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Kalpak Travel

Kalpak Travel – Your Swiss Specialist for Central Asia

 

Would you like to meet Kyrgyz nomads or discover the enchanting beauty of the cities dotting the Ancient Silk Road in Central Asia? Drive along the ‘Roof of the World’ on the Pamir Highway or trek along the rugged Fann Mountain Ranges to explore traditional villages, turquoise lakes, and much more.

As travel specialists on Central Asia, delivering such once-in-a-lifetime experiences to our valued guests from around the world forms our core business since 2016. We know Central Asia inside-out and maintain meaningful partnerships with the best local tour operators, guides, and service providers the region has to offer. This enables us to offer you authentic and interesting tour packages, ensuring your safety at all times whilst enabling local communities to benefit from tourism in a sustainable way.

Feel free to contact us with any questions by Live Chat, email, phone, Skype, What’s App, or through our social media channels. We’d be happy to hear from you.

 

Our team

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+41 78 657 2701
luca@kalpak-travel.com

Luca Lässer


My first experience in Central Asia was in 2010, when I completed an exchange semester within the International Affairs Department at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. I immediately fell in love with the mountains, hospitable culture, abandoned soviet factories, Shashlyks (meat sticks), and the traditional Kyrgyz’s Kalpaks (Central Asian hats).
In 2012 I returned to Central Asia to improve my Russian and to complete an internship at the Swiss Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan. This was the first time I organized a tour in Central Asia for my friends and family who came to my wedding and fell in love with the country just as I did.

My favorite tour in Central Asia is trekking in the Fann Mountain Range. It’s physically demanding with little to no comforts, but it’s worth seeing the beautiful mountain lakes, breathtaking views, authentic Tajik villages, and welcoming locals all along the way.

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+41 78 657 2701
aijan@kalpak-travel.com

Aijan Lässer


I grew up in Soviet industrial town of Balykchy, located at the beginning of the picturesque Issyk-Kul lake which is surrounded by the Tian Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan. I studied International Politics at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. My passion is explaining and welcoming guests from abroad to understand the customs and traditions in Central Asia.

In Switzerland, I have worked for a year and a half at one of the biggest outbound Swiss Travel Agencies sending clients to Central Asia. Tourism in Central Asia is a great way for me to connect to my roots and reach my dreams to start my own travel company. At Kalpak Travel my dream came true because I’m able to make a living by selling amazing experiences for my clients in Central Asia. Most importantly I’m able to support the local communities in Central Asia, which I still feel very closely connected to.

My favorite tour packages are the cultural tours through Uzbekistan; the gem of the ancient Silk Road.

FAQs

We are experts in traveling in the Central Asian region and we can offer you a truly unique and culturally immersive experience. All offered tours have been pre-tested by us and are led by the best local guides we could find in Central Asia. We are a small boutique travel agency working since 2016. You can read more about the advantages of traveling with us here. Some testimonials of our clients can be found on our Facebook page or on Tripadvisor.

Yes, absolutely. We are successfully running Central Asia trips for large and small tour companies from around the world. Our specialty is multi-country tours, for example, a combination of all five “stans”. If you are a tour operator considering offering Central Asia as a new destination, please reach out to us and we can discuss. We can also train your sales staff about Central Asia.

Our fixed-date tours are offered for small groups of up to 12 travelers. You can meet like-minded travelers from around the world and gain unique local insights through our amazing local guides who open doors for you. Some of the activities and cultural programs we offer on our group tours would be impractical to offer for just one or two people. On average our group tours cost around 250 – 300 USD per person and day – a private tour for just one or two persons with the same level of service would be considerably more expensive.

Definitely. As travel experts for Central Asia, it is our passion to design custom tours tailored to your specific needs and wishes. Central Asia is a great destination for a family adventure or for a getaway from stressful city life. We have had all kinds of requests from different people and for different occasions and we are eager to learn more about you to offer you the best experience. The best way to get started is to fill out and submit our private tour inquiry form. Also, you are more than welcome to just chat with us, call us, or send us an email at info@kalpak-travel.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Unless otherwise stated, we take care of all your on-the-ground travel arrangements. Transport, accommodation, activities, guide, meals (breakfasts, lunches, dinners), rent of equipment, etc. everything is included. Not included are the flights from home to the starting destination and back home, your travel insurance, alcoholic drinks, tips (never compulsory but always welcome), and personal expenses for example – souvenirs.

Flights within Central Asia and part of the tour program are included in the price. The flights from your home to the starting destination and back home are not included. Typically, the best connections from Europe and North America are on Turkish Airlines via Istanbul. From Australia, New Zealand, and the UAE, the best connections are on Emirates/ FlyDubai via Dubai. Each traveler is responsible for taking care of their own international travel arrangements. We recommend booking flights directly with the Airline, but please get in touch with us if you have any questions. We can certainly help you to find the best flight connection.

Luckily, travelers from most Western countries no longer need a tourist visa to visit Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. If you need a visa, you can easily get an electronic visa online for Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. For Turkmenistan, you do need a real visa and we will provide a letter of invitation free of charge. With this letter, you can collect the visa itself directly at the border. For any tours that include Turkmenistan, we will contact you and guide you through the visa process.

You can check the destination pages on this website for more info about the entry requirements for each of the Central Asian countries. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us anytime.

Yes, travel insurance is compulsory for all our travelers. You may choose an insurance provider of your choice, but make sure it includes coverage against personal accidents, medical expenses, death, and emergency repatriation. We recommend a minimum coverage of $100,000 for each category. We strongly advise you that it covers also cancellation, personal liability, curtailment, loss of luggage, and personal effects.

Do not drink water, unless it is bottled, filtered, or boiled. Do not use tap water for brushing your teeth or making ice either. Do not eat ice cream. Only eat well-cooked meat and fish – preferably served hot. Vegetables should be cooked and fruit peeled. If you follow these basic rules, you are likely to avoid any health issues like traveler’s diarrhea. There are no compulsory vaccinations, but Diphtheria, Hepatitis A, and Tetanus are recommended. Ensure you are fully insured for medical emergencies including repatriation. Medical services in Central Asia are basic at best.

Overall Central Asia can be regarded as a safe destination for travelers. That said, you are advised to wear a money belt, watch your belongings, avoid dark streets at night and take only official taxis. Your safety is our first priority at Kalpak Travel; we know and regularly assess all our Central Asian partners and we closely monitor political events.

The economies of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are still largely cash-based. In Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan paying by credit card has become easier recently, and there are ATMs as well. In Turkmenistan and Tajikistan you better not rely on ATMs at all and bring all the money in cash in nice USD or EUR notes of different denominations (wrinkled and small notes are harder to exchange, but small notes can be used sometimes to pay for souvenirs). Since our tour price includes all major costs you likely do not need to spend much money during your trip. An emergency fund of around 500 USD in cash is always good to have during guided trips to Central Asia. For more info on money and costs visit the destination pages for the different countries on our website.

As soon as we receive your booking enquiry we will send you an invoice for a non-refundable deposit payment of 500 USD per person. With your deposit payment, your booking is confirmed and your seat on the tour is reserved. The remaining amount will be due no later than 15 days before the start of the tour.

If you cancel some or all portions of your booking, cancellation fees will apply. A cancelation will only be effective when we receive written confirmation of the cancellation. We strongly advise you to include cancellation coverage in your travel insurance. If you cancel a trip:

  1. The deposit of 500 USD is non-refundable. 15 days or more prior to departure, we will retain only the deposit.
  2. Less than 15 days prior to departure, we will retain 100% of the total booking value.

Please read carefully our General Terms and Conditions before booking the tour: https://kalpak-travel.com/terms-and-conditions/

Many people throughout Central Asia speak Russian, especially in large cities in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The local languages, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek, and Turkmen, are similar to Turkish, whereas the Tajik language is a Persian language, similar to the language spoken in Iran and Afghanistan. For more information visit our destination pages.

Why Kalpak Travel?

Swiss Quality

Kalpak Travel GmbH is based and registered in Switzerland. Our guests can benefit not only from a typically Swiss level of service, but also a high level of legal security. The fact that we offer our tours online allows people from around the world to book our handpicked tours in Central Asia.

Central Asia Experts

Kalpak Travel is a true specialist for Central Asia as a travel destination. Everyone at Kalpak Travel has not only extensively travelled the entire region, but also lived, studied and worked there. You can ask or request literally anything in regards to Central Asia and we will try our best to reply within 24 hours.

Tested Tours

At Kalpak Travel, we handpick all our tours & destinations. We scrutinise them thoroughly and run a series of checks before releasing a tour package for sale. Our expertise helps us to create only the best tour itineraries.

Best Local Partners

We engage only highly experienced and devoted travel guides. Our local and international tour guides know the ins and outs of a destination and can open doors to our travellers. Our local travel partners are well-equipped and possess the insights of every destination we travel; they provide highest degree of safety possible in that area.

Responsible Tourism

Kalpak Travel is committed to a tourism which:

  • Maximises economic benefits for local populations and communities
  • Provides enjoyable and meaningful connections between local hosts and guests from abroad
  • Draws attention to environmental, social and economic issues and contributes to their solution

24/7 Service

Kalpak Travel supports you in preparing for the tour with comprehensive pre-departure information. We are available for you 24/7 during your trip via our helpline in case you need us. After the tour, we would love to hear your feedback.

Testimonials

"We had the best time on our trip and will treasure our memories for years to come. We are extremely well-traveled and yet Central Asia still provided wonders, beauty, warmth and excitement not found elsewhere."

Emily, NY, USA

We had a fabulous tour of Central Asia - Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
We were very lucky to have Kalpak Travel as our tour company which exceeded our expectations with flying colours. We highly recommend Kalpak Travel if you are planning a hassle-free tour of Central Asia.

Spencer, 70, Australia

We had a wonderful 3.5 week trip through the 5 Stans. I feel like I've seen the highlights in case I don't get the opportunity to return, but I most certainly DO want to return and see more. These are the warmest and most welcoming people I have every encountered.

Rebecca, 56, USA

My trip with Kalpak to Central Asia was phenomenal. It far exceeded my expectations. Everything was top quality including the accommodations, food, sights, itinerary and outstanding guides in each country. It was an excellent quality tour for the money. Great quality value. I would highly recommend the trip to anyone considering going. Central Asia is the best kept secret that one doesn’t hear much about.
Kalpak is outstanding.

Wally, USA
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