It's been a few years since this topic has surfaced, so I'm interested in any tips as a first timer interested in going to Central Asia or the 5 stans.
I've been reading everything on the East Site Travel website plus Gadventures.
I'd like to hear some first-hand experiences or tips.
Thanks!
Posted by
Northern Colorado
109 posts
I am looking at Adventure Abroad as they have a 5 Stan tour. Interested to hear if others have taken a good tour.
Posted by
Minnesota🌲
11072 posts
I am interested in two of the five Stans (Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan), but would probably not do it on a tour. I am just not sure when. So I will be following this thread to see what pops up.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
9913 posts
Look at Inspiring Vacations out of Australia. Their tour of 5 Stans is highly regarded.
I used this tour company in Japan and was pleased.
https://www.inspiringvacations.com/au/turkmenistan-tours/tour-package/22-day-five-stans-unveiled/49909?passenger-number=2&departure-city=placeholder
Price shown is in Australian dollars so US is quite a bit less.
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1704 posts
Adding some links to prior discussions on this topic in case you haven't seen them.
The 'stans' cover a very large area and you will need to figure out how much time you have and what you want to hit. Also, do research on the visa situation. I'm assuming that getting the Uzbek, Kazak, and Kyrgyz ones should be straightforward; not sure of the Turkmenistan and Tajik visas. When I traveled in this are (>10 years ago), one needed a special permit (in addition to the visa) if you were traveling in the hinterland of Tajikistan.
My travel was in 2014 so quite old now. I described parts of it here.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/been-to-uzbekistan
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/have-you-visited-one-of-the-stans
Posted by
132 posts
I’ve earmarked the Central Asia tours offered by Road Scholar and OAT.
I found the travel memoir “Sovietistan” very interesting!
Posted by
Portsmouth
5902 posts
I found the travel memoir “Sovietistan” very interesting!
So did I and I found it very useful for my planning for a trip to the area.
I was originally intending to do a tour of some of the Stans this year, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan however I got slightly de-railed and decided to visit Azerbaijan and Georgia instead. It's back on the agenda for next year though and I'll get started on the planning soon. I've already read the Lonely Planet guide to Central Asia and found it quite useful: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786574640?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title