How to Get From Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan (Dashoguz Border)
Disclaimer: Some links on this page may be affiliate links. If you purchase anything through them, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! Further details in the Privacy Policy.
If you’re crossing the Shavat/Dashoguz border from Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan, then you’ll probably be coming either from Urgench, home to the nearest airport, or Khiva, one of Uzbekistan’s “big three” Silk Road cities. And Khiva is a pretty logical last stop in your Uzbekistan journey, as it’s the furthest major stop if you traverse Uzbekistan from East to West.
I write this guide a few days after crossing the border. And to be honest I had a couple of hiccups along the way, mostly related to transport. The border crossing itself was easy on the Uzbek side, and whilst the Turkmenistan side came with a lot of hassle, my tour operator sent our driver across to make things go smoothly, which he certainly managed to do after many phone calls.
The point of this post is so you know exactly what to expect when entering Turkmenistan from Khiva or Urgench and can prepare accordingly. I’ll include all costs involved, and how long the journey took.
How to Get to Turkmenistan Overland From Khiva or Urgench
Flying from Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan is crazy expensive. The cheapest flight I found cost £373 from Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent, to the Turkmen capital Ashgabat with a layover in Istanbul, which involves a completely unnecessary 4,800km (2,983 mile) detour on top of the 1,000km (621 miles) between the two cities.
Oh, and that’s only a one-way flight!
This means the logical way to travel between these two countries is overland. Even if you’re coming from elsewhere, it’s highly unlikely that anyone from the English-speaking world (in other words, people reading this post) will arrive from Afghanistan or Iran due to the challenges both countries pose, which leaves Uzbekistan as the only viable entry point for travellers on a budget. And the Shavat/Dashoguz border is one of the most common crossing points for foreigners.
Now, there isn’t public transport running from either Urgench or Khiva to the border. You’re going to need a taxi here.
I’d been in Uzbekistan for about three weeks by the time I headed to Turkmenistan. And the good old Yandex Go app had never let me down. Yandex if you’re wondering, is the Uber of the Russian world. It works in the majority of ex-Soviet Union countries.
So what happens when I need a taxi to take me to the border in time for opening so I can meet my guide at the agreed time?
Of course, there are no vehicles available. I then chose the most expensive “fast” option, and still nothing came, as the app told me no cars were heading in that direction. I repeated this several times… nothing…
I had to quickly come up with a plan B. Since I was in a residential street in the middle of nowhere, and the staff at my guesthouse were sleeping in their own part of the building, I was in a spot of bother. Eventually someone woke up and was able to sort a taxi to the border for me, but I was almost an hour late arriving, not helped by the fact we drove down a dead end, blocked by construction…
So what does this mean for you? It means you should pre-arrange a taxi to the border the day before your journey.
This is the one part of Uzbekistan where you should NOT rely on Yandex.
Khiva is a little less on-route than Urgench albeit more popular, and whilst Yandex may work from there if you’re lucky, I wouldn’t rely on it. There aren’t that many people heading into Turkmenistan, and those that do are mostly locals who already have a ride lined up.
I paid 189,000 som (around £12 or US$16) for a taxi to the border. The price will vary depending on a number of circumstances, but use this as a ballpark figure so you know what to expect. Don’t let any drivers suddenly demand 300,000 som or something crazy!
Once you reach the border, you can simply walk across the Uzbek exit side. Expect several passport checks along the way. Once you’ve been stamped out of the Uzbekistan side, wait for a bus to come along which takes you across to the Turkmen side. It comes every few minutes.
Once you reach the Turkmen side, your fixer will hopefully be waiting to go through the formalities with you.
At What Time is the Border Open Between Shavat and Dashoguz?
The Shavat/Dashoguz border is open from 9am-6pm on every weekday, although it does close for a lunch break from 12:30pm-1:30pm, sometimes lasting up until 2pm.
It is closed on Turkmen holidays.
I recommend getting to the border early. If you arrive too close to 6pm then it may close before you make it across.
How Long Does it Take to Reach Dashoguz From Khiva or Urgench?
It took me 3 hours and 10 minutes to go from my guesthouse in Urgench (from the moment the taxi arrived), to Bedew Cafe, which we stopped at in Dashoguz.
This included:
- 1 hour 25 minutes in a taxi from Urgench to the border (included a petrol stop and overcoming a roadblock)
- 20 minutes to get stamped out of Uzbekistan (I spent a few minutes outside first, it can be done quicker, and you will need to put your bags through a scanner before queuing to get stamped out)
- 15 minutes to wait for a bus across no-man’s land (including boarding time)
- 5 minutes on the bus
- 50 minutes to cross the Turkmenistan border (including a PCR test, obtaining the visa, making payments, having my bag searched, and waiting for our driver to handle all the logistics)
- 15 minutes to drive to Dashoguz
You can pretty easily knock 30 minutes or so off this expected time if your taxi goes directly to the border without issues, and you head straight inside. Of course, it could be a longer journey if there are longer queues at the border, or the officials just do things at a slower pace.
How Much Does it Cost to Enter Turkmenistan Via the Shavat/Dashoguz Border?
A lot! Everyone requires a visa, regardless of nationality (with the exception of diplomats from some countries). The visa comes with additional costs which we’ll get into in a second. Then there’s the fact you require a mandatory tour to visit Turkmenistan. For me it cost US$700 for 3 days. For most people it will cost a similar amount, but a larger group can bring costs down.
The money you pay will be split into two categories: transport to/from/across the border, and the costs of your visa and other associated documentation.
Here are all the entry costs you can expect to pay here, not including the cost of your tour:
Transport costs
- Approximately 189,000 Uzbek som (£12/US$16) for a taxi from Khiva or Urgench to the border
- 5,000 Uzbek som (£0.30/US$0.40) to take a bus across no-man’s land between the Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan borders
- No additional costs to get to Dashoguz, as your tour will cover transport from the border onwards.
Total transport costs: 194,000 Uzbek som (just over £12/US$16)
Visa and Associated Costs
You must have US dollars to pay for all of the following. They must be new USD notes as the Turkmen authorities are quite funny about this and reject older notes. They must also be in good condition and not torn or damaged in any way.
- Visa: At least US$55* + a $4 payment processing fee
- PCR test: US$29 + a $4 payment processing fee
- Registration fee: US$10 + a $4 payment processing fee
- Sticker: US$5 + a $4 payment processing fee
*Some nationalities have to pay more. As a Brit, my visa cost US$80+4. Belgians, Germans, Russians and a handful of others will also pay more. Don’t be surprised if you’re charged extra at the border.
Total visa and documentation costs: US$115 + potential additional visa costs
Overall total cost to enter Turkmenistan from Khiva or Urgench: Around US$131 + potential additional visa costs
SafetyWing Insurance
Don’t risk being left with a possible $100,000+ bill if something goes wrong on your travels.
Click on the link below to avoid a stressful trip, protect yourself, and know that you will be covered in emergency situations.
What Requirements do You Need to Meet to Enter Turkmenistan?
To enter Turkmenistan you need:
- A letter of invitation (LOI), which is necessary to obtain a visa on arrival
- A mandatory tour with an authorised agency for the entirety of your trip (they can sort your LOI for you)
- A valid passport with at least 6 months remaining before the expiry date
There are lots of scammers offering tours online, so I recommend going with Murad who I used for my tour. He handled the logistics flawlessly, and I had a great 3-day trip to Turkmenistan thanks to him and his team.
Is it Easy to Cross the Shavat/Dashoguz Border Without Speaking Uzbek or Turkmen?
You’ll be lucky to find any English speakers at this border (or any entry point into Turkmenistan really). Outside of the two native languages (Uzbek and Turkmen), the only other language that may help you here is Russian.
Don’t worry though. The Uzbek side is easy to cross. You shouldn’t have any problems even without knowing a word of Uzbek, Turkmen or Russian. Any language barriers can easily be overcome with hand gestures and Google Translate.
On the Turkmen side, things are a little trickier. Your guide should be here to make the process much easier. Our driver was making constant phone calls to smoothen things out, and he ensured getting into Turkmenistan was much easier than obtaining an Uzbek visa.
There are 4 booths on the left when you enter the building. In order from first to last, you need to go to the medical centre (booth 1) for a PCR test, the visa booth (2) to start the visa process where you hand over your LOI, the bank (4) to pay for everything, the visa booth (2) again to receive the visa in your passport, and finally immigration control (3) who will stamp you into the country before you go through a bag scanner.
I was held up for a further few minutes by having to empty my entire bag on the table. It was lost in translation at the time, but apparently the guards spotted some coins in my bag. They were probably referring to the bag of leftover coins I have from the previous 18 countries I’d been to on this trip, which happened to be in my other bag that wasn’t searched…
Can I Exchange Money at the Shavat/Dashoguz Border?
You can, but be wary of bad rates. Officially, US$1 = 3.5 manat. On the black market, US$1 = 19.5 manat. You should only exchange money at the latter rate, or close to it.
If you have Uzbek som, then ~12,000 is worth around $1. Therefore approximately 12,000 som = 3.5 manat officially, which means 1 manat is worth around 3,400 Uzbek som at the official rate, or 600 Uzbek som on the black market.
These are rough conversions, and exchange rates always change, so only use these as ballpark figures to ensure you know what to expect.
Final Thoughts on the Shavat/Dashoguz Border Crossing Between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
It’s not an overly challenging border crossing overall. Just make sure you line up transport to the border in advance so you don’t rely on Yandex as I did, which can cause problems.
If you’ve booked a tour with a good agency, then you should have someone waiting at the Turkmenistan entry point who can help you through the process and make it very easy.
When I left the country at the Farap/Alat border, people would push each other out of the way to cram onto the buses between various points of the crossing. Here at Shavat/Dashoguz, I didn’t experience anything like that, although it may happen at busier times as people compete to get on the bus.
It’s not the hardest border crossing I’ve ever experienced, and Turkmenistan is an incredibly fascinating country, so it’s well worth the time and money spent to come here.
