Travel info

In preparation for your trip through Turkmenistan, please bear in mind the following: Bring cash USD bank notes (do not rely on EURO, credit cards or travelers cheques for your local expenses in Turkmenistan; visa, migration tax and vehicle transit costs can be paid in cash USD exclusively) Bring some paper copies of your passport, while our staff takes your original passport for the registration on arrival procedure, that is usually done on the first working day after your first night’s accommodation in a hotel or motel. Bring a mobile phone in order to contact our company in case of unexpected delays in arriving at the Turkmen border; this way we can also contact you as soon as your LOI scan is waiting in your email inbox. Please bring portable chargers due to the routes and areas where there is no electricity.

To enter Turkmenistan all leisure travelers are required to have a tourist visa. The tourist visas are delivered on the basis of an approved visa support letter, also referred to as a Letter of Invitation (LOI). TravelTM travel agency is a licensed Destination Management Company in Turkmenistan that can provide you with the Letter of Invitation. The LOI requires usually 7-14 working days to process. Once the LOI has been issued/approved, we will send a scanned copy of it to you by email. With an approved LOI you can apply for your visa at a Turkmen embassy or consulate abroad, or obtain it directly at the Turkmen land border at Gaudan (Bajgiran/Mashhad, Iran), Farab (Bukhara, Uzbekistan), Shavat (Khiva, Uzbekistan), Khojeyli (Nukus, Uzbekistan); at Bekdash (Aktau, Kazakhstan), or at the international airport in Ashgabat upon arrival. Visa are not issued at the land borders of Serakhs (Iran), Serhetabat (Afghanistan) and Turkmenbashi (the Caspian Sea Port).

The international airport of Ashgabat is one of Turkmenistan’s major gateways. The National Airline of Turkmenistan (Turkmenistan Airlines, abbreviation T5) operates regular flights to Frankfurt, Moscow, Sankt-Petersburg, Kazan, Minsk, Almaty, London, Birmingham, Istanbul, Ankara, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Delhi, Peking and Bangkok. Since independence the national airline of Turkmenistan has completely replenished its fleet with Boeing aircrafts. Several foreign air-carriers operate flights to Ashgabat: Turkish Airlines, FlyDubai, Belavia and S7/Siberia Airlines. Turkish Airlines has daily flights between Istanbul and Ashgabat, and is most frequently used by travelers coming from Europe. FlyDubai has three flights from Dubai to Ashgabat, and is most frequently used by travelers coming from Australia, Japan and USA. For more details on these international flights, please check out the internet or contact us.

Turkmenistan’s climate is extremely continental with hot, dry summers. Midsummer temperature can reach 45 °C. However, such temperatures are quite bearable because of the very low humidity. Winter is mild with average temperatures below freezing for only a few days in January and February. However, in the north of the country winter is severe. January temperatures in Dashoguz average - 23 degrees Celsius. Most rainfall occurs in March and April. Spring (April-June) and autumn (August-October) are the best seasons to visit Turkmenistan.