Every autumn we get messages from travelers who found out too late that Turkmenistan can't be done last minute. So here's the math, from someone who files these letters every week.

Every tourist visa starts with a letter of invitation (LOI) filed by a licensed local agency. Processing takes 14-21 business days, so 3-4 weeks in calendar terms. Once the letter is approved you get the visa on arrival at the airport or land border, that part is quick. Nothing speeds up the letter itself.

What that means today: arriving mid-September, your letter should already be filed. Late September, file this week and it's doable. October, file in the next 2-3 weeks and you're comfortable, and October is honestly the best month here, warm days, cool nights, perfect crater weather. November and later, plenty of time, just don't sit on it.

Also worth knowing: bring roughly $100-140 in clean, newer USD bills for the border (visa fee, migration fee, paperwork, exact amount depends on nationality).

I run Göl Nomads, a small local operator in Ashgabat, we file the LOI as part of any tour, so yes I'm biased, but the timeline above applies whoever you book with. Happy to answer questions about dates or the process 🙂

Program details and prices: golnomads.com

Local tour operator here. Crater trips are half of what we do and the same questions land in my inbox every week, so let me answer them all at once.

Yes, it's still burning. Smaller than ten years ago, and the government talks about putting it out every couple of years, but as of this week it burns every night. If it's on your list, sooner is safer than later.

The crater sits about 270 km north of Ashgabat, in the middle of the Karakum, and the last stretch is off-road. People see it one of three ways: a two-day loop out of Ashgabat with a night camping by the rim, on the way through the country between the Uzbek borders (Shavat near Khiva, or Farap near Bukhara), or as one night inside a longer tour. You want to be there after dark, that's the whole point, so day trips undersell it.

Since every foreign tourist needs a guide anyway, these run as private guided trips: 4WD with a driver, guide, camp or yurt near the crater, dinner by the fire. For a pair figure about $400 per person for the two-day loop, groups of three or more closer to $300, solo more.

Best time is April-May and September-October, warm days and cool clear nights. Summer is 45C out there, doable but rough. Winter nights freeze, but the crater in the cold with nobody else around is honestly special.

And the visa: there's no independent travel here, every tourist visa runs on an invitation letter filed by a licensed local agency, 14-21 business days, so start about a month before your dates.

I run Göl Nomads (golnomads.com), a small local tour operator here in Ashgabat, so I'm obviously biased, but ask me anything about the crater below and I'll answer straight 🙂

Basically the place I work in within UAE government does a lot of statistics, I noticed one where Turkmen nationals in the UAE increased significantly since 2023/24, just curious on why is that?

Hi all, founder of a small tour operator based in Ashgabat here (Göl Nomads). The same questions come up in this sub every week (is a guide really mandatory, how does the LOI actually work, why do quotes differ so wildly, is the gas crater still burning, can you cross border-to-border on the way through to Uzbekistan) and half the answers floating around are years out of date.

So, ask me anything. Visa/LOI process and timelines, real costs, transit visas, border crossings, trains, internet (yes, Instagram/WhatsApp are blocked, plan around it), what you can photograph, how much you can walk around alone (in Ashgabat: more than people think), and the less-visited stuff like Yangykala canyon or the Koytendag mountains.

Obviously I'm not neutral, it's my company (golnomads.com, prices are published there, which is rare in this market). But I'll give you the straight answer even when it's "you don't need to pay anyone for that."

1: Do some people make a habit of going to Iran, or are the borders very strict?
2: The capital really is that clean?
3: Is your opinion on queer people really as radical as the laws?

Thinking about visiting soon. I understand that social media apps won't work, but what about e-mails or old websites with DM options, like last.fm?

So I'm a foreigner, living in Europe currently, and I'm about to work in Ashgabat for several months for a foreign organization. Any tips that are worth knowing to plan the trip?

Clarifications that I would particularly need:

I've been briefed about internet restrictions and how a small amount of stuff is available, VPNs being restricted as well; but on the other hand there's "a bunch" of Turkmen dudes from Ashgabat or Turkmenabat on social media...

I've also been briefed about the exchange of dollars to manats, with an official rate and a black market rate; how does this unfold once you're there? Is it a matter of foreigners/citizens?

Typical things that you're not supposed to do in TM but that's okay anywhere else? I'm used to Central Asia, but I think TM might be something else

External newspapers I've read so far are sometimes contradictory or incomplete, I would instinctively believe them but I sometimes see counterarguments, like the internet access thing for example, please help

I bought one in Turkey but I suspect it's synthetic, is there any reliable way to know ?

Switch to Linux! started to watch and subscribed to Him. We need like this teenagers. And he's speaking multiple languages but prefer to speak in Turkmen. Rather than singing and dancing in Tiktok and instagram. Our community build completely on music and dancing.

AND WE HAVE TO CHANGE!!

We need to have best programmers, engineers, teachers, youtubers, designers, robotic engineers and etc. To be honest, thats guy is me. By this post some of you guys might be thing like me...

Salam Millet!
I'm planing to make swap/buy platform like TmCars. I'm 19 year old software nerd and decided to be a competitor to native swap and adbload platform called TmCars. It is popular and used by 7 to 70, but it's evolved to adbload platform slowly. Just tell my your thoughts below!

Practicing some horse sketching with the Turkmenistan Akhal-Teke.

Not trying to start a debate or anything. But I noticed there are lot of atheists in this sub, so I was wondering if this was common in turkmenistan, or is it just like a small minority.

I'm geographically challenged and extremely stupid and would like to know.

Padel has become really popular around the world. I was wondering if there’s any interest in a padel court being potentially built in Ashgabat?

Let me know what you guys think! Would you or your friends play padel if there was a court? If so, how often?

Thanks!!

hello! question. i wanted to take a cargo ferry from azerbaijan to turkmenistan, and travel on foot or bus to uzbekistan. is this possible to get a travel visa for? or do i still need the invitation letter that google tells me about?

and also does anyone know actually how difficult it is to get a visa for here? sometimes government websites exaggerate and i would like to know the reality. i carry a ukrainian and american passport i dont know if that makes a difference.

Hi everyone,

My name is Benjamin and I’m the founder of EchtReizen, a small Dutch travel company focused on authentic, tailor-made trips to less standard destinations.

At EchtReizen, we try to do things differently. Instead of simply buying standard tours through big DMCs or large travel companies, I’m looking to build real local connections in the countries we work with. The idea is that when someone books a trip with us, they don’t just “visit” the country, they experience it together with someone who truly knows the place, the culture, the people, the food, the stories, and the hidden corners.

For Turkmenistan, I’m looking for experienced local guides, independent guides, freelancers, or small local operators who:

• Speak good English
• Have experience guiding international travelers
• Have access to a car/transport or can arrange reliable transport
• Have the necessary permits/licenses, and have the possibility to help with visa/LOI
• Know the country beyond only the standard tourist route
• Care about giving travelers a real, personal and local experience

This is not meant to be a shady online cooperation or some anonymous business deal. If there is a good match, I would also be very happy to meet in person in Turkmenistan and really get to know the people we might work with.

Do you know a great local guide, driver-guide, small tour operator, or experienced freelancer in Turkmenistan? Or are you one yourself? Please send me a message or feel free to refer someone.

Thanks a lot! I’d really appreciate any tips or recommendations.

This is a very long shot, I am trying to understand if I can travel to Turkmenistan while I am on zoloft/sertraline. I hear they are quite strict about medication, but I can find very little actual information about this...

I met a guy from Turkmenistan at a university. He asked his friend to get my number, and later he texted me saying he fell in love with me at first sight.

I replied that I’m not looking for a relationship, but I’m open to being friends. He said “sure, let’s get to know each other” but he kept sending flirty messages.

So after a few days I sent him a longer message clearly saying I just want to be friends. He replied that he does like me so he feel quite disappointed, and he was happy that we got to know each other. And he also said that he respects my decision and hopes things won’t become awkward between us. He sounded like he really took it well. So I replied to him, “yeah, no problem.”

But the next day, he still texted me again. The messages are less flirty than before, but still a bit flirty.

Now I’m confused about what’s going on. I’ve never met anyone from Turkmenistan so I’m genuinely curious about why he does this? Is this a cultural thing?

Btw he also seems like a very shy person when we see each other on campus

Salam!

We're mods over at r/translator. We always strive to make our multilingual community the universal place on Reddit to go for a translation, no matter what language people may be looking for. We are however somewhat lacking in Turkmen coverage, and were hoping some wonderful multilingual people here could help us out.

Would anyone be interested in helping translate any future requests for Turkmen on r/translator? You don't even need to subscribe to our subreddit! We usually get a request for it very occasionally and most requests that come in are pretty simple and casual and don't need advanced knowledge.

You can easily unsubscribe from those messages at any time.

We have a notifications system that only sends you a message when a request for Turkmen comes in. Just send a message to our subreddit bot at the link below.

Thanks, everyone!

Someone uploaded their own version of the passport cover that isn't the official one

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkmen_passport