hi guys looking for advice planning uk nepal 2011 away of yet i know,alot of the threads ive read some seem to be getting visas for iran some seem to be having problems same with pakistan,be gratefull if anyone could enlighten me is it best to go through agency or go directley to embassys myself,i live uk many thanks.

I know it's not a bunch of practical advice, and yes some of it is in Dutch (but Google's Translate helps) and no they don't update loads, but you might want to glance at waarisrick.nl every now and then as they're currently on the way there.

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thanks for the info il check it out as they go, some people seem to get both the iran an pakistan visas in uk ,ohers seem to get from tehran for pakistan or turkey for iranien visa, also not sure whether best to use an agency or try to get direct from the embassys if any one can enlighten me would be gratefull.

I got my Indian and Iranian visas in Turkey without going through an agency. Was stuffed around by the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, but eventually managed to get it in Erzurum. I had also tried to get my Pakistan visa in Istanbul, but was told to get it in Tehran. That ended up being only a 4 day wait.

I don't know what the situation is now, but it shouldn't be too different. I suppose if you are in a hurry, or have a definite timetable, getting your visas at home would be the go.

Kenny

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thanks kenny, im in the early planning stages at mo,ihave heard of a couple of agencys you can go through, im not sure how reliable they are, any other info would be welcome.

I got both the Iranian and Pakistan visas at home. Not sure if it was neccessary, but I used Iran travel agency Iran tour agency Iran tour operator tour and travel to Iran visa fly to Iran tourism for the Iranian visa, and that has worked out well. The Pakistani visa is a piece of cake, so long as you specify the correct itinery. I.e. avoid mentioning anything near Baluchistan or Afghanistan, and put down instead that you will travel from China via the Khunjerab pass through Gilgit to Islamabad and on to Lahore. I will acutally take that route, but I dont think it matters as it is not stated on the visa. With this info (and being German) I had the passport back in the mail after 2 days.

For more info (always about 2 weeks late), check Moto Eurasia

thanks for the advice sirakor, it seems being a brit they sometimes seem reluctent to issue us a visa in the uk im in the very early planning stages at the moment so quite away of, am interested in the route your taking perhaps you could let me have more info on your route thanks again.

My route is Germany - Austria - Slovenia - Croatia - Bosnia - Montenegro - Albania - Macedonia - Serbia - Bulgaria - Turkey - Iran - Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan (where I am right now) - Kyrgystan - China - Pakistan - India - Nepal.

The biggest choice to make is whether to go via the Stans (whether from Ukraine/Russia or from Iran doesnt really matter). There is a lot to see, and it's probably safer than the direct Iran-Pakistan route, but it definitely is the most expensive and logistically most challenging route. You need a lot of visas, that cost a lo of dollars, plus you have the China problem (which at the moment I dont have a solution to). In addition to that, many Stan visas are valid for a fixed period only (ie NOT the length of the visa from the day you enter), which can make things difficult when getting visas at home. In fact, it got me into a lot of trouble in Uzbekistan because my visa was expired and I was about to be deported or worse. Things have worked out and I have a new visa, but just a word of caution to a) get long overlapping visas and b) well... all your plans with long overlapping visas may go down the shitter if you need to hang around in Tehran 10 extra days to wait for a spare parts shipment, and another 9 days because your Turkmeni visa has expired by the time the parts have arrived ;-)

Edit: just to add to that: originally I also wanted to visit Tajikistan and maybe Kazakhstan, but I had to scrap that along the way. If you have enough time, it shouldnt be a problem though.

Thanks for the info great route,unfortunely time is an issue for me 10 12weeks,iran pakistan most directe route good luck with the rest of your trip thanks again for the tips.

Hi there - Interested to hear you're planning that trip. I'm hoping to do the same - UK -> Nepal next september. I've only got max 8 weeks unfortunately. As far as I can see arriving in Nepal in October should be OK. Any idea how easy crossing into Pakistan will be? Any thoughts on safest route through to India? If the political situation gets more difficult, is it possible to get a cargo boat from Iran to India? Any thoughts on interesting things to see/not to miss on the way? Too many questions, I'm sorry... but I'm in very early stage of planning and there seems a lot to think about!

Hi,
I'm in The Netherlands.
I got a Pakistan Visa no problem with my UK Passport here.
I haven't left yet.

But a guy I was supposed to travel with (French) who went thru in Sept/Oct from France to India said Pakistan wasn't much fun.
Escort the whole time and no real freedom.
Plus the KKH wasn't open (for him in any case).
Maybe others have had different experience.

Alan Jarvis

Sorry, meant to add that I got an Iranian Visa thru an agency.
I used Iran Internet Visa Application
They were great.
I used my South African passport, but I think you'd be OK using UK as well.
I got the contact off The Hubb.

Went quite well, except for a hiccup (my fault) in paying them.
My Dutch bank blocked the transfer to their Turkish account just because my transfer reference mentioned "Iran Visa".

Alan

Hi hollisdoc im at the same stage as you ,im planning for 2011, the security situaiton seems to be not so great at the mo ,pakistan sounds like escorts all the way hopefully things will improve thanks for the visa advice guys.

Thanks for the info guys....if anyone has any further info on the safest/easiest route through Pakistan, I'd love to hear more. My plan would be to get from Iran to India as quickly as possible by the safest route - I'm happy to sacrifice freedom and independence for that part of the trip!
Harrybo1 - I see you live in Essex - me too!
WarthogARJ - when are you off? Keep us posted!

My info is +2 years old, so could be outdated... but I believe there is only 1 international border station open to both Iran and India, so that should make your route planning a lot easier I think. Plus the police are aware of the possibly troubled areas, and are likely to escort you and/or make you do a detour. But being escorted doesn´t mean youre totally safe, usually youre just following a police car. During my trip, DG Khan and Loralai regions east of Quetta were considered off-limits for foreigners, but this may have changed.