The complete journey across Uzbekistan: Tashkent, the walled desert city of Khiva, Bukhara, a night in a yurt camp on Aydarkul lake, Samarkand and Shahrisabz — four ancient cities and the Kyzylkum in between, with a private guide throughout.
This is a private, tailor-made grand tour — the price depends on your dates, hotels and group size. Send the form and we will send you a detailed quote within 24 hours.
★ 4.8 on Google (14 reviews) Local operator in Samarkand We reply within 24 hours
Ten days from end to end of the Uzbek Silk Road. You begin in Tashkent, fly west to the walled old city of Khiva, cross the Kyzylkum to Bukhara, spend a night in a desert yurt camp beside Aydarkul lake, and finish among the great monuments of Samarkand and Shahrisabz.
It is a private tour with a local guide in each city, comfortable hotels, and the internal flight and long desert drives arranged for you — the classic first trip to Uzbekistan, unhurried and complete.
Arrival in Tashkent and transfer to your hotel. A guided tour of the old town — the Barak-Khan madrasah and the Museum of Applied Arts — then dinner at a local restaurant.
The newer side of Tashkent — Independence (Mustaqillik) Square and Amir Timur Square — travelling between sights on the city's famously ornate metro, where each station has its own design.
A morning flight to Urgench and the short transfer to Khiva, staying inside Ichan-Kala, the walled inner city. A guided walk through what was the capital of the Khorezm khanate — minarets, madrasahs and city walls almost unchanged for centuries.
A long drive (about 480 km, 8–9 hours) across the Kyzylkum desert, following the Amu Darya river to Bukhara. Arrival in the late afternoon, with the evening free.
Bukhara's monuments sit close together, so this is a day almost entirely on foot: the Samanid mausoleum (9th–10th c.), the Chashma-Ayub shrine, the Poi-Kalyan ensemble with its great minaret, the Ark fortress, the trading domes and the pool at Lyabi-Hauz.
On the way to the desert, a stop at Nurata: the Chashma holy spring, the Namozgokh mosque, and on the hill the ruins of a fortress attributed to Alexander the Great. Then into the Kyzylkum to a yurt camp beside Aydarkul lake — dinner under the open sky and music round the fire.
A morning at Aydarkul lake — a lakeside lunch, and a swim in the warm months — before the drive to Samarkand, arriving with the rest of the day free.
A full day among the great sights of Samarkand: the Registan with its three madrasahs, the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum of Timur, the vast Bibi-Khanum mosque and the tiled avenue of tombs at Shah-i-Zinda.
South over the Tahtakaracha pass to Shahrisabz, the birthplace of Amir Timur: the towering ruins of the Ak-Saray palace, the crypt Timur prepared for himself, and the Dorut Tilavat complex, before returning to Samarkand.
Transfer to Tashkent (by fast train or road, as your flight requires) and on to the airport. End of the tour.
Questions about this itinerary? We reply within 24 hours, and there is no payment to enquire.
