This trip starts in Mazar-E-Sharif officially in the afternoon/evening of the advertised start date.

An internal flight is included in the price of this trip to the start of the trip from Kabul.

This gives our travellers the chance to fly into Kabul and transit onto their chosen internal flight.

At present there are no direct international flights to or from Mazar-E-Sharif or Herat, although this sometimes changes with the vagary of everything in Afghanistan.

Whilst we appreciate that relying on internal flights is not ideal, it is by far the most comfortable way of travelling and avoids a drive which can sometimes take 12-hours or more.

If you don't want to fly internally we can arrange private transport in a local car to Mazar-E-Sharif for an additional $70 USD - you will have to travel the day before the start of your trip and be ready to leave Kabul early on the morning of the 27th.

As an example and to give you an idea on when you need to arrive in Kabul on an international flight, on our September 2024 trip your group will be flying on:

Ariana Airlines, FG-261 leaving Kabul Domestic Terminal @ 1330 and arriving at Mazar-E-Sharif @ 1420

There will always be a member of Safarāt staff at Kabul airport on your advertised start date to help you at the airport to greet you and help you move to the domestic terminal with is a very short walk away or keep you company whilst you wait. Your trip guides may already be in Mazar-E-Sharif with our vehicles

If for some reason you miss your internal flight or are delayed in arriving in the country, then we will rebook you on a flight the following day.

If you choose to arrive in Kabul the day before the start of your trip, and need airport transfers and a hotel for the evening then this this is payable in cash locally at a cost of $160USD.

This cost will also cover having a local guide with you if you want to spend the day walking round Kabul, shopping or doing any additional sight seeing.

The trip officially ends on the last day of the advertised trip which means that you should plan to fly back to Kabul and out of the country on this last day.

For out Autumn 2024 trip this means booking a flight on the 12th of October

Most of our guests will probably choose to fly on Kamair RQ-102 which leaves Herat at 11:45 and arrives in Kabul at 1300.

Our experience is that Kamair flights often run an hour or two behind schedule, so we would recommend booking an onward flight from Kabul at 1800 or 1900.

This internal flight is not included as part of the trip cost.

If you want to spend an additional day in Kabul at the end of the trip and need transfers and a hotel then this is payable at a cost of $160USD locally in cash. This cost includes the cost of one of our local guides taking you round the city, doing any shopping or taking you to any additional sightseeing sites.

We cannot easily facilitate you spending extra days in Herat

There are daily flights between Kabul and Tashkent, Islamabad, Doha, Jeddah, Riyadh/Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Istanbul and Ankara via five airlines - Turkish Airlines, Air Arabia, Ariana, Kamair and Fly Dubai

We prefer flying with Kam Air or Fly Dubai who have a more modern fleet of planes, and are more reliable and punctual than Ariana.

If you are struggling to pay for your flights via Kamair’s website, we recommend that you use their app which seems to work better with foreign credit cards.

To book a flight on Ariana please use their website. Their flights do not show up on google flights .

It’s a legal requirement that all of our guests travel with at least basic medical and insurance and we appreciate that finding a suitable insurance policy can be difficult.

You should be very careful if you have an annual worldwide travel policy in place, to make sure that you are covered for travel to Afghanistan as it is excluded by most general travel insurers.

The cost of insurance varies hugely based on where you’re resident, where you’re from and the time of year along with a number of other variables.

As an example, residents of the UK are able to get suitable cover from High Risk Voyager for around $100USD for a 4 day trip to Afghanistan and we have a good and personal relationship with the company. That means they understand our business, who we are and what we do, and vice versa.

Many of our travelers have bought insurance successfully from IATI, although reviews online are far more mixed.

Travellers on our trips are required to have a minimum of $300,000 USD cover for medical emergencies and an additional $300,000 USD cover for emergency evacuation.

You must have Afghanistan specifically named as a location you are covered for on your insurance. Normal travel insurance does not typically cover traveling in Afghanistan.

For more information about out insurance requirements, please have a look at out our latest terms and conditions.

A suggested kit list will be sent to you when you book onto your chosen itinerary in the new Safarāt traveller hand guide.

No specialist equipment is required for this trip, but you’ll be passing through passes of over 2000m in the mountains of Bamiyan and many of our travellers have been surprised how cold the province can be even in the summer. Sturdy footwear is a must and some travellers prefer to bring trekking poles to explore the unmade and steep paths we’ll be walking through.

Both men and women are required to dress conservatively in Afghanistan. That means both men and women will need to wear long sleeve shirts and trousers.

Women will need to wear a headscarf from the point of arrival in Kabul airport and from September 2024 we will be asking all female travellers to wear a Black abaya. You can read more about travelling as a woman with us in Afghanistan here.

You will need to bring between $300-500USD for spending money, lunches, water, drinks etc. Please only crisp and fresh $100 bills to exchange for local currency in Afghanistan.

Smaller denominations, old issues or damaged notes will attract a poorer exchange rate. It is possible to exchange Euros in some places – the minimum denomination is 50, but dollars are highly preferred. There are a few ATMs in Kabul, but they are often out of order and Afghanistan is still a country where cash is king.

We strongly strongly recommend carrying a mastercard/visa credit card with you in case of a medical emergency that needs funding before your medical insurance kicks in.

There are lots of opportunities to buy nice crafts, souvenirs, carpets and textiles so leave some space in your bags.

Simcards are available to hire from Noory directly for $30 USD for the trip with unlimited data.

Please do not bring a drone with you to Kabul - it will be confiscated upon arrival and it will create a huge headache for us.

This is one of the most common questions we get asked from our potential travellers. There are two answers.

The Short Answer: Yes there will be times where you can get away from the tour.

The Long Answer: .There is no specific threat to foreigners in Kabul, but miscommunication and misunderstandings are common and although more and more international tourists are visiting Afghanistan you will still stick out like a sore thumb. Getting round the city is complicated and trying to use publics transport is fairly baffling.

In Bamiyan the situation is a little bit different and there is probably more opportunity to get yourself lunch alone in the bazaar and have a chat with local people. Noory understands foreign tourists well

Generally speaking we try and pack as much into our tours as possible, which makes it difficult for lots of people to do lots of different things.

We always try to accommodate all our travelers though and understand if you need an afternoon off from the tour.

The situation with Afghan Consulates around the world is currently confused due to the change in regime in Kabul in August 2021. Whilst some Afghan embassies (Doha for example) are directly controlled by the new Taliban government in Kabul, most other Afghan embassies in European capitals are still controlled by the remnants of the old internationally recognised government.

This makes for a confusing and sometimes varying set of rules to get a tourist visa for the country, with each embassy having their own set of procedures. Some embassies have stopped issuing tourist visas all together (Geneva is one of these places), some embassies are still pretending to communicate with the Ministry of Foreign affairs and some are issuing visas to anyone with enough cash

The best places for our tourists to get a visa at the moment are Peshawar in Pakistan and Abu Dhabi both of which offer visas quickly on a same day basis.

As part of every Safarāt trip we now run a free shuttle from the Torkham border with Pakistan to Kabul for the start of the trip. This enables you to get your visa in Peshawar in the morning and arrive in Kabul the same day. An additional nights accommodation is payable directly to the guesthouse.

For more up-to date information on the ever changing Afghan visa situation please check this page.

Please contact us directly if you have any questions about visas at hello@safarat.co

For travellers starting their journeys from the UAE we have a relationship with a visa agent in Abu Dhabi who can collect and process your visa application for approximately $130USD within 24-hours.

Please find our full terms and conditions here.