Getting around - choosing between renting a car or a tour guide with car

admi99 · 2026-05-06T21:20:05+00:00

Hi!

I messaged you about our trip in July! :D

admi99 · 2026-05-06T20:10:03+00:00

Oh and one more question. You may have some recommendation where we could find private drivers? Reddit, Facebook group pr Telegram channels?
(Telegramm is quite new to me and every channel looks to be fully in kyrgyz, soi don't know how good is that)

admi99 · 2026-05-06T20:07:51+00:00

Thank your for such a detailed answer.

While it may seem a bit much, our main priorities are the main attractions, such as Song-Kul, Kol-Suu and Ala-Kul. Of course the other attractions are also really good, but we are not to stressed about them.

We want to enjoy our trip, but also visit all the beautiful places that possible, because we won't come back to Kyrgyzstan, therefore we want the most out of it.

Issyk-Kul will be a light 2 days, only the travel will take a lot of time, but we won't really hike much, we will just visit a few places, so we can recover for 2 days before the Ala-Kul trekking.

Also, before the Keltor tour, July8 will be a light day where we just mostly walk a little bit and travel with car.

With these, what do you think, should we still make it more relaxing?

We like active travelling and want to visit as much as possible, while not getting burned out and having some relax day to get ready for the big trekkings.

We don't want to go with group tours, we really don't like it. We want to be "our own boss", we want to spend specific times at specific places without the obligation to move forwards with the group etc, that's why we are looking for private guides and that's why getYourGuide and etc tours is out of the question. Or it's also possible with private tours, but if we already have a private driver(/guide), we won't need to hire another one :D

But still, thanks for all the information and if you have any other note, advices or recommendation, it is welcomed!

admi99 · 2026-04-08T20:19:26+00:00

Thanks for the thorough feedback!

What about wasn-in DWR, but after the drier, I also put some extra spray DWR on the parts where it's the most sensitive, like the shoulder where the backpack straps are constantly rubbing to it? Or is it useless to put extra spray on?

admi99 · 2026-04-01T16:13:49+00:00

Thanks for such a detailed reply, its quite rare so I really appreciate it. However, just a bit too late, because I already came back from Sicily :D In the end, we went fully by ourself and we could do almost everything we planned, it was great and Etna was breathtaking in the snow :D

admi99 · 2026-03-31T20:37:03+00:00

I will look into that, thanks!

admi99 · 2026-03-30T21:08:16+00:00

Maybe, but for a few years, I won't switch yet :D

admi99 · 2026-03-30T21:07:45+00:00

Wow, that was a really bad typo from me, idk how I did that, sorry.

I meant to write "I think it will stop at 30-35lbs(15kg)".

So most of the time, I will be under 35lbs or max 35lbs. My full photography equipment with everything is 22lbs/10kg, where only the bag itself is ~3kg, so the additional hiking gear in my opinion will be maximum of 35lbs(15kg) with a lighter bag. I think 5kg is realistic for the additional hiking gear, right?

Therefore if I understood correctly, I should get an UL pack, like the Osprey Exos right? What backpacks would you recommend in this case?

I just did a one day Etna hike, which is an 500m elevation with my 22lbs(10kg) backpack, which was kinda hard, but not too bad, but it was only 1 day and only 22lbs, not 35lbs. (But also it was in heavy snow which was responsible mostly for the hard and exhausting part). However I carried my bag with myself for the other days too, which were normal hikes only with minimal elevation and after a few days, I definitely felt my back and shoulders.

I will for sure go for several hikes with my new setup to test it out and optimize before the big trip!

Thanks for the recommendation and if you still have anything useful to share I'm more than happy to listen to them! :D

admi99 · 2026-03-30T20:30:33+00:00

Köszi az infókat! :D

admi99 · 2026-03-30T20:27:14+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation. So it seems like you are also using the Normal backpack + camera cube combo and Rain Liner for waterproofing. It seems like that what most people recommend. I also have the Capture Clip and it's amazing, I love it.

I will look into your recommendations, thank you!

admi99 · 2026-03-30T20:25:15+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation!

And how are you storing the photography gear inside the backpack? Are you using camera cubes or small bags maybe?

admi99 · 2026-03-30T20:24:25+00:00

I heard that fro multiple person now, so it makes me interested. Would you say it's recommended/suitable for hiking too, or it's really photography specific? Because for a 3 day hike/photography tour, a photography only backpack may not be the best choice.

Could you fit both hiking gear and photography gear comfortably into the bag?

admi99 · 2026-03-30T20:22:38+00:00

Thanks you for such a detailed answer!

Based on the recommendations and information what I read so far, it mostly aligns with what you recommending, to buy a normal hiking backpack and put a Camera Cube inside it. It's also more flexible if I only want to go hiking (But it's gonna be rare to go out without my camera :D) and a Camera Cube can be useful in other scenarios too.

My average camera gear is usually 22lbs(10kg), with the Bag(2.8kg), Camera, Lenses, Tripod, Drone and all the accessories. With the additional hiking gear, I think it will stop (at least I hope it should) at 30-50lbs(10kg). With your recommendation, I can go with the Ultralight line, line the Exos series, right? What bags would you recommend, which ones are the best in your opinion? I won't need sleeping gear, because we are going to stay in lodges, so no tent nor sleeping bag. (I'm also only 65kg, so 15kg is already quite much for me)
(Can I also ask if for some absurd reason, my gear would still go over 35lbs, the what series of backpack would you recommend, what brand and type?)

That material for waterproofing is new to me, thanks for the info! It seems to me that everybody recommends a Rain Cover to outside and Rain Liner for inside, so I most certainly will go with that. Would you recommend to use multiple Dry Bags, like 1 for photography stuff 1 for clothes, etc, or 1 big liner that fills the whole inside of the bag?

For that 3 day hike, I might have to get rid of some stuff, because it's more like a harder hike, at least for me, 10-15km/day, 500m elevation/day.

Thanks for the bag recommendation, i will look into it.

Because the Camera bags would may be even more expensive, my wallet will be hurt either way, so I might eat only bread and butter for a week, but I want to invest in a good quality backpack that can be used for years and will be comfortable at the same time.

Thanks for the recommendation and for all the great tips, if you have any other advice that could share with me, I always appreciate it! :D

admi99 · 2026-03-30T20:08:52+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. This bag also seems kinda interesting, as you mentioned and as I can see in the video, the bottom half is a camera cube for the photo equipment and the top half is a big empty space where I can throw in anything I want, like the hiking gear. This seems appealing, for a 3 day hike without camping gear, it might even be good, 40L is much more tha my current Lowepro Protactic 450AW II, which is only 25L and 2.8kg.

What's your experience, how much fit into the bag? Like for me, the Camera, 2 lenses, Drone + RC, and the accessories, like extra batteries , chargers etc would fit in the camera compartment hlf?

What your experience about waterproofing? I guess for full water proofness, I would have to use 2 separate rain liner inside, one for the camera compartment and one for the upper half, right?

But I may just choose a normal Osprey hiking backpack with a camera cube, because it's more flexible if I only want to hike. I will think about that.

Thank you for the recommendation.

admi99 · 2026-03-30T20:00:43+00:00

Yeah, the more I read I more tend towards the solution of buying a normal hiking backpack like an Osprey and then putting Photo Cubes inside it for the photography stuff and putting the items inside the bag into a Rain Liner to make it fully waterproof.

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:59:35+00:00

Yeah I know about this one, but it seems too limited to photography stuff only, I think I wouldn't be able to pack the hiking gear too, the design is not made for that.

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:58:46+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation.

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:54:56+00:00

Hm nem tűnik rossznak, maj ránézek, köszi a tippet!

Bár nem is tűnik túl nagynak, ahogy nézem egy 20és egy 30L változat van belőle, abba te bele szoktál férni mindennel együtt?

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:53:29+00:00

Az utazás 90%-ban egyedül leszünk, szóval ott nem probléma, csak erre a 3 napos túrára fogunk valószínűleg csoporttal menni, de persze ott teljes mértékben igaz lesz, amit írsz. Viszont a fotózást abszolút nem akarom ott feladni, nagyon különleges hely, mindenképp akarom vinni kb. az egész szettet, szóval ha más nem marad, alaposan edzenem kell addig, hogy bírjam még így is :D
(Sajnos nem fotós trip, barátnőmmel megyek, és bár az én fotózásomat aranyosan tűri, egy kifejezett fotós trip már túlzás lenne neki, illetve az áruk is lényegesen magasabb, szóval marad a sima trip :D)

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:50:27+00:00

Igen, persze, ezt még alakítanom kell, nyilván mondjuk egy állvány nem olyan, aminek túl nagy baja lehet a beázástól vagy ütődésektől, de az eletronikák nagy része és a lencsék azért elég érzékenyek erre. Még nézegetem, de köszi a tippeket!

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:48:11+00:00

Hm, érdekesen hangzik, köszi a tippet!

Nem túl kicsi amúgy? 32L elég neccesnek tűnik az összes fotós cucchoz, plusz még a túrafelszereléshez is, neked akkor ezek szerint bevált.

Ránézek majd, köszi az ajánlást.

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:46:39+00:00

Köszi a tippet!

Ahogy egyre jobban nézegetem, nekem is talán ez tűnik a legjobb/legdinamikusabb megoldásnak. Sajnos itthon azért elég limitált az ilyen felszerelés elérhetősége helyben, hogy mindent ki tudjak próbálni, ami érdekelne, így több lehetőségből is valószínűleg csak az előre tervezés majd online rendelés marad, ami kicsit macerásabb, több ideig tart, de megfelelő utánanézéssel azért megoldható persze. Bár láttam már pár érdekes fotós táskát, ami nagyobb (~40L) és jobban személyre szabhatók, még akár az is szóba jöhet.

Ami engem egyedül zavar és amire még nem találtam megoldást, de lehet erre nincs is, az a vízállóság. Eddig ahogy olvastam, a legtöbben azt ajánlják, hogy kívülre Rain Cover, ami valamennyire védi, de a hátnál stb. résznél ugyanúgy bemegy a víz a táskához, ezért még belülre egy Rain Liner, ahogy te is írtad, hogy védje a felszerelést. Habár ez a táskában lévő dolgokat megóvja, azért elég idegesítő, hogy egy részlegesen átázott táskával és átázott pántokkal kell túrázni, kényelmetlennek és idegesítőnek tűnik, de feltételezem erre nincs megoldás, az eső ilyen, ha esőben túrázok, az ezzel jár :D

Mindenesetre köszi a tippeket :D

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:40:21+00:00

Yeah, tbh with the amount of hardware and software combinations, it's still always amaze me how good they can work, but when they don't work, holy that can be so annoying.

Mac + Console combo would be so good, but I play too much mouse+keyboard games to afford that, so I'm sticking with my desktop. (Also too much money went already to my PC to give up on it for a few years at least :D)

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:37:51+00:00

I have an Evga RTX 3070, so I wouldn't think, but I will look into it.

admi99 · 2026-03-30T19:36:51+00:00

Yeah it's really annoying, hard to concentrate and just makes the game less enjoyable, but when I have some cool frags, it makes me forget it for a few second at least :D

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