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Samarkand · Bukhara · 3 Days / 2 Nights · Private Tour
Uzbekistan in 3 Days: Samarkand and Bukhara
Fly into Samarkand, take the Afrosiyob to Bukhara, fly home from Bukhara
Three days are enough for the two old cities of the A network of caravan routes between China and the Mediterranean. Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva grew rich as stops along it. if you do not spend them going back the way you came. You land in Samarkand and fly home from Bukhara, and between the two the Afrosiyob high-speed train takes about 1 h 40 min to 2 hours. On day 1 you see ,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 → the Registan 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 → and the Registan again under its evening lights. On day 2 the morning goes on Did you know? Legend says the architect asked the queen for a kiss Legend says the architect of Bibi-Khanym would finish on time only for a kiss from Timur's wife, and Timur punished him. In fact the mosque was Timur's own project; his wife Saray Mulk Khanum built her madrasah across the road. Read more → and Samarkand's main bazaar, right next to Bibi-Khanym: Samarkand bread, dried fruit, nuts and halva. Read more → before the train to Bukhara, and the evening on Lyabi-Hauz. Day 3 is ,The fortress-residence of the rulers of Bukhara on a high artificial hill: the oldest structure in the city. Read more → 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 → and 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 → then the airport.
| Duration | 3 days / 2 nights |
| Price | on request |
| Format | Private, on your dates, all year round |
| Where | Samarkand and Bukhara |
| Getting around | The Afrosiyob high-speed train Samarkand – Bukhara; a private car with driver for the airports and the stations |
| Guide | A guide who speaks your language; it is included in the price |
| Best time | March–May and September–November; in summer and winter with the day adjusted to the heat or the short light |
Ideal for a long weekend with an open-jaw ticket, for travellers who want the two classic Silk Road cities rather than one, and for anyone flying in and out of Samarkand and Bukhara.
Shah-i-Zinda — a street of tiled mausoleums climbing the slope above Samarkand.
Poi Kalyan — 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 → of 1127 between a mosque and a working 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. Read more → in Bukhara.
Itinerary
Day by Day
Day 1 · Samarkand — Gur-e-Amir, the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and the Registan lit up
Our driver meets you at Samarkand airport and takes you to your hotel. With your guide you start at Gur-e-Amir, the mausoleum completed in 1404 where Amir Timur (Tamerlane, 1336–1405), founder of the Timurid empire, which had its capital in Samarkand. Born near Shahrisabz. Read more → lies. Then the Registan: three madrasahs around one square, the oldest of them built by Did you know? Ulugh Beg measured the year to within 25 seconds Working at his Samarkand observatory, Ulugh Beg put the tropical year at 365 days 5 h 49 min 15 s, about 25 seconds too long, closer than Copernicus a century later. Read more → in 1417–1420. Your guide takes you into the courtyards and shows you the tigers on the portal of Sher-Dor.
Lunch is .Rice cooked in a kazan with carrots, onions and meat: the dish of every Uzbek celebration. Each region cooks it its own way. In the afternoon, Shah-i-Zinda, a street of tiled mausoleums built over eight centuries on the slope above the city. In the evening you come back to the Registan to see it under its lights.
Good to know: we fit the day to your landing time; after a late landing we keep the evening Registan and move Gur-e-Amir to the next morning. Shah-i-Zinda is a revered place: cover shoulders and knees, women bring a scarf, and speak quietly. Flying into Tashkent instead? The 06:33 Afrosiyob reaches Samarkand at 08:46, and the day starts at the station. More in our articles on the Registan and Shah-i-Zinda.
Overnight in Samarkand
Day 2 · Samarkand – Bukhara — Bibi-Khanym, Siab bazaar, the Afrosiyob and Lyabi-Hauz
In the morning, 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 → which Timur began in 1399 after taking Delhi, with a courtyard of 78 by 64 metres. Siab bazaar starts right beside it: dried fruit, nuts and .Did you know? Legend: Samarkand bread can't be baked anywhere else Legend says a Bukhara ruler brought Samarkand's best baker to his court with his oven, flour and water, yet the bread came out different. The missing ingredient, the baker said, was the air of Samarkand. The round loaves keep for a long time. Read more → Then your driver takes you to the station, more than 6 km from the Registan, for a late-morning Afrosiyob to Bukhara. The ride takes about 1 h 40 min to 2 hours.
Bukhara's station is in Kagan, about 12 km from the old town, and your driver meets you there. After lunch you walk into the old town through the trading domes, the 16th-century covered markets, past the Did you know? Magoki-Attori: a mosque 'in the pit' Magoki-Attori means roughly 'in the pit': even in the 10th century it lay below street level. Beneath it lie remains of a pre-Islamic temple. Read more → mosque, which stands below today's street level. The evening is for Lyabi-Hauz, the square around a pond of about 1620: green tea by the water, and on the portal of the Did you know? A caravanserai that became a madrasah by a khan's word Nadir Divan-Begi built his 1622 building by Lyabi-Hauz as a caravanserai. At the opening Imam Quli Khan praised it as a fine madrasah, and a khan's word could not be taken back: a portal and cells were added, and a madrasah it became. Read more → two simurgh birds carrying white deer towards the sun.
Good to know: the last morning trains to Bukhara leave Samarkand at about 11:00, so we start the day early and book the train as soon as your dates are fixed. If no late-morning train runs on your date, we see Bibi-Khanym on day 1 and take an earlier train. More in our article Samarkand to Bukhara.
Overnight in Bukhara
Day 3 · Bukhara — The Ark, Poi Kalyan, the trading domes and the flight home
Be at the Ark when it opens, before the heat settles on its courtyards. The walls of the emirs' fortress rise 16 to 20 m, and a ramp takes you up through the gate to the throne room and the museums. Opposite stands the Did you know? The famous columns of Bolo-Hauz are barely a century old The Bolo-Hauz mosque opposite the Ark was completed in 1712, but its best-known feature, the tall, slender carved columns along the front of the iwan, was added only in 1917, together with the small minaret of 1916–1917. Read more → mosque of 1712, with its carved wooden columns reflected in the pond.
Then Poi Kalyan: the Kalyan minaret of 1127, about 46 m high, 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 → madrasah, which still trains students. You finish under the trading domes, where the money changers and jewellers once worked, and lunch is Bukhara plov. Then your driver takes you to Bukhara airport for the flight home.
Good to know: the Ark opens at 9:00, and at 8:00 in the season. Poi Kalyan is a working religious complex, so cover shoulders and knees. Flying home from Tashkent? The Afrosiyob leaves Bukhara in the afternoon and early evening and takes a little over four hours; we book the flight home for late that evening or the next morning. More in our plan for Bukhara in 1, 2 or 3 days.
A longer stay — Tashkent, Khiva or the desert
If you fly into Tashkent and want to see the capital too, our Uzbekistan in 3 Days: Tashkent and Samarkand starts there. With two more days, our Samarkand and Bukhara in 5 Days gives each city more time, and from Bukhara the high-speed train goes on to Khiva.
Good to know: how we plan longer trips is in our guides to Uzbekistan in 5 days and Uzbekistan in 7 days.
Accommodation
Where you stay
| City | Stay |
|---|---|
| Samarkand | A hotel in Samarkand, 1 night |
| Bukhara | A hotel in Bukhara, 1 night |
We choose the hotels with you and confirm them for your dates before booking. See our hotels in Samarkand and hotels in Bukhara.
Price
Price
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the train class and the size of your group.
Good to know
Conditions
- The best months are March–May and September–November. In summer we walk in the morning and the evening and keep the middle of the day for lunch and rest; in December the sun sets before five, so we plan the walks around the light.
- Train tickets go on sale 60 days before departure and need the full name and passport number of every traveller. Morning seats from Samarkand to Bukhara go first, so we book them as soon as your dates are fixed.
- Your guide speaks your language, and that is included in the price. Tell us the language you need when you book, ideally well in advance.
- At the mausoleums and mosques, cover shoulders and knees; women bring a scarf, and shoes come off on the carpets.
- Drink bottled water: it is sold everywhere.
- Read before you go: our guides to Uzbekistan in 3 days and Samarkand, Bukhara or Khiva.
- 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
- Two old cities, no way back: you land in Samarkand and fly home from Bukhara, so no hours go on returning to where you started.
- One short train: the Uzbekistan's high-speed train: Tashkent to Samarkand in about 2 hours 10 minutes, Tashkent to Bukhara in about 4 hours. Tickets are tied to your passport. Read more → covers Samarkand to Bukhara in about 1 h 40 min to 2 hours.
- An evening in each city: 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 → under its lights on day 1 and 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 → after dark on day 2.
Minuses
- No Tashkent or Khiva: for the capital, see our Tashkent and Samarkand tour; Khiva needs more days.
- Full days: on day 2 the morning ends with a train at about 11:00, and both cities are seen on foot.
- Meals mostly extra: only breakfasts are included; lunches, dinners and drinks are paid on site.
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
- 1
- Walking
- Medium
Walking: Medium: three days on foot in the old cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, with the car for the stations, the airports and the longer distances.
Best time
Mar–May, Sep–Nov
March–May and September–November: mild days for walking the old cities from morning to evening.
A typical day
On day 2 you see Bibi-Khanym and Siab bazaar in the morning, take the late-morning Afrosiyob to Bukhara, walk through the trading domes after lunch and end the day on Lyabi-Hauz.
What the price includes
What is included
- Meeting at Samarkand airport and all transfers on the programme
- Accommodation: 2 nights with breakfast (Samarkand 1, Bukhara 1)
- Train tickets: the Afrosiyob Samarkand – Bukhara
- A private car with driver for the airports and the stations
- A local guide in every city on the programme, speaking your language
- Entrance tickets on the programme
Not included
- International flights to Samarkand and from Bukhara
- Lunches, dinners and drinks
- The Afrosiyob from Tashkent to Samarkand or from Bukhara to Tashkent (on request)
- An extra night in Bukhara or Tashkent (on request)
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- Tips and personal expenses
Extra cost on site
- Lunches, dinners and drinks
- The Afrosiyob from Tashkent to Samarkand or from Bukhara to Tashkent (on request)
- An extra night in Bukhara or Tashkent (on request)
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- Tips and personal expenses
Good for
- Travellers with three days who want Samarkand and Bukhara, the two classic Silk Road cities, rather than one
- Anyone who can fly into Samarkand and out of Bukhara, or the other way round
- Guests arriving in Tashkent who are happy to start with the early train to Samarkand
Maybe not for you if
- Anyone who wants to see Tashkent: it is not on this route; see our Tashkent and Samarkand tour
- Travellers who prefer a slow pace: on day 2 the morning ends with a train, and each day is full
- Those looking for Khiva, the mountains or the desert: this trip is about the two cities
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 class and the size of your group.
Why Samarkand and Bukhara, and not Tashkent?
If you can fly into Samarkand and out of Bukhara, three days go on the two oldest cities on the route, with only one short train between them. If your flights are to and from Tashkent, our tour Uzbekistan in 3 Days: Tashkent and Samarkand fits better.
I fly into Tashkent. Can I still do this tour?
Yes. The 06:33 Afrosiyob from Tashkent reaches Samarkand at 08:46, and day 1 starts at Samarkand station. For the flight home from Tashkent, the Afrosiyob leaves Bukhara in the afternoon and early evening and takes a little over four hours, so we book the flight late that evening or the next morning.
How long is the train from Samarkand to Bukhara?
About 1 h 40 min to 2 hours on the Afrosiyob. The last morning trains leave Samarkand at about 11:00, so we buy the tickets as soon as your dates are fixed. More in our guide to Samarkand to Bukhara.
Can we do it the other way round?
Yes. If you fly into Bukhara and out of Samarkand, we start in Bukhara and take the Afrosiyob to Samarkand.
What do I need to book the train?
The full name and passport number of every traveller. Tickets go on sale 60 days before departure, and morning seats from Samarkand to Bukhara go first.
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
Arrive earlier or stay longer
Need extra nights before or after the tour?
Prices are indicative; we confirm the exact rate after your request.
© Photos
Siab Bazaar, Samarkand — Adam Harangozó / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
