Programme and details
Tashkent & Samarkand · 5 Days / 4 Nights · Private Tour
Wine Uzbekistan: Tashkent and Samarkand
Tashkent – Uzumfermer – Tashkent – Samarkand – Bagizagan – Samarkand – Tashkent
Uzbekistan grows more grapes than any other country in Central Asia, yet about three quarters of the harvest is eaten fresh. Less than a quarter goes into juice, wine and brandy, and the still wines are made mostly from two Georgian varieties, Saperavi and Rkatsiteli. In five days we take you to two wineries, one outside Tashkent and one in the Samarkand countryside, and put wine where it sits best here: after a plov lunch, next to the bazaar and in front of the Registan at dusk.
| Duration | 5 days / 4 nights |
| Price | on request |
| Format | Private, or a small group on your dates |
| Where | Tashkent, the Kibray district of the Tashkent region, Samarkand and the Samarkand region |
| Getting there | 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 → high-speed train Tashkent – Samarkand and back, 2 h 15 min to 2 h 30 min each way |
| Best time | September–October |
Ideal for wine lovers curious about a little-known wine country, and for travellers who want Samarkand’s tables and cellars as well as its monuments.
Bagizagan — a winery in the Samarkand region, working since 1994, with more than 20 wines.
Registan — the three madrasahs of Samarkand’s main square, built between 1417 and 1660, seen from a terrace at dinner.
Itinerary
Day by Day
Day 1 · Tashkent — Arrival, Chorsu bazaar and plov for lunch
Our driver meets you at the airport or the station and takes you to your hotel. If you arrive in the morning, your guide takes you to the old city and the Chorsu bazaar under its blue dome of 1990. Among the dried fruit and nuts, look for the table grapes Uzbeks eat fresh: Husayni, Rizamat and Kishmish.
Lunch is plov, at a plov centre where it is cooked in big kazans over fire. Here plov is a midday dish: by evening the best kazans are empty.
Good to know: We plan the first day around your arrival time; after a late flight it is simply the transfer and a rest.
Overnight in Tashkent
Day 2 · Tashkent – Uzumfermer – Tashkent — A day at the winery
After breakfast we drive out of the city to Kattasuv, a village in the Kibray district of the Tashkent region. Uzumfermer grows more than 100 grape varieties here on 21 hectares of vineyards.
The winemaker walks you around the estate, and then comes a tasting of six wines. In late summer and autumn you arrive in the grape season: around Tashkent it begins in mid-August, and the varieties ripen one after another until late autumn.
Back in Tashkent in the afternoon; the evening is free.
Good to know: The tasting is for guests aged 21 and over. Carry your passport: you may be asked to show it.
Overnight in Tashkent
Day 3 · Tashkent – Samarkand — The Registan and dinner on a terrace
The Afrosiyob high-speed train takes 2 h 15 min to 2 h 30 min from Tashkent to Samarkand. Our driver takes you to the station, and your guide meets you in Samarkand.
The afternoon belongs to the Registan. 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 → built the first of its three madrasahs in 1417–1420; Sher-Dor and Did you know? The 'gilded' mosque of the Registan Tilla-Kari, built in 1646–1660, means 'gilded'. With Bibi-Khanym in ruins, it served as Samarkand's main Friday mosque until the 1920s. Its prayer hall glows with kundal, relief painting finished in gold leaf, restored in 1979. Read more → followed in the 17th century. Look up at the Sher-Dor portal: tigers chasing white deer, with a human-faced sun rising from their backs.
In the evening, dinner on a terrace with wine and a view of the Registan, while the madrasahs are lit up after dark.
Overnight in Samarkand
Day 4 · Samarkand – Bagizagan — The Siab bazaar and wine in the Samarkand countryside
In the morning, the Siab bazaar beside 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 → dried fruit, nuts, spices and more than seventeen kinds of flatbread.
Then out of the city to Bagizagan, a winery of the Samarkand region that has been working since 1994 and makes more than 20 wines, for a tasting. On request we also visit the Samarkand winery named after Khovrenko, which traces its history to 1868 and keeps a small museum of winemaking.
In the evening, dinner as guests of a local family. Tell us in advance about any food restrictions.
Good to know: If you skip the tasting, we plan the afternoon without alcohol, for example a visit to a silk workshop.
Overnight in Samarkand
Day 5 · Samarkand – Tashkent — Shah-i-Zinda and the train back
Start early at ,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 → a narrow lane of tiled mausoleums built over eight centuries, best in the morning before the heat. Then ,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 mausoleum of ,Amir Timur (Tamerlane, 1336–1405), founder of the Timurid empire, which had its capital in Samarkand. Born near Shahrisabz. completed in 1404.
In the afternoon, the Afrosiyob back to Tashkent, where our driver takes you to your hotel or the airport. If you fly home from Samarkand, we take you to Samarkand airport instead.
Good to know: Shah-i-Zinda is still a place of pilgrimage, so cover shoulders and knees.
Accommodation
Where you stay
| City | Stay |
|---|---|
| Tashkent | A comfortable hotel, 2 nights |
| Samarkand | A comfortable hotel, 2 nights |
We confirm the hotels for your dates before booking.
Price
Price
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the size of your group, the language of the guide and the tastings you choose.
Good to know
Conditions
- Tastings are for guests aged 21 and over: in Uzbekistan alcohol is sold only to people aged 21 and over. Carry your passport.
- Any tasting can be replaced with an alcohol-free programme; tell us when you book.
- Train tickets need the full name and passport number of every traveller. Afrosiyob seats sell out, so we buy them as soon as your dates are fixed.
- If you want more food than wine, our culinary tour Taste of the Road has a plov class in Samarkand.
- Programme details, times and accommodation are confirmed for your dates.
- 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 wineries: Uzumfermer outside Tashkent, with a walk through the vineyards and six wines, and Bagizagan in the Samarkand region.
- Wine with a view: dinner on a terrace facing 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 → with the madrasahs lit up after dark.
- Food and people: Rice cooked in a kazan with carrots, onions and meat: the dish of every Uzbek celebration. Each region cooks it its own way. at lunchtime, the Tashkent's old bazaar under a big blue-green dome, not far from Hazrati Imam. Bring cash in so'm. Read more → and Samarkand's main bazaar, right next to Bibi-Khanym: Samarkand bread, dried fruit, nuts and halva. Read more → bazaars, and dinner as guests of a local family.
Minuses
- Two cities only: Bukhara and Khiva are not in the five days; we add them on request.
- Age limit: tastings are for guests aged 21 and over, the age from which alcohol is sold in Uzbekistan.
- Meals: lunches and most dinners 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
- Longest transfer
- 2.5 h · by train
Best time
Sep–Oct
September and October: the grape season around Tashkent runs from mid-August into late autumn, and the summer heat in the cities is over.
Cool, fewer people: Jan–Feb, Dec
Better to avoid
Jul–Aug
A typical day
On day 2 you leave Tashkent after breakfast for Kattasuv in the Kibray district, where Uzumfermer grows more than 100 grape varieties on 21 hectares. The winemaker walks you around the estate, then comes a tasting of six wines. You are back in Tashkent in the afternoon, with a free evening.
What the price includes
What is included
- Meeting at the airport or station and all transfers on the programme
- Afrosiyob train tickets Tashkent – Samarkand – Tashkent
- Accommodation: 4 nights with breakfast
- A private car with driver and a guide on all days
- Uzumfermer: a walk with the winemaker and a tasting of six wines
- Bagizagan: the trip and a wine tasting
- Dinner on a terrace with a view of the Registan, and dinner with a local family
- Entrance tickets on the programme
Not included
- Lunches, other dinners and drinks
- The Khovrenko winery visit (on request)
- Wine and other purchases at the wineries
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- International flights and visa fees (if applicable)
- Tips and personal expenses
Extra cost on site
- Wine and other purchases at the wineries
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- Tips and personal expenses
Good for
- Wine lovers curious about a little-known wine country
- Travellers who want Samarkand’s tables and cellars as well as its monuments
- Couples and friends who like to end the day at a good table
Maybe not for you if
- Travellers who also want Bukhara and Khiva: in five days the tour covers Tashkent and Samarkand only
- Anyone who needs all meals in the price: lunches and most dinners are paid on site
Questions about this tour
How much does the tour cost?
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the size of your group, the language of the guide and the tastings you choose.
Is there an age limit for the tastings?
Yes. In Uzbekistan alcohol is sold only to people aged 21 and over, so the tastings are for guests of 21 and over. Carry your passport: you may be asked to show it.
Can I take the tour without alcohol?
Yes. Any tasting can be swapped for an alcohol-free programme, for example a silk workshop in Samarkand or more time at the bazaars, and the dinners work just as well with tea. Tell us when you book, and we plan the days around it.
When is the best time to go?
September and October. Around Tashkent the grape season begins in mid-August and the varieties ripen one after another until late autumn, and by September the summer heat in the cities is over. In July and August Samarkand and Tashkent reach about 33–36 °C in the afternoon.
How do we get from Tashkent to Samarkand?
On the Afrosiyob high-speed train: 2 h 15 min to 2 h 30 min each way. We buy the tickets as soon as your dates are fixed, because seats sell out; we need the full name and passport number of every traveller.
Can I combine it with a food tour?
Yes. Our culinary tour Taste of the Road includes a plov class in Samarkand, and the wineries fit into it as extra days. We can also add Bukhara and Khiva after Samarkand.
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.
