From
$1,645 USD
Khiva to Turkmenistan
Tour overview
Kunya-Urgench, white-marble Ashgabat and the ruins of Merv
- Trip code
- PT-UZTM4
- Days
- 4
- From
- Khiva
- To
- Ashgabat
- Countries visited
- Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
- Group size
- 2–12
- Min age
- 14+
- Physical
- Guide languages
- 18 languages
A four-day crossing from Khiva into Turkmenistan: the Kunya-Urgench minarets, the marble capital at Ashgabat, Parthian Nisa and the vast ruined city of Merv.
Turkmenistan is the least-visited country in Central Asia and the strangest, and this add-on gets you the three things worth crossing the border for.
Kunya-Urgench was the Khorezmian capital until Genghis Khan destroyed it; the mausoleums and the 62-metre minaret that survived are the reason it is on the UNESCO list. Merv, further south, was at one point in the twelfth century among the largest cities in the world — today it is a landscape of eroded walls and one perfect brick mausoleum, standing in an empty plain.
Between them sits Ashgabat, rebuilt after 1948 and then rebuilt again in white marble, a capital that looks like an architectural rendering of itself.
This leg starts in Khiva and is designed to follow one of our Uzbekistan routes. The Shavat border is crossed on foot.
Inclusions & activities
What’s included
Destinations
Khiva · Ashgabat
Meals
Breakfast · Lunch
Transport
Private vehicle · Domestic flight · Walking
Accommodation
4* hotel in Ashgabat
Included in the price13
- 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
- Half board — breakfast and lunch every day
- Domestic flights Dashoguz–Ashgabat and Mary–Ashgabat, economy class
- Separate licensed guides in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
- Turkmen visa support: letter of invitation, registration and travel pass
Not included13
- 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
- Turkmen visa fee, about $59 per person, paid on arrival
- Turkmen migration card, about $14 per person
- Turkmen tourist tax, $2 per person per night, compulsory
- Dinners
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
Khiva → Ashgabat
Ashgabat
Day 1 of 4
Flight
Day 1 Khiva across the border to Kunya-Urgench and Ashgabat
Drive 65 km to the Shavat crossing and walk the 800 metres between the two posts. Met on the Turkmen side, then 125 km to the Kunya-Urgench historical park: the Ak Gala fortress walls, the mausoleums of Turabek Khanym, Il Arslan, Tekesh and Sultan Ali, the shrine of the Sufi master Najmeddin Kubra, and the Kutlug Timur minaret — 62 metres of brickwork and the tallest in Central Asia. Lunch box on site, then back to Dashoguz for the flight to Ashgabat.
Moderate
- Kunya-Urgench historical park
- Kutlug Timur minaret
- Turabek Khanym mausoleum
Stay
4* hotel in Ashgabat
Getting around
Flight · 65 km, border on foot, then 125 km and a domestic flight
Breakfast, Lunch included
Road
Day 2 Ashgabat and ancient Nisa
Out to Nisa first: founded in the third century BC, the royal residence of the Parthian kings, and a UNESCO site of raw earth walls that read as landscape until your guide draws the plan for you. Lunch, then Ashgabat itself — the Neutrality arch, the Ertogrul Gazi mosque, the carpet museum, Gulistan bazaar, the Akhal-Teke horse monument, Independence park and the Turkmenbashi mosque.
Moderate
- Ancient Nisa
- Neutrality arch
- Turkmen carpet museum
- Gulistan bazaar
Stay
4* hotel in Ashgabat
Getting around
Road · Half-hour drive to Nisa, then a city day
Breakfast, Lunch included
Flight
Day 3 Merv, and back to Ashgabat
South to Mary, with a stop at the Akhal-Teke stables — the horse breed Turkmenistan puts on its banknotes. Then ancient Merv: the Sultan Sanjar mausoleum standing alone in the plain, the Great and Little Gyz Gala, Erk Gala, Gyaur Gala and the Muhammad ibn Zaid shrine, spread across a site so large you drive between the parts of it. Lunch in Mary, then the evening flight back to Ashgabat.
Moderate
- Akhal-Teke horse stables
- Ancient Merv
- Sultan Sanjar mausoleum
Stay
4* hotel in Ashgabat
Getting around
Flight · Two domestic flights plus about 60 km by road
Breakfast, Lunch included
Flight
Day 4 Depart Ashgabat
Breakfast, then a transfer to Ashgabat airport for your onward flight.
Moderate
Getting around
Flight · Airport transfer, about 30 minutes
Breakfast included
Ashgabat
Day 1 of 4
Read this first
Before you book
Turkmenistan needs a letter of invitation, and we need your documents 30 days before the trip: a passport scan under 1 MB, a completed visa enquiry form, your international ticket booking with the PNR, an employer letter in English (not needed if you are retired) and two 3x4 photographs. The visa itself is issued at the border.
Bring US dollars in cash for personal spending. Euros and credit cards are not usable in Turkmenistan.
The Shavat border crossing is done on foot over 800–1000 metres and there are no porters.
Before you book
Questions about this trip
How difficult is the Turkmen visa?
It is paperwork rather than luck — a tourist visa on a letter of invitation is routinely granted when you travel with a licensed local operator, which is the only way tourists can enter. Send us your documents 30 days ahead and we handle the invitation, registration and travel pass. The visa fee and migration card are paid in cash US dollars at the border.
Is Merv worth the trip?
If you like ruins that require imagination, it is one of the great sites of Asia — five walled cities built beside one another over two thousand years, still visible as earthworks across sixty square kilometres. If you want intact tilework, Uzbekistan gives you far more per hour.
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.
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Regular price $1,42529% off
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on 17 Nov 2026
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