September 2025 • Couple
We knew this 5 Stans journey would be ambitious, but we did not expect it to feel this complete. What impressed us most was not just the number of places we visited, but how different each part of the route felt. In Kazakhstan, the scenery was wide, open, and dramatic — Big Almaty Lake, Altyn Emel, the Singing Dune, and Charyn Canyon all had their own character. Then Kyrgyzstan brought a softer, greener mountain atmosphere, and the days around Karakol, Altyn Arashan, and Jeti-Oguz felt almost like a separate expedition inside the journey. By the time we crossed into Uzbekistan, the trip shifted again into architecture, Silk Road history, and city life, and later Turkmenistan felt almost surreal in its own way, especially Darvaza at night. What made the tour work was that the logistics were stronger than I expected for such a complex overland route. There were many moving parts — land borders, long drives, trains, internal flights, and multiple hotel changes — but the handovers felt organized and calm. Serik made the experience feel steady from beginning to end. He had a good sense of when to explain more and when to simply let us enjoy the moment. This was not an easy holiday, but it was an extremely rewarding one, and I would choose this route again in a heartbeat.
