Travel to the "Stans?"

Frank, I have nothing to contribute (although it is my understanding that it's fairly easy to travel there independently). That said, I'm just going to tag along on this thread to see what appears as I am also interested in heading to Uzbekistan and possibly Kyrgyzstan at some point in the next few years.

The good news is that US passport holders don't need a visa for up to 30 days for Krygstan and Kazakstan. Starting in January, US passport holders won't need a visa for Uzbekistan. (Although if you were over 55, and a US passport holder, you didn't need one in the past for a stay up to 30 days.)

I've heard for Turkmenistan independent travel is almost non-existant. A visitor needs an invitation, must take certain tours, needs cash as cards are notaccepted, and very limited internet. It's one of the most closed countries in the world.

As above, no personal knowledge. But Uzbekistan seems to be the easiest to do - its somewhere I'm thinking of doing, but would go with a tour group (solo female traveler) - there is a UK solo traveler tour group that have introduce a tour there, but I doubt I will be able to do it in 2026 (too much other stuff booked, or semi-planned).

However, some good friends took a tour to various Stans a couple of years ago, and - overall - I think they were happy with their tour. They went with Voyages Jules Verne - UK tour group. Link attached, although I think this itinerary has changed a little from the tour they took. The prices quoted would assume a starting point and economy return flights from Heathrow or Gatwick.
www.vjv.com/asia-pacific-tours/kazakhstan/legends-and-empires

I know that Odysseys Unlimited and Road Scholar also offer tours to the area.

This is all very interesting, especially about Turkmenistan. I think that will probably be off my list especially since I just saw a video called Why Turkmenistan Makes North Korea Look Normal

Frank, that's good to know about the tours. Thanks.

John Henderson, an American who retired to Rome and writes a blog under the name "Dog-eared Passport", has traveled extensively to the "stans" and described them in detail, so you might want to look him up. He used to have a newsletter but I haven't seen it in the last year or two.

I’m looking at a tour to 5 Stans with Adventures Abroad. I’ve never used them but know people who have and their reviews were positive.

Frank, look at Inspiring Vacations out of Australia. They have a very popular 5 Stans tour. I took a tour with them in Japan and it was positive.

I'm doing this tour in April/May:

https://www.oattravel.com/trips/land-adventures/central-asia/the-silk-road-central-asia-ancient-trade-route/2021?icid=destcmp_slk_lk

I have a friend who did it last year and raved about it. The main trip is in Uzbekistan, but with the pre-trip and post-trip extensions, it also covers Tajikistan and a bit of Kyrgizstan and Kazakhstan.

This will be my 14th trip with OAT, so obviously I'm a fan of their tours. (I'm currently finishing their Nepal tour and about to start on the post-trip extension in northern India.)

I'll report back with impressions and a review of the tour, but also will be eagerly following this thread to hear of others' experiences.

I definitely look forward to hearing about your tour, Lane.

Frank, one nice thing about OAT is that they usually do not charge a single supplement.

ETA: I was just checking out the tour group that Carol NR mentioned and it gives a breakdown of the regulations that you need to fly into Turkmenistan. It's quite detailed and worth a read—just scroll down to "Essential Information." https://www.inspiringvacations.com/us/turkmenistan-tours/tour-package/22-day-five-stans-unveiled/43153?passenger-number=2&departure-city=5161

I haven't (despite the obvious motivation). But I did enjoy this book Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan (2020) by Erika Fatland. A Norwegian writer who made a solo trip through the region.

I read that book, too. Excellent!! Does not make me want to travel there, however!!

Frank - My wife and I took a tour of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in November 2023. We used a company called Lyuba Tours. The owner of Lyuba Tours was our Rick Steves guide for Bulgaria and has since formed his own company. The tour was great and I would recommend a guided tour over doing these countries independently.

This morning's podcast of BBC's 'The Documentary' - 'Stolen brides of Kazakhstan'

In plain sight, in a modern city, a colleague offers to drive you home after work. How would you respond? One woman in Kazakhstan accepted the lift only to find herself kidnapped or ‘stolen’ as a bride. She got away, rescued by the police, but for many Kazakh women kidnap leads to marriage. Human Rights lawyer Khalida Azhigulova reckons that thousands of women are forced into marriage each year in Kazakhstan, including many who are abducted. Some women even find that a wedding has already been arranged by the time a kidnapper gets her home. Now, after 20 years of campaigning by Khalida and other activists, legislators have passed a law making forced marriage a crime. Monica Whitlock and Roza Kudabayeva travel to Kazakhstan to meet women who have been kidnapped.

Wow Lane, what an adventure you have planned. I am hoping that anyone who travels to these countries does a trip report for us. I would go but my husband is a no on these places. I am not ready to travel alone yet, even on a tour.

Frank, I was wondering if you've made any more progress in your trip planning to the Stans. Are you still going? And if so, have you decided on independent travel or a tour?

I'm definitely heading there in 2027. I haven't decided when yet but I'm fairly certain I will be booking a tour.

We, family of 4, traveled through 4 of the Stans independently in 2013 I think. I’ll try and find the thread where I described the Uzbek portion and parts of Tajikistan and post it here. I did hire a driver for the Pamir portion from Dushanbe to Osh. Decided to fly between Osh and Bishkek rather than endure a 12 hour taxi ride, though the ride is supposed to be very scenic.

I think the starting point for independent travel research should be caravanistan.com. I also believe that Mir travels is a reputable and fairly large local operator in that area.

Here is the link to the thread where I described some of our travel in the stans.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/been-to-uzbekistan

Edit - when I did it, seems like 2014, independent travel along the Pamir highway in Tajikistan required a special permit in addition to the visa. I think it was called a GBAO permit and was easily issued by the embassy in DC. At that time I think the visa was $25 and the permit an additional $20 or 25. Not sure if this is still in place or not.

Mardee, I haven't gone any further. It also won't be until 2027

Interested in this as well. I was planning an independent trip to Uzbekistan last year but then switched plans to different country. Now intrigued to pair Uzbe with a few other Stans.

A few posters on Fodor's.com have written reports of independent trips they took to various Stans....maybe you will find something interesting there...

ekscrunchy, thanks. I'll check over there.

I'm inclined to do a tour just because I'll be traveling solo, but I could be persuaded to look at traveling independently. I guess it depends on which Stans I'm going to. Right now, it's definite that I'm visiting Uzbekistan, but I'm not sure about any of the other four.

EDIT: I was just over there on the Fodors forum, but it looks like most of them are from a while ago. I only found three threads that were written in the last four years. Not that the other ones wouldn't have some value, but probably mostly for scenery and so on.

Still, the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to go with a tour, especially since I'm thinking about adding in Turkmenistan. Originally I had not, but the more I look at it, the more interesting it gets. I definitely do not want to do that on my own. What I might do is add some time either pre- or post-tour in Uzbekistan so that I'd have more time there.

A book all of you might want to read about travel in the five Stan’s is Sovietistan by Erika Fatland. Written by a young, very adventurous woman traveling solo, it is a fascinating and entertaining read. It gave me some insight into my own previous experience in Uzbekistan and will inspire you as you plan your trips!

Renee, I actually borrowed that from the library a few days ago, although I haven't started it yet. It looks very interesting.

At first I didn't think I was interested in Turkmenistan because I know it's a very repressive government, but the more I started looking into it, the more interested I got. Now I'm thinking of tacking it on to my Uzbekistan trip in 2027.

What got me really interested was seeing this Instagram video that someone made. It looks like a pretty fascinating and very different place. https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17958586532948647/ (Note: you will probably have to pause each frame in order to read what they posted).

Mardee, I usually follow A Lady in London to get ideas for London. She recently did a trip to Uzbekistan,

https://www.aladyinlondon.com/2026/04/11-day-uzbekistan-itinerary.html#more-68279

Interesting blog KB. We are also planning an Uzbekistan trip. Early stages of planning, but watching lots of You Tube videos and reading up….

That is interesting.

Skyegirl, I'm still waffling about a tour or not. The more I look at some of the materials I have, the more I think Uzbekistan would probably be pretty easy to do independently. I took a look at the Man in Seat 61's info, and he has some good stuff there about train travel.

I went to Uzbekistan independently in 2012 and it is quite doable without a tour. Took the train everywhere, even between Bukhara and Urgench (Khiva) which I was told the train wasn't operating and I'd have to take a private vehicle for an 8h trip through the desert. Luckily, the overnight train had just resumed service which even local tour agencies didn't seem to know about. It's a fascinating country, and highly recommend it.

There is a high-speed train between Tashkent and Khiva with stops in Samarkand and Bukhara. It just got extended to Khiva I think last week. It's not very high-speed. It tops out around 100 mph, but it's still far better than the slower train. That would be the best way to travel independently I think. The train stations are not centrally located, though.

I just got back from that part of the world. I did a tour with OAT. I would write a trip report, but my finger is in a splint for three weeks, and typing is a slog. I'm happy to answer questions though.

When I plan my "Stan" tour I'm thinking of including Ulverston, England.

It's the birthplace of Stan Laurel.

LOL

Frank, ha ha!

Lane, I'm sorry that you hurt your finger! But I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that injures themselves on vacation. 😊

Skyegirl sent me a link to the Man in Seat 61's page on Uzbekistan, and that has a lot of really good information in it: https://www.seat61.com/Uzbekistan.htm

@Chris_H: Within Uzbekistan, we only did one leg on the train, from Samarkand to Bukhara. And we flew from Nukus back to Tashkent (where we started). Other than that, we were in our tour bus. A lot of the roads are very poorly maintained, so the bus was not really comfortable from that perspective. I'd have preferred to be on the train for all the segments (though the train to Nukus only goes from Urgench, not from Khiva, and I don't think it's high-speed). I'd definitely prefer the train over flying - far more convenent.

Food was good. Plov is the national dish. It's very rich and oily but delicious. There are also lots of regional specialties we tried. It's a landlocked country, so I wouldn't recommend fish or seafood. I enjoyed the food quite a lot, but on the tour we sometimes had less adventurous meals, so if you are a foodie, you should enjoy being a little more willing to stretch yourself. Try horsemeat, for example.

@Mardee: I actually injured my finger on my previous trip, in Bhutan. Stuffing clothes into my suitcase, I pushed too hard the wrong way and burst a bursa between finger joints. No pain, so I have been living with it til now.