Reviews
★★★★★
Marsbek is a wonderful, friendly, and experienced guide. The Land Cruiser was very comfortable, and he is an excellent driver. We planned most of the itinerary and accommodations ourselves but he is very knowledgeable and can help plan your trip. He had very good suggestions during the trip, and we enjoyed visiting places we hadn’t thought of. Marsbek also obtained our Kelsu permit and organized a two day horseback trip. We did more days of horse riding than initially planned with his encouragement and had great time when he joined us riding.
Kyrgyzstan is an amazing country and we were lucky to have Marsbek as our guide. We recommend him wholeheartedly and hope to come back for another trip next year!
★★★★★
Marsbek is a good driver. He arranged a trip itinerary with meals and accomodations for 10 days. He was helpful and friendly
★★★★★
Replies very quickly, and was very happy to drive us on short notice! Gave some additional ideas to elevate the trip, highly recommend.
★★★★★
Marsbek was great, he was very friendly and kind. We have the priviledge to go to many places, do short hikes and experience the nomadlife at the Yurts in Song-Kul Lake. Overall a great experience!
License guide and driver for Kyrgyzstan
★★★★★
Marsbek was absolutely amazing- we had such a great trip with him! He was incredibly helpful throughout the journey, and honestly, we wouldn’t have survived the trip without him. Being Indian, our group had a few fussy eaters, with some not eating beef, and communicating that in the interiors was really difficult. Marsbek stepped in as our translator every single time and made everything so smooth for us.
He also introduced us to local music, and in return, we made sure to teach him a few Hindi songs too! 😄
He’s now the perfect driver and guide for Indian travelers- kind, patient, fun, and super reliable. Until we meet again… do dil mil rahe hai ❤️
★★★★★
We did a 12-day trip around Kyrgyzstan with our guide Marsbek, and it was one of the best travel experiences we’ve ever had. He is not only very experienced and knowledgeable about every corner of the country but also one of the kindest and nicest people we’ve met. He arranged everything perfectly – from beautiful guesthouses, yurt camps, and hotels (all clean and hygienic) to private 4x4 jeeps, horseback tours, and even inviting us to his home for a barbecue with his family.
Marsbek took great care of me and my younger brother throughout the journey and always made sure we were comfortable. Traveling in his Land Cruiser was smooth, and every day felt like an adventure. Thanks to him, Kyrgyzstan truly felt like home for 12 days. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide and highly recommend him to anyone visiting this amazing country.
★★★★★
Hello mountain bike travelers,
We did a 10-day tour with Marsbek and his Land Cruiser as a service vehicle. We brought the mountain bikes from Germany.
In Kyrgyzstan, touring with a mountain bike and a 30-liter backpack is difficult. Of course, there are "extremists" who bivouac and keep everything to a minimum, or bikepackers who pack additional gear on their bikes. We didn't want that; we prefer the classic Transalpine style, so we needed logistical support.
Marsbek has a bike rack on the trailer hitch of his car, which was ideal for the tour.
The Land Cruiser was in very good condition, and Marsbek is an excellent driver. He drives very carefully, takes care of the equipment, and has the necessary experience to handle difficult terrain.
We camped on some days and stayed in guesthouses or simple hotels on others. We brought our own camping equipment, or it was provided by Marsbek.
When it comes to equipment, Marsbek is flexible and accommodates guests' requests, which we found very pleasant. It was important to us to travel as a team and not to be looking for a "service person." So, we shopped together, cooked, and had a great time.
Marsbek's experience in tourism is particularly valuable; he has many contacts and was able to provide us with information about our planned tour, which led to a sensible change to the tour. He also organized a driver for our onward journey to China. He also organized permits for the border regions for us in advance.
After the mountain bike tour, Marsbek brought the mountain bikes back to our hotel in Bishkek, and we traveled from Naryn over the Tourgart Pass to Kashgar in China.
Based on our experience, we can highly recommend Marsbek. He is well-educated and experienced in dealing with tourists. He speaks English and has a good sense of humor; we laughed a lot (insider: Too much yummi :-))) He is an experienced driver, and his vehicle is ideally suited for this type of trip. The overall price-performance ratio is excellent. Marsbek knows most of the country and can advise you on tour planning or obtain information/permits for you.
Very good camping gear is very expensive in Kyrgyzstan, so if you value that, you should bring your own tent/mat. We always bring our own sleeping bag on our trips, regardless of the provider.
We would definitely go on tour with Marsbek again.
Ludwig and Frank
★★★★★
Marsbek was wonderful! I checked out many of your guides and picked him despite one slightly negative review seven or so years ago. Ignore that. I couldn't have picked better. He was SO kind and bent over backwards to take me where I wanted and did everything to please me. He booked hotels/guest houses on the day so I could check if I liked them and agreed to drive me to Sari Chelek which some had said was 'too far' from Issyk kul. I think the others were lazy. It was a long drive but he knew it would be and was just happy to make me as happy as possible. He took me to amazing restaurants others would never find and 'looked after' me to the point of waiting with me until my luggage was checked in on my return. His car worked so well and he did too. He was funny as well as kind. If he disappeared off for five minutes twice a day, it was to pray and he is the most genuine Muslim I have ever met. He did their religion proud. He called his family every day but asked if I minded. Of course not! and he was punctual and reliable and got back to me when I sent messages which many others did not. I recommend him unreservedly as a genuinely good person. You would be lucky to get him.
★★★★★
Really enjoyed my time with Marsbek- happy, friendly and a very safe driver. He was a good companion to our 3 day trip. Always punctual and also flexible to accommodate our requests. Big thanks to Marsbek.
★★★★★
Marsbek is a great driver. He is friendly and very flexible with the stops. Highly recommended.
★★★★★
Excellent driver/ guide. Made a challenging itinerary work very well.
Would recommend
★★★★★
Everything was all right. He was more than punctual. The car was a 4WD in a really good condition. He is a safe driver, even on snowy dirtroads. He was really flexible about the time and program. Thank you very much!
★★★★★
We booked with Marsbek a transfer from Karakol to Bishkek, with several stops along the way. His car is in a very good condition and allows also to drive offroad. Marsbek is very friendly, funny and likes to talk about central asian culture, so you will learn a lot. He is also very punctual and flexibel about the stops. I would recommend him 100%. Thank you Marsbek for the experience!!
★★★★★
Very professional driver and very helpful. Car clean and comfortable for 4 people. We have spent 4 days with him and it was a very nice experience.
★★★★★
So the two of us visited Kyrgyzstan during the 1st week of October 2019 and after interacting with some of the guides available on Indy Guide, we decided to let Marsbek take care of us during our trip. And we can proudly say that we took the best decision by choosing Marsbek as our guide.
First of all, he knows the place in and out and is a very responsible guy. He allows you to have our own travel plans which is a good thing.
The Hotels/ guest houses provided by him were up to the mark and he took us to some of the best places to eat throughout our trip.
His toyota 4*4 is neat and in good condition and needless to say, he drives well.
He interacts with you during the trip and ofcourse he is funny.
We ll highly recommend him for anyone wanting to visit the country keeping in mind that he charges very reasonable fees as well.
A
★★★★★
Marsbek was a very good driver. He was punctual and had a friendly disposition. He was ready to answer our questions and flexible with our departure times and photo stops.
D
★★★
I had a rather poor experience with Marsbek, but there were good points too: he was punctual every morning, and he was flexible when our schedule had to change.
I had an eight-day tour with him, which I cut down to 7 days. In fact, the content was so thin it would have fitted easily into 6 days. There was quite a bit waiting around with nothing to do. Marsbek sometimes has a personal agenda which takes precedence. For example, one day was supposed to be a day trip from Karakol to the Jedi Ortuz valley. There’s plenty to fill a day there, it’s beautiful, but Marsbek cut the day short and had us return to Karakol by 1 p.m. His reason? It was a Friday and he wanted to go the mosque. There is nothing whatsoever for tourists to do in Karakol.
He’s rather disorganized and is short on the detail of the programme. For example, the itinerary said that we drive to Altyn Arashan for an overnight stay. To get to Altyn Arashan you need a jeep, and it has to be booked a few days in advance. It turned out that he hadn’t booked one. He did eventually get someone to take us, and the owner of the lodge where we stayed managed to get us a ride back down the next day. But Marsbek didn’t have any cash to pay the jeep driver, so I had to lend him the money (something he `forgot` about when we settled up at the end.). When we got back down to where Marsbek’s car was parked, there was another problem: he’d given the car keys to someone overnight, and that someone hadn’t returned them. So we were immobile, until the problem was sorted out.
A more minor problem was his excessive phone use. Whether he’s driving, eating lunch or whatever, he’s on his mobile: text messages, phone calls, watching videos etc. This strikes me as unprofessional.
The car too, is not in the best of shape: there`s a huge crack in the windscreen, one of the headlamps kept coming loose, and one of the passenger doors can`t be opened from the outside.
On the good side, Marsbek was kind and helpful, and in his own way he does his best.
But all in all, a poor experience. I’m sorry to say that I cannot recommend Marsbek at all.
T
★
Contacted us two days before. On the daytrip itself we had a route with a missunderstanding. No problem for us as a couple. But he never got us to a special place. When I asked him „Is here anything special around Lake Issyk?“ He answered „No, nothing“.
As a guide he should have „guided“ and not been just our driver without any emotions or a quite less communication. In the end we had the feeling he was lucky that we left him.
All in all it was an interesting trip we should have done on our own better without „guide“.
H
★★★★★
It was a really nice vacation, we had an enjoyable, unforgettable and wonderful trip for nine days in Kyrgyzstan. Thank you so much for our tour guide Marsbek who is dependable, easy-going and let us feel comfortable for travelling to unfamiliar places.
Marsbek’s 4WED jeep is in good condition which can overcome mountain roads and unpaved trail of driving as well.
The stunning and beauty of nature in Kyrgyzstan is definitely worth a visit again.
S
★★★★★
Our 2-day trip to Song Kol & Karakol with Marsbek was a very good pleasant experience. The car was in a good condition and the style of driving was safe. He knows the areas well and helped to arrange accommodations, food and other activities. His English is also good! I can recommend his service and would surely book him again.
F
★★★★★
We met Marsbek in Bishkek in April 2017. He is experienced, a nice and reliable guy and speaks English.
A
★★★★★
Marsbek was very professional and courteous while also being friendly and easygoing. He was prompt with our scheduled meeting time and got us from Bishkek to Burana and Issyk Kul on a long day trip but never made us feel rushed. His vehicle was comfortable and well maintained and the charge for his services was very fair. I would highly recommend Marsbek to anyone needing a driver and guide.
J
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