The Five Stans Adventure exploring Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 Tajikistan 🇹🇯 Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 and Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
I’ve completed my first tour with Intrepid Travel:  Central Asia: Five Stans Express
I’m not an organized tour person ~ I prefer to dance to the beat of my own drum and not be constrained by anyone else’s schedule. I was very apprehensive about booking this tour, but it was the only way for me to see Turkmenistan and the Door to Hell.
Things I Liked
- A single supplement was available and this was a key factor for me ~ this tour was 24 days long and I cannot share space for that length of time with anyone
- I could manage everything online and didn’t need to call to do things
- A lot of free time built into the itinerary
- A wide variety of activities planned
- I met some like minded folks
- I experienced a few items that I might not have planned on my own (eg. the Plov cooking demonstration at a local home)
- I booked my tour at full price and then it went on sale with almost $2000 savings for me ~ I was able to cancel and rebook at the sale price ~ I didn’t completely lose the $400 deposit ~ I now have a $400 credit that doesn’t expire to use in the future
- Excellent guides! So many perspectives on life!
- Medical Emergency ~ we turned around and went straight to the hospital; our guide spoke Russian and was able to converse with medical staff; Intrepid arranged for an emergency guide to take over the next day and assist getting our group member to Bishkek (a 4 hour drive), then the airport and on her way home
Things I Didn’t Like
- It was an organized tour ~ my preference will always be to travel on my own
- Obsessively organized, I had the framework for this adventure put together well ahead of time ~ at some point the detailed descriptions and activities for the itinerary changed on Intrepid’s website ~ a few activities were removed but a couple more were added ~ yes I noticed
- Oh dear the itinerary changed a few times ~ not big changes but free time and activities were switched around between days ~ this mattered to me in Almaty because I made plans with a friend during “free time” ~ the itinerary changed and I missed out on a city tour because I already had plans
- The single supplement did not cover all accommodations ~ ultimately I only ended up sharing the yurt at the Darvaza Crater for one night so I can’t complain about this too much
- There were things I saw while we were driving that I would have stopped at if travelling on my own
- Medical Emergency ~ we left our hotel approximately 4 hours before the emergency guide showed up ~ I DID NOT LIKE leaving our group member in bed in the hotel with a broken back all by herself
The Verdict
Yes, I will probably do another tour with Intrepid Travel ~ somewhere that I can’t get to on my own. I have a $400 credit to use.
Happy Travels!
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Jackie is “Mom” to one amazing son, an IT professional and an obsessed traveller. She spends her time reading, golfing at Ladies League and implementing software projects. Jackie has travelled to 7 continents, 5 oceans and 103 countries and she is always planning the next destination and adventure!