Safety in Turkmenistan

Police: There are a lot of patrols and they take order seriously. Carry your original passport and your registration slip at all times, because either can be asked for at any moment.
Photography: Photographing government buildings, military installations and even some markets is strictly forbidden. Officers will approach and require you to delete the pictures in front of them.
Smoking: Smoking outdoors and in public places is banned and fined. The permitted areas are inside hotels, and you may only bring two packets into the country.
Crime: Street crime is close to non-existent and walking through lit city centres in the evening is genuinely fine. People are hospitable, but politics is not a conversation to start.
Desert: Watch for snakes and scorpions, particularly when camping at the crater. Shake out your boots before putting them on, and do not wander from the camp in the dark.
Roads: Drivers rarely stop for pedestrians even at marked crossings, so cross with full attention and only where you are supposed to. Jaywalking attracts a fine as well as a bumper.
Before you go: Check your own government's travel advisory, and register your itinerary with someone at home, since communications inside the country are unreliable.

Turkmenistan is one of the world's most closed countries and receives very few tourists. Schemes barely exist, but formalities exceed anywhere else in the region.

How entry works. A tourist visa is issued only on invitation from a licensed operator, and a guide is compulsory almost everywhere. Independent travel around the country is not permitted. A separate transit visa of a few days exists, but it is issued reluctantly and often refused without explanation.

Taxis. Cheap in Ashgabat, with prices agreed. A foreigner will be quoted more, but the sums remain small.

Currency exchange. The key practical detail: the official manat rate and the real one differ several-fold. A black market exists, but exchanging outside banks is illegal and dangerous — this is where a foreigner can acquire serious problems. Change officially and accept that the country will be expensive for you.

Cards do not work. International payment systems are unavailable in Turkmenistan. Cash dollars are the only functioning option — bring a surplus.

Photography is the main source of trouble. It is prohibited to photograph government buildings, the presidential palace, military installations, the airport, stations, police officers and anyone in uniform. Ashgabat has a great many government buildings and the line is not obvious. Police may demand you delete images, and they do.

Drones. Prohibited entirely and confiscated at the border.

Registration. Foreigners must register with the migration service within three working days. The host operator normally handles this.

Border and closed zones. Parts of the country, including areas near the Afghan, Iranian and Uzbek frontiers, require separate permits. Darvaza (the gas crater) sits in the desert and is visited only with an operator.

Internet. A large share of sites and messengers is blocked, including most familiar ones. VPNs are officially prohibited and work unreliably. Plan the trip on the assumption of no connectivity.

Politics. Criticism of the government in any form is unacceptable. Political conversations with locals create problems above all for them.

Drugs. The law is extremely harsh.

Tobacco. Strict restrictions apply to sales and smoking in public.

Vaccinations. None mandatory. Hepatitis A and typhoid are advised.

Heat is the defining factor. Summer in the Karakum and Ashgabat passes 45°C and reaches 50 on some days. The Darvaza crater, the main reason people come, is visited at night not only for the spectacle of the burning pit but because being there in daylight is punishing. The best months are April, May, September and October.

Water. Bottled only. In the desert, carry several litres per person per day.

Healthcare. The public system is closed and poorly equipped, with little reliable information about it. There are essentially no international-standard private clinics. Anything serious means evacuation, usually to Turkey or Dubai, which is complicated logistics from a closed country. Insurance with evacuation cover is essential — but check that your insurer works with Turkmenistan at all.

Medicines. Bring your own with a surplus and a prescription: pharmacy stock is limited and importing some drugs is regulated.

Emergency numbers: 03 ambulance, 02 police.

Street crime in Turkmenistan is very low: Ashgabat is clean, empty and well lit, and safe at night. But the nature of the risks here is entirely different.

Control. Police presence is heavy, cameras are numerous, and foreigners' movements are tracked through the compulsory guide and registration. Checkpoints between regions are numerous and document checks routine.

The guide as a condition of entry. Both a restriction and a protection: without one you simply cannot move around.

Photography and the police. The commonest conflict. If an officer asks you to delete a photograph, arguing is pointless.

Consular assistance. Foreign diplomatic presence in Ashgabat is limited and the capacity to help a citizen is small.

What actually matters. You will not be robbed in Turkmenistan. Problems arise from photography, exchanging money outside banks, and departing from your itinerary. This is a country where following the rules literally beats looking for ways around them.