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© SAIGA Tours
Start
Dec 30, 2026
Ashgabat
Ashgabat
2026-12-30
End
Jan 5, 2027
Ashgabat
Ashgabat
2027-01-05
Duration
7 days
Price
US$1495.00
TOUR OVERVIEW
New Year in Ashgabat! Woo! What better place to bring in the new year than the white and gold capital of Ashgabat, famous for its excessive and colourful lights.
Taking out the record for tallest New Year/Christmas tree among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Ashgabat is full to the brim with magnificent monuments and statues, and their fair share of unusual world records . And we'll see them all!
We'll also head to the east of the country to visit the regional capital of Mary, and the ancient city of Merv, before rounding out the tour with a drive into the desert where we'll see, you've guess it, the Gates of Hell.
If you like the look of this tour but the dates don't work for you, or you'd like to do part of the tour, please get in touch and let us know. All our tours are able to be split into smaller sections, we're always scheduling new tours and your dates might work for one of them, or we can always organise an independent tour.
INCLUSIONS:
| ✓ | Letter of Invitation |
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Accommodation in twin share at roughly 3 star hotels (breakfast included), camping at Gates of Hell |
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Transport as per itinerary, beginning and ending in Ashgabat |
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Entrance fees to all sites mentioned in the itinerary |
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Western and local guides |
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $300
What is the single supplement? This is paid to guarantee a single room. If you are travelling alone and would like to be roomed with another single traveller, you do not need to pay this.
EXCLUSIONS:
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Visa fee (can be paid on arrival at the airport or land border, or at an embassy beforehand) |
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Meals other than breakfast at hotels |
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Transport to and from Ashgabat at the beginning and end of the tour |
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Accommodation and any other services before or after the tour |
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Personal expenses such as souvenirs or any optional activities |
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
See in the New Year in the brighly lit marble city of Ashgabat
Watch the sun set over the spectacular Gates of Hell
Wander the site of the ancient city of Merv
Itinerary
Day 1Wed Dec 30
Ashgabat
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Our first day in Ashgabat, you’re going to be in awe of everything that the capital has to offer. We’ll spend the day taking in all the main sites of Ashgabat, including all those crazy monuments you’ve probably seen pictures of, as we begin explaining all the weird and wonderful aspects of Turkmenistan that make it such a special place.
- We’ll start with a driving tour of Ashgabat's main sites, including Independence Park and Independence Monument, the Monument to the Constitution, the Arch of Neutrality, Lenin Park, and a drive-by of the Olympic Complex which was built for the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. The complex is home to the famous Horse Stadium ( the largest structure in the shape of a horse in the world – you’ll hear plenty more of these records! ), but unfortunately is closed to the public.
- A highlight of the day will likely be the Alem Centre, the complex which houses the Wheel of Enlightenment, the largest indoor ferris wheel (yes, there’s another one). And YES, for just $2.50, you can even take a ride!
- Stop for lunch at Berkarar Shopping Centre, where you can go ice-skating, play in the games centre, ride a miniature double-decker bus, and even have a cappuccino in a hipster café – bet you weren’t expecting that!
- In the afternoon we’ll visit the university bookshop, a great chance to pick up some very cool, unique Turkmenistan swag, including where you can find amazing coffee table books written by and about the former president (and father of the current president, Serdar Berdimuhamedov), Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, as well as ones about Ashgabat and Turkmenistan. You can even get them in English! They also have postcards and posters, and if you're lucky they might even have a copy of the Ruhnama, the book written by Turkmenbashy.
- Spend the night at the Ak Altyn Hotel.
Day 2Thu Dec 31
Nisa, Turkmenbashy Mosque, Kow Ata, New Year's Eve in Ashgabat
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Happy New Year's Eve!
- Today we'll explore a few things outside of Ashgabat. On our way we'll pass the new, not-yet-finished "smart" city of Arkadag, which we can't visit but will be able to see as we drive past. We'll also pass the hippodrome, and of course several small monuments and statues.
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Our first stop today will be at Nisa, a UNESCO site which was once the capital of the Parthian Empire. We'll explore the ruins and learn about the different excavations that have been done, and hear the stories of this once spectacular and incredibly important city.
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We’ll then continue on to Kipchak to see the resplendent Turkmenbashy Mosque and Mausoleum, where Turkmenbashy is buried beside his mother, father and two brothers in their white marble mausoleum. There aren’t too many Turkmenbashy related sites still around, but this one is truly spectacular.
- Heading further west, our next stop is at Kow Ata, an underground thermal cave lake which is said to have many medical attributes, but is also used by locals as a swimming hole and makes for a very fun and relaxing swim.
- After a refreshing swim in the cave lake, we'll sit down and chill for a while with some shashlik from one of the restaurants just outside the entrance to the cave.
- Heading back to Ashgabat, we'll have a chance to have a little rest in the afternoon before heading out to soak in everything that New Year in Ashgabat is! There will be the massive, record-breaking New Year tree at the Wheel of Enlightenment which we'll definitely check out, but we might end up at one of the smaller trees, such as the one in front of the circus, where there's bound to be a party!
Day 3Fri Jan 1
New Year's Day, Ashgabat, Mary
- Happy New Year! How about that? Seeing in the new year in Turkmenistan, and waking up for the first time in 2027 in Ashgabat!
- We'll have a slow morning to recover from our festivities the previous night, before leaving in the late morning to begin driving east to the city of Mary.
- What better way to see Turkmenistan than to drive through it! We'll stop several times en-route for food and drinks, and to see some less well-known but still interesting historial sites along the way.
- We'll arrive in the late afternoon, at which point we'll check into our hotel and then you'll have the chance in the evening to go out for some dinner, and get a feel for this Turkmen regional city. There's plenty of likeness to Ashgabat with the same white and gold architecture, wide boulevards, and pristine parks, but it just has a very different feel.
- Overnight in Mary.
Day 4Sat Jan 2
Merv, Mary, Ashgabat
- In the morning we'll drive to Merv. Just half an hour's drive from the modern city of Mary, and now a UNESCO world heritage listed site, Merv is the oldest and best preserved ancient oasis city along the Silk Road. At one point during the 12 th Century it was possibly even the largest city in the world.
- We'll spend the morning exploring the shrines, temples, towers, city walls, fortresses, castles and mausoleums, the most notable of which is that of Sultan Sandzhar Dar-al-Akhir which reaches forty metres into the sky, topped by an almost completely intact brick dome.
- Returning to the modern city of Mary in the afternoon, we'll visit the Mary Museum, where a lot of the artefacts from Merv along with the other ancient sites in Turkmenistan are kept.
- In the afternoon we'll drive back to Ashgabat, arriving in the early evening.
- Overnight in Ashgabat.
Day 5Sun Jan 3
Ashgabat, Gates of Hell
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This morning we will have free time, so you'll have a chance to organise yourself for the evening ahead. We'll be checking out of the hotel in Ashgabat, but you can leave luggage behind for the overnight.
- In the early afternoon, we'll set off on our desert adventure, driving the 250km north to Darvaza, The Gates of Hell.
- One the way we’ll make a few stops – including to see a salt lake, and two other craters (one full of mud, one full of water).
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Our favourite stop on this drive though is the town of Erbent, where you'll get a real up-close look at how rural Turkmens live - very different to what you've seen so far in Ashgabat and other regional cities and towns. We'll patronise the village shop, no doubt take some photos of some dust, possibly an old motorbike or two, maybe even a camel, and if we're lucky we might bump into some school kids. We will also of course use their toilet (not a luxurious one!) before continuing on our way.
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Crossing the sand dunes to get to Darvaza, we’ll arrive in time to watch the sunset over the fiery crater and experience dusk turn to dark at this breathtaking site.
- We will either set up tents near the crater, or stay in one of the nearby yurt camps, depending on many factors, including weather. Either way though, we'll spend the evening viewing the fiery crater from every angle, seeing the colour change as the sun sets and the darkness creeps in, until the crater is in full glow. It's completely mesemerising.
Day 6Mon Jan 4
Gates of Hell, Ashgabat
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We'll wake up this morning at the Gates of Hell. What a place to wake up!
- Make sure you get your fill of fiery pits over breakfast, before we drive back to Ashgabat, arriving around lunchtime.
- We'll check into the hotel and have free time for the rest of the afternoon.
- Most people will probably want to head to one of our favourite bazaars in Central Asia – the Russian Bazaar. Here you'll have the opportunity to get some super cheap, local food for lunch, do some souvenir shopping, or if you’re in the market for a Turkmen carpet we can show you a good place to get them.
- This is also where one of the main shops for buying the famous Turkmenistan tracksuits is, so if you've made it to this point in the tour without one, and you're a bit jealous of your tracksuit-adorned fellow travellers, this is your chance to get one.
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You also might like just to go exploring, whether it's a walk to the psychadelic Ashgabat Mall, or to Tashkent Park, or to the alabay (dog) statue, or you could simply walk through one of the areas of new white marble buildings. And of course we'll be there to help you figure out what to do with your time.
- For dinner this evening we’ll go to the Yyldiz Hotel – the newest and most expensive hotel in Turkmenistan, where you can have a real 5 Star restaurant experience for 1 Star prices, complete with 360 degree views of the city.
Day 7Tue Jan 5
Ashgabat, End of Tour
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Last day of the tour.
- Transfers to the airport for your flights, or if you'd like to spend longer in Turkmenistan let us know and we can help you arrange something.
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