Classic Uzbekistan: 8 Days
Tashkent – Khiva – Bukhara – Samarkand, Uzbekistan
8 Days / 7 Nights
Max 6 People
Easy
Tour Guide
Description
The journey most travellers dream of when they think of the Silk Road: the four great cities of Uzbekistan in one unhurried week. Start in Tashkent, the modern capital with an old heart, fly west to Khiva, a walled desert town that feels like an open-air museum, cross the Kyzylkum Desert to holy Bukhara and finish among the turquoise domes of Samarkand.
A short flight saves a long day on the road, and the high-speed train links Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, so you spend your time in the old towns rather than in transit. Each city has a full day with its own local guide, there are free evenings to wander the lit-up squares, and you stay in hand-picked 3-star and boutique hotels close to the sights.
This is a private tour, just for you and your companions, and it runs on any date you choose. The route can be reversed, extended with a night in a desert yurt camp or Shakhrisabz, or ended in Samarkand if you fly home from there.
Not included: international flights, lunches and dinners, travel insurance, camera fees at some monuments, tips and personal expenses.
Itinerary
Your driver meets you at Tashkent International Airport and takes you to the hotel. After a rest, set out with your guide: the Hazrati Imam complex, home of one of the oldest Qurans in the world, the domed Chorsu Bazaar and the Kukeldash Madrasa beside it, then a ride on the Tashkent Metro, famous for its decorated stations, and Amir Timur and Independence squares.
An early flight to Urgench (about 1 hour 40 minutes) and a 40-minute drive to Khiva. Spend the day inside Itchan Kala, the walled inner town: the unfinished Kalta Minor minaret, the Kunya-Ark citadel, the tiled courtyards of the Tash Hauli palace, the Juma Mosque with its forest of carved wooden columns and the Islam Khoja minaret, the tallest in town. Stay on the city walls for the sunset.
A full day on the road, about 450 km and 6 to 7 hours, following the Amu Darya river and the old caravan route through the Kyzylkum Desert, with photo stops and lunch at a roadside café. Arrive in Bukhara in the late afternoon and walk to Lyab-i Hauz, the pool square at the heart of the old town, for the evening.
A full day with your guide in a town of more than a hundred monuments: the Kalyan Minaret and the Po-i-Kalyan square, the Mir-i-Arab Madrasa, the covered trading domes and the Magoki Attori Mosque, the Ark fortress of the emirs, the Bolo Hauz Mosque, the 10th-century Samanid Mausoleum and the four towers of Chor Minor. Free evening.
A free morning for the bazaars and craft workshops of Bukhara, then the high-speed train to Samarkand (about 1 hour 40 minutes). In the afternoon, your first view of Registan Square and the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, Timur's own tomb, and Registan again after dark, when the madrasas are lit up.
A full day: the three madrasas of Registan from the inside, the huge Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the lively Siyob Bazaar beside it, the tiled street of tombs at Shah-i-Zinda and the Ulugbek Observatory, where astronomers mapped the stars in the 15th century.
In the village of Konigil, watch Samarkand paper being made by hand from mulberry bark at a water-powered mill, the way it was made for centuries. Free afternoon in Samarkand, then the evening high-speed train to Tashkent (about 2 hours 10 minutes).
Breakfast and the transfer to Tashkent International Airport for your flight home.
What's Included
- 7 nights in 3-star and boutique hotels (2 in Tashkent, 1 in Khiva, 2 in Bukhara, 2 in Samarkand), double or twin rooms, daily breakfast
- Flight Tashkent – Urgench (economy)
- High-speed train tickets Bukhara – Samarkand and Samarkand – Tashkent
- Private air-conditioned car or minivan for every transfer and the Khiva – Bukhara drive
- English-speaking local guide for the sightseeing in each city
- Entrance tickets to the sights in the programme
- Konigil paper workshop
- Bottled water every day
Tour Map
- 1Tashkent
- 2Urgench Airport
- 3Khiva
- 4Bukhara
- 5Samarkand
- 6Return to Tashkent
Reviews
No reviews yet. Have you taken this tour? Be the first to share how it went.
You can also review us on Tripadvisor, where we are listed as Jahongir Premium Tours.