Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva sound like places from a storybook, and in person the tiles are, if anything, more blue than the brochures suggest. Almost every Uzbekistan tour visits all three, so the real choice is about everything else: how long you have, how you like to travel between them, and whether you want to carry on across the border into Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan.
This guide is for anyone comparing escorted tours of Uzbekistan. We line up every tour on our Uzbekistan tours page, from a nine-day crossing by train to a 37-day overland journey through all five Stans, with who each suits and its honest drawback.
The quick answer
- If you want the three great cities in nine days, pick Highlights of Uzbekistan by Rail.
- If you want comfort and a small group, pick Luxury Uzbekistan.
- If you want flights and everything arranged, pick Ancient Cities of the Silk Road with Flights, or the solo version if you travel alone.
- If you want the Door to Hell gas crater too, pick Tashkent to Ashgabat.
- If you want all five Stans, pick The Five Stans of the Silk Road.
Every Uzbekistan tour compared
| Tour | Days | Price from | Physical rating | Group size | Flights included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uzbekistan in 9 to 11 days | ||||||
| Highlights of Uzbekistan: Khiva to Tashkent by Rail – 9 Days | 9 | £1,676 pp | Low | Max 16 | No | The classic cities by road and rail |
| Uzbekistan Adventure: Bukhara, Samarkand & a Desert Yurt – 9 Days | 9 | £1,255 pp | Low | Max 16 | No | Good value, with a yurt and homestay |
| The Silk Road of Uzbekistan – 11 Days | 11 | £1,875 pp | Moderate | Max 16 | No | First-timers, with a night near Nurata |
| Treasures of Uzbekistan in Comfort – 10 Days | 10 | £2,069 pp | Low | Max 16 | No | Upgraded hotels, Nukus and Khiva |
| Luxury Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara & Khiva – 10 Days | 10 | £2,156 pp | Low | Max 12 | No | Comfort in a group of up to 12 |
| Uzbekistan: Ancient Cities of the Silk Road with Flights – 11 Days | 11 | £2,722 pp incl. flights | Low | Not stated | Yes | Flights and a tour director |
| Solo Uzbekistan & the Silk Road with Flights – 11 Days | 11 | £3,649 pp incl. flights | Low | Max 27 | Yes | Solo travellers, room of your own |
| Uzbekistan in depth | ||||||
| Discover Uzbekistan: Silk Road, Aral Sea & Mountains – 15 Days | 15 | £3,338 pp | Medium | Max 16 | No | The Aral Sea, mountains and a sleeper train |
| Uzbekistan plus a neighbour | ||||||
| Tashkent to Ashgabat: Khiva, Darvaza Crater & Merv – 11 Days | 11 | £2,360 pp | Medium | Max 12 | No | Turkmenistan and the Darvaza crater |
| Silk Road Highlights: Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan – 13 Days | 13 | £2,375 pp | Medium | Not stated | No | Ashgabat to Tashkent |
| Uzbekistan & Turkmenistan: Silk Road to the Door to Hell – 19 Days | 19 | On request | Not stated | Max 16 | No | Three weeks with Turkmenistan |
| Tajikistan & Uzbekistan: Fann Mountains, Samarkand & Bukhara – 11 Days | 11 | £2,586 pp | Medium | Max 16 | No | Tajikistan’s Fann Mountains |
| Kyrgyzstan’s Silk Road Journey to Tashkent – 14 Days | 14 | £2,425 pp | Medium | Max 18 | No | Kyrgyzstan’s mountains, then Tashkent |
| Silk Road of Kyrgyzstan & Uzbekistan: Song Kul to Samarkand – 23 Days | 23 | £4,005 pp | Medium | Max 18 | No | Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in depth |
| Central Asia Explorer: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan & Tajikistan – 17 Days | 17 | £3,340 pp | Medium | Max 12 | No | Three countries, simple stays |
| Luxury Central Asia: Samarkand, Khiva & Issyk-Kul – 18 Days | 18 | £6,130 pp | Medium | Max 12 | No | Luxury, with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan |
| Four or five Stans | ||||||
| The Five Stans of the Silk Road: Ashgabat to Almaty – 23 Days | 23 | £5,681 pp | Medium | Max 16 | No | All five countries in 23 days |
| Bishkek to Ashgabat: the Silk Road Overland – 27 Days | 27 | £5,535 pp | Medium | Max 12 | No | Four countries overland |
| Central Asia Overland: Astana to Ashgabat via the Five Stans – 37 Days | 37 | £7,930 pp | Medium | Max 12 | No | All five, slowly |
Prices are per person, twin share, live from our tour pages (updated October 2026). The lowest price can apply to a later departure, so check the dates you want on each tour page.
Ask us which Uzbekistan tour fits →
Uzbekistan in under two weeks
By road and rail
Highlights of Uzbekistan: Khiva to Tashkent by Rail – 9 Days
- 9 days
- From £1,676 per person
- Max 16 people
- Khiva, Uzbekistan to Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Physical rating: low
- Flights not included
- Departures in March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November
A west-to-east crossing in nine days: Khiva with a cooking class for its green shivit oshi noodles, the desert fortress of Ayaz Kala, two days in Bukhara with a folk performance, Samarkand’s Registan and a paper-making village, then a high-speed train to Tashkent. You stay in locally owned hotels such as the Zargaron Boutique in Bukhara, or similar, with groups of four to 16.
Suits: first-time visitors and rail lovers. The honest drawback: hotels are not luxurious and many meals are up to you.
Two other small-group trips cover similar ground. Uzbekistan Adventure (9 days) adds a night in a desert yurt camp near Nurata and a village homestay in the Nuratau Mountains, with fast trains between cities; it changes base most days and the yurt and homestay share facilities. The Silk Road of Uzbekistan (11 days) flies to Urgench for two nights inside the walls of Khiva, spends three in Bukhara and adds a night out near Nurata with a dinner by the campfire.
In comfort
Luxury Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara & Khiva – 10 Days
- 10 days
- From £2,156 per person
- Max 12 people
- Starts and ends in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Physical rating: low
- Flights not included
- Year-round departures
Luxury Uzbekistan keeps the group to 12, with high-speed trains, a domestic flight, five dinners and two nights in a converted Jewish house in Bukhara. It has departures all year. Treasures of Uzbekistan in Comfort (10 days) uses mostly premium hotels and adds a flight to Nukus for the Savitsky Museum’s Soviet avant-garde art, the Valley of Fifty Fortresses on the way to Khiva and a pilov dinner in a local home.
Suits: travellers who value comfort and good food. The honest drawback: neither is a budget trip, and Treasures has groups of ten to 16, not a small group under ten.
With flights from the UK
Uzbekistan: Ancient Cities of the Silk Road with Flights – 11 Days
- 11 days
- From £2,722 per person incl. flights
- Starts and ends in United Kingdom
- Physical rating: low
- Flights included
- Departures in April, May, June, August, September, October, November
Return flights and a domestic flight are included, with a tour director and local guides, hotels with restaurants and pools, a cooking masterclass in Bukhara and a visit to Shakhrisabz, Timur’s birthplace. Solo Uzbekistan & the Silk Road (11 days) is designed for people travelling on their own, with a room of your own and no single supplement, flights from the UK and breakfast and dinner on most days.
Suits: anyone who would rather not book flights separately. The honest drawback: both pages say they are not for you if you want a small group.
Going deeper: the Aral Sea
Discover Uzbekistan: Silk Road, Aral Sea & Mountains – 15 Days
- 15 days
- From £3,338 per person
- Max 16 people
- Starts and ends in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Physical rating: medium
- Flights not included
- Departures in March, April, May, June, September, October
Fifteen days that go beyond the classic cities: a ceramics masterclass in Samarkand, a hike to an ancient village in the Nurata mountains with a homestay and a yurt camp, an overnight train to Karakalpakstan for the stranded ships of the vanished Aral Sea at Moynaq, the Savitsky Museum and desert fortresses, then Khiva, Bukhara and the Chimgan mountains.
Suits: curious travellers and returning visitors. The honest drawback: not every night is in a hotel, journeys are long and most meals are not included.
Uzbekistan plus a neighbour
Turkmenistan and the Door to Hell
Tashkent to Ashgabat: Khiva, Darvaza Crater & Merv – 11 Days
- 11 days
- From £2,360 per person
- Max 12 people
- Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
- Physical rating: medium
- Flights not included
- Departures in April, May, June, August, September, October
Eleven days from Tashkent by overnight train to Khiva, then into Turkmenistan by 4×4 across the Karakum Desert to the Darvaza gas crater, known as the Door to Hell, with a night in a yurt camp nearby, a village guesthouse in Nohur, Ashgabat, Nisa and ancient Merv. Silk Road Highlights: Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan (13 days) runs the other way, from Ashgabat to Tashkent, and Silk Road to the Door to Hell (19 days) is the longer version.
Suits: travellers after somewhere truly off the beaten track. The honest drawback: desert days are long, few meals are included, and visas, including the Turkmenistan letter of invitation, are not included.
Tajikistan’s Fann Mountains
Tajikistan & Uzbekistan: Fann Mountains, Samarkand & Bukhara – 11 Days
- 11 days
- From £2,586 per person
- Max 16 people
- Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Bukhara, Uzbekistan
- Physical rating: medium
- Flights not included
- Departures in May, June, September
Eleven days linking the high valleys of Tajikistan with Samarkand and Bukhara: Dushanbe, a night at Iskanderkul lake, Panjakent, then three nights in Bukhara. Groups are four to 16, aged 16 and over, with a Tajik leader and then an Uzbek leader.
Suits: travellers who have seen the classic sights and enjoy mountain scenery without technical hiking. The honest drawback: no single rooms at Iskanderkul, simple mountain stays and limited vegetarian options.
Kyrgyzstan’s mountains and yurts
Kyrgyzstan’s Silk Road Journey to Tashkent – 14 Days
- 14 days
- From £2,425 per person
- Max 18 people
- Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Physical rating: medium
- Flights not included
- Departures in May, June, August, September
Four tours start in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan’s Silk Road Journey to Tashkent (14 days) follows Issyk-Kul and spends a night in a yurt camp at Song Kul Lake before crossing into Uzbekistan. Song Kul to Samarkand (23 days) does the same in more depth. Central Asia Explorer (17 days) adds northern Tajikistan, with yurt camps and homestays. Luxury Central Asia (18 days) starts in Uzbekistan and ends in Almaty, with a yurt camp on Lake Issyk-Kul and two internal flights.
Suits: mountain lovers and anyone curious about nomadic culture. The honest drawback: long drives on mountain roads, and the yurt camps have basic facilities.
The full Stans
All five in 23 days
The Five Stans of the Silk Road: Ashgabat to Almaty – 23 Days
- 23 days
- From £5,681 per person
- Max 16 people
- Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to Almaty, Kazakhstan
- Physical rating: medium
- Flights not included
- Departures in May, June, July, August, September
Ashgabat to Almaty through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, with Merv and the Akhal-Teke horses, Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, the Seven Lakes of the Fann Mountains, Son Kul and Issyk-Kul, and an eagle-hunting demonstration. Groups are four to 16, aged 16 and over, with two nights in a yurt camp. Bishkek to Ashgabat (27 days) covers four of the Stans overland, and Central Asia Overland (37 days) covers all five at a slower pace, starting in Astana.
Suits: seasoned travellers who want to tick off all five. The honest drawback: some days involve up to nine hours on the road, several border crossings and international flights are not included.
How to choose
By time available. Nine to 11 days: the Uzbekistan-only tours, Tashkent to Ashgabat or the Fann Mountains. Two to three weeks: Discover Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyzstan combinations, Luxury Central Asia or the Five Stans. More: Bishkek to Ashgabat or Central Asia Overland.
By budget. Uzbekistan Adventure, the rail tour and The Silk Road of Uzbekistan are the cheapest. The comfort tours sit just above them. The flight-inclusive and multi-country tours vary widely, and the longest journeys and Luxury Central Asia cost the most. Live prices are in the table above.
By fitness. Most Uzbekistan-only tours are rated low. Discover Uzbekistan and the multi-country trips are rated medium, mainly because of long travel days.
By travel style. Small groups of up to 12 or 16 on most tours; the two flight-inclusive tours are larger. Choose the multi-country trips if a yurt and a border crossing sound like the point, not the price, of the holiday.
When to go
Most Uzbekistan tours depart in spring and autumn, roughly March to June and August to November, and Luxury Uzbekistan departs all year. The mountain trips into Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan run mainly from May to September. The months for each tour are in its fact panel above.
Before you travel, check the FCDO travel advice for Uzbekistan and any neighbouring country on your route, including entry requirements.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Uzbekistan tour for first-time visitors?
Highlights of Uzbekistan by Rail and The Silk Road of Uzbekistan both cover Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand at a gentle pace in a small group.
How long do I need for Uzbekistan?
Nine to 11 days covers Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. Allow two weeks or more to add the Aral Sea or a neighbouring country.
Which Uzbekistan tours include flights?
Ancient Cities of the Silk Road with Flights and Solo Uzbekistan & the Silk Road include flights from the UK. The others are land-only, and we can arrange flights.
Can I visit the Darvaza gas crater from Uzbekistan?
Yes, on Tashkent to Ashgabat and Silk Road to the Door to Hell, which cross into Turkmenistan.
Is there an Uzbekistan tour for solo travellers?
Yes, Solo Uzbekistan & the Silk Road gives you a room of your own with no single supplement. Most small-group tours also list solo travellers among the people they suit.
Do the Uzbekistan tours involve much walking?
Most Uzbekistan-only tours are rated low, with walking in the old cities. Discover Uzbekistan and the multi-country tours are rated medium.
Ready for the Silk Road?
Tell us how long you have and how far you want to go, and a Travelisto specialist will compare the Uzbekistan tours with you.
Keep planning
- All escorted tours in Uzbekistan
- Escorted tours in Kyrgyzstan
- Escorted tours in Turkmenistan
- Escorted tours in Tajikistan
- Escorted tours in Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan holidays
Prices are live from our tour pages (updated October 2026). Tour details and dates can change; your specialist will confirm everything before you book.
