Overview
Most travellers save Khiva for last and arrive tired. This route turns the map around: a short morning flight puts you inside the walls of Ichan-Kala on day two, and the journey then flows east across the Kyzylkum desert to Bukhara and on to Samarkand, finishing with the grandest sights of all.
Each city gets enough time to walk its old quarter slowly, eat well and meet the craftsmen who keep its traditions alive. Bukhara and Samarkand are linked by the Afrosiyob bullet train, and an evening train brings you back to Tashkent the night before you fly home.
Your trip is planned and run by Khikmatilla, a licensed Uzbek tour guide and founder of Tashkentguide DMC, with licensed local guides in every city.
Highlights
- Ichan-Kala, the walled inner town of Khiva, explored on foot
- A desert drive across the Kyzylkum with a stop above the Amu Darya
- Dinner at home with a Bukharan family
- Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Gur-e-Amir in Samarkand
- Handmade mulberry paper at the Konigil workshop
Prices are per person, private tour, and fall as your group grows. Choose Comfort (3*), Standard (4*) or Premium (5*) hotels. Single room supplement: US$190 / US$295 / US$540.
What's included
- 7 nights in hotels of your chosen category (DBL/TWIN) with breakfast
- Flight Tashkent–Urgench (economy)
- Afrosiyob economy train tickets Bukhara–Samarkand and Samarkand–Tashkent
- Dinner with a local family in Bukhara
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver for all transfers and sightseeing
- Licensed English-speaking local guide on sightseeing days (other languages on request)
- Entrance fees to the sights listed in the itinerary
- 0.5 L bottled water per person per day
- 24/7 support from our Tashkent team
- International flights and visa fees (many nationalities enter Uzbekistan visa-free)
- Lunches and dinners not listed in the itinerary
- Drinks, personal expenses and tips
- Camera fees at some monuments
- Early check-in and late check-out (standard check-in from 14:00)
- Travel insurance
Meeting and pickup
Tashkent airport or your hotel in Tashkent
Tashkent airport
Itinerary
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1
Day 1 · Arrival in Tashkent
Meet your driver at Tashkent airport and transfer to the hotel. After a rest, your guide shows you the old and new faces of the capital: the Khast Imam square with its 7th-century Uthman Quran, the domed Chorsu bazaar, a ride through the decorated metro stations and an evening stroll around Amir Timur square. Overnight in Tashkent.
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2
Day 2 · Flight to Urgench – Khiva
Early transfer to the airport for the morning flight to Urgench (HY051, 07:10–08:40). A 30 km drive brings you to Khiva. Spend the afternoon inside Ichan-Kala with your guide: the turquoise stump of the Kalta-Minor, the Kunya-Ark citadel, the Juma mosque with its forest of carved wooden columns, the Tash-Hauli palace and the shrine of Pakhlavan Makhmud, the town's patron saint. Climb a bastion for sunset over the clay rooftops. Overnight in Khiva.
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3
Day 3 · Khiva – Bukhara across the Kyzylkum (approx. 450 km)
Leave after breakfast for the long desert road to Bukhara, about 7 hours with stops. The route follows the Amu Darya for a while before cutting through the red sands of the Kyzylkum; pack snacks, as roadside cafés are simple. Arrive in the late afternoon and walk to Lyabi-Hauz, where the old town gathers around a 17th-century pool. Overnight in Bukhara.
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4
Day 4 · Bukhara old town
A full walking day in one of the best-preserved medieval cities of Central Asia. See the Poi-Kalon ensemble with the 12th-century Kalon minaret, the Mir-i-Arab madrasah, the domed trading bazaars, the Ulugbek and Abdulaziz-Khan madrasahs, the Ark fortress of the emirs and the wooden ayvan of the Bolo-Hauz mosque. In the evening you are welcomed for dinner by a local family. Overnight in Bukhara.
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5
Day 5 · Bukhara – Afrosiyob train to Samarkand
Morning drive to the outskirts: the summer palace of the last emir, Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa, and the memorial complex of Bahauddin Naqshband, founder of the Naqshbandi Sufi order. Back in town, visit the 10th-century Samanid mausoleum and the Chashma-Ayub spring. Afternoon Afrosiyob train to Samarkand (14:58–16:41) and transfer to your hotel. Overnight in Samarkand.
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6
Day 6 · Samarkand, city of Amir Timur
Begin at the Registan, three tiled madrasahs facing one square. Continue to the vast Bibi-Khanym mosque and the colourful Siab bazaar, then the avenue of blue mausoleums at Shah-i-Zinda and the observatory of Ulugbek, astronomer-king of the 15th century. End the day at Gur-e-Amir, the tomb of Amir Timur. Overnight in Samarkand.
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7
Day 7 · Samarkand – evening train to Tashkent
Visit the Afrosiab museum on the site of pre-Mongol Samarkand, the tomb of the prophet Daniel above the Siab river and the Konigil village workshop, where mulberry-bark paper is still made by water-mill. Free afternoon for shopping. Evening Afrosiyob train to Tashkent (18:10–20:31) and transfer to the hotel. Overnight in Tashkent.
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8
Day 8 · Departure
Breakfast and transfer to Tashkent airport for your onward flight.
Cancellation policy
- Cancel at least 720 hours before departure: 100% refund.
- Cancel at least 168 hours before departure: 50% refund.
- Less notice than that, or a no-show: 0% refund.
Full refund up to 30 days before arrival, 50% up to 7 days before, no refund after that.
Times are local Tashkent time (UTC+5).