# China - 2014



## UKM (Dec 15, 2013)

Anyone interested?

We are finalising the arrangements for a self-drive trip to China in 2014 and are looking for others to join us in this adventure! To share the cost of the obligatory tour guide in China and for the journey there and back.

The route is now settled, we are travelling with the Chinese agency NAVO (I can't post links so search Google for NAVO Self Drive) and will be entering China in the first week of July from Kyrgyzstan at the Torugart Pass and spending at least 30 days crossing the country, taking in the terracotta army at Xi'an, and the Great Wall at Jinshanling, exiting to Mongolia at Erenhot. Exact number of days to be agreed.

We have a 4x4 camper and are looking for others with similar vehicles to join us at least for the China section. 4x4 is not essential!

The cost of the guide for China depends on the number of participants (and or course the exchange rate), it should be between GBP2500 and GBP3400

Contact us if interested!

Andy


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## Sprinta (Sep 15, 2010)

wow! what a great first post

tell us some more in another post and perhaps answer some of our questions.......

don't forget to pay your subs to get more posts :wink:


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

Very much so.

What upfront payments if any are required?

Drew


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

To late for us I think

But how fantastic

We will travel in spirit with you all

Aldra


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

UKM said:


> ...... and will be entering China in the first week of July from Kyrgyzstan at the Torugart Pass.......


I've been through the Torugart Pass from Kyrgyzstan into Kashgar, and it's a long dusty road through the breathtaking At Bashy Mountains.

I attach a photo I took in 2006, where the road is in the middle distance.

For easy to read, great books about the area, I recommend either Fitzroy McLean's (1937) "Eastern Approaches" or Lady Macartney's (1898) "An English Lady in Chinese Turkestan." (Or for anything written by Peter Hopkirk.)


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

Interested but can't afford it.

Good Luck and Safe Travels in any Event.

TM


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## UKM (Dec 15, 2013)

Hi all, thanks for the interest in our little adventure. 

Not being a subscriber I can't reply to PMs and suspect that I only get a limited number of posts, so I will try to answer some questions that have been raised.

The cost quoted is per vehicle (assuming 1 driver and 1 passenger). NAVO need a minimum of 2 vehicles to run the tour, the more there are the cheaper the per vehicle cost.

NAVO need a 50% deposit when the tour is agreed and booked, which must be around 3 months in advance of the entry date into China. The balance is payable a minimum of 1 month before the entry date.

The price covers:

All the Permits needed.
Entry and exit process.
Temporary license/plate for both vehicle and driver.
Fluent English-speaking tour guide accompany the whole tour.
TOUR GUIDE Transportation, accommodation, and meal both for
preparation time and your travelling time.
Necessary insurance for both vehicles and driver.
VEHICLE DEPOSIT for CIQ process (customs guarantee).

It does not cover:

Accommodations and meals.
Entrance tickets for sights.
Vehicle cost: fuel, road toll, traffic accident compensation, repairing cost, spare part and parking etc.
Tips: If guests are satisfied with the tour guide, they suggest a group give guide tips about 150RMB-250RMB per day.
Personal expenses.


We are just trying to put a group together, individual participants will be responsible for making their booking with NAVO and organising their own route to and from China. We will be happy to make a loose arrangement to meet up along the way, particularly for Mongolia, which, depending on the chosen route, can be a little challenging.

Chinese regulations require that self-drive groups enter the county together, stay together whilst in China and stick to an agreed itinerary, and then leave the county together.

We have a 7.5 tonne Mercedes 814DA 4x4 camper truck but the whole route can be tackled in a well prepared standard motorhome. Any with low ground clearance or long rear overhangs might have difficulty in a few places and would be restricted to a direct south to north crossing of Mongolia.

If anyone is seriously interested we would love to hear from them - direct email is preferable: andy (at) bm-services (dot) co (dot) uk Please do look at the NAVO website ( search Google for NAVO Self Drive ), we have been corresponding with Melinda and she will be happy to answer any queries about the tour.

Andy


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## palaceboy (Mar 9, 2008)

Great trip we did london to Singapore (26 countries ) overland in 2011 . our favourite place was Krgyzstan and the crossing into China . I am surprised that you do not need 4wd but if you only keep to main routes it would be possible , but you would surely miss so much of each country . Some of the border crossings were very time consuming for the vehicle and most of the crossings only allowed the driver and vehicle through with each passenger having to make a foot crossing which was always a massive scrum.


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## palaceboy (Mar 9, 2008)

Just a further thought on this great trip is the route to Kygyzstan from the UK . A lot of the countries are not easily assessable certainly by vehicle our route was as follows
London- france- belgium -germany- czech- hungary- romania- bulgaria- turkey- georgia- azerbaijan- turkmenistan-uzbekistan- kyrgyzstan.
If you go this way you will have to cross the Caspian Sea and as far as i know there are no official ferries , you have to bribe your way onto a ship in Baku that has unloaded and has empty space on the return .
The visa,s are not easy to obtain and not at the border either, get them before you start out using a visa agent or its a visit to the embassies on the way. We also had to have local guides in all the countries after Turkey .


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## UKM (Dec 15, 2013)

palaceboy said:


> Just a further thought on this great trip is the route to Kygyzstan from the UK . A lot of the countries are not easily assessable certainly by vehicle our route was as follows
> London- france- belgium -germany- czech- hungary- romania- bulgaria- turkey- georgia- azerbaijan- turkmenistan-uzbekistan- kyrgyzstan.
> If you go this way you will have to cross the Caspian Sea and as far as i know there are no official ferries , you have to bribe your way onto a ship in Baku that has unloaded and has empty space on the return .
> The visa,s are not easy to obtain and not at the border either, get them before you start out using a visa agent or its a visit to the embassies on the way. We also had to have local guides in all the countries after Turkey .


We have considered 3 potential routes:

1) Eastern Europe > Russia > Kazakhstan > Kyrgyzstan
2) Turkey > Iran > Turkmenistan > Uzbekistan > Kyrgyzstan
3) Turkey > Georgia > Azerbaijan > Turkmenistan > Uzbekistan > Kyrgyzstan

1) is the easiest, and is the route we will probably take even though it means having to get an expensive multiple entry business visa for Russia.
2) involves getting a Carnet de Passage for Iran which adds about £1000 to the cost.
3) As you say, this means crossing the Caspian on the cargo ferry from Baku to Turkmenbashi. It doesn't run to a schedule, it goes when it's full. This creates problems when you get to Turkmenistan as your pre-arranged transit visa is for set dates, so if you end up waiting a few days for the ferry and the crossing takes longer than average, you might find that your visa has almost expired by the time you get to Turkmenistan.

Andy


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## UKM (Dec 15, 2013)

*PM contact*

*79144will* please contact me directly - I can't respond to PMs.
andy (at) bm-services (dot) co (dot) uk

Andy


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