Flight: TK368 Istanbul - Tashkent 01:10-07:40.

Private transfer to your hotel: On arrival in Tashkent, you will be met by a driver and transferred to your hotel to check in. Early check-in has been included today so you will be able to check into your room right away and have the day to rest after your journey.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Praga Hotel (Standard Room)

Full day guided tour of Tashkent: This morning you will be picked up at your hotel by your guide, for a full day exploration of the city. Begin with a walk to Khast Imam Square, where some of Tashkent’s oldest monuments still stand today, including the 16th century Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum, the tomb of one of the first imams of the Muslim world; both the Barak-Khan Madrassah and the al-Bukhari Madrassah; as well as the Tillya Sheikh Mosque which houses the oldest Koran in the world. Continue to the Chorsu Bazaar, a bustling market selling anything from spices and produce to local handicrafts. The market is open every day but is at its best on weekends.

Next, take a ride on Tashkent’s unique metro system. This was the first metro in Central Asia, and each station is beautifully decorated with a different theme, some based around Central Asian places and motifs, and some Russian. Continue to Independence Square, a spacious park-like space which neighbours Tashkent’s administrative and government buildings. This square has had many different faces throughout the years, starting as 'Cathedral Square' due to the Orthodox Cathedral built at its centre, before becoming 'Red Square', 'Lenin Square, and finally 'Independence Square' in 1992 after Uzbekistan finally gained independence from the Soviet Union.

Your next stop will be the Alisher Navoi Theatre. Alisher Navoi was Uzbeksitan's most beloved poet. The theatre was built by Japanese prisoners of war after WWII, and includes six individually decorated foyers, each representing the main cities of Uzbekistan. Follow this with Amir Timur Square, home to an impressive large-scale bronze sculpture of the conqueror Amir Timur astride his horse. Stop by the Courage Monument, built to honour the workers who came to help rebuild the city after the 1966 earthquake, before finishing the day at the Applied Arts Museum, which showcases traditional Uzbek handicrafts.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Praga Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to the airport: At the appropriate time today, you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to the airport in time for your onward flight.

Flight: HY55 Tashkent - Urgench 13:00-14:30

Transfer to your hotel in Khiva: On arrival in Urgench, you will be met at the airport by a driver, and transferred to the nearby city of Khiva, located around 40km away. After checking into your hotel the rest of the day will be free at leisure with no guide assistance.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Zarafshon Boutique Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Guided tour of Khiva: After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your hotel and take you out to explore Ichon-Qala, Khiva’s beautifully preserved medieval walled city. Sights you will visit today include the Kalta Minor Minaret, a striking yet sadly unfinished turquoise structure; the Kunya Ark, originally built in the 12th century, and with several buildings still remaining today; the Islam Khoja Madrassah, which boasts the tallest minaret in Uzbekistan; the Juma Mosque, which showcases some exceptional examples of Khiva’s specialty wood carving;  the Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum, with its iconic turquoise dome; and finally the Tash-Hauli Palace, the largest building in the Ichon-Qala, and former home of the khan and his wives.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Zarafshon Boutique Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Road journey to Bukhara: After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel and take on the long overland journey to Bukhara. This is a total journey of around six to seven hours, depending on road and traffic conditions. You will pass through the Kyzyl-Kum Desert, and there will be chances for some photo and rest stops along the way. 

Accommodation: Stau tonight at Sasha & Son (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Guided tour of Bukhara: After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your hotel and take you out to explore Bukhara. Your first stop will be the Ark Citadel, the original fortress of Bukhara with a history of over 2,000 years. The Citadel has been built and rebuilt on the same site throughout its history, always retaining some of the form of the original Ark. Just behind the Ark is Zindan Prison, with its infamous ‘bug pit’ dungeon. Nearby you will find the Bolo Hauz Mosque, called the forty-pillar mosque due to the reflection of its colonnades in the pool.

Next visit the Kalon Mosque and Minaret, a large complex which also includes the Mir-i-Arab Madrassah. Continue your tour with a visit to Bukhara’s famous trading domes. Each dome was dedicated to a specific kind of merchandise, for example the jeweller’s dome and the money changer’s dome. Next, pay a visit to the Magoki Attori Mosque, which also houses a fascinating carpet museum.

Finally, finish your tour at the Labi-Hauz Plaza, the centre of Bukhara’s old town, home to a number of interesting madrassahs, and still used as a meeting and socialising spot by locals today.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Sasha & Son (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day at leisure in Bukhara: Today you have a full day free at leisure to relax and explore Bukhara at your own pace without the assistance of a guide. Bukhara’s well-preserved historical centre is very compact, so it’s easy and enjoyable to explore independently on foot.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Sasha & Son (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to train station: At the appropriate time today you will be transferred to the train station in time to board your onward train.

Train journey to Samarkand: Board the high-speed Afrosiab train to Samarkand. The train journey will take just under two hours.

Private transfer to your hotel: On arrival in Samarkand, you will be met at the station by a driver, and transferred to your hotel to check in.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Orient Star Samarkand (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Guided tour of Samarkand: After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your hotel and take you out to explore Samarkand. Begin at the Gur-Emir Mausoleum, the final resting place of the conqueror Tamerlane, but which was originally built for his grandson after the latter’s death at the turn of the 15th century. Continue to Registan Square, the central point of Samarkand and its most recognisable landmark for visitors. The square is framed on three sides by tall madrassahs, overlooking the empty space in between, which has been used as a public square and marketplace throughout its history. Next, visit the Bibi Khanum Mosque, which was originally built to be the largest mosque in the Islamic World. Much of it has been destroyed and partly rebuilt in the intervening years, but it remains an impressive structure and an important religious centre today. Just across from the mosque is the Siab Bazaar, where locals sell produce and spices. The Shah-i-Zinda Complex is a row of tombs and mausoleums, dating from the distant past up to more modern graves, and which is usually a cool and shady spot even on a hot day. Finish the tour with a visit to the Ulug Bek Observatory, built by Tamerlane’s grandson Ulug Bek, who was fascinated by the stars and the cosmos.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Orient Star Samarkand (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day trip to Shahrisabz: After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your hotel and take you out on a day trip to Shahrisabz, which is located around a two-hour drive from Samarkand. Shahrisabz is the birthplace of Tamerlane and was originally named Kesh until Tamerlane renamed it the ‘Green City’. Here you will see the UNESCO-listed ruins of Ak Saray Palace. Once a huge palace complex, all that remains now are the massive pillars of the entrance portal. Continue to the Dorus Siadet, built by Ulug Bek as a mausoleum for his favourite son, who was sadly killed at the age of 22 after falling from his horse. Just next door is the Mosque of Hazrati Imam. Your next stop will be the mausoleum complex of Dorut Tilovat, which now has a mosque and madrassah as part of the complex. Your final stop of the day will be the Kok Gumbaz, or the Blue Dome, which is a huge mosque built by Ulug Bek to honour his father. The dome has recently been restored and is intricately inscribed with Koranic verses.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Orient Star Samarkand (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to the railway station: At the appropriate time today, you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to the railway station in time to board your onward train.

High-speed train to Tashkent: Board the high-speed Afrosiab train to Tashkent. The train journey will take around two and a half hours.

Transfer to your hotel: On arrival in Tashkent, you will be met at the station by a driver, and transferred to your hotel to check in.

Accommodation: Stau tonight at Praga Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast