From
$1,000 USD
Five Cities of Uzbekistan
Tour overview
Tashkent, Samarkand, Shakhrisabz, Bukhara and Khiva
- Trip code
- PT-FIVE7
- Days
- 7
- From
- Tashkent
- To
- Khiva
- Country visited
- Uzbekistan
- Group size
- 2–12
- Min age
- No limit
- Physical
- Guide languages
- 14 languages
A week along the west-bound route of Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Samarkand, Shakhrisabz, Bukhara and Khiva crossing the Kyzylkum desert and sleeping inside the walls of Ichan-Kala.
This is the route people mean when they say they want to see Uzbekistan. Five cities, west in a straight line, each one different enough from the last that the trip never settles into a rhythm of tilework. Every transfer is by high-speed train, so the miles pass over a window seat rather than a motorway, and every night is spent in a boutique hotel built in the national style.
It begins in Tashkent, then turns to Samarkand — Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Shah-i-Zinda — and reaches Shakhrisabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane, where the huge broken gateway of his Ak-Saray palace still stands against the sky. Bukhara follows with its trading domes and the Poi-Kalon ensemble, a town built for walking.
The leg that surprises everybody is the run from Bukhara to Khiva across the Kyzylkum, the red sand, with the Amu Darya on one side and nothing at all on the other. It used to take a caravan more than a month. From the train window it is the stretch guests write about afterwards.
The trip ends in Khiva, a walled town you sleep inside. Ichan-Kala is small enough to cross on foot in ten minutes and rich enough to fill two days.
Inclusions & activities
What’s included
Destinations
Tashkent · Samarkand · Bukhara · Khiva
Meals
Breakfast
Transport
Private vehicle · High-speed train · Domestic flight
Accommodation
Boutique Hotel Old Heritage or equal · Hotel in Samarkand · Hotel in Bukhara · Hotel in or beside Ichan-Kala, Khiva · Hotel in Tashkent
Included in the price11
- Hotel accommodation on a twin/double sharing basis
- Breakfast every morning at the hotel
- Air-conditioned private vehicle with a professional driver
- Licensed English-speaking guide for all sightseeing
- Entrance fees to every monument named in the itinerary
- 1 litre of bottled water per person per day
- Hotel and city tourist taxes
- Arrival and departure transfers
- 24/7 support from our Samarkand office during the trip
- Immediate early check-in on arrival day
- Economy-class train Tashkent–Samarkand
Not included9
- International flights to and from Uzbekistan
- Visa fees where a visa is required
- Travel and medical insurance
- Lunches and dinners unless listed as included
- Drinks, including bottled water at restaurants
- Photo and video permits at monuments
- Tips for the guide and driver
- Porterage at airports, stations and hotels
- Personal expenses and anything not listed as included
Optional, at local prices2
- Workshops at the craft studios of the Cultural and Ethnographic Center, Navruz Park — 200,000 UZS (~$16) · Price from 200,000 UZS per person. Transfer is included.
- Folk show at the Nodir Devon Begi madrasah — 315,000 UZS (~$25) · Evening, in the madrasah courtyard
Your contact for this trip
Muzaffar Shermamatov
Founder
“Write to me with any question. I reply within 24 hours and will adjust the route to you.”
Route & itinerary
Tashkent → Samarkand → Bukhara → Khiva
Tashkent
Day 1 of 8
On foot
Day 1 Arrival in Tashkent
Welcome to Uzbekistan. The tour begins in Tashkent at 12:00, but the start is not rigid: if your flight lands earlier or later, tell us and we will meet you at the airport whenever you arrive and fit the day around it. A private transfer, included in the price, takes you straight to the hotel for check-in, and you receive a local SIM card so you can always stay in touch with us. In the afternoon we visit the Center of Islamic Civilization, then the evening is yours — or spend it at the Plov Museum, an optional extra.
Easy · 0.5 km
12:00
Transfer from the airport
Private transfer, included in the price
14:00
Hotel check-in (Old Heritage or equal)
15:30
Center of Islamic Civilization
17:00
Plov Museum (optional)
Stay
Boutique Hotel Old Heritage or equal
Getting around
On foot
Breakfast included
Optional, at local prices
Workshops at the craft studios of the Cultural and Ethnographic Center, Navruz Park · Price from 200,000 UZS per person. Transfer is included.200,000 UZS (~$16)
On foot
Day 2 Tashkent
Met at the airport gates and driven straight to the hotel — early check-in is included, so the room is yours on arrival. After breakfast and a rest, Start in the old city at the Hazrati Imam complex — the Barak Khan madrasah, the Kaffal Shashi mausoleum and the Muyi Muborak library, which holds the Uthman Quran, one of the oldest copies in the world. Then Chorsu bazaar under its blue dome, where the spice rows and the bread ovens are worth the hour. In the afternoon, modern Tashkent: the Navoi opera house, Amir Timur square, Independence square and a ride through the metro, whose stations were built as underground galleries and were forbidden to photograph until 2018.
Moderate · 3 to 5 km on foot
10:00
Hazrati Imam complex
Chorsu bazaar
14:00
Monument of Courage
Art Metro
Stay
Boutique Hotel Old Heritage or equal
Getting around
On foot · Full sightseeing day
Breakfast included
Train
Day 3 Tashkent to Samarkand
A breakfast box from the hotel and an early train west. Samarkand does not ease you in. Gur-e-Amir first, the ribbed turquoise dome over Tamerlane’s tomb, then Registan square — three madrasahs facing each other across a stone floor, built four centuries apart and still in conversation. Bibi-Khanym mosque was the largest in the Islamic world when it went up and collapsed under its own ambition within decades. The day ends at Shah-i-Zinda, a narrow lane of tiled mausoleums that pilgrims climb barefoot. Siab bazaar and Ulugh Beg’s observatory close the day.
Moderate · 3-4 km on foot
7:30
10:00
Chick-in
14:00
Registan Square
The Gur-e-Amir
Stay
Hotel in Samarkand
Getting around
Train · Train around 07:30–09:45
Breakfast included
Road
Day 4 Samarkand to Bukhara
Check out and drive 260 km west. Arrive early afternoon, check in, and meet your guide at four for the first walk through holy Bukhara: the Poi-Kalon ensemble and Lyabi-Hauz as the light goes orange.
Moderate
- Poi-Kalon ensemble
- Lyabi-Hauz complex
Stay
Hotel in Bukhara
Getting around
Road · About 4 hours driving, 260 km
Breakfast included
On foot
Day 5 Bukhara
The rest of the old town: the Samanid mausoleum, Bolo Hauz mosque and the Ark citadel, then time to walk and shop through the three trading domes — the Coumpol bazaar, which has been in the same business since the Silk Road.
Moderate
- Samanid mausoleum
- Bolo Hauz mosque
- Ark citadel
- Three trading domes
Stay
Hotel in Bukhara
Getting around
On foot · Walking day
Breakfast included
Optional, at local prices
Folk show at the Nodir Devon Begi madrasah · Evening, in the madrasah courtyard315,000 UZS (~$25)
Road
Day 6 Across the Kyzylkum to Khiva
Leave at eight for the long drive to Khiva — 460 km and seven to eight hours through the red sands of the Kyzylkum, the old Khorezm road that once took caravans a month. Arrive late afternoon, check in, and the evening is yours inside the walls.
Moderate
Stay
Hotel in or beside Ichan-Kala, Khiva
Getting around
Road · 7–8 hours driving, 460 km, with tea and lunch stops
Breakfast included
Flight
Day 7 Khiva, then fly back to Tashkent
Ichan-Kala, the walled inner town, is a UNESCO site you can cross in twenty minutes and spend a day inside. The Kalta Minor — a fat turquoise stump of a minaret abandoned when its khan died — then Kunya Ark fortress, the Muhammad Amin Khan madrasah, Tash-Hovli palace with its harem courtyards, the Pakhlavan Mahmud mausoleum and the Juma mosque, where 213 carved wooden columns hold up a roof in near-darkness. In the afternoon, a transfer to Urgench for the evening flight to Tashkent.
Moderate
- Ichan-Kala
- Kunya Ark
- Tash-Hovli palace
- Juma mosque
- Pakhlavan Mahmud mausoleum
Stay
Hotel in Tashkent
Getting around
Flight · 35 km to Urgench, then a 1h40 flight
Breakfast included
Flight
Day 8 Depart Tashkent
Transfer to Tashkent international airport for your onward flight.
Moderate
Getting around
Flight · Airport transfer, 30–40 minutes
Tashkent
Day 1 of 8
Dates & prices
Choose your start date
DepartingFinishingAvailabilityDeals / discountsPer person
Before you book
Questions about this trip
How bad is the drive from Bukhara to Khiva?
It is seven to eight hours, the road is asphalt but not smooth, and there is nothing much to stop for beyond two tea houses. Most people expect to hate it and end up liking it — the Kyzylkum is genuinely empty and the light across the sand in the late afternoon is the reason half the photos from this trip get taken on that day. If you would rather skip it, we can fly you Bukhara–Urgench instead; ask us for the supplement.
How big is the group?
Never more than twelve travellers. Group departures run from two people; if a date sells beyond twelve, we open a second group with its own guide rather than enlarge the first. On a private tour the group is just your own party.
When is the best time to do this trip?
April to early June and September to early November are the two sweet spots: 20–28°C, clear light on the tilework, and fruit in the bazaars. July and August regularly pass 40°C, so summer departures start earlier and keep the middle of the day for museums and lunch. Winter is cold but empty — Registan without a crowd is worth the coat.
Do I need a visa for Uzbekistan?
Citizens of most of Europe, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Turkey and much of Latin America enter visa-free for 30 days. Everyone else can apply online at e-visa.gov.uz, which takes two to three working days. Your passport must be valid for six months beyond the date you arrive. We will confirm what applies to your nationality when you book.
Can I join as a solo traveller?
Yes. Solo travellers pay a single supplement for their own room, which we quote with the trip. On group departures we do not pair strangers in a room unless both of you ask us to.
What if I am vegetarian or have allergies?
Tell us when you book. Uzbek cooking is meat-heavy but every restaurant we use can produce good vegetarian food — the salads, breads, pumpkin manti and vegetable stews are excellent — and we brief each restaurant ahead of your arrival. Gluten-free is harder because bread is central, but it is workable with notice.
Payment, date changes and cancellation
- Nothing to pay until 60 days before the start — the booking holds without a card.
- Change your dates free of charge up to 60 days ahead; from day 59, 20% of what you have paid.
- Cancel 60 days or more ahead and nothing is kept.
Places on this trip
Similar trips
Other routes through the same cities
Take the itinerary with you
We’ll email you the full day-by-day plan for Five Cities of Uzbekistan as a PDF — read it offline, print it, or share it with your travel companions.
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