Local tour operator here in Ashgabat. The same question keeps landing in my inbox in different words: can I just show up at the border from Bukhara or Khiva and cross into Turkmenistan. Short answer is no, and the long answer is more useful, so here it is.

There are two crossings people actually use. In the south it's Alat on the Uzbek side and Farap on ours, an hour and a half or so from Bukhara, and that's the one for Turkmenabat, Mary and Merv. In the north it's Shavat, about an hour from Khiva, and that puts you into Dashoguz for Konye-Urgench. There's a third further northwest at Khodjeyli if you're coming from Nukus, it drops you practically at Konye-Urgench, but it sees the least traffic and the checks there tend to be slower.

What you can't do is cross on a whim. You need a visa, and the visa needs an invitation letter that a licensed Turkmen agency files for you. That takes 14-21 business days, and the visa you collect at the border is issued for fixed dates, so the paperwork drives your itinerary rather than the other way around. On a tourist visa a guide travels with you, that part isn't optional.

Practical bits: Farap runs roughly 8:30 to 6 with a lunch break around midday, Shavat and Khodjeyli 9 to 6, all of them close on our public holidays, so aim for the morning. There's a stretch of no man's land at each that you cross by shuttle bus for a small fee. Bring cash dollars for the visa and border fees, roughly $100-140 depending on nationality, and allow a couple of hours for the whole thing on a normal day.

Happy to answer questions about either border, timing, or what actually fits in 2-5 days. I run a small operator here (golnomads.com), so I'm biased, but the border facts are the same whoever you travel with.

I came across a post today on instagram from a user with a Turkmenistan flag profile picture, said that they do not consider themselves a Turkic people and that they have no connection to the other Central Asian countries, Azerbaijan, or Turkey.

Is this really how Turkmens generally think? Or, even if it is uncommon, is this a viewpoint that exists among some Turkmens?

Thanks

People of Turkmenistan, please tell me, why do so few people travel to your country?

I recently learned about a new area in Turkmenistan called Oboy. Supposedly, it is a small village town in Turkmenistan and not a lot of people live there. Is there anyone here from Oboy, and can tell me what your experience has been living in the town?

Guys, I am from Turkey. I am interested in the cultures of Turkic peoples. As all Turkic countries, I would love to be people with different states but high cultural exchanges with each other. A song in Kazakhstan should also be listened to in Turkey. A book published in Kyrgyzstan should be read in Kazakhstan. The series broadcast in Azerbaijan should be watched in Uzbekistan. Let's have a Turkic culture just like the Latin culture of South Americans. What do you think. Do you think we are brotherly peoples like this? Or do the Turkmen people look at this relationship as a simple scientific language kinship?

Hey guys,

I am currently exploring my family tree and I found out, that the brother of my great grandma (he fought for the Germans) died in a camp in Türkmenbashi in 1945. His name is Walter Sosna.

After some research I concluded that this must be the place of his remains, close to the japanese cemetary.

I would really really like to know if there is a grave of his in that place, on Google maps I already found a picture of a german name in that place.

Does anybody know how I could approach my search? Or is even somebody there right now? I would appreciate all kinds of help!

Greetings, Felix

It turns out that Christianity has a fairly long history in Turkmenistan; there are ruins of a Nestorian church in Merv dating back to the 3rd century—the oldest in Central Asia.

What is daily life like for Christians in Turkmenistan?

Every autumn we get messages from travelers who found out too late that Turkmenistan can't be done last minute. So here's the math, from someone who files these letters every week.

Every tourist visa starts with a letter of invitation (LOI) filed by a licensed local agency. Processing takes 14-21 business days, so 3-4 weeks in calendar terms. Once the letter is approved you get the visa on arrival at the airport or land border, that part is quick. Nothing speeds up the letter itself.

What that means today: arriving mid-September, your letter should already be filed. Late September, file this week and it's doable. October, file in the next 2-3 weeks and you're comfortable, and October is honestly the best month here, warm days, cool nights, perfect crater weather. November and later, plenty of time, just don't sit on it.

Also worth knowing: bring roughly $100-140 in clean, newer USD bills for the border (visa fee, migration fee, paperwork, exact amount depends on nationality).

I run Göl Nomads, a small local operator in Ashgabat, we file the LOI as part of any tour, so yes I'm biased, but the timeline above applies whoever you book with. Happy to answer questions about dates or the process 🙂

Program details and prices: golnomads.com

Local tour operator here. Crater trips are half of what we do and the same questions land in my inbox every week, so let me answer them all at once.

Yes, it's still burning. Smaller than ten years ago, and the government talks about putting it out every couple of years, but as of this week it burns every night. If it's on your list, sooner is safer than later.

The crater sits about 270 km north of Ashgabat, in the middle of the Karakum, and the last stretch is off-road. People see it one of three ways: a two-day loop out of Ashgabat with a night camping by the rim, on the way through the country between the Uzbek borders (Shavat near Khiva, or Farap near Bukhara), or as one night inside a longer tour. You want to be there after dark, that's the whole point, so day trips undersell it.

Since every foreign tourist needs a guide anyway, these run as private guided trips: 4WD with a driver, guide, camp or yurt near the crater, dinner by the fire. For a pair figure about $400 per person for the two-day loop, groups of three or more closer to $300, solo more.

Best time is April-May and September-October, warm days and cool clear nights. Summer is 45C out there, doable but rough. Winter nights freeze, but the crater in the cold with nobody else around is honestly special.

And the visa: there's no independent travel here, every tourist visa runs on an invitation letter filed by a licensed local agency, 14-21 business days, so start about a month before your dates.

I run Göl Nomads (golnomads.com), a small local tour operator here in Ashgabat, so I'm obviously biased, but ask me anything about the crater below and I'll answer straight 🙂

Basically the place I work in within UAE government does a lot of statistics, I noticed one where Turkmen nationals in the UAE increased significantly since 2023/24, just curious on why is that?

Hi all, founder of a small tour operator based in Ashgabat here (Göl Nomads). The same questions come up in this sub every week (is a guide really mandatory, how does the LOI actually work, why do quotes differ so wildly, is the gas crater still burning, can you cross border-to-border on the way through to Uzbekistan) and half the answers floating around are years out of date.

So, ask me anything. Visa/LOI process and timelines, real costs, transit visas, border crossings, trains, internet (yes, Instagram/WhatsApp are blocked, plan around it), what you can photograph, how much you can walk around alone (in Ashgabat: more than people think), and the less-visited stuff like Yangykala canyon or the Koytendag mountains.

Obviously I'm not neutral, it's my company (golnomads.com, prices are published there, which is rare in this market). But I'll give you the straight answer even when it's "you don't need to pay anyone for that."

1: Do some people make a habit of going to Iran, or are the borders very strict?
2: The capital really is that clean?
3: Is your opinion on queer people really as radical as the laws?

Thinking about visiting soon. I understand that social media apps won't work, but what about e-mails or old websites with DM options, like last.fm?

So I'm a foreigner, living in Europe currently, and I'm about to work in Ashgabat for several months for a foreign organization. Any tips that are worth knowing to plan the trip?

Clarifications that I would particularly need:

I've been briefed about internet restrictions and how a small amount of stuff is available, VPNs being restricted as well; but on the other hand there's "a bunch" of Turkmen dudes from Ashgabat or Turkmenabat on social media...

I've also been briefed about the exchange of dollars to manats, with an official rate and a black market rate; how does this unfold once you're there? Is it a matter of foreigners/citizens?

Typical things that you're not supposed to do in TM but that's okay anywhere else? I'm used to Central Asia, but I think TM might be something else

External newspapers I've read so far are sometimes contradictory or incomplete, I would instinctively believe them but I sometimes see counterarguments, like the internet access thing for example, please help

I bought one in Turkey but I suspect it's synthetic, is there any reliable way to know ?

Switch to Linux! started to watch and subscribed to Him. We need like this teenagers. And he's speaking multiple languages but prefer to speak in Turkmen. Rather than singing and dancing in Tiktok and instagram. Our community build completely on music and dancing.

AND WE HAVE TO CHANGE!!

We need to have best programmers, engineers, teachers, youtubers, designers, robotic engineers and etc. To be honest, thats guy is me. By this post some of you guys might be thing like me...

Salam Millet!
I'm planing to make swap/buy platform like TmCars. I'm 19 year old software nerd and decided to be a competitor to native swap and adbload platform called TmCars. It is popular and used by 7 to 70, but it's evolved to adbload platform slowly. Just tell my your thoughts below!

Practicing some horse sketching with the Turkmenistan Akhal-Teke.