Border crossing time at different countries in the region
 

Hi all,

We are going to make a tour around the world with a self-developed electric motorcycle with a team of 30 students, as we have mentioned before in the ‘welcome to HU’ section. (http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...electric-78319).

At the moment, we are trying to make an estimation on the total time that our trip will take. Therefore, we are trying to estimate the time lost while crossing borders. I put up different topics in the regional forums, to get to the travellers who have been there. I hope you can help me estimating the time lost at the following borders:

Russia -> Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan -> Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan -> Afghanistan
Afghanistan -> Pakistan
Pakistan -> India
Azerbaijan -> Kazakhstan
Russia -> Azerbaijan
India -> Myanmar
Myanmar -> China
Russia -> China

Any information you have on the estimated time for either a motorcycle, truck or car to pass the border would be helpful. Information on the time of the year and the border post you got through may help us.

Thanks in advance!

Are you sure about Afghanistan at the moment? In Pakistan you need an armed escort in some areas! So not sure about going through Afghanistan at the moment! :eek3:

The following refers to taking a 4x4 into each country, procedures are the same for motorcycles.

Russia to Kazakhstan is usually pretty quick, as most of the borders see relatively little traffic. It would help if you specified which border you are aiming for though. I've crossed at Veseloyarsk / Aul (June 2007), Ozinki / Taskala (June 2010), and Astrakhan / Kurmangazy (June 2014). The last was a bit slower that the first two. I've also crossed KZ - RU twice, much the same story.

Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan is likely to be more chaotic and take longer. I had to wait overnight in 2007 because of the amount of people waiting. generally Uzbekistan takes a LONG time to get into. I crossed at Zhibek Zholy (July 2007) / Gusht Koprik. I am not sure if this border is open to foreigners these days.

Uzbekistan to Afghanistan took me a long time and a lot of hassle because I did not have a Route Pass. The guy in charge on the Afghan side was a real nasty piece of work (and drunk) and wanted to help himself to a few bits of my luggage, which took a few hours of arguing to get back (they were books which were deemed illegal (and certainly were not), strange from someone who was probably illiterate). I crossed at Termiz / Heyratan, which is the only crossing (Nov 2009)

By the way, taking 30 students into Afghanistan sounds pretty irresponsible, but I'm guessing you are not really aware of the situation there (Have you watched the news since, say December 1979?).

Afghanistan to Pakistan. As far as I know, the Afghan authorities will not let you drive from Kabul to the Pakistani border. In 2009 I drove the other way, the border was pretty easy. I crossed at Torkham. The other border is extremely dangerous, and almost certainly off-limits.

Pakistan to India is straightforward (Mar and Sept 2008)

Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan, I assume you mean the ferry... I have not taken it but they are not particularly frequent, and if you are not a Russian / Turkish speaker I imagine it will be a bit of a hassle.

Russia to Azerbaijan seems to be open to foreigners nowadays... but Dagestan is very corrupt (though fascinating and well worth visiting) and I imagine it will be busy and chaotic to boot. In my experience, Azerbaijan customs are (surprisingly) transparent and organised (I've crossed twice from Iran, at Astara in March 2010 and Jolfa in August 2014).

The last three I cannot comment on as I have never taken a car into China, and never been to Myanmar at all.

You really need to forget about the Afghanistan part of your trip though.

Daniel

Hello Noodweer,

Visa for Pakistan: You have to arrange in the homecountry. It is not alowed anymore to apply while travelling in another country. (own expierience)I think you are dutch, so before you leave arrange in Holland.
Visa for India: Starts when granted for max 6 month's. So apply just before you leave.
Veel plezier met voorbereiden

Metita