Advice for the Five Stans

A decade ago, travelling in the “Five Stans” of Central Asia was almost unheard of.

WA company Travel Directors pioneered it, with adventurous travel through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan — and we have published many stories from our journeys in these countries, which are at thewest.com.au/travel.

But the Five Stans now increasingly turns up in other companies’ portfolios of tours.

Reader Ben Sinagra is recently back from a Five Stans trip and passes on some practical thoughts:

“The Five Stans tour was great and each country was different to the others. There was so much history about the Old Silk Road and the various cultures that sprang up and then receded to be replaced by another. The guides were all fantastic and certainly were well versed with tourist needs like money exchange, water and toilet stops. (Speaking of toilets, outside of the hotels, most toilets were squat toilets. Most were fairly smelly and reminiscent of the Australian ‘drop toilet’. And of course, it cost you every time for the privilege.)

TURKMENISTAN

“The tour company had organised the Letter of Invitation we needed before landing so that we could apply for the visa on entry ($US130). Turkmenistan does not accept Visa or Mastercard or any card apart from their own local Turkmenistan card. Although I did not try it, there are ATMs available which dispense local currency (the Manat). The reason I did not try it was because the official exchange rate was 4 Manat per US dollar. However, using US dollars at the shops would get you 19 Manat per US dollar.

“I was using the Airalo eSim and it did not work in Turkmenistan. In fact, even the hotel wi-fi was limited and did not work often.”

UZBEKISTAN

“This was well set up for tourism and Visa and Mastercard were accepted in most places and the eSim worked well. A lot of people spoke English and they were friendly.”

TAJIKISTAN

“Only Visa was accepted in some of the larger shops and restaurants. ATMs were available to withdraw local currency. The Airalo eSim did not work here although there was basic wi-fi at the hotel.

KYRGYZSTAN

“The tourism infrastructure was more developed than Tajikistan but less than Uzbekistan. Again Visa was accepted but Mastercard not. The currency exchanges were plentiful. The only things to watch out for is that some exchanges will only exchange large bills (like $US50 and $US100) although you can find exchanges which will exchange smaller denominations. But a key consideration is that the note must be in excellent condition – no rough edges and in crisp condition. Any little defect will render the note not suitable for exchange.

“The eSim did not work in Kyrgyzstan.”

KAZAKHSTAN

“Visa and Mastercard were readily accepted in most places. In fact, most shops would not accept US dollars – it had to be card or local currency.

“The Airalo e-Sim worked here and wi-fi in general was reasonable.”