3 Days tour Issyk Kul lake: Eagle show and Nomadic living

It was a wonderfully organized trip with a private guide cruising around the beautiful Issyk Kul Lake and fascinating lectures on the region and history. Maksat was such an excellent guide, he was incredibly knowledgeable, provide great information about different places, history, art, culture, and much more. He was also extremely friendly, showing the Kyrgyz best hospitality. 3 days short trip with him had never felt a little boring. The whole trip was beyond my expectations. If you are looking for a short getaway with beautiful scenery, peaceful environment and the cultural touch of Central Asia, this trip would be the best fit for you. Last but not least, the thermal bath at the end was a great way to end the tour. Strongly recommended!

I picked this tour based on reviews. I was wrong to choose this tour and would like to report the many issues I faced. Take my review at your own discretion but I would never wish our experience from our guide Mr. Mars on anyone. Although this guide started off pleasantly and seemed friendly, even all the communication through whatsapp was nice, it ended up seeming to be a cover-up for his ill behavior and horrid service to us during our 3 day trip. Be warned what you will get into if your guide is Mr. Mars and be prepared to ask for a new guide. 1) At the first stop in Burana, as wonderful as this place is, we were instructed not to use the souvenir shop even though we were very interested. Mr. Mars said sternly not to use it and there were going to be many more on the tour. (There wasn't even one and we were never able to get the postcards or booklets we wanted for the rest of the trip) 2) Every time we stopped for a meal he would always say we could eat what we wanted as long as it was what he wanted. When we mentioned we wanted a certain food he would say no and that he would order only the local foods we wanted. Be careful as he can get visably upset and confrontational if you disagree with his choice. 3) He will not stop for photo taking. He is supposed to be the driver and guide, but no information about the country or places you visit will be provided. He will only drive and say when you arrive at a destination. He will try to provide tea at destination and give you a seat but this is his way of preventing you from exploring or moving away from his car so he can leave when he wants. If you wonder away slightly he gets upset. 4) Even though you are on schedule or even early, he is always rushing you and saying, "lets go, lets go" all the time. 5) BIGGEST and scary thing, he has a weapon in his car. He wasn't shy to share a large 14 inch homemade knife that he hides in his driver side door. He told me that it is illegal in Kyrgyzstan and that if the police found it he would be in trouble. (Why on Earth would he show/share this with me?!) I felt that he did this to maintain control over us. 6) At dinner in Karakol he only wanted to talk to us about prostitutes. He shared with me and my wife that he used prostitutes in Macau with his friends and that he wanted to know other country prices. We were stunned that he was talking to us about this so openly. 7) The last day he gave us an option to visit the gorge or hot springs. He pushed us REALLY hard to go to the hot springs but we didn't want to go there. When we chose the gorge he was so angry. He wouldn't stop pushing the hot springs even though we had no interest in it. We were scared to say no, but it was the last day and we just wanted to get back to Bishkek to be honest. I almost told him to stop and I was going to get a Yandex car to take us back to Bishkek. 8) When I asked if I could take a photo he berated us and told us to google the photos online. 9) Since he would nit provide any information we asked questions to get to know the country/ culture more. He would take a deep breath and say, "You come here and don't know these things already?" 10) He only shared stories about himself and how many places he traveled to. However, he only talked about all the groups of people he really hates. He would be very derogatory toward some nationalities and say he would make life difficult for them if he had them on a tour. 11) He hates Christians and although he took us to a church in Karakol he was very negative in his views and refused to even go inside. 12) His car had gum on the window where he made my wife sit. We asked if it could be cleaned but for the three days he did nothing. 13) He repeatedly tried to get us to cancel the Viator booking and pay him in cash before the tour started. The amount he wanted us to pay in cash was the same price as Viator. Be very careful as this is a VERY bad idea. 14) Make sure you know your itinerary if you still use Mr. Mars as he will try to avoid some parts. He will even ask for extra money to stop at some places even though they are included in the tour. He tried this with us and I had to argue with him and show him our booking to show that we already paid and that it was included. Needless to say this was a nightmare of a trip and there were so many horrible parts it really ruined our trip. I am forgiving and try to understand new cultures but based on other tours I had after this one I realise this is not a good representation of Kyrgyzstan culture/people and service. In my opinion I am warning you to avoid this agency at all costs. I can not understand the other reviews for this agency and Mr. Mars. Be very careful.

The most pleasant and memorable part of the trip was the guide, Mak. A perfect host with great English, insightful knowledge of Kyrgyzstan, it’s people and culture, was a great compliment to the sights of the journey encircling the lake. I am not a guided tour guy….but will never regret or forget this experience.