From
$945 USD
Treasures of Uzbekistan
Tour overview
Three Silk Road cities and a potter’s workshop, in six days
- Trip code
- PT-TOU6
- Days
- 6
- From
- Tashkent
- To
- Tashkent
- Country visited
- Uzbekistan
- Group size
- 2–12
- Min age
- 6+
- Physical
- Guide languages
- 18 languages
Six days across the three cities every first visit is built on — Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara — linked by fast train, with a stop at a sixth-generation ceramics workshop in Gijduvan.
This is the short version of the classic route, and it works because the train does the hard part. Tashkent to Samarkand takes two hours and ten minutes on the Afrosiyob; Bukhara back to Tashkent is under four. What you lose against an eight-day trip is the second day in Samarkand — what you keep is every monument that made the country famous.
The Gijduvan stop on the drive between Samarkand and Bukhara is the part guests remember. The Narzullaev family have been firing the same alkaline glaze in the same courtyard for six generations, and they will hand you a brush if you ask.
Hotels are 3-star or 4-star boutique properties inside the old towns, so you walk out of your door into the monuments rather than driving to them.
Inclusions & activities
What’s included
Destinations
Tashkent · Samarkand · Bukhara
Meals
Breakfast
Transport
High-speed train · Private vehicle · Walking
Accommodation
3* or 4* hotel in central Tashkent · Hotel in Samarkand, walking distance from Registan · Boutique hotel inside Bukhara old town · 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
- Economy-class train Tashkent–Samarkand and Bukhara–Tashkent
- Gijduvan ceramics workshop visit
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 prices6
- El Merosi historical costume theatre — 315,000 UZS (~$25) · Evening show, about one hour
- Bagizagan winery tasting — 505,000 UZS (~$40) · Local wines and brandy
- Pottery class with the Narzullaev family — 380,000 UZS (~$30) · Two hours, you keep what you make
- Folk show at the Nodir Devon Begi madrasah — 315,000 UZS (~$25) · Music, dance and a costume parade in the courtyard
- Spiced tea tasting in a Bukhara tea house — 250,000 UZS (~$20) · About 45 minutes
- Traditional hammam with massage — 505,000 UZS (~$40) · Almond oil and ginger honey, book a day ahead
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
Tashkent
Day 1 of 6
Flight
Day 1 Arrive in Tashkent
Met at Tashkent airport and driven to your hotel — rooms are held from 14:00. After 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.
Light
- Hazrati Imam complex
- Chorsu bazaar
- Tashkent metro ride
- Amir Timur square
Stay
3* or 4* hotel in central Tashkent
Getting around
Flight · Airport transfer, 30–40 minutes
Breakfast included
Train
Day 2 Tashkent to Samarkand by fast train
Transfer to Tashkent station for the Afrosiyob. 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.
Light
- Gur-e-Amir mausoleum
- Registan square
- Bibi-Khanym mosque
- Shah-i-Zinda necropolis
Stay
Hotel in Samarkand, walking distance from Registan
Getting around
Train · Train 2h10, then city sightseeing on foot and by vehicle
Breakfast included
Optional, at local prices
El Merosi historical costume theatre · Evening show, about one hour315,000 UZS (~$25)
Bagizagan winery tasting · Local wines and brandy505,000 UZS (~$40)
Road
Day 3 Samarkand to Bukhara via Gijduvan
Drive west, stopping in Gijduvan at the house-museum of the Narzullaev ceramics family — six generations of potters, one glaze recipe, and a workshop you are welcome inside. Continue to Bukhara and check in with the afternoon free to walk to Lyabi-Hauz for tea under the mulberry trees.
Light
- Gijduvan ceramics house-museum
Stay
Boutique hotel inside Bukhara old town
Getting around
Road · About 4 hours driving in total, 270 km
Breakfast included
Optional, at local prices
Pottery class with the Narzullaev family · Two hours, you keep what you make380,000 UZS (~$30)
On foot
Day 4 Bukhara on foot
Bukhara is walkable in a way Samarkand is not — the old town is one continuous monument. The Ark citadel, lived in for fifteen centuries; Bolo Hauz mosque with its twenty painted columns; the Poi-Kalon ensemble, where the 47-metre minaret was left standing by Genghis Khan when he levelled everything around it. Then the Samanid mausoleum, the oldest brickwork in Central Asia, Chashma Ayub, and the trading domes where silk and gold have been sold on the same corners since the sixteenth century.
Light
- Ark citadel
- Poi-Kalon ensemble
- Samanid mausoleum
- Lyabi-Hauz
- Trading domes
Stay
Boutique hotel inside Bukhara old town
Getting around
On foot · Walking day, about 5 km in total
Breakfast included
Optional, at local prices
Folk show at the Nodir Devon Begi madrasah · Music, dance and a costume parade in the courtyard315,000 UZS (~$25)
Spiced tea tasting in a Bukhara tea house · About 45 minutes250,000 UZS (~$20)
Traditional hammam with massage · Almond oil and ginger honey, book a day ahead505,000 UZS (~$40)
Train
Day 5 Bukhara surroundings, then the train to Tashkent
Out of town first: the Bahouddin Naqshbandi complex, where the founder of the Naqshbandi Sufi order is buried and pilgrims still circle the plane tree; the Chor Bakr necropolis, a small city of tombs; and Sitorai Mokhi Khosa, the last emir’s summer palace, half Russian villa and half Bukharan fantasy. Afternoon train back to Tashkent.
Light
- Bahouddin Naqshbandi complex
- Chor Bakr necropolis
- Sitorai Mokhi Khosa palace
Stay
Hotel in Tashkent
Getting around
Train · Train 3h50 to 4h10 depending on service
Breakfast included
Flight
Day 6 Depart Tashkent
Breakfast, then a transfer to Tashkent international airport for your flight home. If you have a late flight we can hold the room or store your bags and suggest somewhere for lunch.
Light
Getting around
Flight · Airport transfer, 30–40 minutes
Breakfast included
Tashkent
Day 1 of 6
Read this first
Before you book
Uzbek railways release seats 60 days before departure and no earlier, so we need full passport details at least 62 days ahead to ticket you. In peak season Afrosiyob seats are occasionally withdrawn for government use; if that happens we move you to the Sharq train or a domestic flight at no extra cost to you.
Hotel check-in is 14:00 and check-out 12:00. Early check-in on arrival day is included only where the itinerary says so. Most Uzbek hotels are low-rise conversions without lifts, and the local star rating is not the European one — every hotel we use has en-suite bathrooms, air conditioning and daily housekeeping.
Before you book
Questions about this trip
Six days or eight — which should I pick?
Six days covers every headline monument and moves at a real pace. Eight days adds a second day in Samarkand (Ulugh Beg’s observatory, the Afrosiab museum, Siab bazaar, the Daniel mausoleum) and an unhurried arrival day. If this is your only trip to Uzbekistan, take the eight.
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.
Is this a private trip or a group departure?
The price shown is for a private trip run for your party alone, on the dates you choose. Where fixed departure dates are listed, you can also join those and share the guide and vehicle with other travellers, which brings the per-person price down.
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.
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Regular price $1,42529% off
From $1,000 USD
on 17 Nov 2026
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