Expert opinion
Pluses
- Your date: the tour runs on the date that suits you and the itinerary can be adjusted.
- Historic core: Poi-Kalon with the Did you know? Diggers went 13 m down and never found its base The Kalyan Minaret of 1127 rises about 46 m, and an excavation reached 13 m without finding the bottom of its foundations. Genghis Khan reportedly ordered it spared. Read more →, The fortress-residence of the rulers of Bukhara on a high artificial hill: the oldest structure in the city. Read more → fortress, Did you know? Bukhara's ponds were once its water supply Pools like Lyabi-Hauz, dug around 1620 and 46 × 36 m, were the city's main source of water. Most were filled in during the 1920s–30s because they spread disease; Lyabi-Hauz survived. Read more → and the trading domes in one day.
- Guide and tickets: a guide in your language, transport for the day and entrance tickets are included.
Minuses
- Summer heat: you choose the date: July–August (outside the season) highs are 36–37 °C, on a full day outdoors.
- Meals not included: the programme does not mention lunch, and meals outside it are paid separately.
- Fees on site: photo and video fees at the monuments and tips for the guide and driver are paid separately.
AroundCA numbers
How we counted
By the AroundCA programme: we count only what is written in the day-by-day programme of this tour. If the programme gives no figure, we show nothing.
- Walking
- Medium
Walking: Medium: a full day with a guide around four sites in the old town (Poi-Kalon, the Ark, Lyabi-Hauz, the trading domes). No climbs; distances are not given in the programme.
Best time
Mar–Jun, Sep–Nov
March and November are the start and end of the season: 14–17 °C by day, few crowds and lovely weather. Winters are getting milder, too: very few people, sunny days and pleasant prices.
Cool, fewer people: Jan–Feb, Dec
Better to avoid
Jul–Aug
July–August is outside the season and hot: 36–37 °C by day in Bukhara.
A typical day
A full day with a local guide in the old town: the Poi-Kalon ensemble with the Kalon minaret, the Ark fortress, the Lyabi-Hauz complex and the trading domes. Transport for the day and entrance tickets are included; the programme gives no times or order.
What the price includes
What is included
- Guide in your language
- Comfortable transport for the day
- Entrance tickets to the sites on the programme
Not included
- Meals not mentioned in the programme
- Personal expenses
- Photo and video fees at the monuments
- Tips for the guide and driver
Extra cost on site
- Photo and video fees at the monuments
- Tips for the guide and driver
- Personal expenses
Good for
- First-time visitors who want Bukhara's main sights in one day
- Couples and families who prefer a private guide on their own date
Maybe not for you if
- Those who have already seen the old town — the Bukhara Discovery tour goes beyond it to the emir's summer palace and Chor-Bakr
Questions about this tour
What is included?
Everything that is and isn’t included, and what you pay on site, is in one list: What the price includes
What is not included?
Everything that is and isn’t included, and what you pay on site, is in one list: What the price includes
Which sights will I see?
The Poi-Kalon ensemble with the Kalon minaret, the Ark fortress, the Lyabi-Hauz complex and the old trading domes.
Can I choose the date?
Yes, the tour runs on the date that suits you, and the itinerary can be adjusted.
Didn’t find your answer? Ask about this tour →
Make it your trip
Tick what you’d like to add — it goes into your request, and the manager confirms the final price.
Add a few days
A guided day
Programme and details
Day-by-day route and details
Private tour · full day
Bukhara — Highlights
The medieval core of Bukhara: the Kalon minaret, the Ark, and the trading domes of the A network of caravan routes between China and the Mediterranean. Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva grew rich as stops along it..
from $90 per person
Guide, transport, tickets
Private tour
Programme
What you will see
A private full-day itinerary with a local guide.
- Poi-Kalon ensemble with the Kalon minaret
- The Ark fortress — the ancient citadel of the Bukhara rulers
- Lyabi-Hauz complex — the central square with madrasahs and teahouses
- The trading domes — surviving bazaar structures of the Silk Road
Price
Price and what is included
Price — $90 per person. The exact price depends on the number of travellers and is confirmed at booking.
Booking
How to book
- Send a request via the form on this page, by email hello@aroundca.com or on WhatsApp. Reply within 24 hours.
- The tour runs on the date that suits you; the itinerary can be adjusted.
A private tour on the date that suits you — with a local guide.
