Tajikistan solo budget travel

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metlx
metlx

Hello,

I've been planning to fly to Dushanbe and then solo travel through Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan in July 2013. What surprised me most is that transportation isn't quite as cheap as in several other less developed countries. I understand that it's due to fuel issue, lack of infrastructure and consequently due to lack of vehicles and people moving around.

Renting/buying a car is too expensive for me.
I'm planning to travel solely by shared taxis and hitching.

I'm planning to take a shared taxi from Dushanbe to Khorugh.
Then get a taxi to drive me 30km east (of Khorugh) to Tajikistan-China cargo terminal for trucks that depart to China. Hopefully I can get to Murghob with one of those. Somewhere I read that foreigners are frequently thrown out of the truck before checkpoints, since the drivers have to pay extra for another passenger. Can someone confirm this?

From Murghob I'd take another shared taxi/minibus to Osh.
I read that minibuses in Murghob fill every 1-2 days. How realistic is that? can it take longer?
Also, I haven't found any info about any trucks travelling between Murghob and Osh, so hitching there would be near impossible, I guess?

Overall I think it would take about 2 weeks tops to get from Dushanbe to Osh (Dushanbe-Khorugh-Murghob-Sary Tash-Osh). Is that sensible to say, or should I expect it to take longer than 2 weeks?

Any kind of info or confirmation is much appreciated.

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gustafgustaf
gustafgustaf

If you decide to hit Tajikistan any earlier let me know! doing same route solo (for now!) beginning early June

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bluenose52
bluenose52

I am travelling along the Pamir highway from Dushanbe to Osh on the 11th June. I have hired a Toyota with driver and would love to share costs. #3 let me know if this works for you.

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pq
pq

I cycled that route. Between Murghab and Sary Tash I saw maybe 1 car per day and no trucks at all, so I doubt you could hitch. From Sary Tash to Osh there's a public bus, and hitching might work. I met people hanging around in Murghab waiting for a ride, but some of them had been there a while. It's unpredictable.

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mvbergen
mvbergen

Hi,

No need to hire a car. It's easy to move around by using public transports or shared taxi/4x4.

Even with that, Tajikistan is not so cheap than you can expected.

With very few exception, you are not overcharged but the fuel price is not helpful…

Time is the main purpose. If you have it, you can move "nearly" everywhere.

Have a good trip.

Michel

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danielkarni
danielkarni

Hey, great info. Can you give some more details on doing sary tash -> murgab without hiring a car?....

Im right now in osh and planning on hitting tajikistan in the next coming days...
Thanks, daniel

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mvbergen
mvbergen

It should be possible to use trucks otherwise you can contact Daniel of the Osh guesthouse to have "connections".

Michel

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markbek
markbek

There is a minibus that claims to do the trip once a day - early afternoon from the old bus station in Osh - I talked to the driver who confirmed it really does exist (at least the day I was there) but in the end I didn't take it so no further details I'm afraid.

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