Silk Route or Middle East/North Africa Tour?

[betto]

A friend and I from Holland are planning to go on a 4-month bike tour May-August of this year and we are debating which of these two great options to go for:

1. Silk Route: fly to Beijing and bike back to Istanbul through China, the Stans, possibly Iran, and Turkey.

2. Halfway around the Meditarrean, between Istanbul and Casablanca through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunesia, Algeria, and Morocco.

Based on climate during May-August, trying to go as low budget as possible, visa/political issues, and only four months to cross these distances, which of these two tours would people recommend and why?

In particular, we are worried about:
- the summer heat in N-Africa/Mideast
- the cost of flying to Beijing with our bikes
- getting a visa for Libya and managing to get through the entire country in the 7 days that a transit visa allows
- getting through Algeria at all. From what we have heard the Algeria-Morocco border is closed and even the Algeria-Tunesia border might not be open.

If people recommend the N-Africa/Mideast route, would they recommend starting in Istanbul and biking to Casablanca or the other way around?
If recommending the Silk Route, should we go through Iran (or is that a detour that we cannot afford in 4 months)?

Thanks for any advice! Really appreciate it!
betto

 

[HelenD123]

Sorry, I can't give any advice but those sound like fantastic tours.

 

[Brains]

Check for the latest visa issues in Thorntree, however as far as I'm aware Algeria is out and the the chances of getting a Lybian visa with dates to match your arrival are almost zero (and as you say max 1 week stay), so whilst my preference would be a Med circuit, it's not actually possible at the moment.

Another option would be to cycle from your home down the Rhein/Danube to Istambul and then keep going east until time runs out and fly home - at a push you could make Egypt in that time and come back by boat to Greece and Italy, or you may be able to make Terhan in that time - but again visa issues

 

[greenmark]

From the parts of the silk route I have seen - I would heartily recommend going thorugh Asia and the Stans. Weather March - August is great for most of the trip. Kyrgyzstand is beautiful. Just be prepared to do some long long mountain ascents.

Beijing to Istanbul though is a very, very long ride. Try to be a bit less ambitious in what you can manage in 4 months.

Last I saw, Air China will carry bikes long distance as no extra charge if they're within your 20kg limit. They are not to be confused with China Airlines, which although having infinitely better customer service tend to crash a lot.

 

[Creamcrackered]

Yes, Beijing to Istanbul in 4 months would be pretty intense - you'd probably have to cycle 24/7. It might be more realistic to start in Almaty or Bishkek. In fact, given you timing, it would be better to go the other way round - start in Istanbul in May and end in Central Asia in August.
I think either trip would be great, but my vote would be for Central Asia - it's difficult to beat for amazing scenery and incredibly friendly people. Turkey and Iran also great cycling.

 

[laertes]

I think you will find that the Stans and western China are almost as hot as north Africa in the summer.

A friend of mine is round-the-worlding and could not cross Kazakhstan in the time available on his visa. Kazakstan is pretty dull, as I understand it , compared to the other countries around it, so maybe fly to Dushanbe or Bishkek and come back, as suggested above.

 

[Kirstie]

There's a journal on Crazy Guy called 'The Stan Diet' that I would recommend you read before going to the stans...