A few years ago the national recreational zone “Avaza” was considered to be a very expensive place for holidays among Turkmenistan’s residents and it was cheaper to go to Turkey.
Many did so but due to a high dollar exchange rate, rigid control at the border, expensive tickets and problems related to cash withdrawals, only a few can now afford to go abroad for holidays.
This has led to an increase in the number of those willing to vacation in the national recreational zone.
A correspondent of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” shared his impressions from a trip to the Turkmen touristic gem.
There are three ways to get to “Avaza”: by plane, by rail or by taxi.Holiday makers prefer to travel by air with the ticket fare of 96 manats.
An airline ticket can be purchased 7 to 10 days prior to departure.Train tickets are available at 25 manats for an open passenger coach, 45 manats for a 4 berth second-class sleeper, 92 manats for a seat in a 2 berth first class sleeper 5 to 7 days before the trip.
If the trip has not been planned in advance, one has to take a taxi. The vehicles heading to “Avaza” are available at the car park in Choganly. The taxi fare is 200 manats.
Taxi and bus service is available from the railway or airport of Turkmenbashi to “Avaza”. Holiday makers can get around the recreational zone by bus or state-run taxi as access is denied for privately-owned vehicles.
Due to high demand there are long queues for state-run taxis.The official taxi fare is 5 manats per person but taxi drivers take two people and charge 20 manats for “a passenger compartment”.
The remaining seats are left unoccupied.Taxi drivers working inside the tourist zone charge 20 manats to transport passengers from a hotel to the car park.Taxi drivers refuse to go there for 5 manats despite the fact that the taxi fare is indicated on the front panel of the vehicle.
The bus fare is 1,5 manats with overcrowded busses running every 10 to15 minutes.
It is impossible to find free hotel rooms in summer and it is also next to impossible to reach the hotel receptions by phone.Hotel staff usually advise that bookings should have been made as early as April.
If customers do not check in on the reserved date, the room will be given to other guests who usually wait for a free room in the hotel lobby.
Even when you are lucky and there is a room available, after searching for a room for three days in a row and checking every single hotel you can find accommodation for only one night and you need to check out the next morning.
The rate for a standard double room ranges from 200 to 250 manats. Breakfast is provided by all hotels but only a few hotels provide lunch and dinner when a suite is booked.
None of the hotels have WI-FI coverage, or it is available only at the reception area. Mobile internet has extremely poor coverage and only 3G Internet is available. Guests need to go outside to comfortably surf the Internet.
The rooms are often not cleaned, furniture is dilapidated and towels smell bad. Toilets are also very dirty.
Many hotels have no direct access to the sea. Guests have to get to the beach through other hotels and pay an entrance fee.
Those who fail to find a free room in a hotel in “Avaza” are urged to head to Turkmenbashi to find accommodation there. Apart from hotels, one-room apartments can be rented from locals who charge 300 to 500 manats per night.
However, if you find accommodation in the city, you will need a taxi or bus to get to the tourist zone every day and pay for a sunbed and a pass to the swimming pool, which costs 30 manats per person.
Groceries can be bought at the supermarket called “shopping centre Avaza”, which is located in the national recreational zone.However, prices for vegetables are two or four times more expensive than in the city.
For instance, in Turkmenbashi tomatoes and cucumbers can be bought at 3 manats per kilo whereas they will cost 10 manats in Avaza.Drinks and alcoholic beverages cost two to three times as much.
It also hits hard in the pocket to have a meal in a restaurant.Smoked fish on the beach is sold at 30-50 manats whereas at the market it is available at 15 to 25 manats.
There are small shops at the beach where beer is sold at 35 manats but it can be purchased at 16 manats in the city (Tuborg 0,33ml).The price for ice cream is 20 manats compared to the market price of 7 manats.
Because of the high prices, holiday makers go to the bazar in the city almost every day to buy groceries.
There is a big aqua park in “Avaza” but it is not popular with visitors.Only at lunchtime or in the evening a few visitors can be spotted.
The reason is the high price: an adult ticket costs 150 manats and children’s tickets cost 50 to 100 manats depending on the age.In other words, a family of two adults and two kids will need to spend 400-500 manats, which is one third of the average monthly salary.
The shops in the aqua park are empty.
Despite the problems, there were a lot of people who are willing to spend a holiday there. It appears that the financial problems confronting residents contribute to the development of tourism.