Kalpak Travel - Oberrohrdorf

hazzi

Wir waren im Juni/Juli 2023 mit Kalpak Travel 19 Tage in Kirgisien und sind absolut begeistert. Super individuelle Reiseplanung nach unseren Wünschen, faszinierende Eindrücke und Erlebnisse. Gern jederzeit wieder.

Sarah W.

Wir hatten mit Kalpak Travel für 2020 eine individuell organisierte Reise durch Kasachstan und Kirgisien geplant. Luca hat uns die gesamte Pandemie hindurch auf dem laufenden gehalten, bis wir die Reise im Sommer 2022 endlich durchführen konnte.
Das von Luca zusammengestellte Programm war wundervoll, und hat uns (3 Erwachsene, zwei Kinder im Alter von 10 und 12) einen tollen Einblick in die lokale Kultur gegeben. Niemals hätten wir bei einer selbst organisierten Reise so viele tolle Erlebnisse gehabt.
Die Reiseleitung Kanyshai sprach fliessend deutsch und war rund um die Uhr für uns da. Sie hat alle unsere Fragen beantworten können, und uns viele interessante Dinge über Kirgisien und Kasachstan erzählt. Der Fahrer Rustam brachte uns sicher an unser jeweiliges Ziel, und das Auto war tipp topp in Schuss und immer sauber.
Highlights für uns waren die Besuche, sei es zum Essen in Familien, in einer Sattlerwerkstatt, die traditionell kirgisische Sattel herstellt, auf einer Pferdefarm, beim Jurtenbauer oder auch beim Adlerjäger. Wir wurden mit traditioneller Musik verwöhnt (und bekamen die Bedeutung durch Kanyshai erklärt), badeten in heissen Radon-Quellen, waren wandern, reiten, entspannen, lernten wie man traditionelle Filz-Teppiche herstellt, buken Brot und kochten Manty. Dazu noch die atemberaubend schöne Natur, und herzlich freundliche Menschen....ein perfekter Urlaub.
Kalpak Travel ist als Reisebüro für die Region mehr als 100% zu empfehlen!

Urs K.

Luca und Aijan von Kalpaktravel haben für uns eine sehr abwechslungsreiche und interessante Reise mit vielen Highlights zusammengestellt. Sie brachten uns an Orte, die fernab vom Massentourismus sind. Seen, Täler, Berge und unendliche Landschaften konnten wir geniessen.

Nach einer Stadtbesichtigung in Bishkek und feinem Essen durchquerten wir das Gebirge mit einem Geländewagen. In einem kleinen Dorf durften wir die Gastfreundlichkeit einer kirgisischen Famile erleben und ihr frisch geschlachtetes Huhn kosten.
In Erinnerung wird mir auch der Bergsee Song Kul im Tien Shan-Gebirge bleiben. Nach einem spontanen abenteuerlichen Ausritt (als Anfänger!) wurde die Jurte angeheizt. Mit einer Übernachtung an einem See in einer mit liebe erstellten Jurte, umgeben von Pferden, Schafen, Eseln und Kühen war der Tag perfekt. Und das war erst der Anfang!

Da wir der kirgisischen und russischen Sprache nicht mächtig waren, ist uns das Team von Kalpaktravel jederzeit mit Rat und Tat zur Seite gestanden.

Wir haben den Charme und die Gastfreundschaft Kirgisistans sehr genossen und können Kalpak Travel sehr gerne weiterempfehlen. Besten Dank für die Organisation.

Natalie M.

So grateful I came across Kalpak! I worked with Luca to plan my honeymoon traveling through Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and it exceeded all expectations, truly the best trip I've ever taken!! It was meticulously planned by Luca and after all the stress from my wedding it felt so good to sit back and go with the flow.

Each country is filled with such rich history and culture, the food is delicious, and the nature unbelievable. I was shocked the sites aren't mobbed by tourists.

We learned so much about the Soviet Union, Islam, and various empires. We went to luxurious spas, held a literal eagle, watched THE horse games, drove through the mountains, swam in alpine lakes, went horseback riding in the gorges, hiked to waterfalls, drove out in the desert, took traditional Uzbek wedding photos, roasted marshmallows over bonfires, white water rafted, discovered which restauraunt really serves the best plov, played football at sunset with people from all over the world, rode a Soviet train, stayed overnight at yurt camps, met skilled rug making babushkas, befriended every dog in site, and ate the most incredible food.

Kalpak plans their trips with the best accommodations, drivers, and most importantly the guides. Bekhruz and Nazima were incredible, by the end of the trip they weren't our guides, they are now life long friends.

Kalpak doesn't plan tourist trap trips, they truly immerse you in the culture teaching you everything about the country and their people.

I also have to highlight how safe we felt the entire trip! Alot of family and friends who didn't know much about Central Asia raised some concerns, but honestly I felt more safe and secure throughout both countries than I do at home in Long Island City!

The only way I can describe this trip is magical. I can't thank Luca and Kalpak enough for helping my husband and I create so many beautiful memories. We cannot wait to get started on planning our next trip with them.

Vincent W.

I had a great experience travelling with Kalpak Travel to Tajikistan. Lucas planing was perfect from the beginning. Communication was fast and easy. Our guide was amazing. If you want to travel to Central Asia I highly recommend you to plan with Kalpak travel. I will definitely plan my uskebkistan trip with them.

Thank you Kalpak travel for this unforgettable trip !

linda B.

We cannot say enough wonderful things about Kalpak Travel. In April/May 2024, we visited Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The trip included travel by plane, train, and van, and was a great value for our money. Luca, Kalpak's owner, was always available, before, during, and after the trip. The travel, accommodations, and food were amazing. And our guides, Aygul Aranlyyeva (Turkmenistan), Aybek Permanov (Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan), Timur Kaskenor (Uzbekistan), Shakhboz Akramzadeh (Tajikistan), and Veronika Derunova (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) were all incredibly knowledgable, personable, accommodating, and were able to answer all the questions from our very inquisitive group of 10 travel friends. We could not have asked for a better experience and highly recommend that anyone with a desire to learn-- visit Central Asia, learn about this important part of our world and collective history, challenge your assumptions, and certainly engage Kalpak Travel.

Ramsay T.

Anyone interested in a trip to Central Asia should consider traveling with Kalpak. Our experience with Kalpak's "The Best is Central Asia" exceeded our expectations which were very high. The itinerary was full - as we wanted -- and superb as were all guides, accommodations, food and transportation. Communication with Kalpak was easy, timely and wonderfully complete. "The Best of Central Asia" will open your eyes to a fabulously rich and varied part of the world still mysterious to many of us in the west.

John N.

Impossible to imagine more bang for the bucks than what this extraordinary journey provided for us. I booked our journey to the “5 Stan’s” based on three primary criteria. First, for a trip this long, I needed a schedule that worked with the 4th of July holiday. Second, I don’t generally like guided tours, and I wanted one with plenty of positive reviews from prior travelers. And third, I didn’t want a “tour” that only showed us the main tourist places and spots where the guides made a commission on what group members purchase, but instead, a tour that would take us off the beaten track and show us the real deal. Though we had the bad fortune of having an absolutely horrible, vile Australian man as part of our tour, we could not have picked a better company to guide us on our journey than Kalpak.

Founder Luca is very hands-on and will make sure all your questions are answered. I was concerned about visas, particularly in seldomly-visited Turkmenistan, but Luca took care of everything. I can't believe how easy it was to set this journey up; just a few simple emails and payment! Our guides were all superb, as were the drivers. Particular praise to our tour leader Timur, as well as Ana in Kazakhstan and Nica in Kyrgystan. They know their stuff and will do anything in their power to make the journey special and to accommodate special needs and requests.

We enjoyed the accommodations though the 3 nights in yurts were a bit of a challenge (mostly weather related). Each day, 3 sumptuous meals were provided from a variety of sources, from hotel restaurant buffets for breakfast to the best dining rooms of the cities. Expect plenty of surprises--on a few occasions, our table was unquestionably the envy of every diner in the restaurants where we were eating, thanks to what Timur and his fellow guides provided for us. We especially loved the meals at family homes--I had always heard that Central Asian food is nothing special. I've been to 125 countries, and in all 5 countries of the 5 Stan's, we had some of the best food I've ever eaten in my life (especially the hearty soups and salads).

Tours are extensive, and necessarily, some journeys are long and borderline grueling. But you'll see more in these 20 days than you ever thought possible. We were never bored--I am posting just 1 picture from each country, but if you go to my Facebook page, you can see many more of the 2000+ I took. I am still in awe at all this tour was able to show us in such a short time. Memories to last a lifetime, for sure. I would have liked a little more time in Kazakhstan (Astana the capital is a place I'd love to see), and I wish we could have fit Tashkent Uzbekistan into the mix, but I wouldn't cut out or trade anything from what we saw and visited.

Even the miserable Aussie idiot (who of course didn't tip any of the hard working guides or drivers despite being the one who was the demanding of all of us) couldn't dampen our group's enthusiasm for this journey--everyone else in our group was wonderful. I am sure they, too, would agree with what an exceptional journey this is. You could never plan this for the price charged--this is one of those trips you'll always have at the top of your list, no matter how many places on earth you've visited before.