Turkmenistan

Some Asian nationalities can enter Turkmenistan without visa. Most other nationalitites need to apply for a visa.

Turkmenistan

Visa-free for holders of diplomatic and service category passports

Visa-free for holders of diplomatic passports

Visa on arrival for holders of diplomatic passports

Source: Wikipedia.

At the moment the whole of Turkmenistan is easily accessible and no traveler mentions a problem.

Eelco: "The police can sometimes be authoritarian, especially if you are not used to them yet. Most of them are shorts, and you can ignore them. Always only talk to the one with the most stars and ignore the rest. Provide a number of copies of your passport on which your personal details and your visa are visible."

The Turkmen cuisine is rich and fat according to the Russian cuisine with an influence of the Middle East, so kebab and shashlik.

Supermarkets

Shops can be found everywhere in larger villages. If you go into the desert, it is smart to make sure you have a supply of food.

Stalls on the street

Restaurants can be found everywhere. Good food, but a bit too expensive in the desert. There are regular stalls along the way selling fizzy lemonade with syrup: 'gazly suv'. Dirt cheap, very sweet but good for thirst.

Drinkable water

Take enough water with you, and sometimes it is indeed (as the locals say) better to rest during the afternoon heat. Cycling here in the middle of summer is not recommended.

ALWAYS filter water, even if it comes in a bottle. A lot of water comes directly from the canal and some wells are contaminated.

Best time to cycle

Eelco: "I cycled in the spring and that was nice. Many desert areas (with the exception of the strip along the mountains in the south and the river in the north), so presumably a ditto climate. So very hot in the summer."

Marc: "We cycled through Turkmenistan in July 2007 and it was very hot, up to 50C. A siesta between 12:00 and 15:00 is then a must."

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Nice routes**

Eelco: "I cycled the route Ashgabat - Mary - Merv - Turkmenabat. Ashgabat is crazy, a city built by the president full of all kinds of kitsch, parks and statues just to satisfy his delusions of grandeur and self-aggrandizement. I think it's one of the biggest sights in the country. Merv was disappointing, but the gas craters north of Ashgabat could be interesting. Turkmenabat is a nice town where you can't spend your money in the wonderful bazaar."