I have not personally been this route, but AFAIK Dunhuang to Charklik (Ruoqiang) directly cannot be done except by private tour/expedition using 4 WD. It's extremely sparsely populated so hitchhiking is not an option. Public transport: most likely way to start this off is bus from Dunhuang to Golmud which is daily. Foreigners used to require a permit from the Dunhuang PSB to buy a ticket on this bus, but I've heard in recent years, no longer required. Then it gets trickier, since you need to get from Golmud to Huatugou to Shimiankuang to Ruoqiang in stages.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/asia-north-east-asia/china/hotan-to-golmud
Read this description from 6 years ago--useful though it's in the opposite direction from you. Most important piece of info is the new road makes things much better than older reports, and there is some sort of small bus/minibus system which seems to replace the former only-option of share-car on some segments. Share-car might still be an option if you have a lot of cash and want more comfort/flexibility.

Like Giora, I believe the Golmud-Ruoqiang sections of Qinghai/Xinjiang requires foreigners to have a special permit to pass through, which theoretically should be obtainable through Golmud PSB. However, Golmud doesn't have a reputation for being super-accommodating so they may not be cooperative on this. When in Dunhuang, you might check and see if there is a Dunhuang-Huatugou bus--I've seen mention of one at some point in time. If so, try to get a permit from Dunhuang PSB and go for that (likely it would be a sleeper bus due to distance). At least you'd know where you stand before committing yourself to a potential dead-end route to Golmud and have to turn around and backtrack.

This route is going to be time-consuming and will be more difficult if you don't speak passable Chinese. Don't expect to find much lodging that can/will take foreigners between Golmud and Hotan.

If you want to climb volcano Concepcion I recommend staying in Moyogalpa for 2 nights. We also spent a few nights at Charco Verde (nice beach, nature trail, wildlife) but it might be better to stay at Playa Santo Domingo, Santa Cruz or Balgue as these places are more central. Merida is nice too but not as easy to get to and from (I don't know if the road is finally paved all the way to Merida). There are buses but not that many depending on where you are going (and hardly any on Sundays). We took buses, walked a lot, hitchhiked and took taxis. Most hotels will also help with transport. You can also rent a scooter.

By foot. The hitchhiking. Then bus.

Hey! Ok let's see:
I think the twice round trip journey was enough. I would've wanted to do more and it was nice driving the first time and relaxing the second. Torres Del paine can be so expensive so I liked that we based ourselves in Puerto Natales.

Yes there's parking in the park. When we did our scenic drive, there's plenty of places to park for photos and eating. As for the day hike we did, you can park outside the one Refugio close to the big hotel where the trailhead starts. From that lot to the trailhead, it's only a 15 minute walk and no one charged us to park there.

I think it's easier to drive in general. There are tons of buses that go to the park in the morning but they only return at select times in the afternoon. Same with the park shuttles inside the park. Plenty are there upon arrival to take you to the hotel. But very few that take you back to the park entrance. In fact, we missed one by 5 minutes and the next one didn't come for another 3 hours. We ended up hitchhiking back to Puerto Natales (very easy to do).

Yeah so not so easy to get around the park. People either take a tour or hike the whole damn thing so shuttles are just not going around.

Anyway, hope this helps! I loved driving... one of my highlights on our trip!

I was in Kham a few months ago.

I went to Seda, Tagong, Litang, mostly by hitchhiking. At the time, in mid May, It was no problem for me to move around freely and without issue. I was pulled off a bus which was entering Kham and questioned by police however it never eventuated into anything. A Few weeks after I heard reports that it was now closed to foreigners and met a number of people who confirmed this. Your best option would be to hitchhike with monks(most cars have monks in them or domestic tourists) and play dumb. Tagong had problems as well at the time and internet was shut off due to protests over a Lithium mine being re-opened. However there were no road blocks apart from entering around Seda.

Most of the police in the area don't have a clue whats going on anyway and if you can sneak past the road blocks you will be fine elsewhere.

Good luck!

If I need to choose between Jerash and Amman, I skip the second one. Amman is not a highlight in Jordan.
Even if you don't have public transports around all the country (some parts are not covered), it's not a problem to move around and reach the places you want to visit. Using a contracted vehicle or even hitchhiking is also possible.
Anticipation remains the key.

Michel

the public bus from Granada does not go into Laguna De Apoyo. It runs on the highway outside the laguna. The public bus that goes down into the laguna comes from Masaya.

so you have some options. You could take the bus from Granada past Laguna Apoyo and to Masaya, and get on the Laguna De Apoyo bus.
Or you can get off the bus from granada at the turnoff for Laguna De Apoyo on the highway. If you do this, you can wait for the passing bus from masaya (be aware there are only a few each day, so you may be waiting quite some time), or you can walk (its about 7km or so, but its steep downhill, so its tiring. it takes about 2 hours), or you can grab a taxi. It should be a flat rate of 150 cordobas for the ride down. If you are up for it, you could hitchhike and grab a ride in a passing truck maybe if there is one going your way.

If you take the public bus down into the laguna, it stops at the crossroads. You get off there, and walk to the left about 5 minutes. (its maybe 200m)
if you take a taxi down from the highway, the taxi can take you right to the hostel.
if you walk from the highway, once you get down into the laguna you will hit a T. turn left and go 200 meters more.

Hi guys,
I have similar question about camping. Before you tell that hostels are cheap I have to mention, that I'm from Czech Republic and travelling super-lowcost :). I don't plan to camp wild (maybe sometimes) but mainly in somebody's places like backpackers or other private places. Should mention, that we are couple and hitchhiking (if you haven't done it in CA please don't comment - I would appreciate comments from people who knows something about it.). We also can't decide if tent or two hammocks. Is the price for two hammocks same as one tent? And how much cheaper is it compared to dorm bed? :-D P.S. I've done a lot hitching and camping before so no need to tell the basics.

Thank you a lot.
Pája from Czech Republic

There are three very pleasant casas in Santo Domingo, plus the villa, so you probably don't have to book a room there. (I have been there half a dozen times and never have needed to.) My personal favorite is Heidi de la Montana, which is on the left just as you come into town, right next to the villa and about 100 meters before you reach the park office. Casa de la Sierra, across the river (you cross on stepping stones) is also very pleasant and a bit cheaper--only 15 CUC, I think, because it doesn't have en suite bathrooms. And then there's one high up on the hillside (about a zillion steps) on the opposite side of the street from the villa.

Coming down to Las Cuevas and finding transportation to Santiago is, yes, difficult. So is hitchhiking because there is so little traffic along this highway. There is a camion (truck that hauls passengers) that passes by sometime in the daytime but I'm not sure when. Or you can walk the 11 km in the direction of Santiago to Campismo La Mula (this is a beautiful walk, by the way, right up against the ocean), overnight there, and catch the 6 AM camion next morning.

Another alternative would be to hire a taxi from Santiago to meet you at las Cuevas, but that's tricky because you don't know what time you'll be arriving there. Unless you just took it on faith that you'd be down by 5 PM, and if you're down earlier, sit around drinking beer with the Las Cuevas guides until your taxi shows up (you hope.)

Indian Debit cards work at ATMs in Bhutan and mine worked in every place we went to (Phuentsholing, Thimphu, Paro, Punakha, Wangdi, Bumthang, Trashigang, Rangjung, Samdrup). You can withdraw up to 15k in one draw. Indian currency is accepted too, but might make sense to carry only 100s right now. Hotels and food will be cheap, but adventure tours might set you back a bit. We averaged around 2500 Nu per day for 2 people (incl hotel, food, travel), solo travel should cost less.

There are 3 ways of transport. Buses (all of which originate in Thimphu), taxis (shared or reserve) and hitchhiking (you are expected to pay a fee). Buses get full very fast, and you need to book a day before for legs like Thimphu - Paro or Thimphu - Punakha. For all other legs, people typically make reservations a few days in advance. There are buses originating from Thimphu to the east (Mongar, Trashigang, Trashi Yangste), all of which make a night halt at Bumthang. We spent almost a week in Bumthang waiting for a bus ticket to the east (not a bad place to get stuck though!), and the ended up taking a shared taxi. If your are heading east, add sufficient buffers for these possibilities.