Hi, we just crossed the Caspian Sea. It was straight forward but lots of waiting. We stayed in Baku for a couple of nights and phoned the Alat port number +994 55 999 91 24. They can't always answer and it wasn't easy to grasp if a boat was definitely leaving. We had had a period of bad weather prior to us arriving in Baku and we could see on the ASCO last status of ships (https://ships.asco.az/en) that for a while everything was at anchor. We then saw that the Azerbijan ship on Marine Traffic (https://www.marinetraffic.com/) was in Kuryk and started to head back to Alat. So we decided to just head to the port. We took two buses from Baku town centre (the 125 (0.4₼ per person using the BakiKart) and then the 195 (1₼ per person cash)). It took a couple of hours but we left at around 10am and arrived just after 12pm and was relatively easy. Lots of chat with locals. We planned to get off at the bus stop: Kotal qәsəbəsi 2. But the whole bus told us we should get off a bit further on. It wasn't clear how to easily cross the main road at the point they dropped us so we were going to walk on the slip road that goes under the main road to the port, luckily a passing taxi heading to the port gave us a lift for free. We had planned, if there was no boat that day, to head to the hotel in the Alat and had contacted them on the number on google map and they responded with availability/price via WhatsApp.
We arrived at the port and met some Canadian bikepackers and at the gates of the port is the ticket office and waiting room. We paid the standard $70 each for a shared 4 person cabin. We were told there were no 2 person cabins. We had dollars with us and the bank (where you pay for the ticket once the ticket office has given you an invoice) is opposite the ticket office and will exchange money. We changed our left over Manat back to USD but we should have waited as we then went to the restaurant/market a short walk from the waiting room and had an evening meal which they would have preferred we had paid in Manat though they eventually accepted $5 each for a meal and drink. We saw the boat arrive on Marine Traffic at around 5pm and we finally boarded at 1am. There was some delay/confusion about stamping our passports out of Azerbijan but it eventually got done. Foot/bike passengers boarded last. We were allocated cabins. Mixed sex couples were given their own cabin, another couple of bike packers from France had turned up as well as a French guy travelling on his own. We shared the cabin with the French guy who could speak Azerbijani and Russian which was so useful! The cabin was comfortable with good mattresses and shower. We left port at around 3.30am. Food was three times a day (on Kazakh time) and edible but we were glad we had taken some fresh fruit with us. There isn't much space outside the cabin. A few sofas outside the dining hall (which is closed outwith meals) and only a bit of the deck was accessible. We did a lot of napping.
We arrived in Kuryk around 1am. We were asked to leave the cabin around an hour before that. We congregated outside the dining hall with the truck drivers and the Kazakh officials came on board with their dog and we got our passports back and had a temperature check. Foot/bike passengers got off fairly early (not quite first). Some of the crew were trainees and keen to chat in English, fewer of the truckers spoke English. We were picked up in a van on the other side and taken through immigration and final checks and the van driver organised a taxi for three of us to go straight to Aktau, for 20,000₸ which was probably over priced but we were too tired to haggle. We arrived in Aktau around 4.30am and collapsed in a hotel.
Great experience!
Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
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morganhenryevans
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:04 am
- x 1
Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
Hi, morgan, thank you very much for your detailed information.
Do you know something when, what time AZ will be open the land borders?
I want to go by my camper to AZ, than by ferry boat to KZ.
Thank's a lot, Tony.
Do you know something when, what time AZ will be open the land borders?
I want to go by my camper to AZ, than by ferry boat to KZ.
Thank's a lot, Tony.
0 x
Crossing from Baku to Aktau
Hi, though I'd share my experience with the crossing so people can have a better idea with my timeline.
29/07/2024
12:00 (noon) - In Baku, bought a sim card and called the port office number (+994 55 999 91 24). They didn't reply. I try again 10min later and they reply. I ask them when the next boat to Kuryk was, they answered tonight, I said ok, so I should come? Yes. Simple enough.
16:00 - after spending a bit more time in Baku, I take the bus 125 from the city center (paid with city travel card) then the bus 195 (paid with cash) and walked about 30 minutes (I just followed Google maps instructions), about a 2 hour journey.
18:00 - Having arrived at the port, I get told to go buy my ticket ($70, can pay in USD or AZN, an ATM serves both currencies) and after a bit of waiting and going to the 'bank' to pay, I get my ticket and am told I will board the boat between 4-6 am.
19:00 - There is a small building serving as a 'waiting room' with lots of seats and even a couple of 'beds' (sorta). I meet this swiss cyclist that has been waiting / living here for the past 3 days waiting for the next boat. He was scheduled to leave on an earlier boat, at around 23:00 (I guess it was already full when I bought my ticket). There is a small shop (24/7 I think) and 'restaurant' available (ask the guards to tell you how to get there) that mainly serves all the truckers waiting quite a bit further. What follows is a long wait. In total, there was me, the cyclist, a south Korean woman that looked completely lost, and an Uzbek family. The swiss guy boarded the boat at around 3:00.
13:00 (next day) - finally, we are told to go outside and wait for the bus that brings us to customs.
14:00 - we board the boat.
17:10 - the boat departs. On board, the are lots of Europeans as in July-August, there is the Mongol rally (people driving a shit car across Europe and central Asia to get to eastern Kazakhstan). Maybe about a quarter of people on board were Europeans and the rest, truckers from over (turkey, Georgia, Ukrainians, Russians, kazakhs... You name it). We got 2 meals: dinner at 19:00 and breakfast at 7:00. Both were quite good in my opinion, especially dinner. Deck access was less limited than I taught from previous posts here (my boat's name was 'Azerbaijan').
16:00 (next day) - the boat arrives in the Kuryk port (1 hour later than ETA on ASCO website).
18:15 - left the boat after waiting to get passports back
19:15 - finished the whole process of going through customs.
21:30 - in my Hotel in Aktau.
To get to Aktau, the guy that drove the minivan between the boat and the customs suggested he could drive us to Aktau (with the Uzbek family and the Korean woman). I initially planned on hitchhiking, especially due to the fact so many Europeans were gonna stroll out with their cars so I felt it was very likely either one if them or a trucker would allow me to join them. But since we were 6, I decided to go with the minivan. Got charged 10,000 tenge (€20), which I initially thought was pricey, but I later saw that yandex (local uber) charges 20,000 tenge for the trip (having said that, using the app would be useless since no taxis would accept to go that far to get you with no passagers). So total price for all 6 of us was 60,000 tenge for the minivan to Aktau (but if we were 5 (or 4), it would've also probably been 10,000 /pp).
Overall, the whole process wad quite smooth and the boat ride was enjoyable. Total price: just under $100 with buses for Baku and a taxi for Aktau. Total time (leaving Baku - arriving in Aktau): 53h30. I think the amount of time you spend waiting for the boat once you're at the port is quite random. I was 18 hours in the waiting room, bring books.
Useful links/number:
https://ships.asco.az/en (see status of ships and ETAs)
https://www.marinetraffic.com/ (see where the boats are)
+994 55 999 91 24 (number of port office)
29/07/2024
12:00 (noon) - In Baku, bought a sim card and called the port office number (+994 55 999 91 24). They didn't reply. I try again 10min later and they reply. I ask them when the next boat to Kuryk was, they answered tonight, I said ok, so I should come? Yes. Simple enough.
16:00 - after spending a bit more time in Baku, I take the bus 125 from the city center (paid with city travel card) then the bus 195 (paid with cash) and walked about 30 minutes (I just followed Google maps instructions), about a 2 hour journey.
18:00 - Having arrived at the port, I get told to go buy my ticket ($70, can pay in USD or AZN, an ATM serves both currencies) and after a bit of waiting and going to the 'bank' to pay, I get my ticket and am told I will board the boat between 4-6 am.
19:00 - There is a small building serving as a 'waiting room' with lots of seats and even a couple of 'beds' (sorta). I meet this swiss cyclist that has been waiting / living here for the past 3 days waiting for the next boat. He was scheduled to leave on an earlier boat, at around 23:00 (I guess it was already full when I bought my ticket). There is a small shop (24/7 I think) and 'restaurant' available (ask the guards to tell you how to get there) that mainly serves all the truckers waiting quite a bit further. What follows is a long wait. In total, there was me, the cyclist, a south Korean woman that looked completely lost, and an Uzbek family. The swiss guy boarded the boat at around 3:00.
13:00 (next day) - finally, we are told to go outside and wait for the bus that brings us to customs.
14:00 - we board the boat.
17:10 - the boat departs. On board, the are lots of Europeans as in July-August, there is the Mongol rally (people driving a shit car across Europe and central Asia to get to eastern Kazakhstan). Maybe about a quarter of people on board were Europeans and the rest, truckers from over (turkey, Georgia, Ukrainians, Russians, kazakhs... You name it). We got 2 meals: dinner at 19:00 and breakfast at 7:00. Both were quite good in my opinion, especially dinner. Deck access was less limited than I taught from previous posts here (my boat's name was 'Azerbaijan').
16:00 (next day) - the boat arrives in the Kuryk port (1 hour later than ETA on ASCO website).
18:15 - left the boat after waiting to get passports back
19:15 - finished the whole process of going through customs.
21:30 - in my Hotel in Aktau.
To get to Aktau, the guy that drove the minivan between the boat and the customs suggested he could drive us to Aktau (with the Uzbek family and the Korean woman). I initially planned on hitchhiking, especially due to the fact so many Europeans were gonna stroll out with their cars so I felt it was very likely either one if them or a trucker would allow me to join them. But since we were 6, I decided to go with the minivan. Got charged 10,000 tenge (€20), which I initially thought was pricey, but I later saw that yandex (local uber) charges 20,000 tenge for the trip (having said that, using the app would be useless since no taxis would accept to go that far to get you with no passagers). So total price for all 6 of us was 60,000 tenge for the minivan to Aktau (but if we were 5 (or 4), it would've also probably been 10,000 /pp).
Overall, the whole process wad quite smooth and the boat ride was enjoyable. Total price: just under $100 with buses for Baku and a taxi for Aktau. Total time (leaving Baku - arriving in Aktau): 53h30. I think the amount of time you spend waiting for the boat once you're at the port is quite random. I was 18 hours in the waiting room, bring books.
Useful links/number:
https://ships.asco.az/en (see status of ships and ETAs)
https://www.marinetraffic.com/ (see where the boats are)
+994 55 999 91 24 (number of port office)
1 x
Re: Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
joost.bijl wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2024 7:37 pmI also reached out to the local AZ embassy (in NL) to request permission to enter via land border. Their reply is still pending, fingers crossed.
[/quote
@joost.bijl wat was de reactie hierop? Wij wachten namelijk ook nog steeds op een reactie van de Azerbeidzjanse ambassade in Nederland....
0 x
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Stanbridge2
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2024 5:23 pm
- x 7
Re: Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
For those travelling across the Caspian Sea we did this mid-October 2024 and this post seeks to set out our experiences of doing the crossing from Alat to Kurik.
Firstly the ASCO office in Baku is not there anymore. Secondly, calling the call centre if you don’t speak Azabaijani/Russian or have someone to help you is difficult as we couldn’t connect with anyone who spoke English. The online messaging system on the ASCO main website is actually very effective. They responded to our messages (in English) within an hour, via email (good if you are on a data only eSIM). Initially they pointed us to their website and the online booking form (Note you have to select Passenger under cargo type) but as you could only book one person at a time and they will issue the ticket for the next ship, it wasn’t helpful as we were still in Baku at the time. We replied to the email and they replied direct (again within the hour) giving us a WhatsApp number of an English speaking contact - Faud - in head office (+994 50 245 93 43). He promised to phone the Port to advise them or ‘our coming’ and they were meant to call us back to advise on ship movements, but didn’t.
In the end we kept an eye on the traffic timetable on the ASCO website and headed to the Port by taxi. We were going to call a Bolt but negotiated a fare equivalent to the Bolt fare with a taxi that was parked outside our apartment. It cost GB£15 to get the 65 miles to Alat Port.
When you arrive you get dropped off at the cargo vehicle entry barrier. The ASCO office is to the left and is the far building, past Security and Information, about 50m distance. You check in at the window. You need your passports here. In our case they were expecting us as Faud had called them.
They will give you an invoice which you have to take to the bank that is back across the road on the opposite side. Just go into the door in the side of the bank building and the cashiers are to the left. We paid US$70 (in cash) per person. You need your passport here too. You can exchange your AZ money here but only into Rubles, Euros or US Dollars (a poor exchange rate).
Then you head back to the original ASCO window, and present the confirmation of payment and you are issued a ticket for the next ship - they can’t tell you when it arrives (if it hasn’t already) or when it will leave. Our tickets were for the Zarifa Aliyeva and we tracked in the MarineTraffic app as being at anchor outside the Port. We arrived at 1030am and it was shown as docking at 1300pm. It didn’t dock until almost 1700pm.
Once you have your ticket you head for the Security office (there is ATM here). in the container building you passed on the way to the ASCO window. You have to show your passport and ticket here. From there you go to the first building, which is a waiting room (with toilets, power to charge things) and wait. Whilst there take a photo of your tickets and make sure you keep the bank receipt (you’ll need this on the ship).
Some comments elsewhere on the internet suggest there is a small shop, money exchange here, there isn’t. It is just the waiting room with footprint toilets.
When the ship is ready for passengers you will be called, until then you’ll get no updates on timings etc. In our case we had to wait 14 hours so come prepared with snacks and drinks. Although there was a water cooler in the waiting room there were no cups.
When called we were driven in a saloon car to the dock side. We shared the car which meant luggage etc not only was put in the trunk but sat on our laps too. Make sure you have taken everything. When you arrive at the dock you go through passport control and are then directed down a walkway to the ship. Incidentally, this is also where the shop and duty free shop are but you don’t have the time to visit them! We walked onto the ship amongst all the loading lorries so keep a good look out as to what’s moving around. We were met by the crew who checked our tickets, and took both our tickets and passports, and then directed us up to a sort of check in area with two settees. There is tea here and biscuits (if you are early enough - we weren’t) (you get your passport back when you arrive in Kurik).
The reception desk allocate accommodation but first they ask for the ticket you left with the crew when you boarded, although what they actually wanted was the bank receipt to see how much money you had paid. The photo of the tickets you took earlier also comes in handy at this point. You will need a translate app for all this as no one spoke English. Note it needs to be set to Russian. At first we (husband and wife) were being accommodated together with the one other passenger (a Chinese lady and her 1 year old child) on the ship (the rest were truck drivers) in a 4-bunk cabin. Cabins are small and compact and 4 would be a squeeze. We argued that we had applied for a 2-person cabin when we had talked to Head Office (Faud) and also when we paid for the tickets, after a lot of negotiation we got what we wanted although it cost an extra US$10 /pp. If it’s in your budget it is worth it.
You get given bed linen and a glass each at this stage. Note that you do not get given a towel and there is no toilet paper or soap so come prepared. The cabin on our ship was clean and comfortable, everything worked but because of the set up you had to lie on your bunk there was no way to sit. Each cabin had an en-suite wet room (don’t put anything down the toilet including toilet paper - there is a bin for that). It was air conditioned, which you can adjust, and there were ample European style (not UK) sockets next to each bed space. All cabins were no smoking and smoking isn’t allowed outside on the deck either but there is a smoking room if you are a smoker.
We spent most of our time in our cabin as access to the outside was restricted on the ship we were on and there was no general lounge area except the two settees in the reception area.
All meals are included and are at set times (0730-0830 / 1130-1230 & 1930-2030). Go early. We tended to head for the galley about 10 minutes after the stated start time to miss the rush (someone knocks on your door when the galley opens). Food was okay and better than we had expected. Breakfast was eggs/cheese and bread, Lunch was soup followed by rice and meat with gerkins and bread, and dinner was published as being 1930 and we turned up then to find we were almost the last to arrive - so check times when on board. Dinner was a meal of soup followed by spaghetti with chicken in a sauce. All the food was better than we expected (was accompanied by a bottle of coke or Fanta) and quite tasty.
We left Alat about 0330am. Our crossing was very smooth and we arrived in Kurik about 0220am the next day, which was when the tannoy announced our arrival and for everyone to get up.
Showers etc done we had to strip our beds, return sheets and vacate the cabin by about 0330am and thereafter wait in the reception area. Before leaving the ship an official came on board and did a Covid style thermometer check on all parties at which point our passports were returned. Eventually, around 0500am we were escorted off the ship, up the loading ramp, dodging all the lorries reversing off the ship.
From there we were ferried in an old soviet era minibus to the main terminal area where we did the immigration piece and had our passports stamped. There is an ATM in this building which we made use of.
To this point we were very content with everything that had occurred. From there we asked to go to get a taxi and were bussed to some dark (and almost sinister) corner of the port complex and told that it was too early for taxies but there was one we could take. A hard and given the location concerning negotiation commenced, between us, and the other passenger (the Chinese lady with her 1 year old son), the van driver and another guy who turned up (who ended up being the taxi driver).
They asked for 20,000 Tenge to Aktau, we had been told the average was 10,000 (and even at that we felt we were being ripped off) and in the end we settled on 12,000 (US$24 / GB£18). None of the three of us were happy with the outcome but recognised that being 65 miles from anywhere we had little choice. If you arrive in the daytime hopefully things will be different and you will be taken to the exit where cars / taxis wait. When we did get to this point although there were several parked cars there were no drivers / taxis - it was deserted so we probably had made the right choice!
The ride to Aktau went okay, despite being crammed into a small saloon car with all our luggage (and a push chair).
Firstly the ASCO office in Baku is not there anymore. Secondly, calling the call centre if you don’t speak Azabaijani/Russian or have someone to help you is difficult as we couldn’t connect with anyone who spoke English. The online messaging system on the ASCO main website is actually very effective. They responded to our messages (in English) within an hour, via email (good if you are on a data only eSIM). Initially they pointed us to their website and the online booking form (Note you have to select Passenger under cargo type) but as you could only book one person at a time and they will issue the ticket for the next ship, it wasn’t helpful as we were still in Baku at the time. We replied to the email and they replied direct (again within the hour) giving us a WhatsApp number of an English speaking contact - Faud - in head office (+994 50 245 93 43). He promised to phone the Port to advise them or ‘our coming’ and they were meant to call us back to advise on ship movements, but didn’t.
In the end we kept an eye on the traffic timetable on the ASCO website and headed to the Port by taxi. We were going to call a Bolt but negotiated a fare equivalent to the Bolt fare with a taxi that was parked outside our apartment. It cost GB£15 to get the 65 miles to Alat Port.
When you arrive you get dropped off at the cargo vehicle entry barrier. The ASCO office is to the left and is the far building, past Security and Information, about 50m distance. You check in at the window. You need your passports here. In our case they were expecting us as Faud had called them.
They will give you an invoice which you have to take to the bank that is back across the road on the opposite side. Just go into the door in the side of the bank building and the cashiers are to the left. We paid US$70 (in cash) per person. You need your passport here too. You can exchange your AZ money here but only into Rubles, Euros or US Dollars (a poor exchange rate).
Then you head back to the original ASCO window, and present the confirmation of payment and you are issued a ticket for the next ship - they can’t tell you when it arrives (if it hasn’t already) or when it will leave. Our tickets were for the Zarifa Aliyeva and we tracked in the MarineTraffic app as being at anchor outside the Port. We arrived at 1030am and it was shown as docking at 1300pm. It didn’t dock until almost 1700pm.
Once you have your ticket you head for the Security office (there is ATM here). in the container building you passed on the way to the ASCO window. You have to show your passport and ticket here. From there you go to the first building, which is a waiting room (with toilets, power to charge things) and wait. Whilst there take a photo of your tickets and make sure you keep the bank receipt (you’ll need this on the ship).
Some comments elsewhere on the internet suggest there is a small shop, money exchange here, there isn’t. It is just the waiting room with footprint toilets.
When the ship is ready for passengers you will be called, until then you’ll get no updates on timings etc. In our case we had to wait 14 hours so come prepared with snacks and drinks. Although there was a water cooler in the waiting room there were no cups.
When called we were driven in a saloon car to the dock side. We shared the car which meant luggage etc not only was put in the trunk but sat on our laps too. Make sure you have taken everything. When you arrive at the dock you go through passport control and are then directed down a walkway to the ship. Incidentally, this is also where the shop and duty free shop are but you don’t have the time to visit them! We walked onto the ship amongst all the loading lorries so keep a good look out as to what’s moving around. We were met by the crew who checked our tickets, and took both our tickets and passports, and then directed us up to a sort of check in area with two settees. There is tea here and biscuits (if you are early enough - we weren’t) (you get your passport back when you arrive in Kurik).
The reception desk allocate accommodation but first they ask for the ticket you left with the crew when you boarded, although what they actually wanted was the bank receipt to see how much money you had paid. The photo of the tickets you took earlier also comes in handy at this point. You will need a translate app for all this as no one spoke English. Note it needs to be set to Russian. At first we (husband and wife) were being accommodated together with the one other passenger (a Chinese lady and her 1 year old child) on the ship (the rest were truck drivers) in a 4-bunk cabin. Cabins are small and compact and 4 would be a squeeze. We argued that we had applied for a 2-person cabin when we had talked to Head Office (Faud) and also when we paid for the tickets, after a lot of negotiation we got what we wanted although it cost an extra US$10 /pp. If it’s in your budget it is worth it.
You get given bed linen and a glass each at this stage. Note that you do not get given a towel and there is no toilet paper or soap so come prepared. The cabin on our ship was clean and comfortable, everything worked but because of the set up you had to lie on your bunk there was no way to sit. Each cabin had an en-suite wet room (don’t put anything down the toilet including toilet paper - there is a bin for that). It was air conditioned, which you can adjust, and there were ample European style (not UK) sockets next to each bed space. All cabins were no smoking and smoking isn’t allowed outside on the deck either but there is a smoking room if you are a smoker.
We spent most of our time in our cabin as access to the outside was restricted on the ship we were on and there was no general lounge area except the two settees in the reception area.
All meals are included and are at set times (0730-0830 / 1130-1230 & 1930-2030). Go early. We tended to head for the galley about 10 minutes after the stated start time to miss the rush (someone knocks on your door when the galley opens). Food was okay and better than we had expected. Breakfast was eggs/cheese and bread, Lunch was soup followed by rice and meat with gerkins and bread, and dinner was published as being 1930 and we turned up then to find we were almost the last to arrive - so check times when on board. Dinner was a meal of soup followed by spaghetti with chicken in a sauce. All the food was better than we expected (was accompanied by a bottle of coke or Fanta) and quite tasty.
We left Alat about 0330am. Our crossing was very smooth and we arrived in Kurik about 0220am the next day, which was when the tannoy announced our arrival and for everyone to get up.
Showers etc done we had to strip our beds, return sheets and vacate the cabin by about 0330am and thereafter wait in the reception area. Before leaving the ship an official came on board and did a Covid style thermometer check on all parties at which point our passports were returned. Eventually, around 0500am we were escorted off the ship, up the loading ramp, dodging all the lorries reversing off the ship.
From there we were ferried in an old soviet era minibus to the main terminal area where we did the immigration piece and had our passports stamped. There is an ATM in this building which we made use of.
To this point we were very content with everything that had occurred. From there we asked to go to get a taxi and were bussed to some dark (and almost sinister) corner of the port complex and told that it was too early for taxies but there was one we could take. A hard and given the location concerning negotiation commenced, between us, and the other passenger (the Chinese lady with her 1 year old son), the van driver and another guy who turned up (who ended up being the taxi driver).
They asked for 20,000 Tenge to Aktau, we had been told the average was 10,000 (and even at that we felt we were being ripped off) and in the end we settled on 12,000 (US$24 / GB£18). None of the three of us were happy with the outcome but recognised that being 65 miles from anywhere we had little choice. If you arrive in the daytime hopefully things will be different and you will be taken to the exit where cars / taxis wait. When we did get to this point although there were several parked cars there were no drivers / taxis - it was deserted so we probably had made the right choice!
The ride to Aktau went okay, despite being crammed into a small saloon car with all our luggage (and a push chair).
4 x
Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
Stanbridge, thank you very much for this very good report.
I wait now already a few years for opening the AZ-landborders, because I want to go with this ferry boat to bring my camper to Kasakhstan. May be next year I can do this when the borders reopen again.
How is the street from Kurik to Aqtau?
I wait now already a few years for opening the AZ-landborders, because I want to go with this ferry boat to bring my camper to Kasakhstan. May be next year I can do this when the borders reopen again.
How is the street from Kurik to Aqtau?
0 x
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Stanbridge2
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2024 5:23 pm
- x 7
Re: Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
Lagerfeld - Road from Kurik to Aktau was good as was Road to Uzbek border. Thereafter for about 4-5 hours Road was pot holed of off road dirt track. There is a new road being built. If travelling in your motorhome I would recommend following the Lorries.
Yes we hoped border into Azerbaijan would have been open so we ended up having to fly in
Yes we hoped border into Azerbaijan would have been open so we ended up having to fly in
0 x
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Massimilippi
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2024 7:06 am
- x 4
Re: Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
Yesterday we successfully completed the Caspian Sea Crossing from Ələt to Actau. Originally we were supposed to go to Turkmenbashi so we can also confirm that the process is the same for Turkmenbashi. As mentioned in earlier threads we recommend looking at the ASCO website combined with the Marine Traffic controlling radar to find out when to go to the port. When you see one of the transport ships on "raid" this means that they are anchored outside waiting to go towards the "bridge". There is no point in taking a taxi to the ship if it's on raid. Wait until it's at the bridge. This also is not an exact indication of how long it could take, as in our experience our ship was on bridge for over 10 hours as they have to unload and load the ship. You can buy both tickets for Turkmenbashi and for Actau on the ASCO website or in person. The two high speed boats (Berkarar and Bayakan or something are not ASCO so you wont find them). When buying online, you buy a ticket that is generic, not specific to any ship or date and you will have to go to the ticket office anyway to get the real ticket. Ticket office is at the terminal and open 24hrs. The only advantage is, online you can pay by card, office is cash only USD.
In our case we had tickets to Turkmenbashi (online), when we arrived at the Port we got some bad news about our Turkmen LOI and we had to change our plan and unfortunately they didn't refund us our Turkmenbashi tickets. Prices are: Turkmembashi: 55 US dollars and the ship is generally empty. Actau: 70 USD and the ship is much more busy and option for a two or four-person shared cabin in. In our experience $80 gets you your own two-person cabin. These things you cannot do on the website and you can only figure out directly with the ticketing office as its dependent on the ship. The ticketing office number provided earlier in this thread is completely useless. They do not know in reality when a ship leaves or when a ship is due to enter, the best information to get from them is which ship holds passenger cargo because not all of them hold passengers. We were supposed to ride the Dagistan (Turkmenbashi) which is known to be quite a poor condition ship but due to the last minute change we went on the Azerbaijan to Actau, which is a complete luxury. It has a private bathroom and shower with hot wate. It's clean, has clean linen and the food is also really good. You can access outside deck and is generally a very good experience. They serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinne. It's basically two eggs for breakfast, chicken and pasta for lunch, cookies for tea, and chicken and pasta for dinner. The trip to Turkmenbashi takes approximately 17 hours while the trip to Actau takes approximately 20 hours.
We took a taxi to the port through Yango for 20 manat. Taxis offered to take us for 40-50 manat.
If you're worried that your wait will be long don't worry too much because the waiting room has an area with approximately six relatively comfortable beds. The hotel is no longer needed. This is especially good for cyclists who want a rest. The waiting area is large, had airco and heating, toilets, and electric sockets and you can use for free. We spent one night waiting and got a relatively good night's sleep but there was a man there who had been waiting for five nights due to the weather before us and he said that he was there alone for basically 5 days. In this ferry terminal area you can change money, there is a bank with good rates, there is a cafe with basic food chicken and rice for seven manat cash only (open from 9:00 - 18:00), an expensive mini market and showers for 3 manat. It's important to note that to access the bank and restaurant, shop and shower, you will have to leave the waiting room and the security controls (ask them) so you will have to leave your bags behind but everything is secure with camera surveillance.
When the ship is ready to be boarded, a security guard will call you and a minivan will take you for free to the Customs control. You will, then get checked (make sure to have your azerbaijan visa at hand) and then slowly make your way to the boat. The boat will get loaded and then you're on your way.
When arriving in Actau naturally you will be at kuryk port which is 20-ish minutes away from the town of Kuryk. Some men will immediately approach you to sell you Taxi. These guys are basically Brokers working for the port. Ignore them. Heres a guy in Kuryk with a 6 seater minivan +7 701 577 6747
Best offer for us was $30 for five of us which came to 6 US dollars each. The ride out takes approximately 1 hour.
Overall, 100% recommed the experience! Make sure to join the drivers for a game of cards!
In our case we had tickets to Turkmenbashi (online), when we arrived at the Port we got some bad news about our Turkmen LOI and we had to change our plan and unfortunately they didn't refund us our Turkmenbashi tickets. Prices are: Turkmembashi: 55 US dollars and the ship is generally empty. Actau: 70 USD and the ship is much more busy and option for a two or four-person shared cabin in. In our experience $80 gets you your own two-person cabin. These things you cannot do on the website and you can only figure out directly with the ticketing office as its dependent on the ship. The ticketing office number provided earlier in this thread is completely useless. They do not know in reality when a ship leaves or when a ship is due to enter, the best information to get from them is which ship holds passenger cargo because not all of them hold passengers. We were supposed to ride the Dagistan (Turkmenbashi) which is known to be quite a poor condition ship but due to the last minute change we went on the Azerbaijan to Actau, which is a complete luxury. It has a private bathroom and shower with hot wate. It's clean, has clean linen and the food is also really good. You can access outside deck and is generally a very good experience. They serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinne. It's basically two eggs for breakfast, chicken and pasta for lunch, cookies for tea, and chicken and pasta for dinner. The trip to Turkmenbashi takes approximately 17 hours while the trip to Actau takes approximately 20 hours.
We took a taxi to the port through Yango for 20 manat. Taxis offered to take us for 40-50 manat.
If you're worried that your wait will be long don't worry too much because the waiting room has an area with approximately six relatively comfortable beds. The hotel is no longer needed. This is especially good for cyclists who want a rest. The waiting area is large, had airco and heating, toilets, and electric sockets and you can use for free. We spent one night waiting and got a relatively good night's sleep but there was a man there who had been waiting for five nights due to the weather before us and he said that he was there alone for basically 5 days. In this ferry terminal area you can change money, there is a bank with good rates, there is a cafe with basic food chicken and rice for seven manat cash only (open from 9:00 - 18:00), an expensive mini market and showers for 3 manat. It's important to note that to access the bank and restaurant, shop and shower, you will have to leave the waiting room and the security controls (ask them) so you will have to leave your bags behind but everything is secure with camera surveillance.
When the ship is ready to be boarded, a security guard will call you and a minivan will take you for free to the Customs control. You will, then get checked (make sure to have your azerbaijan visa at hand) and then slowly make your way to the boat. The boat will get loaded and then you're on your way.
When arriving in Actau naturally you will be at kuryk port which is 20-ish minutes away from the town of Kuryk. Some men will immediately approach you to sell you Taxi. These guys are basically Brokers working for the port. Ignore them. Heres a guy in Kuryk with a 6 seater minivan +7 701 577 6747
Best offer for us was $30 for five of us which came to 6 US dollars each. The ride out takes approximately 1 hour.
Overall, 100% recommed the experience! Make sure to join the drivers for a game of cards!
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Travelgian
- Posts: 30
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Re: Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
Thank you for the update! I am planning to take the ferry from AZ to KAZ in January. What is the largest amount of time can I be expected to wait? Any recommendation? Thanks so much!
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Massimilippi
- Posts: 5
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Re: Caspian sea ferry updates & questions
There is no limit to the amount of time you must wait. Could be weeks. We waited 1 day. An Englishman we were with waited 5 days. This is all dependent on the weather. Based on my non expert opinion, seeing the number of ships crossing, you wouldn't have to wait more than 2/3 days max. Anything more would be really extreme and unlucky due to severe storms where it's better to wait than to risk anything. Not to be dark but its worth remembering that one of the ships, Mercury II sank a while back due to bad weather. Mercury I is still doing the crossing.
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