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Transportation
Air
International carriers
flying into Ashgabat include Lufthansa and Turkish airlines
who fly 3 and 5 times a week respectively, reaching Ashgabat
late at night, with Lufthansa stopping over in Baku, (Azerbaijan).
The Turkish airlines flight is usually more competitive,
but reaches & leaves Ashgabat more inconvenient hours.
Turkmenistan airlines fly to London, Frankfurt and Istanbul
at slightly more competitive rates. Further there are
daily connections to Moscow and one or two flights to
the other central Asian capitals and Kiev.
Local
flights are reasonable and have a good safety record
on their frequent scheduled flights between Ashgabat and
Turkmenistan's regional centres. Since 2002 the flights
from Ashgabat to Dashogus and Turkmenabat are mainly operated
by Boeing 717's. Please note that the baggage allowance
on the small planes (currently all AN-24 propeller planes)
is only 10 kg with strict limits on the size of luggage
and there is also an occasional hand luggage limitation
of 5 kg. Advance arrangements should be taken if you happen
to carry outsize baggage on smaller planes or you should
pick the flights with larger planes (B 717).
STANTOURS can handle your air-ticketing
against a small fee. Check out our airline
links for schedules of the international airlines
or continue to our Turkmenistan
Airlines International and Domestic
Flight Schedules.
We highly recommend to pre-arrange all Turkmenistan tickets
through us in particular since domestic tickets are usually
officially sold out as early as one month before departure.
Rail
Only international trains bound for Dushanbe continue
crossing the Uzbek-Turkmen periphery of between Turkmenabat
(Chardjou) and Dashogus (Tashauz). No Turkmen Transit
visas are required for travellers with through ticketing.
The local Transcaspian railway crosses the entire
south of Turkmenistan from the Caspian to Turkmenabat
(Chardjou) where you should be able to connect to Tashkent.
Despite the opening of the Sarags railway crossing into
Northern Iran, potentially linking Central Asia with Istanbul,
no passenger through service is available as yet and one
has to cross the Iranian border by taxi or bus. The railway
network runs fairly well and most trains have reasonable
standards.
Please contact us
for updated Railway or Turkmenistan Airline
schedules. Please note note that time-tables are sporadic
and sometimes simply incorrect and should be re-consulted
1-2 weeks before departure.
Boat / Baku - Turkmenbashi Ferry
Turkmenistan can be accessed by boat across the Caspian
year-round on the daily car & railway ferry between Baku
and Turkmenbashi (Krasnovodsk). Unfortunately the Azeri-run
ferry has no regular schedule and arrivals and departures
have to be planned with one or two spare days. Tickets
are in the regions of 50-100 USD.
Further there is a weekly Russian ferry to Astrakhan,
in the Volga region, also with a rather vague schedule.
There used to be river-boats between the south-eastern
city of Atamyrat (Kerki) and Turkmenabat (Chardjou), but
these have been suspended with the opening of the local
railway covering this end of the country. In connection
with a guide booking STANTOURS can handle your Azeri-bound
ferry-ticketing against a small fee.
Road
Most International Bus services have been suspended;
officially there still remains a twice daily bus-service
between Ashgabat and Mashad, but there are no ticket offices
or reliable schedule. Nevertheless - Shared Taxis and
Minibuses are reasonable to / from and in-between all
borders, with services usually starting at the nearest
corresponding railway or bus-station. Frequent urban and
domestic Bus and Minibus services run reasonably well
and are cheap, nevertheless - again - there are only few
scheduled departures.
Private vehicle - Hefty fees and long lasting procedures
are applicable for entry by private vehicles into Turkmenistan
which depending on the routing and vehicle vary from 70
to 250 USD. Please read our important
notes regarding Transportation department charges
& issues in the Visa section.
Other than that, with the exception of the infamous Darvaza
- Kunya Urgench road, the highways are reasonably well
maintained by Central Asian standards, but most international
road maps have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless,
with its border with Iran, Turkmenistan is Central Asia's
transport hub with good roads all the way through to the
Persian Gulf and Europe.
STANTOURS can provide you cars with drviers throughout
your trip to Turkmenistan at the following rate. Unfortunately
no cars for hire (without driver) are yet available.
| Item |
Approximate
distance km |
Road
time hrs (minimum) |
Car 2-3 pax |
Mini-van
4-6 pax |
| non
a/c |
a/c |
non
a/c |
a/c |
| Flat
charge per day |
|
12 |
60 |
80 |
80 |
100 |
| Border
transfers to / from Ashgabat |
| Iran |
|
| Gaudan |
44 |
1 |
30 |
40 |
50 |
n/a |
| Serahs |
320 |
5 |
60 |
80 |
80 |
100 |
| Azerbaidjan
/ Russia ferry |
| Turkmenbashy
(Krasnovodsk) |
600 |
8 |
100 |
160 |
160 |
200 |
| Uzbekistan |
| Dashogus
(Tashauz) |
600 |
10 |
75 |
120 |
120 |
150 |
| Khodzhely
/ Nukus |
520 |
9 |
75 |
120 |
120 |
150 |
| Farab
/ Turkmenabat (Chardjou) |
620 |
8 |
75 |
120 |
120 |
150 |
| Afghanistan |
| Serhetabat
(Kushka) |
520 |
10 |
100 |
160 |
160 |
200 |
| Through
transportation to / from Ashgabat |
| Buhara |
720 |
14 |
125 |
170 |
170 |
200 |
| Khiva |
690 |
15 |
105 |
150 |
150 |
180 |
| Mashad |
300 |
5 |
100 |
110 |
130 |
n/a |
| Main
Turkmenistan destinations return drives |
| Ashgabat
region |
| Airport
Transfer |
5 |
20-30
mins |
15 |
20 |
15 |
20 |
| Anau |
12 |
2-3
hours |
25 |
40 |
40 |
50 |
| Chuli
Valley |
45 |
1/2
day |
40 |
60 |
60 |
80 |
| Geok-Depe
Mosque |
45 |
1/2
day |
40 |
60 |
60 |
80 |
| Bakhrden
Underground Lake |
100 |
1/2
day |
40 |
60 |
60 |
80 |
| Mary
/ Merv |
| Ashgabat
- Mary |
350 |
2
days |
100 |
160 |
160 |
200 |
| Mary-
Gonur-Depe (Margush / Margiana) |
80 |
8
hours |
60 |
100 |
n/a |
n/a |
| Kunya
Urgench / Dashogus . |
| Ashgabat
- Kunya-Urgench |
460 |
2
days |
100 |
160 |
160 |
200 |
| Ashgabat
- Darvaza (Central Karakum) |
250 |
1
1/2 days |
75 |
120 |
120 |
150 |
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