Follow the same paths as the traders, pilgrims, refugees and diplomats who travelled the routes of the infamous Silk Road. Explore awe-inspiring architecture, desert citadels, mosaic-covered medressas and busy market bazaars. 

Discover the wonders of Uzbekistan with a 6-night/ 8-day tour from Tashkent. Visit the cities of Tashkent, Bukhara and Samarkand.

Explore Uzbekistan with the help of local English-speaking guides on the appointed days on your itinerary, or choose to be accompanied by a guide throughout your stay for an even more enriching experience.

Tour in 6 nights /8 days

Day 1: UK to Tashkent (flight)

Day 2: Tashkent

Day 3: Tashkent to Bukhara (train)

Day 4: Bukara to Samarkand

Day 5: Bukara to Samarkand (train)

Day 6: Samarkand

Day 7: Samarkand to Tashkent

Day 8: Tashkent to UK (flight)

Day 1: UK - Tashkent (flight)

Flight to Tashkent on regular Turkish Airlines flights. Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 2: Tashkent

Theme of the day: a city of contrasts where modern and traditional cultures combine.

Arrive at Tashkent airport where you’ll be welcomed by your transfer driver. Drop off at the hotel and breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The rooms are available from 2pm.

Meet your local guide at the hotel at 10 am. First up on the agenda is exploring the Uzbek capital, starting with Khast-i-Imam, the religious centre of Tashkent. The sightseeing tour includes:

The madrasa and BarakKhan mausoleum

The al-Kaffal Shashi mausoleum

Friday mosque and Moyie Mubarek madrasa, which houses the Ousman Koran,

Museum of Applied Arts

Stop for a lunch break and sample some local cuisine.

In the afternoon, head to the very beautiful Koukeldach medersa. Guests are encouraged to head to Tchorsu Bazaar, the largest market in Uzbekistan for a chance to shop.

Don’t miss out on an opportunity to visit the splendid Tashkent metro. While it may seem like an odd choice for tourists, the metro was the first of its kind in Central Asia and boasts magnificent mosaics in glass and ceramic.

Finish off the tour and head for dinner, before resting up in the hotel.

Day 3: Tashkent - Bukhara (train)

Theme of the day: The city, a masterpiece of Muslim architecture

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant. At 06:00 am, take a transfer to Tashkent station and at 07:28 am,  leave by train to Bukhara. Arrive in Bukhara, where you’ll be welcomed by the driver, and transferred to the hotel to drop off your luggage.

Discover the old city of Bukhara, the most secret of the caravan cities with its narrow streets and monuments that visitors find simply irresistible.

Greet your local guide at the hotel at 11 am. You’ll have a full day dedicated to visiting the old city of Bukhara including:

The Po-i -Kalyan set

Domes of money changers, hatters domes, jewellers domes

Magok-i -Attari Mosque, one of the oldest in the city, built on the site of an ancient Zoroastrian temple

The entire Liabi-Khaouz

Guests might enjoy an evening visit to Poi-Kalyan square to marvel at the view from the high minaret out to the madrasa and the mosque.

Return to the hotel for dinner, and to sleep.

Day 4: Bukhara

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  Continue to visit monuments in  Bukhara including:

Ark Citadel, fortress of sovereigns

Bolo-Khaouz mosque with its twenty pillars

The mausoleum of Ismail Samani, one of the oldest monuments in the city

Tchachma Ayyub mausoleum

Lunch break.

Visit the former home, now a museum, of Faïzoulla Khodjaev, a wealthy merchant with a large amount of traditional Bukharot clothing. Guests may also enjoy seeing the work of Shavkat Boltaev, a gifted photographer and founder of the photography school in Bukhara.

Wander round the Jewish Quarter where ancient houses have been transformed into restaurants, allowing you to see the interiors with traces of what they might once have resembled. The synagogue is delightful in itself, and well worth a visit.

Return to the hotel for dinner, and to sleep.

Day 5: Bukhara to Samarkand (1 hour 30 minute train journey)

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

Visit monuments a little further outside Bukhara including:

The Medersa Tchor Minor, or "four minarets", hidden in the alleys of the old quarters of the city

The Bahaouddin Nakchbandi necropolis, the most sacred site in the city.

Sitora-i-Mokhi Khossa, the second home of the last emirs of Bukhara

Lunch break. In the afternoon, at 2:30 p.m, take your transfer to Bukhara station and at 3:50 p.m, leave for Samarkand. At 5:20 pm, arrive in Samarkand, and settle into your hotel room before dinner and a good night’s sleep.

Day 6: Samarkand

Theme of the day: Grand monuments and historical icons

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Meet the local guide at the hotel at 9 am, for a full day dedicated to exploring the city.

The sightseeing tour will include:

Reghistan Square, with its three unique medersas: Tilia-Kari, Shirdor, Oulough Beg

Visit to the Gour Emir mausoleum

Lunch break. In the afternoon, explore:

Ouloug Beg observatory, the first observatory in the East

Afrosiab Museum

Guests will also visit the original tissue paper workshop, where the workers still produce tissue paper from mulberry bark. You’ll have the opportunity to have a go yourself, and even learn about marbling paper. For an unusual gift, send a tissue paper letter to friends as a souvenir.

Go for dinner, before returning to the hotel to sleep.

Day 7: Samarkand to Tashkent (train)

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Continue your discoveries of Samarkand with:

Shakh-i -Zinda necropolis, a real architectural pearl in Samarkand

Bibi Khanoum mosque, the largest mosque in Central Asia

The heady yet picturesque Siab bazaar

Lunchtime. In the afternoon, take your time to see the rest of your city at your own pace, and fill up your camera roll with fabulous holiday photos.

At 16:30, transfer to the Samarkand train station and take the 17:30 train to Tashkent. Dine in the city before returning to your hotel to rest.

Day 7: Samarkand - UK (flight)

Breakfast. Transfer to Samarkand airport (2 hours in advance), for your flight with Turkish Airlines.

This offer is based on a Double (Twin) Room (or similar) in carefully selected 4*, or 4* and 5* hotels, depending on option chosen.

Tour of 6 nights / 8 days in 4* hotels

Tashkent (2 nights):  Ichan Kala 4*, Ramada 4*, Royal Mezbon 4* or similar

Bukhara (2 nights): Malika 4*, Emir Gardens 4*, Turon 4*, Asia Bukhara 4*, or similar

Samarkand (2 nights): Grand Samarkand 4*, Alexandre 4*, Emirkhan 4*, or similar

Tour of 6 nights / 8 days in 4* and 5* hotels

Tashkent (2 nights):  Hyatt Regency 5*, Hilton 5*, or similar

Bukhara (2 nights): Malika 4*, Emir Gardens 4*, Turon 4*, Asia Bukhara 4*, or similar

Samarkand (2 nights): Grand Samarkand 4*, Alexandre 4*, Emirkhan 4*, or similar

Treat yourself to a spectacular traditional Uzbek dance show in the courtyard of the madrasa Nodir Devon Begui in Bukhara.

For an even more enriching break, choose to be accompanied by an English-speaking guide throughout the whole of your stay, in addition to the appointed days. Upgrade at the next stage of the booking process for an additional fee.

Tashkent is the hub of Central Asia’s hub where everything in Uzbekistan happens. An impressive cultural mix of modern capital, leafy Soviet city, and quiet Uzbek town, it’s a fascinating jumble of contradictions. Spot traditionally clad farmers cart their foods through a maze of houses to the bazaar.

Tashkent boasts excellent museums, including the Museum of Applied Arts, and a great dining scene. Those eager to escape the metropolis can head out to explore Ugam-Chatkal National Park, a one and a half hour drive away, for hiking, rafting and skiing in stunning surroundings.

Central Asia’s holiest city, Bukhara (Buxoro) has buildings spanning a thousand years of history, and an old centre that hasn’t changed much in two centuries. It is one of the best places in Central Asia for a glimpse of pre-Russian Turkestan.

Most of the centre is an architectural preserve, full of medressas and minarets, a massive royal fortress and the remnants of a once-vast market complex. The city’s accommodation options are by far the best and most atmospheric in the country.

No name is as evocative of the Silk Road as Samarkand (Samarqand). On the ground the sublime, larger-than-life monuments of Timur (Tamerlane) and the city’s long, rich history are enchanting. You can visit most of Samarkand’s high-profile attractions in two or three days. The Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Shah-i-Zinda are undoubtedly some of the finest attractions.

Samarkand is a modern city, that still retains its old town and plenty of grandeur to ensure it’s a breathtaking place to visit.