World Country Guide

Travel - International

Air
The national airline is Turkmenistan Airlines (T5). There are international connections to Abu Dhabi (UAE), Birmingham (UK), Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic), Delhi (India), Istanbul (Turkey), Karachi (Pakistan), Kyiv (Ukraine), London (UK) and Moscow (Russian Federation). There are weekly flights between London and Ashgabat. Ashgabat is also served by Asseman Airlines from Tehran, by Lufthansa from Frankfurt/M and by Turkish Airlines from Istanbul. There are connections within the CIS to Moscow and St Petersburg (Russian Federation), Kyiv (Ukraine) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). All flight tickets bought by foreigners within Turkmenistan must be paid for in hard currency. The prices tend to be 10 times as much as those that locals pay.

Approximate flight times
From London to Ashbagat is six hours 30 minutes, from Karachi is four hours 30 minutes, from Moscow is three hours 30 minutes, from Istanbul is two hours 30 minutes, from Abu Dhabi is two hours, from Tashkent is two hours, from Kyiv is two hours and from Tehran is one hour.

International airports
Ashgabat Airport (ASB) is approximately 13km (8 miles) northwest of the city centre. A new terminal building has resulted in an increase of capacity. The airport is served by buses and taxis.

Departure tax
US$25. Nationals of CIS countries pay US$15 and nationals of Turkmenistan pay US$5.

Sea
There are ferries to Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) from Baku (Azerbaijan) and an irregular service to Astrakhan (Russian Federation). It is theoretically possible to travel from Moscow to Turkmenbashi via the Volga River and the Caspian Sea without setting foot on dry land.

Rail
The Trans-Caspian Railway connects Turkmenistan with the rest of the Central Asian republics and thence to Moscow and the rest of the CIS. The terminus is in Turkmenbashi on the Caspian Sea, from where it runs through Ashgabat before it crosses into Uzbekistan near the city of Chardzhou. Approximate rail times: From Turkmenbashi to Tashkent is 24 hours, to Dushanbe is 36 hours and to Moscow is three days. There is a rail link to the Iranian network, enabling train travel from Turkmenistan to Turkey (Istanbul).

Road
Turkmenistan is connected by road to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and to Mashad and Tehran in Iran. The crossing into Iran is only open to nationals of the CIS and Iran. Bus: Services are available to the capitals of the neighbouring republics, and north across the Kara-Kum desert to Kunya-Urgench with connections to Urgench and Khiva in Uzbekistan. A service also runs between Ashgabat and Mashhad (eastern Iran).