7-Day Great Silk Road Tour: Tashkent, Samarkand & Bukhara

7 days and 6 nights in Uzbekistan, all meals included

For centuries the caravans of the Great Silk Road crossed what is now Uzbekistan, and the cities they built along the way are still standing. This tour takes you through the three great stops of that route, Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, with a day in the mountains, high-speed train rides between cities and a private guide from the moment you land until the moment you leave.

Day 1: Arrival in Tashkent

Your guide meets you at Tashkent International Airport and takes you to dinner before check-in at your hotel.

Day 2: Amirsoy mountain resort and Magic City

After breakfast, drive into the Chimgan mountains to Amirsoy, a resort of almost 900 hectares in the Bostanlik district. Ride the cable car to the top and enjoy the panoramic views with a coffee in hand. Lunch is at the resort before you drive back to Tashkent. In the evening, dinner and a walk through Magic City Park, which is at its best lit up at night.

Day 3: Train to Samarkand and Registan Square

Take the morning train to Samarkand, arriving before 11am. Visit the Imam al-Bukhari Memorial Complex, dedicated to the scholar whose collection of hadiths is one of the most respected texts in the Islamic world. After lunch, stand in Registan Square, the heart of ancient Samarkand, framed by the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, the Sher-Dor Madrasa and the gilded Tilya-Kori Mosque. Dinner and overnight in Samarkand.

Day 4: Samarkand in full

Start at the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, the resting place of Amir Timur (Tamerlane) and his descendants, then visit the 15th-century Ulugh Beg Observatory and the mausoleum of the theologian Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. After lunch, walk the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, a street of around 20 tiled mausoleums built between the 11th and 19th centuries, and continue on foot to the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, once the largest in Central Asia. End the day in Siyob Bazaar, where traders have sold spices, bread and dried fruit since the days of the caravans. Dinner and overnight in Samarkand.

Day 5: Drive to Bukhara

Drive west to Bukhara and have lunch at a traditional Uzbek restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the 9th–10th century Ismail Samani Mausoleum, the Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum and the Bolo Hauz Mosque with its carved wooden columns. Dinner and overnight in Bukhara.

Day 6: Old Bukhara and the fast train to Tashkent

Visit the memorial complex of Bahauddin Naqshband, the 14th-century founder of one of the largest Sufi orders in the world. Then walk through the old city's trading domes, where silk, carpets, ikat clothing and souvenirs are still sold under the same domes as centuries ago, and visit the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasa. After lunch, take the Afrosiyob high-speed train back to Tashkent for dinner and check-in.

Day 7: Tashkent city tour and departure

Begin at the Hazrati Imam Complex, home to the 7th-century Uthman Quran, one of the oldest surviving copies in the world. Continue to Amir Timur Square, then have lunch at the Central Asian Plov Centre, where Uzbekistan's national dish is cooked in giant cauldrons. Visit the white marble Minor Mosque and finish with shopping at Chorsu Bazaar, one of the oldest markets in Central Asia, for ceramics, silk, carpets and dried fruit. Farewell dinner and transfer to the airport.

Group discounts

The listed price is per person and includes a single room at 4-star hotels. Groups of 5 or more get a discount, and the price per person keeps going down as the group grows:

• 5–9 travelers: $960 per person
• 10–14 travelers: $936 per person
• 15–19 travelers: $900 per person
• 20–24 travelers: $852 per person
• 25–29 travelers: $804 per person
• 30–34 travelers: $792 per person
• 35–39 travelers: $768 per person
• 40+ travelers: $744 per person

Group prices are based on shared double rooms. The discount is applied automatically when you select the number of guests.

Good to know

• Hotels may be replaced with similar ones if the listed hotels are full.
• Train schedules are subject to change according to availability.
• Early check-in and late check-out are not included.