8-Day Uzbekistan Tour — Private, Classic Route

Arrival at Tashkent International Airport. Meet and greet by our local guide, private transfer to the hotel. Check-in from 14:00 and rest after the flight.

Evening: a leisurely walk through Amir Timur Square — gardens, fountains and the equestrian statue of Amir Timur at its centre. The square is the symbolic heart of modern Tashkent, blending Soviet-era architecture with Central Asian flair.

Overnight: Tashkent

Breakfast at the hotel.

Old town: Khast Imam Complex — the spiritual heart of Tashkent, home to the Uthman Quran, believed to be the world’s oldest Quran (7th century). Visits to Barak Khan Madrasah, Tillya Sheikh Mosque and the Mausoleum of Saint Kaffal Shashi. Chorsu Bazaar — a bustling market under a striking blue dome, trading spices, textiles and local crafts since the Silk Road era.

Lunch.

New town: Independence Square (formerly Lenin Square) with the Monument of Independence and Humanism (1991); the Romanov Palace (exterior visit), built in 1891 for Grand Duke Nikolai Romanov; Opera and Ballet Square, home to the Navoi Opera Theatre (built 1942–1947, seats 1,400); Amir Timur Square; and the Orthodox Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin.

Evening: dinner at a traditional Uzbek restaurant.

Overnight: Tashkent

Early breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport for a morning flight to Urgench (subject to flight schedule), then a 30-minute drive to Khiva. Check-in at a hotel inside Ichan-Kala, the walled inner city.

Full-day excursion in Khiva’s Ichan-Kala (UNESCO World Heritage Site) — once a key Silk Road stop and the last resting point for caravans before crossing the desert to Persia: Kalta Minor Minaret, an unfinished turquoise minaret with intricate glazed tiles; Muhammad Amin Khan Madrasah, the largest in Khiva, now a hotel and museum, built in the mid-19th century; Kunya-Ark Citadel, the 17th-century royal residence with the Khan’s palace, mosque and prison cells — climb the watchtower for panoramic views of Ichan-Kala; Tash-Hauli Palace, built by Allakuli Khan in the 19th century, with carved wooden columns and blue-and-white ceramic mosaics.

Optional: relax on a terrace with wine, fruit and cheese as the sun sets over the old city (weather permitting) — +$15 per person.

Evening: dinner at a local restaurant in an ancient courtyard, then free time to explore Khiva after dark.

Overnight: Khiva

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Bukhara by car (approx. 490 km, 7–8 hours) across the Kyzylkum Desert. Arrival and check-in near the historic old town.

Noble Bukhara — the legendary city of the Great Silk Road. Its name is thought to derive from “bukharak”, meaning “place of fortune”. The only city in Central Asia with almost 2,000 UNESCO-listed monuments, where the atmosphere of the old Silk Road is still tangible while walking through the old town.

Evening: leisure time around Lyabi-Hauz, a pond surrounded by centuries-old mulberry trees and teahouses; dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight: Bukhara

Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Ismail Samani Mausoleum, a 10th-century brick mausoleum with an intricate geometric design — one of the oldest Muslim monuments in Central Asia, built as the Samanid dynasty’s family tomb; Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum and Holy Spring (14th c.), the “Fountain of Saint Job”; Bolo-Hauz Mosque (18th c.), the Emir’s official mosque, with carved wooden pillars and a reflecting pool; Ark Fortress, the citadel of Bukhara’s Emirs dating back to the 5th century — palace, treasury and military structure, now museums of royal artifacts, manuscripts and weaponry; Lyabi-Hauz Ensemble (16th–17th c.), once a social and cultural hub for poets and scholars, including Kukeldash Madrasah and Nadir Divan-Begi Khanaka.

Lunch.

Afternoon: the three domed bazaars of the old Silk Road — Toki Zargaron (Jewelry Bazaar), Toki Telpak Furushon (Hat Makers’ Bazaar) and Toki Sarrafon (Money Changers’ Bazaar), trading silk, spices, jewelry and carpets since the 16th century. Poi-Kalon Architectural Complex — Kalon Minaret (built 1127), Poi-Kalon Mosque (12th c., one of the largest in Central Asia) and Miri-Arab Madrasah (15th c., exterior visit, still an active Koranic school). Finally, Chor-Minor — a small building with four distinctive blue-domed towers and Indian-influenced architecture, once the gateway to a now-vanished madrasah.

Evening: dinner at a local guesthouse with a plov cooking master class.

Overnight: Bukhara

Breakfast at the hotel. Afternoon transfer to the train station for the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Samarkand (14:58–16:41).

Arrival in Samarkand — the jewel of the Timurid Empire — and hotel check-in. Evening walk to the beautifully illuminated Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, the 15th-century final resting place of Amir Timur (Tamerlane); the design is said to have influenced later Mughal architecture, including the Taj Mahal.

Optional: evening visit to Registan Square for the light-and-music show, with entrance — +$15 per person.

Dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight: Samarkand

Train times are set by Uzbekistan Railways and may change. Nominative passenger data for train tickets must be submitted at least 62 days before travel; tickets are purchased (not reserved) 60 days ahead.

Breakfast at the hotel. Full day touring Samarkand, once a key point on the Silk Road between China and Europe and, from the 14th century, capital of Timur’s empire: Registan Square, framed by three grand madrasahs — Ulugh Beg Madrasah (15th c., built by Timur’s astronomer grandson), Sher-Dor Madrasah (17th c., known for its tiger mosaics) and Tilya-Kori Madrasah (17th c., a gold-decorated madrasah-mosque); Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis, a chain of mausoleums built between the 9th and 14th centuries around the believed grave of Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, with turquoise tilework and calligraphy; Bibi-Khanym Mosque, built by Amir Timur in the 14th century in honour of his wife after his campaign in India — one of the largest mosques of the Islamic world; Siab Bazaar, a working market by the Bibi-Khanym Mosque since Silk Road times, with fresh produce, dried fruit and Samarkand sweets.

Afternoon departure on the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Tashkent (17:35–20:08).

Evening: farewell dinner with live Uzbek music at one of Tashkent’s finest traditional restaurants.

Overnight: Tashkent

Train times are set by Uzbekistan Railways and may change. Nominative passenger data for train tickets must be submitted at least 62 days before travel; tickets are purchased (not reserved) 60 days ahead.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Tashkent International Airport for the departure flight.