and don't have a passport from another country, you cannot get an Iranian visa without booking a tour, where you are escorted all the time. Aside from the price I would find this unbearable, but if you have never been, depending on your preferences, you might actually find having a guide useful.

In the area you will find asphalt everywhere (if only the roads in the UK were as good as they are in Iran...), though sometimes not in very good nick. There is plenty of off-road if you are looking for it, but very little that you really need to take.

If I were you, I would go Turkey - Georgia - Azerbaijan - Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan - Kazakhstan - Russia - Ukraine (or Belarus).

Finally, my website (below) has lots of accounts of travelling in the region, search it and you'll find most destinations that might be on your route (though I am still bringing it up to date).

Best of luck

EO

Thanks guys, there is some good information there.

I've been looking at the RAC cost of a Carnet for Iran and I'm not sure I want to pay around £1,000 just for one country but $500 may be posssible. I did not mention I have an Irish passport, or I will have when my replacement arrives (stolen in Marrakesh), so not sure if that means I do not need a guide for Iran. I'll have to talk to the embassy in London.

So if not Iran then Azerbaijan and the ferry or via Russia. I was avoiding Russia because of the cost and the complication of the visa, but maybe it is not so hard, and a lot cheaper than Iran.

Azerbajan, the 72 hour visa should be enough I would hope but don't like the idea of paying $4,000. Any other recent experience of travelling through Azerbaijan and getting the ferry?

I'll do some research on the places you suggest are worth seeing and I'll also have a look at the EO website. The planning is still at an early stage, only got back from Africa a month ago...

No problems with an Irish Passport, but be sure NOT to tell the visa agency who gets you your invitation that you are going in a private vehicle, or they will make you take a guide anyway. When you've got your visa, you can enter with a car / bike no problem.

Expense of a Russian visa? This is a bit of a myth these days. For a tourist visa an invitation can be had for $15. The visa costs around £50 plus agency fees if applying in London (not sure if this is different for an Irish passport, if anything it would be cheaper...). Well under £100 all in, not so much really?

Good luck

EO