Planning trip from Europe to Mongolia

[heniatha]

Hi there,

I am moving to Mongolia in July and am investigating options to travel there by land. I would love to hear people's advice for the journey or if anyone is traveling at a similar time and looking for travel partners! I previously made the journey via the trans-Siberian railway but would like to take a more southern route this time.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[TheNonFlyingDutchman]

Check other threads about this, a couple of people are trying it atm, including myself. I’ll sum up my hurdles briefly (Dutch citizen).
Countries that are risky to enter atm: Iran, Afghanistan, Russia.
Yes people are still traveling here, and it might be fine, but there’s undeniably risk to it.
Iran: arrest without offence, many governments can hardly mean anything for you atm.
Afghanistan: well, speaks for itself I guess
Russia: also possible arrests because you’re a spy or smth, but more of a direct problem is that you won’t be able to use your western bank cards, so you’d either have to stock up on rubles before entering, or be savvy enough in crypto to make it work. Also for possible hospital visits, paying is kinda important.

To avoid this, you can still go via turkey-georgia-azerbaijan, but you’ll have to fly into azerbaijan bc their land borders remain closed. Exiting over land or sea is possible, and you can take the ferry to Aktau, Kazakhstan. Then make your way to China. Since you can’t get a Chinese tourist visa in Central-Asia as a foreigner, you’ll have to apply for that in your home country before you leave. This means you’ll have 3 months of traveling before you enter China. From there you can head to Mongolia.

[Xihe]

Hiya--I'll be in Ulaanbaatar for Nadaam from the 8th-15th July, if you're up to meeting up then!

[chiodooo]

I'll be in ulaanbaatar too from the 9th

[h.ahmadybirgani]

Dear Friend,

This is my itinerary (beow) and you can join us to share all things together. Please reply if you are happy.

Some information about this itinerary:
Trip duration: ca 30-35 days
Distance: 7000-8000 km
Trip time: ca early August 2023
Car type: my small car, 2*2 drive
The type of stay: open camping
The number of passengers: my family (my wife, me, two children) with someone (????)
The number of countries to visit: 5-6 countries

Itinerary (where :
1- Urmia, Tabriz/ NW Iran, 2- Isfahan/ Iran, 3- Mashhad/ NE Iran, 4- Ashgabat, Mery, Dashoguz/ Turkmenista, 5- Atyrau, Astana, Almaty/ Kazakhstan, 6- Bishkek, Issyk Kul wetland, Osh/ Kyrgyzstan, 7-Karakul Lake, Pamir Highway, Dushanbe, Khujand/ Tajikistan, 8- Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Aral Sea/ Uzbekistan, 9- Finally Iran again!

If you are happy to join us, please keep me posted.

Cheers.

Hesam/