Comments on: 09 Trip Stage 1 – red tape rules! http://caffeinatedtraveller.com/2008/10/01/09-trip-stage-1-red-tape-rules/ A Dopio Shot Sat, 01 Jan 2011 23:22:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Audrey http://caffeinatedtraveller.com/2008/10/01/09-trip-stage-1-red-tape-rules/#comment-92 Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:58:16 +0000 http://thecaffeinatedtraveller.wordpress.com/?p=401#comment-92 We took the opposite route last year, from Georgia eastwards to China, and picked up all the visas on the road. I don’t know if you have that type of flexibility in time, but that might help in keeping some flexibility in your travels (i.e., you don’t need to commit to dates you want to be in country until the country or two before). We wrote extensively about our ‘stan visa issues – the bureaucracy certainly can turn sane people into irrational ones.

Regarding Turkmenistan, I’d recommend upping your budget for a few days in order to get the tour required for the tourist visa and going for at least 7 days. Going through the country in three days is really too short. We also know people who went through in 5, and everything was a blur. We used Stantours for our visa support and tour – they are used to independent travelers forced to take a tour because of the government’s regulations. We normally stay away from tours like the plague, but were happy with this one. If you have flexibility, see if you can join someone else’s tour; you share the cost of the guide/driver. Accommodation is included in the price of the tour. Turkmenistan is still one of the highlights of our 5 months in the region.

Sounds like a fascinating trip – don’t let the visa stuff at the beginning get you too frustrated!

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