Going from China to Europe (or the other way around) travelling through Central Asia is one of the world’s great overland journeys, and for good reason. It can seem like a daunting undertaking, but vast deserts, huge inland seas, and the romanticism of following in the steps of famous silk road travellers makes it worth the effort.

This guide outlines the major decisions or forks in the road along the way. I started from China, but if you wish to travel in the reverse direction you can start at the bottom and work your way up. As for travelling within a country, you can look more closely at the detailed guides for the cities along the way, for example, getting around in Uzbekistan. 

You should use this guide mostly for figuring out which way you want to go. All the directions at the forks have advantages and disadvantages, but they will affect the next steps of your journey as well, so you should consider the overall journey when making a decision. A slightly more convenient border crossing might lead to some issues down the line. I have mostly focused on borders and paths in Central Asia since the distances involved are quite large and the transportation networks in each of the countries fairly disconnected. Travelling within a country like China, or using the European railway network, will seem quite easy by comparison, so I have left that out of the guide. 

Let’s go!

Getting out of China (2 options)

Northern Route: Urumqi, China to Almaty, Kazakhstan. From Almaty you can travel onwards either through Kazakhstan exclusively, or go to Kyrgyzstan from Almaty. 

Advantages: Can be done entirely with public transportation. Urumqi is much more accessible from Beijing with high speed train. Almaty has some cool attractions and is a fairly international city. 

Disadvantages: Increases the total number of borders if you are just going to go to Kyrgyzstan anyway. You end up quite far north if you want to go through Uzbekistan. 

Southern Route: Goes from Kashgar, China into Kyrgyzstan. This option involves another choice of two routes, a northern and a southern option. Northern goes through the Torugart Pass, which requires hiring a vehicle and guide. We did this route in 2018 – click here to read about it. You will end up in Naryn which is the middle of Kyrgyzstan. The Southern route via Irkeshtam is convenient to go directly onwards to Osh. 

Advantages: You can cut straight from China to southern Kyrgyzstan, which can shorten the trip, especially if you are going to travel on to Uzbekistan. Kashgar provides a much more authentic representation of Xinjiang than Urumqi, and the train journey to get there is very scenic. 

Disadvantages: The Torugart Pass route is costly as you have to hire a guide. There are reports that the Irkeshtam Pass is not so scenic, mostly just flat desert. 

Three Ways through Central Asia

Which one you pick will likely be closely tied to how you leave China. 

Kazakhstan to Caspian Sea: From Almaty, work your way through Kazakhstan to Aktau on the other side of the country. This should be workable with Kazakh trains. Of course you will make better time because you stay within one country, but you will see less of Central Asia. 

Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan, on to Kazakhstan and Caspian Sea: This route takes you through Kyrgyzstan, and enters Uzbekistan via Osh. It can be used with any of the China exit routes above, whichever one you pick will just determine how much travel there is to do to get to Osh. From Osh you will go to Tashkent, then travel through Uzbekistan, across the border to Aktau. This is the route I selected, and while it requires many borders, there is no need to get any visas for most western passports, and allows you to visit Uzbekistan. 

Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea: This third route is the same as above until you get to Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Then you will cross the border into Turkmenistan, and cross Turkmenistan. It is a huge hassle to get a visa for Turkmenistan, as a tourist visa requires you to book a tour, and the transit visa is only valid for 3-5 days. The visa also costs between 50 and 100 USD. This route can only be suggested for those who really really want that Turkmen passport stamp and are immune to bureaucratic hassle. It might be better to wait for Turkmenistan to follow the lead of other neighbouring countries, and simplify their visa procedure.  

Across the Caspian Sea

There are two main options to get across this body of water: getting a ride on one of the cargo ships going across, or flying. Flying is by far the most convenient, an Aktau to Baku flight will cost around 100 dollars and take 1 hour. Flights are scheduled and reliable. If you need one (most western passports will) you should get your E-Visa for Azerbaijan in advance, leaving a few days for processing. Request it online here.

For those looking to take the ferry, the ASCO company seems to be the most reliable at carrying passengers to Baku from both Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. You should note that there is no fixed schedule, so you may have to call and be in contact with the company on a fairly regular basis. The ports are also located a long way out of town on both ends of the journey, so some money should be budgeted for transportation. 

A third option can be to avoid the Caspian Sea, but this requires travel through both Turkmenistan and Iran. 

Baku to the Black Sea

Once you arrive in Baku the trip will get a lot easier, at least until you get to the Black Sea. There is a direct rail link between Baku and Tbilisi, Georgia, and many minibuses make the journey between the capitals. It is quite easy to get around in Georgia, thanks to its extensive train and minibus network. 

Across the Black Sea

There are three options for getting past the Black Sea. Of course there is flying, which is most convenient from Tbilisi with flights available to Kiev and Istanbul.

You can take the ferry from Batumi, Georgia to Odessa, Ukraine or Varna, Bulgaria. I personally chose this option because the ferries are fairly frequent and seem more reliable than the Caspian Sea boats. Here is more information on how to organize that journey.

The third option is an overland route, crossing from Georgia to Turkey and then going overland from there to Bulgaria and Europe. 

Arriving in Europe

If you have chosen the ferry option, you will arrive in Odessa or Varna. From Odessa you can travel onwards into Moldova, Romania, and wherever else you want to go from there. I would suggest stopping off in Tiraspol for a day as you travel from Odessa to Chisinau. After that, you’re in the European train and aviation network, so getting where you need to be should be straightforward and economical.

For those wishing to do the journey the other way, start from here and read up. As you can see, most of the big decisions come at the forks or options that I have identified above. 

And there you have it, an overland (or mostly) journey from China to Europe!