Turkey-Iran-Pakistan, how much time?

[pecha72]

Part of my route plan involves the three countries mentioned. I was hoping I´d have plenty of time at hand, but now it looks like that might not be the case.. and I`d like to spend some time in India anyway, so perhaps Im trying to get there quickly.

Am I too optimistic to think I could make it from Greece all the way to India in, say, 2-3 weeks? Looking at the route, it seems theres close to 2000kms in Turkey, at least 2000kms in Iran, and more than 1000 in Pakistan. Ive done 5000kms in a shorter time several times, but Ive never been to these 3 countries, so I dont really know about the road conditions in each country and their rural areas, etc.

I´ll be starting off September, riding 2-up on a Vstrom650. On good roads its relatively easy to cover up to 500-600kms per day, but I guess they wont be good all the way?

Do you think it would be a good idea to fit some more offroad-rubber, or can you do the whole stretch on standard "dualsport"-tyres (if you keep on the main roads 90% of the time, that is?) I´d figure tyres of these sizes probably are not widely available in these countries, so maybe it´d even be worthwhile to carry an extra set of them, too (though I´d like to avoid that, as we will have more than enough luggage already?)

Is getting gasoline possibly a problem in any of these areas? My bike can do 350kms with that load, and I will probably carry 5 liters extra which gets us close to 450kms.

All info & experience regarding these, or any other things considering this route, would be heartily welcomed! Pekka

[cozcan]

If it's a matter of going to India as quick as possible you can make from the Greek border to Iranian border in 2 - 2,5 days in Turkey... And (apart from being too expensive when compared with other countries) fuel will not be a problem for your VStrom.

But if it's also a matter of travelling, then I would suggest at least one full week for Turkey.
Follow Greece to Istanbul - 1 full day
Istanbul to somewhere in Western Anatolia (Izmir, Kusadasi...) - 1 day
Somewhere south (Antalya) or inland West (Denizli-Hierapolis...) - 1 day
South coast line (Antalya-Anamur-Silifke Mersin) or east to Konya - 1 day
Nevsehir - Cappadoccia - 1 day
Adiyaman Nemrut Mountain - 1 day
1 more day in East (Van-Dogubeyazit) and/or Southeast (Diyarbakir-Mardin)

or something like that but at least a week.

[pecha72]

ok, thank you for that! Yes, I also do hope that I would have at least a few weeks for each country, because it´d be a shame to just ride through and miss all the exciting places (just checked out some travel reports from Turkey, and it does look very interesting to say the least!) Then again, its probably never possible to see everything on one trip, will be easier for me to return to Turkey some day, rather than India I guess...

Do you know if there are any sensitive areas in the east of the country at the moment? Are you free to travel all over the country, any specific places that are perhaps best to avoid?

Also, do you happen to know if there is service available for bikes such as mine in the east of the country? Maybe if I´d get a set of new tyres before crossing into Iran, then perhaps it could be possible to not carry them with me, as they need a lot of space.

btw, how much does ´expensive´ fuel cost in Turkey..? See, I live in Finland, and over here its nearly 1,4 euros per litre at the moment!! It surely is a big plus that the bike isnt very thirsty, when covering long distances.

[beddhist]

You need neither dual sport tyres nor a 5l canister. Fuel is available everywhere on your route. Petrol is most expensive in TR at 1.4 Euro/l. Fill up before crossing the border and run your tank down before Iran.

Get road tyres. Two-up you don't want to go off road anyway. Get whatever lasts. Tyres are available in Adana, but may have to be ordered in. There is nothing beyond that. I travelled the coast road and stayed on that to the Southern border crossing near Yueksekova. Very scenic and I didn't encounter any travel restrictions, but pesky army checkpoints that took half an hour to record my details.

Roads in Iran are excellent. You can cross the country in a few days easily. Normally, foreigners currently get police escorts from Zahedan to the border, altough I managed to avoid all checkpoints until Mirjaveh, 7km before the border.

Good highway in Pak until Dalbandin, where you should stay the night. Poor single lane tar road with a fair amount of traffic until Quetta. I don't know the roads beyond that as I travelled through Loralai Northwards.

See my website. Have fun.

[etidar]

Hello,
It seems that you crossed very recently from Iran to Pakistan.
I intend to go from Zahedan to Quetta in the beginning of June (around the 7th).
Could you tell me how is the situation now ? Has there been any big problems involving travellers recently ?

Could you also tell me about these escorts ? Are they mandatory ? Do we have to pay for it ? Is it in Pakistant and Iran ?

Any other advice is very welcome.

Thank you

Etienne

[pecha72]

etidar, you posted almost exactly the same questions that I had in mind! I´d also greatly appreciate any answers to these.

Also, has anyone gone from Iran to Pakistan in the extreme south?? I mean places like Panjgur or Turbat in Pakistan, or anyway closer to the Arabian Sea, and then to Karachi. Thats because I´ll be heading to the south of India, so crossing into India as south as possible would suit me fine.

Or maybe that is not possible at all (poor roads, no international borders or other problems) and you need to go further north to cross into India, is that so? I need to do some more research on this..

[stuart ringer]

Hi mate

I am currently in Pakistan after doing this route, personaly I think that is way too short a time to do it in. Firstly you want see anything of the countries. Roads are good in Turkey and you can cover lots of miles, petrol is expensive at 2 euros a litre and watch for speed traps.

Iran has good roads but it is a big country and there are problems getting fuel. Check some other threads for more details on that, but there had just introduced a smart card system and have now started rationing, so I believe. No card no fuel and as a foriegner you cant get one.

Pakistan is hard going and the roads are shocking. It takes two hard and hot days to get from the border to Quetta. It was touching 50 degrees when I came through.You will want to take a break at Quetta, as the next section is harder.The road through to multan is the worst I have ever ridden , and I have been around a bit.At times you will more than likely have to get your pillian to walk as it is bloody hard. Once you get into Punjab you will be picked up by the police hoiw will insist on escourting you at 50 KMH. Plus you will have to stop many tme to fill in there silly books.

I`m painting a bad picture, but I would advise giving your self time , things will go wrong and there will be delays, you need to buld in time for this and for some down time. Plus I think its impotant to enjoy the countries that you are traveling through as this is the esence of motorcycle travel, other wise you might as well fly.

Plus watch out for the speed humps there everywhere and just the standard of driving, there only one rule here - every man for hime self!

Enjoy and ride safe

[pecha72]

Thank you Stuart, its excellent to hear from someone who´s doing it right now.. my plan is to go there September-October, so will probably be considerably cooler then. Dont want to leave it too late, either, as I hear it can actually get bloody cold in some areas. You are of course right, I should take my time and enjoy the trip more that way..

About fuel in Iran, I assume you had to find a way around this new rationing system - or did they just start it, after you had passed thru there? It seems that fuel in Iran has just gone from very cheap to probably very expensive.

And the "worst" roads in Pakistan, in what way are they bad.. pavement broken in many places perhaps? Are they passable with a normal car, or only 4x4´s do those stretches?
I was under the impression that main roads are paved even in Pakistan, may be wrong though. I´m hoping theres not a whole lot of soft sand (or mud) to ride through, because a 200kg bike, heavily loaded and 2-up certainly wont be the best tool for that job!

Would you recommend to get tyres that offer a little grip on soft terrain, too? I was planning to just get something that´ll last a long time, but if there are considerable distances with really bad roads, then I may have to reconsider.

[raisola]

If so, how much trouble did you have getting an iranian visa. thanks

[selani]

I agree with stauart. Pakistan is hard going, and you should add atleast two to three days extra in your schedule for unforeseen delays. Roads in Baluchistan are particularly bad( even by Pak. standards).

Quetta- Loralai-DG Khan-Multan section is the worst. But you can take alternative routes that are longer but relatively better. Roads Multan onwards to Lahore-Wagah or Islamabad are much better.

Regards.

[stuart ringer]

Hi mate

Asfor tyres I am using Metzeler Distanzers and they are excellent for this type of journey, there are a semi off road trye. I have done 8000 miles so far and there still have good life left in them.

You wont encounter too much mud or deep sand but thereare plenty of `diversions` were the road is being worked on in Pakistan and there are `temory` roads runningnext to it that are unpaved.You can easliy make it through, you just have to take your time and ride slow, thats why you should allow plenty of time as one day I only covered 200 miles in twelve hours!And you will want to rest upon some days.You are right it will be cooler in Oct/Sep but it will get coldin Iran much latterthan that, amazingly there do gets now.Quetta to Multan is the hardest section and you are not allowed to stop in DG Khan or the surrounding towns, the policewill give you an armed escourt all the way to Multan, its quite good fun and it makes finding you hotel much easier!When you arive in Dalbandin there is a hotel on the right hand side just as you get in to town, its a right dive, but itsto only hotel in town and ithas a resturant. If you can change money at the border do so , but make sureyou get a good rate, as itwas difficult to change money in Dalbamndin, you can use ATM`s in Quetta. If your buget runsto it stay in the Serena, if nit at least go for dinner,its areal oasis and if your a guest, you can get !

Any other questions just drop me a line

Regards Stuart

[beddhist]

Also just having crossed Pak here is my 2 c worth:

The escorts ARE a pain and you don't need them. If you are worried about the small security risk then you shouldn't expose yourself to the much higher risks in road traffic, anywhere.

You can ride the road from Quetta to Loralai and DI Khan, thereby avoiding the (apparently) congested and bad roads in the Indus valley. The mountains are much nicer, it's cool and there is little traffic. In theory you need a permit, but I think you will get through without one. f you do get a permit the escorts will be waiting for you. I was travelling with a Basque couple in a van who had a permit, I didn't have one. I can't remember anybody ever asking for one. I also tried to avoid stopping at checkpoints, as they are just a waste of time. The roads in the area are OK and there is mostly little traffic. The last stretch from Zhob to DI Khan is pretty bad, as just about all bridges and wadi crossings are gone and there are road works everywhere, but you will manage on a road bike. Avoid riding after it has rained.

From DI Khan to Peshawar goes through Kohat and Darra, the latter is off-limits to foreigners, but we went through anyway. My friends first got waved through by the checkpoints, then stopped before Darra, sent back to Kohat, held for 5 hours by police, then verbally abused by the police chief who hadn't done his job. You can avoid this by taking a more roundabout route or avoiding Peshawar altogether.


Iran: before another rumour starts: there is NO FUEL PROBLEM in Iran. See the relevant topic.

Enjoy Pakistan, it's one of the most hospitable countries I have been to and the Northern Areas are just great.

[SKILLO]

Hi

We did this same trip last year on Vstrom 1000 2-up, our blog is at www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/skillington if you are interested.

When we were in Quetta there was serious unrest in the mountain areas Quetta to Multan and police were turning foreigners back that were trying to go that way, although some got through with escorts. We wanted to go via Loralai but instead chose to go via Bolan Pass to Sukkar to Bahawalpur to Multan. This road is all sealed and hence no problem 2-up though probably not as scenic. But even on this road we had escorts for a short way in a few areas then all the way from Jacobabad to Bahawalpur at the 50kph mentioned by others. If it was dangerous area well fair enough we would welcome an escort, but its very irritating given there was no actual danger in these areas as best we could tell. Even police say there is no danger, but then add that escort is for your safety - huh? All police manage to do is slow you down to a crawl, draw attention to you and chase away locals that want to talk to you. We did not have to pay and were never even asked. We left Buhawulpur hotel early morning by side door and gave police escort the slip, no more problems with escorts after that.

Tyres - we fitted new tyres in Turkey as per all advice here on HU even though ours were only half worn, heed this advice well as another couple on Vstrom 650 needed new tyres in Iran and had to pay 500% import duty!!

I fitted Tourance to rear and TKC80 to front expecting to do more dirt, but when we went Quetta to Sukkar instead of via Loralai, front knobby pattern was really not necessary anywhere we went. I would fit tourance or similar to front and rear unless you intend a lot of dirt road riding which is not much fun 2-up with luggage anyway.

Lots of great advice from others on the tread, but here is a little incidental bike advice - I am not sure if Euro bikes have headlight alway on like Aus bikes (ie no switch to turn it off), but once you leave europe this "safety feature" nearly drove us insane. We were flashed/beeped, nearly run off the road, flagged down by villagers/police/army to tell us our headlight was on!! After the 50th time you are told this on each and every day you just want to scream. I also had to talk my way out of a potential fine in Pakistan when police pulled us over and told us it was illegal to have headlight on during the day.

So my advice, fit a switch to turn off your headlights (this is actually illegal in Aus, but who will know?) or take lots of valium to keep you calm after someone runs you off the road in a overloaded unroadwothy car/truck that doesnt even have lights or indicators just to tell you your lights are on!! You have been warned!

Actually lots of valium would be a good idea anyway (except it may be illegal) to calm you down after driving in India each day, I know I would have liked some...... Terrorists and insurgents are the least of your worries after you spend a few months on indian roads with the insane no rules traffic - really I am not joking it will be the most dangerous part of your trip by far.

Regards
John

[pecha72]

wow, this site really rocks.. couldnt imagine there would be this much info coming from people who have actually done this route quite recently. A sincere thank you to everyone who have taken their time to reply!

Regarding the escorts, I once traveled thru the Caprivi strip in nothern Namibia, when there was still civil war in Angola, and there was an army convoy, because some tourists and locals had been targeted by Angolan rebels who´d been using the road. As I went thru there I learned that there had been no violence at all for at least two years, and all there had ever been was a couple of isolated attacks. Those could´ve probably happened anywhere in the north of the country, and the convoy was only for a small portion of that borderline. Didnt quite figure out, how they knew, that only that stretch could possibly be dangerous while others werent, and according to the locals, it wasnt.

Skillo, you make a good point about the headlights, indeed theyre on all the time when the key´s turned. I was already thinking maybe I should put some switch in it, because sometimes in SE Asia they´ve been giving the same hassle you mention because of lights. I hear people have been fined in Cambodia because theyve had them on, aint that something, considering the traffic in general!! Well, the police have to make a living, too, and I hear their normal salary is something like 100-150 US a month over there.

[KennyE]

I'm planning a similar trip (in 2008) to what Skillo and Alana have just done, and this thread is giving me heaps of information.Keep 'em coming guys!! Skillo, I have been following your blog for months now but didn't realise that you were flying home from Nepal. I imagined that you might be doing Thailand, Malaysia etc.. I am in Brisbane and wouldn't mind buying you a sometime while I pick your brain.