Hi all
I'll be travelling from Dublin to Japan via Siberia and back through Silk Route to Istanbul. Journey should start beginning Sept 2017 and end mid Dec 2017
My question is this.
Should I start with Northern route and go back home via Southern route or vice versa. I love snow and would like to see as much of the Stans and Mongolia before roads are impassible. I'll be travelling by train all the way, where possible. Will not be flying at all
Thanks
You have much more than two routes and for the Stans, you don't have train in all of them.
Check with Trailblazer, they have three interesting guidebooks dedicated to the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Siberian BAM and the Silk Road.
Maybe not the best months to travel there.
Michel
And don't forget to check also seat61.com, totally dedicated to train travels. Useful and up to date.
Michel
I'd say I would go via the southern route and back by the northern route. For the northern route, you've got either the Transsiberian or the BAM which makes it doable any time of the year. This is not the case for the southern route (whichever one you choose), so that's why I would start that way, before it gets too cold.
I've traveled Central Asia in winter before, everything's still open then. Main roads might become impassable for a day or two, but they generally keep them open fairly reasonably. You can't do much hiking or nature exploration in winter, but it doesn't sound like you're going to have much time for that kind of thing anyway.
How are you planning on getting from Central Asia to Istanbul? There are a few options, and they're all a bit of a mess.
I've traveled Central Asia in winter before, everything's still open then. Main roads might become impassable for a day or two, but they generally keep them open fairly reasonably. You can't do much hiking or nature exploration in winter, but it doesn't sound like you're going to have much time for that kind of thing anyway.
How are you planning on getting from Central Asia to Istanbul? There are a few options, and they're all a bit of a mess.
Thanks Giora
Not sure about this yet. I was considering Baku through the Caucuses and then train through Turkey revisiting a few places there on my way home.
Have you any advice or ideas about this?
It's the Caspian ferry crossing that's the main trick on that route. I've done Baku-Aktau once: I was lucky with the boat, but sometimes there's a lengthy wait. Going through Turkmenistan instead involves the headache of dealing with their transit visas.
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