Current travel/safety conditions in Afghanistan

[OWNER]

I was asking about general information like price, where to pay exactly, how sure is it that it will be issued, is it possible to get a transit visa..
If it costs the same high amount like in Bishkek, I will get it there beforehand..
I would prefer to get a transit visa anyhow as I don't want to support the current Afghan government more than necessary.

Sorry, I didn't understand you. If you want...

I would prefer to get a transit visa anyhow...

You need to declare at the consulate or at the border that

... I don't want to support the current Afghan government more than necessary.

And everything will work out for the best

[I35TX]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all the advice given so far, this thread is a true treasure trove. Just had four extra questions to build on Hesam and Owner’s experiences:

1. Regarding the Shir Khan (TJ) border. I understand we can get visa on arrival there. But can we also get the Roadpass / car permission there too? I only read of people getting it in Mashhad or other consulates, but would love to know if getting vehicle approval is available at Shir Khan.

2. For the regional approval / approval to travel to certain regions — can this also be gotten in Shir Khan, or can this only be done at some police station in Kunduz for example? Ideally am hoping to drive from Shir Khan (TJ) to Mazar i Sharif to Herat to Iranian Border.

3. What does the availability of diesel look like? And also what is the quality of the diesel in Afghanistan? I have a 2001 diesel car so it’s less sensitive than some newer models, but still am looking for decently okay diesel. A lot of other posts mentioned gasoline was available but didn’t talk about diesel.

4. And lastly we plan to be two guys, one with American passport and one guy with Peruvian passport. Is it unwise to self-drive from Tajik border to Iranian border within Afghanistan without a guide / solo? Would you guys strongly recommend a local to accompany us or is it fine as long as we drive in the day time and limit travel outside of the main north road corridor?

Thank you again for all your advice and sorry for the long questions! Many thanks in advance!!

Best,
Alex

[OWNER]

Hi everyone,
Thank you for all the advice given so far, this thread is a true treasure trove. Just had four extra questions

Dear Alex!
1. It is definitely possible to get a visa at the border, I asked the border guard at the checkpoint about this. I don’t know if this also applies to transit visas, but it is definitely possible to get a tourist visa for 30 days.
I also asked about the possibility of getting a pass for a car at the border. The border guard said that another service deals with this, but most likely it is possible.
The difficulty is that these procedures will take a lot of time. As far as I know, for this you will need to take a taxi to the village, to the bank and pay there. Then return back. And this is all the time that goes by quickly. If you have the opportunity, it is better to do all this in advance. From which country are you traveling to Tajikistan? In Kazakhstan (I found out), you can get a visa and a pass for a foreigner.

2. I don’t know anything about the permit that the police give. No one asked me for such a permit. To see some sights, you need permission from the Ministry of Culture. I wrote about this in my blog. But this is not the police.

3. Fuel is available absolutely everywhere. I also talked about this in the last story. Gasoline, diesel and autogas. Even in small villages, this is shown in my video. The quality of gasoline was fine for me, but I know nothing about the quality of diesel and autogas.

4. I drove half of Afghanistan without any guide - no problem. But I want to say (and noted this in my stories) that sometimes the Taliban were very wary of me at first, because they thought I was an American or an Englishman. When I started speaking Russian, their attitude immediately changed.

This is an automatic translation into English, there may be inaccuracies. Ask if you did not understand something. Look at my blog again, I have supplemented the stories a little.