Kyrgyzstan Winter: between frozen lakes and nomadic culture

This journey begins at Bishkek. On the first day, we meet at 12:00.

Your Group Leader will add you to the WhatsApp group for your trip about 15 days before departure.
 It’s a great way to start getting to know your travel mates, receive more details about the first day’s meeting point, and ask any pre-departure questions you might have. If you expect to arrive later, let the Group Leader know through the group: we’ll make the necessary arrangements so you can join without any issues.

This journey ends at Bishkek. On the last day, you are free to leave at any time, so whether you need to book a flight, a train, or wish to continue the journey on your own, you can organize your return as you prefer.

For this itinerary, you can choose the type of luggage you prefer – we always recommend a backpack, but you can also travel with a duffel bag, a holdall, or (it breaks our heart to say it) a cabin trolley case or a checked suitcase, as long as it’s moderate in size. Our Group Leader will suggest the ideal luggage before departure in the WhatsApp group!

Return international flights are not included on our trips because we want to give you full autonomy and flexibility. You can choose your preferred airline, fly from the airport that works best for you, and decide how many stopovers you want to make along the way.

As flights are not included, you also have more flexibility with your travel dates: you could arrive at your destination a few days early or return home a bit later – or even continue independently to a nearby destination!

Yes, you can change your trip directly from your MyWeRoad personal area, up to 31 days before departure. If you purchased Flexible Cancellation, to give you maximum flexibility, you may cancel your trip up to 8 days before departure and receive a refund, whatever the reason.

How to change your trip from MyWeRoad

• Enter your booking
• Scroll to the “Change your trip” section at the bottom right
• Select a different date for the same trip or a completely different trip

Things to know

You can change your trip up to 3 times from your MyWeRoad personal area. Further changes must be requested by contacting our team at hello@weroad.com.
The new trip must depart within 12 months from the original departure date.
If your original booking included a private room, Flexible Cancellation, discount codes, gift cards, or vouchers, we will notify you before confirmation if they cannot be applied to the new trip.

You cannot switch to sold-out trips. For “On request” departures, we will check availability. For “Last spots” departures, availability in rooms of your same gender may not be guaranteed.
If there is a price adjustment: if the new trip costs less, we will refund the difference; if it costs more, you will need to pay the difference.

PLEASE NOTE: before cancelling, keep in mind that you can move your booking to another trip or a different date. Find out how!

In some cases – for example when a departure is not yet confirmed and it is your first unconfirmed booking – you can book without paying the €/£/$100 deposit upfront.

This means that you can secure your spot at zero cost: nothing will be charged until the departure is confirmed. Once the departure is confirmed, the €/£/$100 deposit will be automatically charged within 48 hours according to the terms agreed at the time of booking.

Yes, but fees are non-refundable. If your plans change, you can modify your trip free of charge up to 31 days before departure.

How cancellation works Fees paid are not refundable in cash, regardless of whether your trip is confirmed or not. You can move your booking to another trip free of charge, up to 31 days before departure. After this deadline, changes are no longer possible.
Please note: if it's your first unconfirmed booking, you will only be asked to provide a credit card, PayPal, or Revolut as a guarantee, but nothing will be charged. From the second unconfirmed booking onwards, a mandatory £/$100 deposit will be required.

Exception: trip not confirmed by WeRoad If you wish to cancel, the rules above always apply. However, if WeRoad is the one not confirming the trip, you are entitled to a full refund of any amount paid.

Flexible Cancellation If you purchased the Flexible Cancellation option (available in the first step of the booking process), you may cancel your trip up to 8 days before departure and receive a refund, whatever the reason. The only non-refundable amount is the cost of the Flexible Cancellation option itself.

How to cancel your trip Write to hello@weroad.com indicating your booking code. We will reply as soon as possible applying the cancellation conditions for your booking.
PLEASE NOTE: before cancelling, keep in mind that you can move your booking to another trip or a different date. Find out how!

We offer several payment methods to fit every need:

1. Credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express);
2. Instalment payment with Klarna (you’ll pay for the trip in three equal amounts);
3. PayPal (for selected destinations);
4. Revolut Pay to pay even faster straight from your Revolut account.

Yes, in two ways:

1. From your personal area
Once you've booked, every WeRoader can add their flight details in their personal area, and the rest of the group can see them anonymously. Just log in, open your booking, and you'll find the section there. The more people fill it in, the easier it is for everyone to match up.

2. From the trip messages
Every departure has its own message space on the WeRoad website: the best place to ask your future travel mates directly, or to read what they've already written.

You don't need to have booked to join in. If you're still deciding, you can already ask who's going, when, and on which flight. You can get there from the departures list, from the trip page, or from your personal area once you're logged in.

Your Travel Coordinator is in the conversation too, so if you have a question about that specific departure, that's where you'll get an answer.

And if you can't find what you're looking for, just write to us and we'll share whatever information we have.

If a departure is “Open to book”, it means that the trip is not yet confirmed and we are waiting for a few more bookings… maybe yours!

The good news? If it’s your first booking on an unconfirmed departure, you can book without paying anything! Just. leave your credit card details as a guarantee: no immediate charge, €/£/$0 deposit.
In the meantime, wait for the departure to be confirmed before purchasing your round-trip flights!

It depends on when you cancel, the status of your departure, and how much you have already paid. Here are all the cases.

If you cancel more than 31 days before departure – Tour not confirmed

You can cancel via email at hello@weroad.com.

• If it was your first unconfirmed booking, nothing has been charged: no refund is needed.
• If you paid the €/£/$100 deposit, the deposit is not refunded if you choose to cancel: you can, however, change trip from your MyWeRoad Personal Area and use the amount towards another departure.

The deposit is fully refunded only if WeRoad does not confirm the tour.

Tour confirmed – you paid only the €/£/$100 deposit

In case of cancellation, the deposit paid is not refunded. However, you can change your trip from your MyWeRoad Account and use the amount for another departure.

Tour confirmed – you paid the full amount

In case of cancellation, the amount paid is not refunded. However, you can change your trip from your MyWeRoad Area and use the amount for another departure.

If you cancel within 31 days of departure

You can cancel your booking at any time. However, in case of cancellation within 31 days of departure, no refund of the amount paid is provided, nor is it possible to change your trip, unless you have purchased Flexible Cancellation.

The private room fee, included in the price of your trip, is not refunded under any circumstances within this time frame, unless you have purchased Flexible Cancellation.

If you have Flexible Cancellation

With Flexible Cancellation, you may cancel your trip up to 8 days before departure and receive a refund, whatever the reason. The only amount not refunded is the cost of the Flexible Cancellation option itself.

PLEASE NOTE: before cancelling, keep in mind that you can move your booking to another trip or a different date. Find out how!

For any doubts about your specific situation, write to our team at hello@weroad.com: we'll help you!

Generally, our groups have an average of 11 people. Everyone on our trips speaks English, and travellers join us from across the US, UK, Europe and beyond. Our trips are open to travelers between 18 and 53 years old. The indicated age is meant to give you an idea of the type of group, but it's not a strict limit: it's possible to participate even with a few years more or less, as long as you can keep up with the pace and energy of the group you're traveling with.

Each group will be joined and led by one of our experienced Group Leaders, who’s there to ensure everything runs smoothly and the group feels well-supported. 

If you’d like to know more about our typical WeRoad groups do reach out to us on WhatsApp on +44 7716573700. 

Yes! If you're curious, you can take a sneak peek at the group before booking. 
You’ll find the info in the ‘Group’ section for each trip on the departures page, showing how many WeRoaders have already booked. 

Click the little arrow and you’ll even see their gender and ages – but hey, that’s exclusive info, so we’ll ask you to log in or sign up to see that!

For our trips we usually use locally owned accommodation instead of big hotel chains. It’s our favourite way to really experience the local culture and, whenever we can, support the local economy. Typically, you’ll stay in hotels, apartments, guesthouses and hostels with the same standard maintained across all trips in the same destination.

The list of accommodation for your trip will be shared with you by your Group Leader 2-5 days before departure, along with other useful details for your adventure!

For some trips, in the itinerary section, you’ll find the number of nights and the location (not the hotel) where you’ll be spending the night(s). The location shown is the one we usually go for on most trips, but in some cases, you might stay in a nearby town. This will depend on logistics or availability of accommodation. 

The list of accommodation for your trip (and therefore also the exact locations) will be shared by your Travel Group Leader 2-5 days before departure, along with other useful information for your adventure!

The WeRoad Travel Group Leader is an experienced and skilled traveler who will be the perfect companion for your trip. They will manage all the logistical aspects of the itinerary like transport, timings, accommodation, restaurant bookings and meeting points, so that you can enjoy the trip without this hassle. They’re there to support the group, ensure everything runs smoothly and will no doubt make the trip a lot of fun along the way too! 

The Group Leader will set up a WhatsApp group approximately 2 weeks before departure. This will be the moment to ask any pre-departure questions and get to know the rest of the group! If the trip you are interested in already has a Travel Group Leader assigned, you can contact them before booking. Their details will be on the trip page, or you can search for their name here. After booking, you will find their contact details in your My WeRoad account, under ‘Bookings and Trips’ > ‘Your Upcoming Trips’ > ‘Trip Details’.

When you set off on a WeRoad trip, you’re officially a WeRoader – and as we often say, 'once a WeRoader, always a WeRoader'. This means that once you’re part of the community, a little piece of WeRoad will always stay with you.

But you’re not just a WeRoader during your trips, far from it! The community is alive and active all year round: you can stay in touch by following and interacting on our social media channels, like the Facebook group or the Instagram profile. You can also come along to one of our many events that we run in different cities worldwide. Check out and sign up to our events by downloading the WeMeet app here. 

Yes, on all our trips you will share a room with other WeRoaders in your group. The bathroom will either be private or shared only with other travelers on the trip. The rooms might be twins, triples, quadruples or multi-share (up to 8 people in exceptional cases), depending on the destination and availability.

You will never share with people from outside of the WeRoad group, except in certain cases for local experiences, which are specifically mentioned in the itinerary or communicated before booking. These typically involve specific nights in unique accommodation like tents, homestays, or camping, offering a more adventurous travel experience in exchange for some comfort.

During the booking process, you can also choose to stay in a mixed-gender room. If needed, only travelers who have opted in to this option may share a room with travel companions of a different gender.

On some of our trips we can offer a private room for an additional cost. Just tick the ‘Private Room’ option at checkout to get this added. For some of our trips if you book as two travelers together you can add this private room free of charge. Look out for this option at checkout. 

Please note that if you do book a private room with a friend/partner this could be either a double or a twin room so please email hello@weroad.com if you have a preference on this. 

Find out the entry requirements for Kyrgyzstan, and, if needed, apply for your visa through our partner Sherpa.

Before traveling, always remember to check the government website of your country of origin for updates on the entry requirements for Kyrgyzstan – you wouldn’t want to stay home due to a bureaucratic detail!

• UK residents: review the FCDO Travel Advice.
• US residents: consult the US Department of State Travel Advice.
• Other residents: refer to your government or local consulate's travel advice.

Kyrgyzstan is in the Kyrgyzstan Time Zone, which is 6 hours ahead of the UK. So, if it is 12pm in the UK, it will be 6pm in Kyrgyzstan. If you are in the USA, the time difference will depend on your specific location. If it is 12pm Eastern Time, it will be 10pm in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan does not observe daylight saving time, so the time difference remains consistent throughout the year.

The currency used in Kyrgyzstan is the Kyrgyzstani Som (KGS). The exchange rate can vary, but as a rough guide:

• 1 GBP is approximately 115 KGS
• 1 USD is around 87 KGS
• 1 EUR is about 100 KGS

You can exchange currency at banks, exchange offices, or at the airport for convenience.

Cash and card payments are both widely accepted in Kyrgyzstan. Credit and debit cards, especially Visa and Mastercard, are commonly used in larger cities like Bishkek. However, in smaller towns and rural areas, you might find that cash is still preferred. ATMs are available in urban areas for you to withdraw local currency if needed. Always have some cash on hand for markets or small vendors.

Tipping in Kyrgyzstan is not a common practice, but it's appreciated if you receive excellent service. In restaurants, you might want to leave a small tip around 5 to 10 percent of the bill if you feel satisfied with the service. In taxis, rounding up the fare is a nice gesture, but not necessary. For tour guides and hotel staff, a small tip is appreciated but not expected. Always tip in the local currency, Kyrgyzstani Som, and hand it directly to the person you're tipping.

In Kyrgyzstan, buying a local SIM card is a good idea if you want to stay connected. You can purchase a SIM card from major providers like Beeline, O!, or Megacom at the airport or in the city. They offer affordable data plans.

Wi-Fi is available in most urban areas, especially in cafes, restaurants, and hotels, but it might be less reliable in rural regions. For consistent internet access, a local SIM card is recommended.

In Kyrgyzstan, the primary languages spoken are Kyrgyz and Russian. Kyrgyz is the official state language, while Russian is widely used in government and business. You might find these colloquial expressions useful:

• Hello: "Салам" (Salam)
• Thank you: "Рахмат" (Rakhmat)
• Please: "Суранам" (Suranam)
• Yes: "Ооба" (Ooba)
• No: "Жок" (Zhok)

In Kyrgyzstan, the electrical plugs are of type C and F. The standard voltage is 220 V, and the frequency is 50 Hz. These plugs are similar to the ones used in many European countries, but they are different from those in the UK and USA. We recommend you bring a universal adapter if your devices use a different plug type to ensure all your electronics can be charged without any issues.

In Kyrgyzstan, the main religion is Islam, with the majority of the population being Sunni Muslims. When visiting, especially in rural areas or during religious holidays, we recommend you dress modestly, particularly women.

Important religious holidays include:

• Ramadan, which is a month of fasting
• Eid al-Fitr, a festival marking the end of Ramadan

Keep in mind that during Ramadan, some restaurants may have reduced hours.

Kyrgyzstan offers stunning landscapes and diverse weather, so packing smart is key. Here's a handy list to help you get your backpack ready:

• Clothing:
  • Lightweight layers for varying temperatures
  • Warm jacket for chilly nights
  • Comfortable hiking pants
  • T-shirts and long-sleeve shirts
  • A hat for sun protection
• Shoes:
  • Sturdy hiking boots for mountain trails
  • Comfortable sneakers for city exploration
  • Sandals for relaxing days
• Accessories and Technology:
  • Sunglasses for bright days
  • Portable charger for devices
  • Camera to capture beautiful scenery
  • Power bank
• Toiletries and Medication:
  • Basic toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo)
  • Sunscreen for sun protection
  • Insect repellent for outdoor activities
  • Common travel medication like motion sickness pills, pain relievers, and anti-diarrheal tablets

Prepare for a mix of outdoor adventures and cultural experiences with this packing list!

Kyrgyzstan's weather can vary significantly depending on the region:

• Bishkek and the Chuy Valley: Mild winters with temperatures around freezing, and hot, dry summers reaching up to 35°C. Spring and autumn are mild and pleasant.
• Issyk-Kul Lake: The lake moderates the climate, with milder winters and cooler summers, making it a popular year-round destination.
• Naryn and At-Bashi: These areas are colder, with long, harsh winters and cool, short summers.
• High Mountain Regions: Expect cold conditions year-round, with snow in the winter and cool temperatures in the summer.

The best time to visit Kyrgyzstan is from June to September when the weather is warm and ideal for outdoor activities.