I decided to start a thread about the Stans because I am definitely going there in 2027 and I'm gathering up information now. Frank posted a thread a few weeks ago, but I didn't want to hijack his; hence this new one,
My first thought is whether to get a tour or travel independently. The more I look at the country and read about it, the more I'm thinking that independent travel is not that difficult there. From everything I've read, it sounds like the biggest issue would be getting the high-speed train tickets in advance on your own. I'm just not sure how I would like a group tour, and I'm always nervous about signing up for one. The last two I booked, I wound up cancelling, so I don't have a great track record at this point.
So to start, I was on AI the other day chatting with Claude. 😂 It pointed me towards this one website called Cavanistan that is just phenomenal. I can't believe the information that is in there. It's very well put together, very concise yet with tons of helpful info. It's also very clean, with no pop-ups or prominent ads. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing any ads. They do run a few of their own tours, some multi-day and some that are just for a few hours, but not a whole lot. And they don't push their own products. It sounds like their main goal is to just get people to come to that area and visit. They obviously love it.
It was started by a man from Belgium and his wife, who is from Kazakhstan, and they have put together this plethora of research that is really amazing. I've only touched the surface of it. They also have a message board forum where you can have discussions with travelers who have been there. It seems to cover a lot of ground and has a lot of active participants. It uses the phpBB software, which is very easy to use.
At any rate, it's definitely worth a look, but be warned, I spent hours on it yesterday and could not pull myself away. There's just so much information. https://caravanistan.com
Getting back to my original thoughts, I would love for others to post here who have either been or want to go to that area (the Stans or anywhere in Central Asia) to get and exchange information. Thanks!