Eight Days, One Table: Small-Group Silk Road

Our driver meets you at Tashkent airport with your welcome kit and takes you to the hotel. Rooms are available from 14:00. The rest of the day is yours.

A full day in the capital, about 6–7 hours with a break for lunch, followed by an evening flight to Urgench and a short drive to Khiva.

1. 09:30Tashkent city tour

   • Courage Monument to the 1966 earthquake
   • Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum and the Khast-Imam square
   • Chorsu Bazaar under its great green dome
   • A ride on the ornate Tashkent metro
   • Museum of Applied Arts, Navoi Opera Theatre and Amir Timur Square

2. 13:00Lunch break (at own expense)

   • Tip from our team: try the plov at the Central Asian Plov Centre

3. 17:30Early dinner in Tashkent before the flight (at own expense): we land in Khiva late, when most restaurants are closed

4. 19:00Transfer to Tashkent airport for the domestic flight

5. 20:40Flight Tashkent – Urgench (about 1 h 30 min)

6. 22:10Arrival in Urgench and transfer to Khiva (35 km, about 35 min)

   • At the hotel around 23:00

A walking day inside the walls of Ichan-Kala, the best-preserved old town of Central Asia, then the afternoon train across the Kyzylkum desert to Bukhara.

1. 09:00Walking tour of Ichan-Kala (4–5 hours)

   • Kunya-Ark citadel
   • Kalta-Minor, the unfinished turquoise minaret
   • Juma Mosque with its forest of carved wooden columns
   • Tosh-Khovli Palace
   • Pakhlavan Makhmud Mausoleum
   • Islam-Khoja Minaret

2. 11:00Tea and coffee break

3. 13:30Lunch break (at own expense) and check-out; luggage stays with the driver

4. 15:00Transfer to Khiva railway station

5. 15:33Train Khiva – Bukhara (about 6 hours, best class available)

   • There is no restaurant car: pick up snacks and water at lunch. If the train is sold out or not running that day, we cross the Kyzylkum by minivan instead (450 km, 6–7 hours) with a stop for dinner

6. 21:40Arrival at Bukhara (Kagan) station and transfer to the hotel (15 km, about 30 min)

   • At the hotel around 22:15

A full walking day in the holy city of Bukhara, ending with music and dinner in a 17th-century madrasah.

1. 09:00Walking tour of old Bukhara (6–7 hours)

   • Lyabi-Hauz ensemble and the Magoki-Attori Mosque
   • Chor-Minor, the madrasah with four towers
   • The trading domes of the old bazaar
   • Poi-Kalyan: Kalyan Minaret, Kalyan Mosque and Mir-i-Arab Madrasah
   • Ulugbek and Abdulaziz Khan madrasahs
   • Ark Fortress and the Bolo-Hauz Mosque
   • Ismail Samani Mausoleum and Chashma-Ayub

2. 13:00Lunch break (at own expense)

3. 17:30Sunset tea on a rooftop facing the Kalyan Minaret

   • A TourEast addition. In spring and summer, when the sun sets after the show, we keep the same rooftop for golden-hour light

4. 19:00Folklore show and dinner at the Nadir Divan-Begi madrasah

Morning outside the old city, then a drive across the steppe to Samarkand (about 4–5 hours).

1. 09:00Around Bukhara (3–4 hours)

   • Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa, the summer palace of the last Emir
   • Bakhouddin Naqshbandi memorial complex
   • House-museum of Fayzulla Khodjaev, a wealthy merchant family home

2. 12:30Lunch break (at own expense)

3. 14:00Drive to Samarkand (270 km, about 4–5 hours with a tea stop)

4. 18:30Arrival in Samarkand and check-in

The great monuments of Timur's capital with a local guide, then a free afternoon.

1. 08:30Photo shoot on Registan Square (about 30 min)

   • Gift from TourEast: a professional photographer in the soft morning light, edited photos sent after the tour

2. 09:00Sightseeing tour of Samarkand (6–7 hours)

   • Registan Square and its three madrasahs
   • Gur-Emir, the mausoleum of Amir Timur
   • Bibi-Khanym Mosque
   • Siab Bazaar
   • Ulugbek Observatory

3. 13:00Tea and coffee break

4. 20:00Optional: the Registan lit up at night

   • A short walk from most hotels

Last sightseeing in Samarkand, a farewell lunch and the evening Afrosiyob train to Tashkent.

1. 09:00Samarkand, day two (4–5 hours)

   • Shah-i-Zinda, the avenue of blue-tiled mausoleums
   • Afrasiab Museum and the ancient city site
   • Tomb of Saint Daniel
   • Konigil village: paper made from mulberry bark

2. 13:30Farewell lunch

3. 17:10Transfer to Samarkand railway station

4. 17:40Afrosiyob high-speed train to Tashkent (about 2 h 30 min)

   • Train 767, which starts in Samarkand. Times follow the railway timetable and are confirmed with your tickets

5. 20:12Arrival at Tashkent North station and transfer to the hotel

Check-out by noon and transfer to Tashkent International Airport. Have a safe trip home.