Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a large, dry country in Central Asia, between the Caspian Sea, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The Karakum Desert covers most of its land. It is one of the least visited countries in the world, and every visitor needs a visa arranged in advance. Most people travel on an organised tour with a local agency.
The rewards are unusual. The capital, Ashgabat, is a city of white marble buildings, gold statues and wide, empty avenues. In the desert, Darvaza Gas Crater draws most visitors to see its gas fires at night. The country also has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Silk Road city of Ancient Merv, the medieval ruins of Kunya-Urgench and the Parthian fortresses of Old Nisa. Turkmenistan suits curious travellers who want history and desert landscapes, and who accept strict rules and a planned itinerary.
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Money & payments
Turkmenistan is still a cash economy. Plan to pay for almost everything in local cash.
- Bring US dollars (or euros) in new, clean, undamaged notes. Older or marked notes are often refused, and pre-2009 $100 bills are increasingly rejected.
- Exchange only at banks and official exchange offices, at the official rate. Changing money on the street is illegal. There is a large gap between the official and street rates, which makes prices feel high at the official rate.
- Manat cannot be changed back into foreign currency when you leave, so exchange small amounts at a time.
- ATMs are few and are mostly in Ashgabat. They charge about 3% per withdrawal and do not always accept foreign cards. Some large hotels take cards, but do not rely on it.
- Tours are priced in US dollars. Most visitors pay the agency in advance for the guide, transport, hotels and the invitation letter. On the ground you mainly need cash for meals, drinks, taxis in Ashgabat and souvenirs.
- Fees on arrival: bring cash in US dollars for the migration fee and the arrival health test (see the entry section). A tourism tax of about 2 US dollars per day is added to hotel bills.
Tours & Activities
Turkmenistan — Map
Tipping
Tipping is not a strong tradition, but it is welcome in tourist settings.
about 10 % if no service charge
at the end of a tour
small change for porters
- Restaurants: some restaurants in Ashgabat add a service charge to the bill. If they do not, leaving about 10% is a kind gesture.
- Taxis: agree the fare before you get in. Tipping is not expected.
- Guides and drivers: on a multi-day tour, a tip at the end is common and appreciated.
Electricity
Turkmenistan uses 220 V / 50 Hz. Most sockets take the round two-pin European plugs, so bring a matching adapter if your plugs are different.
Language
The official language is Turkmen, a Turkic language written in the Latin alphabet. Russian is widely spoken in cities, especially in Ashgabat, and many older signs and menus are in Russian. English is limited outside large hotels and your tour agency. Your guide will translate for you on a tour, but a few words of Turkmen or Russian are appreciated.
Staying connected
Internet access in Turkmenistan is slow and heavily restricted. Plan to be mostly offline.
- Blocked services: many websites and apps are blocked, including YouTube, X, Facebook and WhatsApp. Email can also be hard to reach.
- VPNs are illegal and are usually blocked as soon as the authorities find them. Do not rely on one.
- Hotel Wi-Fi is the most reliable way to go online, mainly in Ashgabat hotels. Outside cities, expect little or no access.
- Mobile: there is a single state-owned operator, TMCELL, and foreign SIM cards usually get no roaming. Buying a local SIM requires your passport, and coverage is poor outside towns.
- Before you travel: download offline maps, translation packs and any documents you need. Tell family and friends that you may be hard to reach.
Safety & emergencies
Turkmenistan has little street crime, and most visitors have a trouble-free trip. The US government rates it at its lowest advisory level, "exercise normal precautions". The main risks come from strict laws and poor driving, not from crime.
- Carry your passport at all times. Police carry out identity checks, including at road checkpoints.
- Photography: do not photograph airports, military sites, police stations, government buildings, embassies or the presidential palace. Guards may stop you and delete photos. Ask people before you photograph them.
- Politics: criticism of the government or national traditions can be treated as an offence. Avoid political discussions, including online.
- Border areas: areas near the borders with Afghanistan and Iran are tightly restricted. Foreigners need special permission for border zones and parts of the Caspian coast.
- Roads: driving standards are poor. Avoid travelling outside cities at night.
- Earthquakes: the country lies in an active earthquake zone. Tremors are common.
From a mobile phone, add an extra 0 to the numbers below: 001 for fire, 002 for police and 003 for an ambulance. Your hotel or guide can call for help too.
Health
- Water: do not drink tap water. Drink bottled or boiled and filtered water, and avoid ice. Typhoid and hepatitis A are present, so take care with food hygiene too.
- Vaccinations: check with a travel clinic at least 8 weeks before you go. Vaccines for hepatitis A and typhoid are commonly recommended.
- Heat: summer temperatures can reach 45 °C, especially in the desert. Carry water, use sun protection and plan outdoor visits for early morning or evening.
- Medical care: the quality of care is poor and expensive. Travel insurance that covers medical evacuation is essential.
- Medicines: bring enough for your trip in original packaging, with a copy of your prescription. Strong painkillers and other controlled medicines without a prescription can lead to prosecution.
- Pharmacies (dermanhana) are common in Ashgabat and larger towns. Stock up before you travel to the desert.
- Arrival test: all arriving travellers must take a COVID-19 test at the airport or border, paid in cash.
Visas & entry
Almost every visitor needs a visa, and every tourist visa needs a letter of invitation (LOI) first. There is no visa-free entry for ordinary passports. Start planning at least one to two months before your trip.
- Letter of invitation: for tourism, a travel agency licensed in Turkmenistan applies for the LOI on your behalf. You must book a tour with that agency. The LOI is approved by the State Migration Service. Approval is not guaranteed, and a refusal is usually not explained.
- Tourist visa: with an approved LOI, you collect the visa at an embassy of Turkmenistan or on arrival at Ashgabat International Airport and some land borders. Fees depend on the length of stay and the number of entries.
- Guide requirement: on a tourist visa, you can explore Ashgabat on your own. Outside Ashgabat, a guide from your agency must accompany you, and your transport and hotels must be booked in advance. This includes visits to the Darvaza Gas Crater, Merv and Kunya-Urgench.
- Transit visa: for travellers crossing overland between two other countries, valid for up to 5 days. You apply at an embassy without an LOI, and you need a visa for your next country. The visa has fixed dates and fixed entry and exit border crossings. It allows independent travel without a guide along your route, but it cannot be changed into a tourist visa, and many applications are refused.
- E-visa: the government announced an electronic visa system in 2025. Until it is fully running, the LOI process is the normal route. Check current rules with your agency.
- Registration: if you stay longer than 3 working days, you must register with the State Migration Service within 3 working days of arrival. Hotels and tour agencies usually do this for you, but confirm it. You may also need to register your departure before you leave.
- At the border: your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after you leave. Expect a migration fee of about 14 US dollars and a paid COVID-19 test on arrival, both in cash. Declare all foreign currency on arrival and keep the form for your departure. Tobacco is limited to two packs.
- Overstaying or entering on the wrong visa can lead to fines, prosecution or deportation.
More detail on documents and fees: Embassy of Turkmenistan – visa requirements.
Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.
Etiquette
Turkmen society is conservative, and some social rules are also laws. Follow your guide's advice.
- Dress: wear modest clothes that cover your shoulders and knees, especially at mosques, mausoleums and holy sites. Women should bring a scarf to cover their hair at religious places.
- Photography: always ask before photographing people, especially women. Some markets and many official buildings do not allow photos.
- Alcohol and smoking: drinking alcohol in public places, including parks, beaches and transport hubs, is illegal and fined. Smoking in public places is also banned outside marked areas.
- Relationships: public displays of affection are frowned upon. Sex between men is illegal. Romantic relationships between foreigners and Turkmen women are also restricted by law.
- Hospitality: take off your shoes when you enter a home. Bread (çörek) is respected, so never put it upside down or on the floor.
- Holy sites: at pilgrimage sites such as mausoleums, locals may walk around tombs or tie cloth to trees. Watch quietly and follow their lead.
- Bargaining is normal at bazaars, but not in shops with fixed prices.
Getting around
On a tourist visa, your agency arranges transport outside Ashgabat, usually with a private driver and guide. Independent travel between cities is only possible on a transit visa or in Ashgabat itself.
- By air: Turkmenistan Airlines flies from Ashgabat to Mary, Türkmenabat, Dashoguz, Türkmenbaşy and Balkanabat. Flights are cheap and save long desert drives, but seats are limited. Your agency can book them with your passport details.
- By train: slow trains, often overnight, link Ashgabat with Türkmenbaşy, Mary, Türkmenabat and Dashoguz. They are comfortable enough but rarely used by tour groups.
- By road: 4x4 vehicles are needed for the Darvaza Gas Crater and other desert sites. Distances are long, so most tours combine road trips with a domestic flight.
- In Ashgabat: official taxis are marked in white and green. Many trips across the city cost about 20 manat. Agree the fare first and avoid unmarked cars. City buses are cheap but hard to use without Russian or Turkmen.
Driving
Most visitors do not drive. Car hire for tourists is very limited, and a tourist visa means travelling with your agency's driver outside Ashgabat. These points matter mainly for overland travellers in their own vehicle.
- Documents: you need your national licence and a 1968 International Driving Permit.
- Own vehicle: foreign vehicles pay several fees at the border, including an entry permit, insurance and a road charge based on the route you declare. Stick to the route on your visa.
- Speed cameras: Ashgabat has many cameras, often with no warning signs. The limit in much of the city is 60 km/h.
- Checkpoints: police checkpoints are common on main roads. Keep your passport and vehicle papers ready.
- Night driving: avoid it outside cities. Roads can be poor, unlit and crossed by camels and other animals.
- Fuel: fuel is cheap, but filling spare canisters or other containers is not allowed. Stations can be far apart in the desert, so fill up whenever you can. Pay in cash.
Food & drink
Turkmen food is simple and filling, built around meat, rice, bread and tea. Mutton is the main meat, and flatbread (çörek) comes with every meal. Green tea is drunk throughout the day, often served in small bowls. Lunch is usually the main meal, and dinner is often lighter.
The national dish is plov (palaw), rice cooked with meat, carrots and onions. Other favourites are dograma, bread torn into a mutton and tomato broth, and gutap, thin fried pastries filled with meat, pumpkin or greens. Shashlik (grilled meat skewers), manty (steamed dumplings) and soups such as çorba are found everywhere. Melons are a point of national pride, and summer fruit is excellent.
To drink, try çal, fermented camel's milk, sold in the desert and at bazaars. Russian-style salads, beer and vodka are common in city restaurants, but drinking alcohol in public places is illegal. In Ashgabat you can eat in restaurants and cafés. Elsewhere, meals are often in simple cafés, at bazaars or in homes arranged by your guide.
Where to explore
Ashgabat and the south
- Ashgabat: the capital, largely rebuilt after a 1948 earthquake and now famous for its white marble buildings. Highlights are the Independence Monument, Monument of Neutrality, the National Museum and the huge Altyn Asyr Bazaar, also called Tolkuchka.
- Around Ashgabat: the ruins of Old Nisa, an early Parthian capital, and the large Saparmyrat Hajji Mosque at Gökdepe are short trips from the city. Further west, Kow Ata is an underground lake in a cave where you can swim in warm, mineral water.
The Karakum Desert
- Darvaza Gas Crater: a burning gas crater about 260 km north of Ashgabat, usually visited on an overnight trip with a stay in a yurt camp or tent nearby. The flames are best seen after dark. The fire has become much smaller in recent years, and the government plans to put it out.
The east
- Mary: the base for visiting Ancient Merv, one of the great cities of the Silk Road. Its most famous monument is Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar. The Bronze Age site of Gonur Depe is a long desert drive from Mary.
The north
- Kunya-Urgench: the ruins have tall minarets and mausoleums from the time when it was a capital of Khorezm. It is often visited on the way to or from Khiva in Uzbekistan.
The Caspian coast
- Türkmenbaşy and Awaza: a port city and a modern beach resort on the Caspian Sea. The coloured cliffs of Yangykala Canyon are a long drive inland.
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