Programme and details
Uzbekistan · 8 Days / 7 Nights · Private Rail Tour
Uzbekistan by Train
Tashkent – Samarkand – Bukhara – Khiva – Tashkent
The early Afrosiyob leaves Tashkent while the city is still waking up and is in Samarkand before ten: 2 h 30 min on a Spanish Talgo train built for 250 km/h. In eight days you cross Uzbekistan by rail from one end to the other: the Talgo to Samarkand and Bukhara, the new Korean-built high-speed train to Khiva, where the line ends a half-hour walk from the old city, and a night in a sleeper compartment back to Tashkent. Between the trains, a guide in every city, and to start, the Tashkent metro and an open-air museum of locomotives.
| Duration | 8 days / 7 nights |
| Price | on request |
| Format | Private, or a small group on your dates |
| Where | Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva |
| Getting around | Afrosiyob high-speed train Tashkent – Samarkand – Bukhara, the Jaloliddin Manguberdi high-speed train Bukhara – Khiva, an overnight sleeper Khiva – Tashkent; a car with driver to and from the stations |
| Best time | April–May and September–October |
Ideal for rail enthusiasts, for first-time visitors who would rather ride than drive, and for families with children who love trains.
Jaloliddin Manguberdi — the Hyundai Rotem high-speed train that has linked Tashkent and Khiva since May 2026: 1,220 km in about 7.5 hours.
Khiva station — the end of the line, opened in 2018, a half-hour walk from the walls of .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 →
Itinerary
Day by Day
Day 1 · Tashkent — The metro as your first ride
Our driver meets you at Tashkent airport and takes you to your hotel. In the afternoon your guide takes you underground. The Tashkent metro opened in 1977, the first in Central Asia, and every station got its own theme and its own artists.
We ride to ,Did you know? A metro station where Ulugh Beg meets Gagarin Kosmonavtlar station, opened in 1984, has ceramic medallions of Ulugh Beg, Galileo, Icarus, Gagarin and Tereshkova, and glass stars in the ceiling that hint at the Milky Way. Read more → opened in 1984, where the walls darken from turquoise to deep blue and ceramic medallions show Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova; to Alisher Navoi, with ceramic panels from Navoi’s Khamsa; and to Mustaqillik Maydoni with its chandeliers. Photography in the metro has been allowed since June 2018, so keep the camera ready.
Overnight in Tashkent
Day 2 · Tashkent — Locomotives by the main station
In the morning, the Tashkent Museum of Railway Techniques, opened in 1989 near the main station, which locals call the North station. It is an open-air collection: steam, diesel and electric locomotives, freight and passenger carriages, and old carriages fitted out with train models, semaphores, route maps and railway workers’ uniforms. Then a look at the station itself, Tashkent Central, where tomorrow’s Afrosiyob leaves from.
In the afternoon, the old city with your guide: the The religious heart of old Tashkent: madrasahs, a Friday mosque and mausoleums. Right next to it stands the new Center of Islamic Civilization, opened in 2026. Read more → complex and ,Tashkent's old bazaar under a big blue-green dome, not far from Hazrati Imam. Bring cash in so'm. Read more → which has its own metro station.
Good to know: The railway museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, so we set the start date of the tour around it.
Overnight in Tashkent
Day 3 · Tashkent – Samarkand — The Afrosiyob
An early transfer to Tashkent Central. At the entrance you show your ticket and passport, and bags are screened before the platform, so we arrive at least half an hour before departure. The morning Afrosiyob reaches Samarkand in about 2 h 30 min, before 10 a.m. The train has VIP, Business and Economy classes and a restaurant car.
Our driver meets you at Samarkand station, more than 6 km from the centre. With your guide: 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 → the ,Did you know? 95 elephants hauled stone for Timur's great mosque Bibi-Khanym, begun in 1399 after Timur took Delhi, was the largest mosque of his empire. Some 200 stonecutters worked on site and 95 elephants brought from India hauled the loads; the courtyard was meant to hold 10,000 people. Read more → Samarkand's main bazaar, right next to Bibi-Khanym: Samarkand bread, dried fruit, nuts and halva. Read more → next door, and 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 → at the end of the day.
Overnight in Samarkand
Day 4 · Samarkand – Bukhara — Afrasiyab, then west in under two hours
In the morning, 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 → before the heat, then the Afrasiyab hill: the ancient city that gave the train its name. Its museum keeps the Ambassadors’ Painting from the 7th century.
In the afternoon, the Afrosiyob to Bukhara, under 2 hours. Bukhara’s station is in Kagan, about 12 km from the old city; our driver meets you and takes you to your hotel.
Overnight in Bukhara
Day 5 · Bukhara — A day without trains
Bukhara’s old centre is a walk, and today the trains rest. With your guide: ,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? Under Bukhara's domes merchants changed money and gold Four 16th-century trading domes still stand over old crossroads. Toki Sarrafon was the money changers' dome, where merchants from India and China swapped coins; Toki Zargaron held jewellers' workshops, Toki Telpak Furushon sold caps. Read more → and ,Did you know? Legend: the minaret's foundation was laid with camel milk Legend says master Bako laid the foundations of the Kalyan minaret with ganch plaster mixed with camel milk, then vanished for two years to let them harden, and only then built the tower. Locals still show a grave they say is his. Read more → where 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 → stands between the Kalyan Mosque and the 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 that kept working through the Soviet period, and it still trains students today. Read more → ;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. then The fortress-residence of the rulers of Bukhara on a high artificial hill: the oldest structure in the city. Read more → fortress and the .Did you know? Buried in mud, this tomb escaped Genghis Khan The 10th-century Samanid Mausoleum, one of the oldest monuments of Islamic Central Asia, was covered by flood mud and sand before the Mongols came in 1220. Hidden for centuries, its brick lacework survived intact. Read more →
Overnight in Bukhara
Day 6 · Bukhara – Khiva — The high-speed train to the end of the line
In the late morning, the Jaloliddin Manguberdi stops in Bukhara on its way from Tashkent to Khiva. Built by Hyundai Rotem in Korea, it entered service in May 2026, and a second trainset joined it in July. From Bukhara it runs via Urgench and reaches Khiva at about half past two, some 3 h 30 min later.
Khiva station opened in 2018 and is the end of the line. From here to the walls of Itchan Kala is a half-hour walk: your guide walks in with you, and the driver takes the luggage to the hotel. The rest of the day is in the old city.
Good to know: This train does not leave Tashkent on Sundays, so this day of the tour never falls on a Sunday.
Overnight in Khiva
Day 7 · Khiva — Itchan Kala, then the night train
A full day in Itchan Kala with your guide: 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 → the ,The old fortress-residence of the khans of Khiva, inside the walls of Itchan Kala. the Did you know? Khiva's Juma Mosque stands on 212 wooden columns Recorded as early as the 10th century and rebuilt in 1788, the Juma Mosque has no portal and no domes: its flat roof rests on 212 carved columns in 17 rows, and some of them are older than the building itself. Read more → with its hall of carved wooden columns and 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 →
In the evening, the overnight train to Tashkent. We book a two-berth compartment (spalny vagon) or a four-berth compartment (kupe). Each passenger may carry up to 36 kg of hand luggage, or 50 kg in a two-berth compartment.
Overnight on the train
Day 8 · Tashkent — Morning at the South station
The sleeper arrives in the morning at Tashkent South station, about 7 km from Tashkent Central. Our driver meets you and takes you on to your flight or your hotel.
Would you rather not spend a night on the train? Then you stay one more night in Khiva and take the morning high-speed train to Tashkent (every day except Monday, about 7.5 hours), or fly from Urgench (on request).
Accommodation
Where you stay
| City | Stay |
|---|---|
| Tashkent | A hotel in Tashkent, 2 nights |
| Samarkand | A hotel in Samarkand, 1 night |
| Bukhara | A hotel in Bukhara, 2 nights |
| Khiva | A hotel in Khiva, 1 night |
| Khiva – Tashkent | A sleeper compartment on the overnight train, 1 night |
We confirm the hotels and the train compartments for your dates before booking.
Price
Price
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the train classes, the size of your group and the language of the guide.
Good to know
Conditions
- Train tickets go on sale 60 days before departure, and the Afrosiyob and the Khiva trains sell out: we book as soon as your dates are fixed.
- Tickets are issued to your passport: we need the full name and passport number of every traveller, and you travel with the same passport.
- We set the start date so that the railway museum day falls between Wednesday and Sunday and the train to Khiva does not fall on a Sunday.
- The train timetable can change: we check it on eticket.uzrailpass.uz before we confirm the programme.
- Reservations are confirmed with passport copies only.
Cancellation policy
| Cancellation timing | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 21 days before the service | 20% |
| 20–7 days | 50% |
| 6–0 days | 100% |
Transportation
| Vehicle | Group size |
|---|---|
| Chevrolet Cobalt | 2 pax |
| Hyundai Starex | 3–4 pax |
| Toyota Hiace / King Long | 5–8 pax |
| Mercedes Sprinter | 9–14 pax |
Vehicles may differ in make and colour.
🌿 Responsible tourism: we allocate part of our profits to good causes and are preparing for GSTC certification.
Expert opinion
Pluses
- Every kind of train: the Talgo ,Uzbekistan's high-speed train: Tashkent to Samarkand in 2 hours 30 minutes, Tashkent to Bukhara in about 4 hours. Tickets are tied to your passport. Read more → the new high-speed train to Khiva, a sleeper compartment and the .Did you know? A metro designed to ride out a magnitude-9 earthquake The three original lines of the Tashkent Metro were built to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 9.0, and the tunnels lie unusually shallow, only 8–25 m below the street. Read more →
- No long drives: between the four cities you ride, and the car only meets you at the stations.
- Railway history: an open-air museum of locomotives next to Tashkent’s main station.
Minuses
- Early start: the Afrosiyob to Samarkand leaves in the early morning on day 3.
- A night on the train: the way back is in a sleeper compartment; a day train or a flight is possible instead.
- Fixed weekdays: the railway museum and the Khiva train decide which day the tour can start.
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.
- Hotel changes
- 3
- Longest transfer
- 14 h · by train
- Walking
- Medium
Best time
Apr–May, Sep–Oct
April–May and September–October: comfortable weather for walking in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
Better to avoid
Jul–Aug
July and August: hot afternoons in Bukhara and Khiva, when the walking parts of the days are tiring.
A typical day
On day 6 you have a late breakfast in Bukhara and board the high-speed train from Tashkent when it stops on its way west. About 3 h 30 min later, at around half past two, it reaches Khiva, the end of the line. From the station you walk to the walls of Itchan Kala in half an hour with your guide, while the driver takes the luggage to the hotel. The night is in a hotel in Khiva.
What the price includes
What is included
- Train tickets: the Afrosiyob Tashkent – Samarkand and Samarkand – Bukhara, the high-speed train Bukhara – Khiva and a sleeper compartment Khiva – Tashkent
- Accommodation: 6 nights in hotels with breakfast
- A private car with driver for the airport and station transfers
- A local guide in every city on the programme
- Entrance tickets on the programme, including the railway museum
- Metro rides with your guide on day 1
Not included
- Meals and drinks not on the programme, including the restaurant car
- VIP lounges at the stations (on request)
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- International flights and visa fees (if applicable)
- Tips and personal expenses
Extra cost on site
- VIP lounges at the stations (on request)
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- Tips and personal expenses
Good for
- Rail enthusiasts who want to ride every kind of train in the country, from the Talgo to the sleeper
- First-time visitors who want the classic four cities without long drives
- Families with children who love trains, stations and the metro
Maybe not for you if
- Travellers who would rather not get up early: the Afrosiyob to Samarkand leaves in the early morning
- Anyone who wants a hotel every night: one night is on the train (we can swap it for a day train or a flight)
- Those who need a fixed start on any weekday: the railway museum and the Khiva train set the start day
Questions about this tour
How much does the tour cost?
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the train classes, the size of your group and the language of the guide.
When should we book?
Train tickets go on sale 60 days before departure, and the Afrosiyob and the Khiva trains sell out. Tell us your dates as early as you can: we book as soon as they are fixed. The tickets are issued to your passports, so we need the full name and passport number of every traveller.
What is the night train like?
We book a two-berth compartment (spalny vagon) or a four-berth compartment (kupe). Each passenger may carry up to 36 kg of hand luggage, or 50 kg in a two-berth compartment. The train arrives at Tashkent South station in the morning, and our driver meets you there.
Can we skip the night on the train?
Yes. You stay one more night in Khiva and take the morning high-speed train to Tashkent, which runs every day except Monday and takes about 7.5 hours, or fly from Urgench. Tell us when you book.
Which class do we travel in on the Afrosiyob?
The Afrosiyob has VIP, Business and Economy classes and a restaurant car. Tell us which class you prefer, and we quote the tour with it.
Which Tashkent station do the trains use?
The Afrosiyob and the high-speed train to Khiva leave from Tashkent Central, which locals call the North station. The overnight trains from Khiva usually arrive at the South station, about 7 km away. We plan the transfers for both.
Didn’t find your answer? Ask about this tour →
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Tick what you’d like to add — it goes into your request, and the manager confirms the final price.
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Arrival, departure, transfers
© Photos
Kosmonavtlar metro station, Tashkent — Oqsaqol / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0; The P36 steam locomotive at the Museum of Railway Techniques, Tashkent — Bounz / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0; The Afrosiyob train at Tashkent Central station — Nikolai Bulykin / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
