Central Asia Tours & Trips

What people love about Central Asia Tours

• Traveled in November

  4

  Overall it was a 4 because the days were too long and there wasn't one "down day" to rest and recuperate. Up by 7, back in the room by 10 PM was hard for 25 or 26 days. I thought the markets were interesting the first time but not the 5th, 6th and 7th, since most of them were nearly the same. The food was usually pretty good, but the process of taking each person's order, first for soup, then for salad, then for main meal, took forever after a long day of touring. I learned that they serve way too much for most people, and usually I only had two courses and often had to leave food on my plate. Some people on the tour loved wine, and the wine available was not magnificent but was drinkable. Beer drinkers seemed to think the beer was OK too. There wasn't much to see in Kazakhstan nor in Kyrgizistan although just driving through some of it was informative. I could have skipped seeing the images on the rocks, a few of the museums that didn't have much to show, and one or two of the mosques--after having seen 15 or so it wasn't exciting anymore. However, when going sight seeing, one usually sees the historic beauties of a place, or the homes of famous people or amazing art. the history of the Stans starts after Genghis Khan and Tamerlane stopped leveling the region, the Silk Road and the culture. Therefore, most of the significant places to see are from the late 1400s and 1500s--with a few from the late 1800s and one or two modern mosques. Islam came into its own before Genghis came through, but about all that was rebuilt of note after his passage were mosques and madrassas. We learned about the meaning in the patterns in "Persian" carpets, the beautiful horses of Turkmenistan, the importance of carpets in nomad tents, the tools of war when mounted on horses and how mare's milk tastes. It was a fascinating trip, with a few repetitive things (often the food was basically the same, the mosques were pretty but there were a lot of them, the hotels were comfortable and internet was intermittent at best. Don't bother to bring a swim suit, there is no time to swim even if the hotel has a pool--which is seldom the case. When one returns to the hotel at 10 after a long day, the last thing any of us wanted to do was don a suit and take a swim). Turkmenistan, although considered very dangerous by the US embassy in Tashkent AND all of my outside information, was fascinating and I am glad we went there even though I was nervous while there. Border crossings were tedious (3 or 4 hours usually) but East Site helped us all of the way and their end of things was well covered--buses were where they should be every time, hotels were ready for us, restaurants were prepared for our influx although occasionally the service was incredibly slow, museums were braced for our visit, etc. Be prepared for heat--bring a cotton scarf or shawl or hat that you can wet with water and put over your head and neck to help keep you cool. Be aware that a lot of the hotel safes didn't work, so if you are brining valuables with you, either money or tech, etc., you will probably need to haul it around in a back pack if you are nervous about it disappearing from the room. We never had anything disappear from any rooms, but we did have a few things disappear from our suitcases during their transit from airplanes to luggage bays (they often are trucked from the plane to the terminal). There are normally squat toilets and seldom "western" toilets except in the hotels and occasionally restaurants. Bring plenty of tissue packs to provide your own toilet paper, and plenty of hand cleaner as there aren't sinks to wash your hands in usually in the bathrooms.

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  Central Asia 5 Stans with Hell's Gate Derweze
• Traveled in December

  5

  The Central Asia tour was extremely enjoyable and included a varied mix of history, old and new cities along the Silk Road, varied nature of canyons, mountains, lakes, deserts, and a mix of city and rural life. Wonderful people. Special thanks to our guides Svetlana and Ejesh. Our drivers, local guiedes and hosts. Thanks you, Intrepid.

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  Central Asia: Five Stans Express
• GordonTraveled in June

  5

  I had some very excellent time with Central Asia Travel Company. Overall, the programme is well-designed, the execution smooth, and the tour guides knowledgeable and considerate. Special thanks to the tour guides Max in Turkmenistan, Maxi in Kyrgyzstan and Anzar in Kazakhstan. They were extremely friendly and went to extra lengths to tailor the itinerary to my preferences. For example, Max brought me to a first-rate carpet shop in Ashgabat knowing my love of carpets. Maxi offered me a taste of truly extraordinary fresh honey from Osh. Anzar toured me around the State Museum in Almaty, taking into account my preference for city tours (following 15 days on the road!). The Tajikistan trip could have been made better. The Tajik guide had a poor sense of time management, having spent 7-8 hours on our way to the Seven Lakes (vs 3-4 hours as promised). At the ancient ruins, I was told that the bearded men in the mural paintings were women and the saints with halo were 'just normal people'! But this is just a minor disappointment in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable journey. Highly recommended!

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  Trip to the Five Stans - Exploring the Wonders of Central Asia