Uzbekistan tour, Road to Samarkand
Highlights
Tashkent | Urgench | Khiva | The Silk Route | Bokhara | Yangikasgan desert camp | Samarkand | Overnight Yurt stay | Optional activities include a camel rideDescription of Uzbekistan tour, Road to Samarkand
Make your way along the Silk Road as it passes through some of the highlights of Uzbekistan, one of the most interesting of the Central Asian states. Your journey takes you through cities ancient and modern, and you’ll also spend one night in an authentic desert yurt. You’ll travel by train, bus, the occasional camel, plus one flight from Tashkent to Urgench.Join your tour in Tashkent, the capital city, where you’ll have time to admire its Soviet-era architecture and impressive, lavishly-decorated metro. Fly from Tashkent to Urgench. From here, your exploration of the Silk Road begins in earnest with a visit to the city of Khiva and its ancient citadel and a few days in Bokhara, where blue-tiled Islamic architecture cloaks many of the monuments. The trip finishes in Samarkand, where you can wander around Persian-built mausoleums and soak up the glorious proportions of Registan Square.
On the way across the country you’ll get used to seeing mosques, minarets, madrassahs (educational institutions) and mausoleums. In the countryside, caravanserais, old roadside inns used by travellers in days gone by, break up the vast plains. You’ll spend one night in a traditional felt yurt, and have the chance to ride a camel if you wish to get a true sample of life as a nomad. This tour shows you many of the highlights of Uzbekistan, the legacy of the Silk Road always tugging you onwards.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
Check dates, prices & availability
The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.
We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.
Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!
Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.
Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.
Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.
“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.
“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.
“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.
“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
Uzbekistan has seen recent dramatic improvements to its infrastructure, meaning it’s now possible to travel several legs of our journey on the new ‘Afrosiyob’ bullet train. It’s a great experience travelling on this modern train, with the chance to mix with the local people and watch the scenery roll past the window. Travelling by public transport of course has another benefit too; it’s better for the environment as it reduces our reliance on specially chartered vehicles. When coaches are being used, we keep the size of the coach to a minimum, so rather than using gas guzzling 40-50 seaters we opt for more environmental friendly 15-25 seat coaches that use less fuel and therefore admit less carbon.In Yangikasgan we stay in a yurt at a desert camp. Yurts are circular dwellings made from felt and insulated with sheepskins and are the typical accommodation of the nomadic people of Central Asia. They are completely sustainable and portable so they can be moved from camp to camp.
There are plenty of opportunities to experience local cuisine and some of the highlights are a lunch in a local house in Nurata and stopping at a local tea house in Samarkand for a traditional Kokchai tea.
As a company we support Cool Earth. Protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions to tackle climate breakdown. CoolEarth work with indigenous communities empowering them to conserve their forest; keeping CO2 locked in.
The Impacts of this Trip
Uzbekistan is known for its bustling bazaars, they are a haven for anybody interested in local quality handicrafts and seeing artisan’s at work. We visit several on this trip, and with the help of our expert local guide we promote responsible bartering for the handicrafts, intricate woodworks and souvenirs on display. This responsible approach ensures striking a balance between tourists not paying over the odds, and allowing for a decent and fair price to be reached for the products purchased, meaning both parties walk away happy.
One reason we use local tour leaders is so they can help bridge any cultural gaps between us and the local people. As well as helping to unlock many aspects of the destination; employing a local tour leader, local guides, drivers, and cameleers all contributes in supporting the local community through employment and training.
Our supplier is a small locally owned company and over the past 25 years we have built a long standing, mutually beneficial and respectful relationship.
In addition to the above, we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key and so all staff, Tour leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our UK Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage. As well as this, we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of UK travel industry bodies Tourism Concern and AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.
Uzbekistan has seen recent dramatic improvements to its infrastructure, meaning it’s now possible to travel several legs of our journey on the new ‘Afrosiyob’ bullet train. It’s a great experience travelling on this modern train, with the chance to mix with the local people and watch the scenery roll past the window. Travelling by public transport of course has another benefit too; it’s better for the environment as it reduces our reliance on specially chartered vehicles. When coaches are being used, we keep the size of the coach to a minimum, so rather than using gas guzzling 40-50 seaters we opt for more environmental friendly 15-25 seat coaches that use less fuel and therefore admit less carbon.In Yangikasgan we stay in a yurt at a desert camp. Yurts are circular dwellings made from felt and insulated with sheepskins and are the typical accommodation of the nomadic people of Central Asia. They are completely sustainable and portable so they can be moved from camp to camp.
There are plenty of opportunities to experience local cuisine and some of the highlights are a lunch in a local house in Nurata and stopping at a local tea house in Samarkand for a traditional Kokchai tea.
As a company we support Cool Earth. Protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions to tackle climate breakdown. CoolEarth work with indigenous communities empowering them to conserve their forest; keeping CO2 locked in.
The Impacts of this Trip
Uzbekistan is known for its bustling bazaars, they are a haven for anybody interested in local quality handicrafts and seeing artisan’s at work. We visit several on this trip, and with the help of our expert local guide we promote responsible bartering for the handicrafts, intricate woodworks and souvenirs on display. This responsible approach ensures striking a balance between tourists not paying over the odds, and allowing for a decent and fair price to be reached for the products purchased, meaning both parties walk away happy.
One reason we use local tour leaders is so they can help bridge any cultural gaps between us and the local people. As well as helping to unlock many aspects of the destination; employing a local tour leader, local guides, drivers, and cameleers all contributes in supporting the local community through employment and training.
Our supplier is a small locally owned company and over the past 25 years we have built a long standing, mutually beneficial and respectful relationship.
In addition to the above, we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key and so all staff, Tour leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our UK Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage. As well as this, we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of UK travel industry bodies Tourism Concern and AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.
2 Reviews of Uzbekistan tour, Road to Samarkand
Reviewed on 19 Apr 2019 by Heather Reed
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Loved beautiful buildings and people friendly and welcoming
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take water filter bottle to help reduce use of plastic bottles. May need soft pillow as bedding and pillows was hard in some hotels.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes country needs tourism and is developing fast. But now unspoilt and very safe and welcoming. People proud of their country which has well maintained buildings and is clean and culturally really interesting.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
10/10
Reviewed on 09 Oct 2019 by Mark Bentley
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Registan Square in Samarkand. Stunning
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared for a basic lack of hygiene, with inevitable results! Public (toilets) are often poor and quite unsavoury. Seek out the best restaurants you can - they won’t be expensive and will offer something more exciting than the standard tourist menus of shashlik, plot or dumplings. Never drink the local tap water (including ice).
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Not really - other than providing them with the tourist dollar.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Guide was very good, group was a good mix and a manageable size. Overall very enjoyable.
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