Hi Everyone,

I plan to ride from UK to India (and beyond?), passing through Iran/Pakistan around October 2016, but need some tips for the route!

However I see that Iran and Pakistan are causing the most difficulties for my planning:

Iran
- As a UK citizen, i appear to be only able to travel with a guide (the cost of which makes this prohibitive)
- The visa seems difficult, long and unpredictable

Pakistan
- Security seems very poor!
- Visa also seems difficult & uncertain


I would very much like to find a way to travel independently through Iran, and Pakistan may be interesting too. However, I am more keen to avoid Pakistan due to the security situation.


Can anyone suggest any suitable methods to travel from either Iran or Turkey into India?

1) Ferry to UAE, and fly to India. There appears to be no ferries from the gulf states to India. Any idea of costs and/or feasibility to fly?

2) Employ a guide for Iran, fly Tehran to Delhi (quoted USD1900 but going rate seems more like half of this).

3) Fly Turkey to India? What are suitable ports for this, what costs etc?

4) Go north through the 'Stans' - I am reluctant to do this due to the admin/expense of each border crossing. Additionally, the question of Pakistan/China is still not solved.

5) Travel with some kind of overland truck company further north (Stans). Again, how to pass Pakistan/China is still an issue as I cannot find any overland companies covering these areas.

6) Ride through Iran & Pakistan anyway!

7) Some other option?



Any advice from those that have more experience would be greatly received!

Matt.