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Every time I visit Turkmenistan, I receive confused looks from friends: ‘where?‘ If you’ve landed on this article, there’s a good chance you’re curious about how to visit Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most mysterious and unknown countries.
Like other Central Asian gems, Turkmenistan is a land of hyperboles: untouched raw landscapes dotted with the remnants of the great Silk Road and vestiges of the Soviet Union’s political experimentation. But Turkmenistan offers another drawcard to intrepid travelers seeking to get off the beaten path.
Much like North Korea, Turkmenistan is an extremely closed-off country; you cannot simply book a flight and go. Rather, it is extremely important you understand the logistics of how to visit Turkmenistan before planning your trip.
In this FAQBook, we’ll be answering the most common questions and misconceptions about visiting Turkmenistan. We’ve been organizing private and group tours to Turkmenistan for many years. If you are keen to arrange a visit, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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Before You Go
Where is Turkmenistan?
Turkmenistan is located in the heart of Central Asia. A former state of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan borders Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Guided tour and visa
Before considering how to get to Turkmenistan, it’s important you have an understanding of how to visit Turkmenistan. In particular, Western travelers face a number of logistical challenges when visiting Turkmenistan.
Guided tour
Almost all nationals are required to join a guided tour in Turkmenistan. Akin to North Korea or Syria, you’ll need to plan out your itinerary in advance and obtain specific permits for individuals cities and sites which you want to visit.
You will not be able to obtain a tourist visa to Turkmenistan without signing up for a guided tour.
I’m often asked but can I roam freely in Turkmenistan? The answer is both yes and no. Generally speaking, you will be with your guide during the day and for sightseeing. In the evening, after your day programme, your guide will often leave you at the hotel and you are technically not prohibited from heading out again. Your guides will generally have no issue with you taking a walk around your hotel or heading to a park in the evening.
Technically, Turkmenistan also offers a ‘transit visa’ for overland travelers (for example, those heading between Uzbekistan and Iran). These visas usually allow for three days of ‘guide-free’ travel.
Prior to Covid, travelers would often obtain these visas in the Turkmen embassies and consulates of Uzbekistan and Iran. However, since Turkmenistan’s post-Covid reopening in 2023, overland travelers have been consistently rejected for transit visas.
We have years of experience in organizing Turkmenistan tours, ranging from short Ashgabat + Darvaza three-day tours to longer tours including the Silk Road wonders of Konye Urgench and Merv and the raw natural beauty of Yangy Kala Canyon. If you are keen to visit Turkmenistan, contact us for a curated itinerary and quote.
Visa and registration
Turkmenistan visas are one of the trickiest visas to obtain in the world and all Western travelers require a visa to visit. As a tourist, you’ll first need to finalize your Turkmenistan tour before your tour guides can arrange for your visa. Even with a pre-arranged tour and itinerary, travelers are often rejected by Turkmen authorities (with no reasons given).
Most travelers obtain a ‘Letter of Invitation’ which allows a visa on arrival to be obtained at Ashgabat Airport (or your specified land border). This is a process we can help arrange alongside your Turkmenistan tour. Upon arrival in Turkmenistan, you simply pay the visa fees and you’ll have your Turkmen visa stamped in your passport.
You’ll need to have your visa registered within three days of arriving in Turkmenistan (more stamps in your passport). Generally speaking, your local guides will arrange for this process on arrival.
When is the best time to visit Turkmenistan?
Turkmenistan is a land of extremes – especially weather wise.
The best time of year to visit Turkmenistan is easily the shoulder season. Between March to May, and September to October, temperatures are generally tolerable. However, be warned that you can occasionally still get a deep freeze, or peak desert heat during these periods.
Getting to Turkmenistan
By air
Turkmenistan’s glitzy capital, Ashgabat, is home to country’s main air gateway: the falcon-shaped Ashgabat International Airport (Airport code: ASB). You’ll find direct flights with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul and FlyDubai to Dubai.
If you can manage to book yourself on Turkmenistan Airlines (occasionally a little tricky), they also fly directly from Ashgabat to Bangkok, London, Milan and Frankfurt, among other destinations.
By land
Central Asia is an over lander’s dream. Most travellers enter Turkmenistan overland from either Uzbekistan (by the Khiva/Dashoguz border) or Iran (by the Mashhad/Ashgabat border). There is also a more obscure land border with Kazakhstan, south of Aktau which technically could bring you towards Turkmenbashy – but it is less used by travellers.
The land border process is generally straightforward (provided you have your Letter of Invitation). However, it is important you specify which land border you will be arriving to when planning your Turkmenistan tour.
Inside Turkmenistan
Getting around and guides
In case it isn’t yet clear, you will almost certainly be visiting Turkmenistan on a guided tour. This means every day of your itinerary is pre-arranged and your Turkmenistan tour guides will arrange transport (within cities and inter-city).
If you are keen to try Turkmenistan’s inter-city transport options, let your guides know in advance and they will gladly arrange overnight trains or domestic flights for you.
Money
Cash is king in Turkmenistan and we strongly recommend you do not use your credit card in Turkmenistan.
The official exchange rate is usually pegged at 3.5 Manat to US$1. However, your Turkmenistan guides will be able to exchange USD at more favorable, unofficial rates which, at the time of writing, fluctuate around 18 Manat to US$1.
Photos
I’m often asked whether you can take photos in Turkmenistan. As a general rule, you are able to more or less take photos freely and nobody will stop you walking around with a camera.
However, be very careful not to take any photos of any police officers, government buildings or civil administration (for example, train stations or airports). Your local guides will incessantly remind you of this requirement.
WiFi and Internet
Generally speaking, it’s extremely difficult to get fast, reliable internet in Turkmenistan. Most hotels will offer some form of basic WiFi. However, all social media and most Western media outlets are blocked. The main exception is Gmail, which tends to load relatively quickly. You’ll want to purchase a VPN (like ExpressVPN or NordVPN), but even that might not be enough.
Foreigners can buy SIM cards which offer the same form of slow, lagging internet across the country. Your local guides will help you arrange the purchase.
A note on politics
After North Korea, Turkmenistan is often considered the most repressive authoritarian political structure in the world. Citizens have no political or civil rights and day-to-day life is tightly controlled (education, freedom of movement).
A strong cult of personality surrounds the first post-independence president, Saparmurat Niyazov (often called Turkmenbaşy, or ‘Father of the Turkmen). Turkmenbaşy built thousands of gold statues of himself around the country, including one in Ashgabat which rotates to always face the sun.
To get an idea of this cult of personality in action, don’t miss our guide to the quirky monuments of Ashgabat.
Turkmenbaşy is notorious for a string of quirky laws, including renaming the days of the week to quotes from his book, the Ruhnama. He also replaced the Turkmen word for bread with his mother’s name. A smaller (by comparison) cult of personality surrounds the second and third presidents of Turkmenistan, with photos, murals and a handful of statues.
It goes without saying, you should be very careful to never criticize the Turkmen authorities in public. This includes ‘disrespectful’ gestures in front of statues or cheeky comments to your guides.
You will regularly hear stories of Turkmen democracy, free elections and admiration for their leadership. As a general rule, I recommend following the tone of your local guide: if they’re open to a discussion of Turkmen politics, feel free to follow their lead with caution.
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