Expert opinion
Pluses
- History and yoga in one weekend: AroundCA's own retreat that combines history with a healthy break: Did you know? People still live inside Khiva's museum city Itchan Kala packs more than 50 historic monuments and about 250 old houses inside clay walls 8–10 m high and 5–6 m thick, and families still live and work in its lanes. Read more → and the Ruins of ancient Khorezm fortresses on hills at the edge of the Kyzylkum, in Karakalpakstan. fortress by day, yoga at sunset in the desert and at sunrise on a hotel veranda in the old town — the instructor travels with the group.
- No day off needed: Leave on Friday evening by night train, be back in Tashkent around 07:00 on Monday, and in between you are in Khiva from about 11:00 on Saturday to 16:00 on Sunday.
- Almost all-inclusive: Train tickets, a hotel night, guide, Ichan-Kala ticket, Saturday meals and the Sunday desert lunch are in the price, in a group of up to 10.
Minuses
- Early Sunday: Yoga starts at 06:00 on Sunday, and the desert drive leaves at 09:00 and takes 1.5–2 hours each way.
- Nights on the train: Two of the three nights are in a train compartment; there is only one hotel night, in Khiva.
- A few extras: Dinner on the train out, camel riding and minaret or An Islamic college: student cells and classrooms around a courtyard behind a grand portal. In the old towns many now house museums and craft workshops. climbs charged separately from the unified ticket are not included.
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.
- On the ground
- 1 full day · 2 nights on the train + 1 in a hotel
- Hotel changes
- none — one hotel
- Longest transfer
- 15 h · by train
- Starts before 7:00
- day 3
- Walking
- Medium
Walking: Medium: on Saturday a guided walk through Ichan-Kala of about three hours (14:30–17:30), all on foot because the old town is compact, and on Sunday about three hours in the Ayaz-Kala fortress and the dunes (11:00–14:00). No treks or climbs are mentioned.
A typical day
Saturday: arrival in Khiva around 11:00, transfer to the hotel and check-in, lunch at 13:00 in a restaurant in the old town. From 14:30 to 17:30 a guided walk through Ichan-Kala (Kalta-Minor, Kunya-Ark, the Islam-Khoja minaret, the Muhammad Amin-Khan Madrasah). Then a drive of about 20 minutes to the desert for evening yoga and sunset, back in town at 19:30 for dinner, and free time afterwards.
What the price includes
What is included
- Train tickets Tashkent–Khiva–Tashkent, compartment class
- 1 night at the hotel in Khiva, twin/double room, breakfast
- Station–hotel transfers
- Transport for the desert excursion (up to 10 people)
- Local guide: Ichan-Kala walk and desert excursion
- Ichan-Kala entrance ticket
- Saturday lunch and dinner, Sunday desert lunch
- 2 yoga sessions (desert and veranda), instructor with the group
- Water throughout the trip
- All taxes
Not included
- Dinner on the train on the way there
- Camel riding in the desert (optional)
- Climbing the minaret or madrasah where charged separately from the unified ticket
- Personal expenses, tips
- Travel insurance
Extra cost on site
- Camel riding in the desert, on request at extra cost
- Climbing the minaret or madrasah where charged separately from the unified ticket
Good for
- Tashkent residents who can't take a day off work
- Those who want yoga plus sightseeing in one weekend
- Travellers who enjoy the night train as part of the trip
Maybe not for you if
- Anyone who sleeps badly on trains — two of the three nights are spent in a sleeper compartment
- Those who want more than a short taste of Khiva — this is one hotel night
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
Will I be back in time for work on Monday?
Yes. The return night train arrives in Tashkent at about 07:00 on Monday.
What if it is cold for the morning yoga?
In cold weather the sunrise session moves to a covered veranda or indoors.
Is there an early-booking discount?
Yes, booking 21 or more days before departure saves 10%; after that the full price applies.
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
Arrival, departure, transfers
Programme and details
Day-by-day route, prices and terms
Weekend retreat · by train
Khiva Yoga Retreat — a weekend from Tashkent
A short detox weekend for Tashkent residents: the night train instead of a flight (part of the experience, not just logistics), morning yoga on a hotel veranda in the old town, and a day in the The Kyzylkum, or Red Sands: the desert between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers that the road and the railway cross on the way to Khiva. desert among the ancient fortresses of Khorezm. Leave Friday evening — come back rested by the start of the week, with no day off needed.
$320 per person · all-inclusive · group of up to 10 · yoga instructor travels with the group
Route
Day-by-day programme
Day 1 · Friday — departure by night train
20:30–21:30 — group meeting at Tashkent-South railway station, boarding the night train to Khiva (kupe / compartment class). Dinner is optional — on the train or bring your own.
Day 2 · Saturday — Ichan-Kala and sunset yoga in the desert
~11:00 — arrival in Khiva. Meet and transfer to the Twins hotel, check-in.
13:00 — lunch at a national restaurant in the old town.
14:30–17:30 — a guided walking tour of Ichan-Kala: the Did you know? A 14-metre-wide base for a tower that stopped at 29 m Kalta Minor was begun in 1852 and meant to reach 70–80 m, but work halted in 1855 at about 29 m when its khan died. It is said to be the only minaret covered entirely in glazed tiles. Read more → minaret, the The old fortress-residence of the khans of Khiva, inside the walls of Itchan Kala. citadel, the Did you know? Khiva's tallest minaret is barely a century old The Islam Khoja Minaret was begun in 1908, near the very end of the khans' era. At 56.6 m it is one of the tallest in Central Asia; a spiral stair of 175 steps leads up to its windowed top. Read more → minaret, the Muhammad Amin-Khan Madrasah. The old town is compact — the whole route is on foot.
17:30–19:30 — drive out to the desert for an evening yoga practice (~20 minutes each way). Watching the sunset.
19:30 — back into town for dinner. Free time afterward.
Day 3 · Sunday — sunrise yoga and the Kyzylkum desert
06:00–07:30 — morning practice on the hotel veranda (sunrise, quiet, the old town). In cold weather, the session moves to a covered veranda or indoors.
08:00 — an Eastern-style breakfast at the hotel.
09:00 — drive to the Kyzylkum desert and the Ayaz-Kala fortress (~100 km, 1.5–2 hours each way).
11:00–14:00 — walking the fortress and the dunes, photos, lunch at a yurt camp; camel riding available on request, at extra cost.
14:00–15:30 — back to Khiva to collect your things.
16:00–16:30 — transfer to the station, departure by night train to Tashkent.
Day 4 · Monday — return to Tashkent
~07:00 — arrival in Tashkent. The group is home well before the workday starts.
Price
| Per person | Group |
|---|---|
| $320 · all-inclusive | up to 10 people |
Early booking: book 21+ days before departure and save 10%. Inside the 21-day window, the full price applies.
Not Bali — just the rhythm of the rails through the night, and a desert sunrise waiting on the other end. A weekend of yoga and quiet, without taking a single day off work.
