Kalon Minaret at dusk in Bukhara, a Silk Road highlight | Richard I'Anson

The beautiful city of Khiva, Uzbekistan | Peter Walton

Discover Samarkand's ornate mosques and mausoleums | Lachlan Gardiner

Freshly baked breads on the streets of Samarkand | Natalie Tambolash

The beautiful Registan Square in Samarkand | Peter Walton

Citadel Wall in Bukhara | Maria Visconti

Local craft for sale in Khiva | Peter Walton

Pilgrims with traveller at Shah-i-Zinda, avenue of mausoleums, Samarkand | Richard I'Anson

Silk Road Cities Explorer

Explore the fabled Silk Road cities of Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent

7 Days from

$2090 USD

Trip Code: SRA

View dates to Book Essential Information

Extra trip options & supplements

*Prices listed are per person

Single Supplement

$200 USD

Solo Traveller

$1170 USD

Duration

7 Days

Activities

7 days adventure touring

Accommodation

6 nights hotel

Meals

6 Breakfasts

Difficulty Grading

2 / 10

Adventure touring

Trip highlights

Uncover Bukhara’s 2,000-year-old history – with its maze of alleyways, spice-scented bazaars, mosques and mausoleums
Stand in awe at Samarkand’s Registan Square, adorned in brilliant blue mosaics
Wander the ancient walled city of Khiva, where mosques, minarets and palaces reveal tales of Silk Road trade and conquest

Overview

Itinerary

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On arrival into Tashkent you will be transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight: Milan Hotel or similar Note the hotel check-in time is 14:00 (2pm). Should you require an earlier check-in before 7:00am - you can book a pre-tour hotel night. Or you can book for the day room rate from 7:00-14:00 which is 50% of the room cost.

Meals: Nil

You will be collected at the hotel for your early morning flight to Urgench. Flight HY 51 (departs ~07:00am / arrives ~08:30am; depending on the flight schedule - subject to change). Upon arrival you will be transferred to Khiva. The ancient walled city of Khiva is a stunning monument to the rich history of the region. Slave caravans, wild tribesmen and a harsh and unrelenting desert are all part of its tumultuous history. You will spend the day with a local sightseeing guide exploring the mazes of mosques, tombs, alley ways, palaces and medressas. Overnight: Malika Kheivak Hotel or similar

Meals: B

You will be collected at the hotel and transferred to the Khiva train station. Transfer from Khiva to Bukhara by train (6-7 hours depending on the train schedule). Train departs ~15:13pm / arrives ~21:05pm (subject to change). Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel. Overnight: Kavsar Boutique Hotel or similar

Meals: B

The region around Bukhara has been continually inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for approximately half that time.The UNESCO listed old city centre evokes the many centuries of traders and travellers who’ve passed through on their way between the Mediterranean and China. This richly historic city was a major centre of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion, succumbed to Ghengis Khan and Tamerlane the Turco-Mongol conqueror, was the last capital of the Emirate of Bukhara before being besieged by the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. You will spend the day with a local sightseeing guide exploring this fascinating Silk Road city including at its heart the historic Lyabi Khauz architectural complex with the oldest reflection pool in Central Asia, surrounded by medieval buildings including the Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasah and Khanaka with its facade of intrinsic mosaics. We also visit the Poi Kalyan Complex which includes the 48m tall Kalyan Minaret which has come to symbolise the city, the Kalyan Mosque with 288 domes covering intricate galleries, Samanid’s Mausoleum, the Ark Citadel, and Chor-Minor - the original building of four minarets and oldest residence of the Emirs. Overnight: Kavsar Boutique Hotel or similar

Meals: B

This morning we uncover more of Bukhara’s fascinating history and culture with a local sightseeing guide, as we explore the Sitorai-Mohl-Hosa Palace, Bukhara’s Emirs’ summer palace. Afterwards you will be transferred to the Bukhara train station. Fast train from Bukhara to Samarkand ("Afrosiab" fast train: departs ~14:58pm / arrives ~ 16:41pm; subject to change). Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel. Overnight: Ideal Hotel or similar

Meals: B

Today we will enjoy a full days sightseeing with a local guide in and around Samarkand. Possibly the most famous of the Silk Road cities, Samarkand's majestic blue tiled buildings dazzle in the bright desert sun. The city boasts one of the world’s grandest squares, Registan Square, surrounded on three sides by the madrassahs of Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori. It is said that the square and its madrassahs influenced other sites from the great square in Isfahan to the Taj Mahal in Agra. These colossal monuments with domes and minarets covered in a mosaic of azure tiles were built from the 1400s onward. The city was the capital of the great Timurid dynasty and we spend the day visiting a number of Timurid dynasty era sites including the Gur-Emir Mausoleum, Ulugh Beg’s observatory, the gigantic cathedral mosque Bibi Khanum as well as the impressive Necropolis. Tamerlane made Samarkand his capital, setting about making it the richest city on earth by pillaging and destroying other cities and removing their wealth and skilled traders to Samarkand. Afterwards you will be transferred to the Samarkand train station. Evening fast train from Samarkand to Tashkent ("Afrosiab" fast train - departs ~18:10pm / arrives ~20:31pm). Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel. Overnight: Milan Hotel or similar

Meals: B

After breakfast, there will be a city sightseeing tour of Tashkent (3-4 hrs) with a local guide. You will be provided a transfer to the airport where your trip concludes. Hotel check-out will be at 12:00pm. Luggage storage will be available at the hotel should your flight depart later in the day.

Meals: B

Ready to start your adventure?

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What’s included?

Included

6 breakfasts
Airport transfers in Tashkent
6 nights in comfortable hotels on a twinshare basis
local English-speaking sightseeing guides in Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent
Tashkent to Urgench one-way internal flight
All internal transport by car, bus or train as listed in itinerary
Local sightseeing and entrance fees as listed in itinerary

Not included

International airfares & airport taxes
Visas
Travel Insurance (Compulsory)
Meals and beverages not indicated in the program
Aerated and alcoholic drinks
Items of a personal nature such as laundry, phone calls, alcohol, etc
Tips and gratuities for local sightseeing guides & drivers
Tourist tax in Uzbekistan hotels of US$3 per person per night for additional pre/post tour nights (subject to change)
Photo/video fees at historical parks and in museums

About your guide

Please note that you will have local transfers, and a local English-speaking sightseeing guide at each location only (ie. Khiva; Bukhara; Samarkand; Tashkent).