6 independent reviews for Silk Road holiday, small group
Reviews for Silk Road holiday, small group
Michael Pitt review 1 Jul 2026
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The few opportunities there were to interact with local people. The drives were scenic through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be aware that this trip involves very long drives with very few stops. As one guest put it - "It is a road trip with some sights thrown in".3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Not at all. The hotels used were large rather than family run. Plastic water bottles were distributed throughout the holiday. No attention was paid to visiting local, small scall enterprises and there is an emphasis on staying in large cities.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Very disappointing. The quality of guides was very poor (with one exception). One guide cheated the group and also made racist jokes - totally un acceptable. Also the guides were reluctant to start the days early, resulting in one instance of having to drive through a sandstorm in the desert at night, risking health and safety. No flexibility in adapting to group needs, preferences etc. Overall very disaappointed with this company and I would not recommend them.Read the operator's response here:
Dear Michael
Thank you for taking the time to provide such detailed feedback following your 5 Stans tour. I am genuinely sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations.
I would especially like to apologise for your experience with the guide in Turkmenistan. The issues you have raised, particularly those relating to professionalism, safety, communication and conduct, are extremely concerning and are certainly not reflective of the standards we expect from our local partners. We have already addressed these matters with our local team and, as a result, we will not be using the services of this guide again.
Thank you also for highlighting the challenges you experienced with the overall pace of the itinerary, the quality and English language skills of several of the guides, the handling of vegetarian meals, and the transport arrangements. We greatly appreciate the time you have taken to explain these issues in such detail. We are currently collating feedback from all travellers on this departure and will be reviewing both the itinerary and the operational delivery of the tour with our local team. Your comments will form an important part of that review as we work to improve the experience for future travellers.
Thank you again for your honest and constructive feedback. Whilst I am sorry that this tour fell so far short of your expectations, we genuinely appreciate you bringing these matters to our attention. We value your support and are disappointed that this experience has left you with such a poor impression. As a gesture of goodwill, and in the hope of restoring your confidence in us, we would be delighted to offer you a 10% discount on any future tour should you choose to travel with us again. We very much hope that, given the opportunity, we can provide you with the experience you originally expected.
Professor John Gregory review 7 May 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The wonderful historical remains in Khiva, Bukhara & Samarkand.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Ask the host company to double check that whatever itinerary you have agreed has been definitely booked by the local partners. Unfortunately this was not the case for our Tajikistan leg & we missed out on our second day in Iskanderkul which was disappointing as it is a stunning location & we were particularly interested in nature & walking.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
I think we contributed to the local economies through our purchasing of handicraft & employment of local guides, all of whom were excellent!4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Had it not been for the lost day in Iskanderkul (see above), I would have rated this holiday 5 stars!Sophie Luard review 30 Sep 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The wonderful places we saw and the differences between the three stans2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Don’t expect too much in the way of gourmet food!!3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Local people were all thrilled to see us and tell us about their countries4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
FascinatingFaye Walker review 20 Oct 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The most memorable was taking 3 hours for the border crossing from Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan. Appreciating the historical importance of the different waves of civilizations in developing The Silk Road and the different resulting cultures, was interesting. We now understand the importance of restoring the Aral Sea by better managing the irrigation from its rivers and how important water is to the countries that we visited. The opulence of Ashgabat compared to rural Turkmenistan was surprising, as was the need for restoration work in Samarkand. We enjoyed the great diversity of geography and cultures.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The women need to be prepared for squat toilets - you need to retrieve the toilet paper from your pocket before you squat. Travel as lightly as possible and have good walking shoes. Be prepared for a range of temperatures. Hotel WiFi signal may not allow internet connections. Only use the website recommended by the tour company, when applying for visas, and be prepared for lots of security checks at border crossings. Don't forget anti diarrhoeal medication (Loperamide works well) and electrolyte replacement. US$ worked well.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We hope that our puchases at markets, and meals and accommodation benefited local people. We were concerned about using so much bottled water but no safe alternative was available or suggested. We were not aware of supporting conservation - would volunteering time for a community project be a possibility on future tours? We would have liked more interaction with local people, including eating in less touristy eateries and not being over catered for with respect to food.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
The trip can be enhanced by the quality of the guides, and there was variability between our guides. We covered a lot of territory but the variety of destinations was excellent, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.Read the operator's response here:
Many thanks for your feedback and constructive comments. The border crossings can be very slow which is highlighted in our literature and this group was nearly full so this of course slows things a little. We are looking at the possibility of some market visits in Turkmenistan to enhance the possibilities of local interaction. The feedback from the group has been that the guide for Turkmenistan was outstanding, Tajikistan excellent, but Uzbekistan a little less so and we will continue to work with the local guides to ensure continual improvement. We are working towards providing larger recyclable water vessels to allow clients to fill their own reusable bottles and this is a work in progress to implement. We have successfully introduced this to many of our tours already and we continue to consider this a high priority moving forward. Once again thank you for the feedback and travelling the Silk Road with us and we hope to see you again.
John Hayes review 15 May 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
It was all memorable and exciting.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
For the information of anyone interested, the only thing you need to get an Uzbekistan visa, if you are an Australian citizen, is a Letter of Invitation, with which you can get a Visa on Arrival. This information is for people who do not have diplomatic representation in their country, as we don't (2017).3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Possibly4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We had an excellent and packed trip, with a wonderful group of people. The hotels were midrange; two of the guides were five stars; one was three stars and one was two stars. Having said that, they all introduced us to a world we were ignorant of, were very nice people, knew a lot, conveyed a lot and helped a lot.Anne Higgins review 30 Nov 2015
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
New country, different culture2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
check what medicines you can take into the country with a doctors prescription info, otherwise may have problems at boarder control.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
yes, very much so4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
very good, learnt lots and as only a small group we all got on very wellRead the operator's response here:
Many thanks for your review. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office entry requirements advice has just been updated for Uzbekistan regarding bringing medicines into the country. We are delighted you enjoyed your trip along the Silk Road.
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