None of our tour dates work for you? No problem! YPT Central Asia can create your very own personalized tour of any of the ‘stans for whenever suits you. Including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The types of tours that we can tailor for you are endless, including but not limited to: 4WDing, hiking, natural sites, sporting, cultural, ancient cities and many more. If you have any suggestions of what type of tour you’d like to do, tell us your idea and we’ll be able to help.

Turkmenistan

I heard getting a Visa is hard, what should I do?

Getting a Visa to Turkmenistan is not exactly hard, but doesn’t always work. To get a tourist visa to Turkmenistan you must be booked through a tour company that is registered with the Ministry of Foreign affairs. In this way, every company has the same chance of success or failure in getting your Tourist Visa LOI approved. There are times during the year where the rejection rate for all Visa LOIs becomes higher. We can, of course, advise you of this.

What is an LOI?

An LOI (Letter of Invitation) is what you receive when you are approved for your Tourist Visa. This is the most important document; it means the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has approved your visit. Once you have your LOI you are entitled to get a visa at your nearest embassy or at the Airport on arrival. Some embassies are cheaper than at the airport, thus why some people will choose to get it in their own country.

What about getting a Transit Visa?

For those who don’t want to go on a tour of any kind there is one option – a transit visa; this allows you to travel from one country to another bordering Turkmenistan. It’s not all smooth sailing; the first criteria is that the two countries in question must have no other way of avoiding Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan to Iran is the most popular route but some have also used Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan as an excuse. Before you can apply for a transit visa you must have a visa for both countries to prove that they are the places you are travelling between. You can apply at most Turkmenistan embassies, however there is a very high rejection rate and processing time can take up to one month. A transit visa also legally limits you to the quickest route between your entry and exit border crossing. They are usually given for three to five days.

Do I have to go in a group tour?

No! Young Pioneer Tours Central Asia can organise independent tours. You tell us where you want to go, what you want to see, or your budget/time frame and we will organise a trip for you.

When is the best time to go?

The best time of year to go is Spring and Autumn. Summer can be incredibly hot in Turkmenistan, getting into the high 40 °C’s and can go for weeks without even a single cloud in the sky. Winter can also get quite cold, especially in the desert, with snow and temperatures dropping well below 0 °C.

What should I see?

This depends on timeframe. The top of everyone’s list should always be the Gates of Hell (Davarza). This is one of the most spectacular sites in the world, caused by a drilling accident in the early 70s by Soviet engineers. If you’ve only got three to four days, then you should stick to exploring Ashgabat – The White Marble city and its surrounds. Around Ashgabat is Kow Ata, the Turkmenbashy Mausoleum, and the Ancient city of Nisa.

If you’re planning on spending a week in Turkmenistan then a trip to Nohkur for a family homestay as well as venturing further west to Turkmenbashy (the city, not the person) where you can go to the Yangykala Canyons and see the deserted beach resort of Avaza. If you’ve got any longer than a week then you should also head east to Mary/Merv, the Kyrk Gyz caves and the Dinosaur plateau, where apparently, the largest dinosaur footprints in the world are located.

Is it safe to travel to Turkmenistan?

Turkmenistan is another one of these countries that is, despite reports, is amazingly safe for tourists. Everything is very strictly controlled and as such there are never incidents of petty crime against tourists. As a tourist, your only concern is that you don’t say or do anything that could offend the local people.

Do I need to take cash?

A part of the world where cash is still king, while there are some ATMs in Ashgabat, sometimes they may not have money. Bringing spending money means you won’t face these issues.

Questions People Ask Us About Central Asia

Young Pioneer Tours has always taken interesting people to even more interesting destinations. It now happens to include an area commonly referred to as Central Asia. By Central Asia, we refer to the five ex-Soviet ‘Stans: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It’s one of the least known and least travelled parts of the world, and as such, we get some pretty amazing questions; from the downright ridiculous such as “no, that’s not a real place. Surely you’re making this up?” to the simply misinformed such as “isn’t that where ISIS is?” We’ve grouped together some of the types of questions we get the most.

Is it safe?

The ‘stans are surprisingly safe. A common misconception is that Central Asia is somehow interlocked with the problems in the Middle East or those nearby in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The truth is that Turkmenistan is one of the safest places one could visit, while Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are all at least as safe as most Central/Eastern European destinations. There is very little petty crime, and violence on the street is pretty much unheard of. The only concern, though still minor, is that solo travellers may encounter a corrupt policeman.

Are they Muslims?

The short answer is yes; most people in Central Asia are Muslims. However more often than not, only in the sense that most people in the West are Christians; it’s more of a cultural identification than a religious one. One thing the Soviet Union did and did well was to beat religion out of people. At one point in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan for example, there was only one mosque in each country. Even before the Soviets came, Islam’s influence in the region was minimal. A famous quote is that the people of Central Asia “took as much Islam with them as they could fit in their saddlebags”. Another question of this mould is “Do women need to cover up?” to which anyone who has ever been to a beach in a former Soviet Union will respond, “the only thing you might need to cover is your eyes”.

Are they ‘dry’ countries?

This question almost always follows the latter. The answer is a resounding “no”. Central Asians drink like fish. Fish with drinking problems. They love their vodka and cognac and they are mostly drunk straight. Beer is at best a refreshing beverage to enjoy as one might have a juice and is reserved mostly for women and children. In this way, they have taken after their former Russian overlords.

What’s the food like?

Occasionally you can come across some of the most delicious and succulent marinated meat you may ever have eaten, but at other times you will feel like you’re eating leather. One thing is for sure, the variety is minimal and Central Asia is certainly not a great place for vegetarians. On one tour, we had an amazing individual whose vegetarianism meant he mainly ate chips (french-fries for the Americans out there) until he managed to find a box of cereal. Of course, in the cities there are more options than in the country, but all in all, this isn’t a region to be visited for its fine cuisine.

Is it ‘backward’?

So many of the questions we get are along the lines of “do they have internet?” “Do they have television?” “Do they live in houses?”. Being part of the ‘Second World’ meant that the basic infrastructure and social safety net was developed to a reasonable standard. Today you will find all your worldwide sport live on satellite TV. You’ll be able to read your emails and watch Netflix and while some small communities, not unlike the indigenous people you might find elsewhere, live more traditional lifestyles, most people live in anything from brand new modern condos and skyscrapers, to lovely quarter acre blocks with large houses, to brutalist Stalinist reinforced concrete Soviet style apartment blocks.