Good for
- Corporate, incentive and agency groups of 10–60 people
- Groups who want hands-on crafts and gastronomy, not just sightseeing
- Those who expect 5-star hotels throughout
Maybe not for you if
- Those who want Khiva or Tashkent — the route covers Samarkand and Bukhara only
- Budget groups — the programme uses 5-star hotels throughout
Questions about this tour
How big should the group be, and how much does it cost?
The programme is designed for groups of 10–60 people. The price is on request and depends on group size, hotels and dates.
Which hotels are used?
Mövenpick, Hilton or Regency in Samarkand for 3 nights and Zargaron Plaza, Mövenpick or Minorai Kalon in Bukhara for 2 nights, or equivalents — all with breakfast.
Which meals are included?
Breakfasts plus all lunches and dinners in the itinerary, including the folklore dinner, the dinner of the plov you cook and the whole-lamb dinner in Bukhara.
How does the group travel?
All transfers and the Samarkand–Bukhara train are included, and the tour ends with a transfer to Bukhara airport. International flights are not included; passport data is needed in advance for the train tickets.
What are the cancellation terms?
30+ days before: full refund minus costs incurred; 15–29 days: up to 30% retained; 8–14 days: up to 50%; 7 days or less: up to 100%. Rail and air tickets follow the carrier’s rules.
Didn’t find your answer? Ask about this tour →
Programme and details
Day-by-day route, prices and terms
Small group · premium · 6 days
Silk Road — Samarkand & Bukhara, 6 Days
Two great A network of caravan routes between China and the Mediterranean. Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva grew rich as stops along it. cities at a premium pace: Samarkand’s monuments and Bukhara’s old town, with masterclasses, gastronomy and 5-star hotels throughout.
5-star hotels
Groups 10–60 people
MICE & premium cultural
Highlights
What’s inside
- Samarkand — the Did you know? The Registan's sun-carrying lion went on a banknote The Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636) is named for the big cats with the sun on their backs on its portal. The image appeared on the reverse of Uzbekistan's 200-som note of 1997. Read more →, Did you know? Timur's tombstone went to Persia and came back The dark-green jade slab on Timur's grave in Gur-e-Amir was carried off by Nader Shah in 1740. It broke, and on his advisers' urging he sent it back to Samarkand. Read more → and Did you know? Why Shah-i-Zinda means 'the Living King' The necropolis grew around the shrine of Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Legend says he did not die in battle but went down a deep well to a garden of paradise, where he lives on. Read more →, plus the «Invisible Samarkand» audio walk
- Hands-on: a batik masterclass, a Rice cooked in a kazan with carrots, onions and meat: the dish of every Uzbek celebration. Each region cooks it its own way. masterclass at Traditions Square, optional ceramics / mosaic / blacksmithing
- A countryside day — Charcinar Park, a mountain-pass lunch and a Bagizagan wine tasting
- Bukhara — 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 →, 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 →, the A 9th–10th-century family tomb of the Samanid dynasty, one of the oldest surviving monuments of Islamic architecture in Central Asia, built entirely of patterned brick. Read more →, A small gatehouse of 1807 in Bukhara with four towers topped by turquoise domes.
- Dinners with folklore, an open-fire whole-lamb roast and a Registan light show
Programme
Day by day
Day 1 · Arrival in Samarkand
Transfer and check-in. The Gur-Emir Mausoleum and Registan Square, lunch, a batik masterclass at an artisan studio, the Meros silk-paper mill and a dinner with a folklore concert.
Day 2 · Samarkand
The Shah-i-Zinda necropolis and the «Invisible Samarkand» audio walk. Lunch, a Samarkand's main bazaar, right next to Bibi-Khanym: Samarkand bread, dried fruit, nuts and halva. Read more → walk to choose ingredients, then a plov masterclass at Traditions Square (optional craft workshops) and a dinner of the plov you cooked.
Day 3 · Samarkand countryside
Charcinar Park with its sacred spring and old plane trees, a mountain-pass lunch of tandoor lamb, a Bagizagan wine tasting. Dinner with a Registan view and an evening LED light show.
Day 4 · Samarkand → Bukhara
Morning train to Bukhara. On arrival: Lyabi-Hauz, the Nadir Divan-Begi and One of the oldest mosques in Central Asia, in the centre of Bukhara. It stands below today's street level: the city has grown up around it., the trading domes, the Kalon minaret and Did you know? A madrasah still teaching after almost 500 years Mir-i-Arab, built in the 1530s opposite the Kalyan Mosque, was one of only three Islamic schools allowed to keep working in Soviet times, and it still trains students today. Read more →, the Ark and the Samanid Mausoleum, with a A teahouse: green tea, plov and conversation on wide wooden beds called topchan. break.
Day 5 · Bukhara
The Bahauddin Naqshbandi Mausoleum, the The summer palace of the last emirs of Bukhara, built in the late 19th and early 20th century in a mix of European and Central Asian styles. summer palace and Chor Minor. Free time in the trading domes, then a guesthouse dinner with slow-roasted whole lamb.
Day 6 · Departure
Breakfast and transfer to Bukhara airport.
Price
Price
| Per group / per person | On request |
Hotels: Mövenpick / Hilton / Regency (Samarkand, 3 nights), Zargaron Plaza / Mövenpick / Minorai Kalon (Bukhara, 2 nights), or equivalents. Price depends on group size, hotels and dates.
- 5-star hotels throughout with breakfast
- All transfers and the Samarkand — Bukhara train
- Professional guide and all entrance tickets
- All lunches and dinners in the itinerary
- The batik and plov masterclasses
- The Bagizagan wine tasting
- Mineral water in the vehicle
- International flights
- Local tourist tax if charged by the hotel
- Photo and video fees at individual monuments
- Travel insurance
- Personal expenses, souvenirs and tips
Booking
How to book
- Send your dates, group size and requests via the form on this page, by email hello@aroundca.com or on WhatsApp. Reply within 24 hours.
- Cancellation: 30+ days — full refund minus costs incurred; 15–29 days — up to 30%; 8–14 days — up to 50%; 7 days or less — up to 100%. Rail/air tickets per carrier rules; passport data needed in advance for train tickets.
The two greatest Silk Road cities, made hands-on — crafts, food and 5-star comfort.
