Mary sits on the main rail line and road across southern Turkmenistan, between Ashgabat and the Uzbek border. By air, daily Turkmenistan Airlines flights from Ashgabat take about an hour. The airport is a few kilometres outside town. By rail, the overnight train from Ashgabat is the long but interesting option — about 12 hours, sleeper cars, the standard Soviet-era arrangement. The day train is faster and runs in around six hours.
By road, Ashgabat is six hours west on the M37 highway; the drive crosses 350 km of Karakum desert and is straightforward if you have a car and the right paperwork. Independent travel in Turkmenistan generally requires a guide, and most visitors arrive in Mary as part of an arranged itinerary that includes Merv and Gonur Depe.