Travel in the Five Stans

We want to travel in the "five" Stans - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan independently. By that I mean we do not want to join an organized tour but would be open to joining a small group for day trips. We will probably hire a driver for certain journeys that are very long or when it is more convenient than the bus. We might even hire a driver for two or three days.

My basic question: what is the best way to organize an independent trip. I've looked into visas and we will need them before arrive for four of the five Stans. Does that mean we will need a letter of invitation for the visa. If so what is the best way to go about getting the visa? We have US passports. Has anyone with a US passport been denied a visa? Do I need to submit an itinerary with my visa. I know that some areas are off limits and I've been told that the officials will limit our travels to certain cities.

At this point the "what will we do while there" is unimportant. Our goal is to hang out, wander around cities/villages/town on foot while exploring whatever we encounter (we particularly like markets). We have no must see things or must do things. Basically we just want to go and see whatever there is to see. And do the people watching thing.

Any advice will be appreciated.

I travelled independently through the 'stans five years ago.
Stantours were a great help for dealing with visas and LOIs. I have also heard that Advantours are good too.

My basic question: what is the best way to organize an independent trip.

Lonely Planet (you know, the people behind this website) make a guidebook for Central Asia. Buy it, it will give you a general idea of where you can sleep, what transportation you can take between towns, and what to see. For visas, do a search on this forum, as visa issues have been discussed in great detail in the past.

Finally, unless you have months at your disposal, I would discourage you from trying to see all of the 'stans on one trip. Each of them has so much to see and do that you really could spend your entire trip just in one country. If you want to see all of the 'stans in one whirlwind trip, you are going to rush past most things, and you'll be spending a hell of a lot of money and time on visas with little payoff. My advice would be to choose one or two (e.g. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan), and see the rest during some future trip.

Thanx. I LP's Central Asia guide. I've spoken with the embassy's of the countries I want to travel in and they made the visa process sound formidable.

I want to do the whirlwind thing so that I can sweep thru the region in one trip. I don't have to see every inch of any country and usually like to get a sense of a country and decide if I should return. From what I've read it sounds like in some of the Stans the visa approval guys will limit where you can go, especially if you travel independently.

If this process sounds "formidable" to you, again, I would suggest visiting only one or two of these countries on your first trip to get used to the visa application and OVIR registration processes. Then, when you go back in some later trip, it won't be quite such a challenge. Kazakhstan has the easiest visa application process in the region, and Kyrgyzstan doesn't require a visa at all, so they make a good introduction to Central Asia. As long as you lack confidence, I'd really discourage dealing with Tajikistan or Uzbekistan.

I don't have to see every inch of any country

That's not what I'm talking about when I say you need time. Even if you don't want to see everything, you just want to do the usual itinerary, you may be unaware of how large distances can be and how slow transportation can be. Getting from western Kazakhstan to eastern Kazakhstan can easily take you a week. Ditto for the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan, or a trek in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Central Asia is not conducive to the sort of travel you might be used to from, say, Europe where you can see five countries in a month.

I think if there is any positive side to the indeed formidable visa application process it is that at least it prepares you for the insane bureaucracy you'll encounter on the spot(especially in Uzbekistan).

http://youtu.be/JtEkUmYecnk

Thanx again and I agree that traveling in Central Asia will not be like a stroll in the park.

But there are really nice parks in Bukhara, Almaty and Tashkent...

I agree with the above. Go to just two. Uzbekistan is wonderful. I spent three weeks there and could happily spent longer. Very enjoyable rail travel, even in December when I was there.

I've been to all of the mentioned 'stans, on a US passport. Here was my experience:

Tajikistan: arranged beforehand. I did a tour through the Pamirs and they gave me an LOI. Went through an agency in NYC and had it back in 1-2 weeks. If you can go directly to a consulate, it shouldn't be a problem. The agency wound up being way more expensive. Ask for the GBAO permit to be included at the time of application. Luckily I got the GBAO permit in Dushanbe, where it costs US$4. Yes, FOUR dollars. Don't pay more than $30 if you're going through an agency, and that's still too much. I'm not sure what the visa costs, but it's around $30-$60.

Kyrgyzstan: free for 90 days. This makes Bishkek a great base for getting other visas, all of which you can arrange while there, which is actually ideal instead of dealing with consulates in the US.

Uzbekistan: Arranged in Moscow. You DO NOT NEED an LOI for Uzbekistan, though some consulates don't know what they're talking about and will tell you that you do. Either way, having one will likely expedite your visa. The visa application is done online and then printed, and it does ask for some places you're visiting, but once you're in the country it doesn't matter. All you have to worry about is collecting registration slips from each hostel/hotel, which they theoretically check when you leave.
Note: Apparently the Uzbek consulate in NYC is a real pain to deal with, so it might be best to try to arrange in Bishkek. Also might be better to do it that way because the Uzbek visa is date-specific. If you search the forum for "uzbek visa in moscow", I wrote a post with more specific info on this.

Turkmenistan: only doable on organised tour or transit visa. Since you won't be going to/from Iran or Azerbaijian, you'll need to organise a separate tour. If you book a tour, this is arranged a few weeks in advance and you pick it up at the border.

Kazakhstan: visa-free for 14 days on a US passport -- this is new, as of July. You might be able to just do visa runs to Bishkek from Almaty and avoid paying the ridiculous $160 visa fee.

To get any LOI, you just need to buy it from a travel agency. Normally, they build a fake itinerary, but it's not usually required, or at least no one is going to check if you followed it. You might have to write down the name of a hotel in the capital city or something. Another important note: to make sure your applications go through, avoid writing down a professional like "journalist" or anything related to the government or politics. Instead of writing "photographer", I wrote in my last job, which was computer technician. Also, don't write "unemployed".

muteki:
You have brought back bad memories. All those hotel slips. 5 different places and hotels and trying to remember where the hell I put them slips as I reached the border with Kyrgyzstan. And all the border guards did was give the most cursory look imaginable.
Still, it was a great experience in Central Asia, worth the effort despite the levels of bureaucracy.

Did you have to register in Kazakhstan?

Ahahahaaa yes, Uzbekistan brings out the worst and the best.

Since I crossed over the day after the visa-free thing started, it was still unclear whether I needed to register or not. The office in Shymkent said no, but I wound up registering in Astana just in case. They only registered me for a few days, and only for Astana, and when I went in Almaty they told me it was fine. No problems at the border. So... I would suggest to someone to register just in case, for the entire time period. Perhaps the issue has been cleared up since then...

I hope so

I have a USA passport too, and have traveled and lived in the region. It's really not hard to do it on your own if you have a little patience, time and a sense of humor, other than the Turkmenistan. Just get a decent, up-to-date guidebook and supplement that with information from the web including this site.

Agree with #12. My recommendation is two fold
1. Guidebooks - Lonely planet and Bradt Guides are both fine guidebooks that will help you with the basics. I particularly like the city maps in LP (last edition not the most recent one).
2. Internet - Guidebooks need time to publish. By the time they're on the market, things have changed especially for this region. This is where this website and others like caravanistan.com (for really up-to-date visa information and embassy report this is a gold mine) and endless blog sites come in and fill in the gap. Check these sites while you are on the road for up-to-date information, and talk to other travellers whom you are likely to meet more than once on the trail.

I can't stress enough the importance of internet in planning.

For guidebooks, you have also Odyssey.

Michel