Getting Around Afghanistan

If your in Kabul for the first time, and planning to leave on a civil airline(Kamair, Ariana ect). When you walk airside to get on the plane, prior to mounting the plane steps. You should identify your hold luggage, which will be on the tarmac next to the plane, to the baggage handlers. They will then load it into the planes cargo hold. This is to help prevent accusations of theft being raised against the Kabul baggage staff. You should then board the aircraft.

Note: You will not be briefed on this procedure, it just happens!!

the only asphalt rd is the desert highway from kabul to herat via qandahar.
i strongly recommend to use motorbikes rather than the shared toyota hiace taxis (latter cost roughly 50 afghanis or 1 dollar per hour of driving).
you could buy a second hand Honda bike 125 cc in kabul for 500 dollars and sell it for 400 in herat.
fuel's on the way in bigger villages. that rocks much less than the cars, with all these ruts on the mud tracks. you'd get fresh air and your freedom to stop for a picture or so.
but make sure the passes are freed of snow (april-oct for the central route).
local flights cost 50 dollars, from kabul to herat, qandahar or mazar. flights every day. lovely sight from up there!

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The road going down south towards the Pakistan border.
Check on the situation on the highways before you head out. Some years ago, the Kabul-Kandahar highway was notorious for trouble, not just with the taleban, but also with robbers around... People used to travel with a sizable security contingent. We ended up chartering an aircraft for our trip to Kandahar in 2002.
It seems much more stable from the reports i heard on the last trip- 2006. The road is better to drive on, security was much improved, and for the entire stretch of the highway, you have mobile connectivity. At least thats what the adverts claimed...

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While you`re peering out of your airplanes window and trying to make a first impression of Afghanistan, The view of Kabul airport at first sight was a shocker. The sight of completely destroyed aircraft and helicopters just lying to the side, is quite bizarre...
On the way back though, it was just a bizarre sight...
I`m talking about the years 2002-03 here. The rubble has been subsequently removed and on the latest trip, there were few signs of it remaining.

To travel around Afghanistan is not easy due to the security restrictions. Is better to get information abour the security situation prior to your departure.

However you can have a liitle of freedom in Kabul and take a private car. But is not easy because almost all of the drivers are not English speakers, and Dari, the official language is not easy. Don't do these aotside Kabul.
Avoid to drive, you could have tons of surprises everywhere.... even "goat" jam....

The road is OK until Jalal Abad which is the capital city of bordering province of Nangerhar and almost 2 hours from border but after that there is no road in between just sand and stone nevertheless of tunnels.

I pretty much stuck to the military air transportation for any trips that would take over a couple hours to complete.

The roads are pretty bad, and some are not frequently traveld by friendly people, so be careful. Avoid driving routine routes and flashy cars (that means anything newer than 1986). I'd suggest watering down your vehicle then kicking a bunch of dirt on it to blend in. Oh yeah, make at least 4 dents on the outside body and kick out at least one taillight. :)

Watch out for the large, dumptruck like vehicles. Although they are usually colorful and decorated, they go about 3 mph and are usually loaded to the brim with heavy things that easily topple out. Remember, nobody has a licence or insurance over there, so driving is kinda like a scene from Mad Max.

Roads are extremely bad in Afghanistan. Most of them are unpaved or haven't been repaired for years. Some places are reachable only with 4WD's. You can hire a 4WD with driver but it's very expensive: expect paying around $100 / day