Oasis of the Medieval East
$970 /Person
Duration:
9 Days / 8 Nights
Max people:
10 Person
Views:
245 Viewed
Included and Excluded
- Accommodation in Twin/DBL shared rooms with breakfast included
- Transportation throughout the tour, including airport and railway station pick-ups and drop-offs
- Local English-speaking guide in each city according to the program
- Economy class train tickets Bukhara – Samarkand – Tashkent (if the high-speed train is unavailable, it will be replaced with the most comfortable class of a regular train)
- Dinner with folklore show program at Nadir Devon Begi madrasah
- Entrance tickets to museums, mausoleums, and other sights
- Aral Sea program: 1 night accommodation in a yurt, jeep transportation, 2 lunches, 1 dinner, 1 breakfast, mineral water, entrance ticket to Aral Museum
- Economy class domestic flight ticket Tashkent – Nukus
- All dinners included
- Charges in hotels for additional services
- All transfers airport–hotel–airport as specified in the program
- Camera fees charged separately by museums
- Travel insurance
- International flight tickets before and after the tour
- Full board (lunches)
Hotels
- The Elements / Panarams by Hilton 4★ / Reikartz Sote Tashkent or similar
- DiliMah Premium Luxury 4★ / Hilton Garden Inn 4★ or similar
- Sahid Zarafshan 4★ / Garden Palace / Minorai Kalon or similar
- Khiva – 2 nights: Bankir / Reikartz Residence or similar
- Yurt Camp
Tashkent – 2 nights:
Samarkand – 2 nights:
Bukhara – 1 night:
Khiva – 2 nights:
Aral Sea – 1 night:
Transport
Tour Plan
- Arrival in Tashkent in the morning. Transfer to the hotel, leave your luggage and time for refreshment. Meet your guide and driver to begin a sightseeing tour in the capital of Uzbekistan, the largest city in Central Asia. Start with the Old City and visit Khast-Imam Complex, home to one of the world’s oldest Qurans attributed to Caliph Uthman. The complex includes Barak-Khan Madrasah, Tillya Sheikh Mosque, Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum and the Islamic Institute of Imam al-Bukhari. Continue to Chorsu Bazaar, then take a ride on the Tashkent Metro to the city center. Visit the Applied Arts Museum and walk past Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theatre to Amir Timur Square, where the city tour ends.
- 20:00 Dinner.
- 21:30 Transfer to the hotel.
- Duration of sightseeing: approx. 5–6 hours.
- Early breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the domestic airport in Tashkent and flight to Nukus (arrival at 09:05). Meet your driver and start the journey. Visit the Mizdakhan Complex including Nazlumkhan Mausoleum, Shamun Nabi Mausoleum, Khalifa Erezhep Mausoleum and the ancient Gyaur Kala. Continue to Muynak. Visit the local museum at the House of Culture, then have lunch at a local café. Explore the famous “Ship Graveyard” — a symbolic site of the Aral Sea tragedy. Then drive off-road across the Ustyurt Plateau (160 km), enjoying views of canyons and ancient burial sites of nomadic tribes. Arrival at the yurt camp “Aral Oasis”. Walk along the shore of the Aral Sea. Dinner by the fire and overnight in a traditional yurt.
- Early breakfast at 06:00, then departure. On the way, visit Kurgancha Kala, a 13th-century fortress. Stop in Ustyurt Plateau villages where you can taste traditional camel milk “shubat”. Continue to Nukus. Lunch at a local café. Upon arrival in Nukus, enjoy a short city tour: see the monument to Berdakh, Nukus City Hall and the Drama Theatre. In the afternoon, depart to Khiva (200 km, 4–5 hours). On the way, visit ancient Khorezm archaeological sites: Chilpyk (Zoroastrian dakhma) and Toprak-Kala, the capital of ancient Khorezm (3rd century AD). Arrival in Khiva and check-in at the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.
- Note: A significant part of the collection of Savitsky State Art Museum is temporarily exhibited at the Uffizi Gallery until October 2024. The museum is closed on Mondays, and some sections may remain closed due to renovations.
- Breakfast at the hotel. Meet your guide and begin a walking sightseeing tour. Spend the day exploring Itchan Kala, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit Muhammad Amin Khan Madrasah, Muhammad Rahim Khan Madrasah, Kalta Minor, Juma Mosque Khiva, Tash Khovli Palace, Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum and Islam Khoja Minaret. Free time in the afternoon.
- 19:00–21:00 Dinner.
- Overnight at the hotel.
- Duration of sightseeing: approximately 5 hours.
- Breakfast at the hotel. Meet your guide and driver, then transfer to Urgench airport (30 km, 35 min). At 09:20 flight to Bukhara. Arrival at 10:10, where your driver will meet you at the airport with a name sign. Transfer to the hotel, leave luggage and time for refreshment.
- Proceed to the Old City for sightseeing: visit Lyabi-Khauz, Magoki-Attori Mosque, Chor Minor Madrasah, the historic trade domes, Kalyan Minaret, Kalyan Mosque, Mir-i-Arab Madrasah, Ulugh Beg Madrasah Bukhara, Abdulaziz Khan Madrasah, Ark of Bukhara, Bolo-Khauz Mosque, Ismail Samani Mausoleum and Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum.
- 19:00 Dinner with national show at Nadir Devon Begi madrasah.
- Duration of sightseeing: 6–7 hours.
- Overnight in Bukhara.
- Breakfast at the hotel. Continue your Bukhara tour with a visit to Sitorai Mokhi Khosa, the summer residence of Bukhara’s last emir, a unique combination of Oriental and Russian architecture. Then visit the mausoleum of Bahauddin Naqshband and Chor-Bakr Necropolis.
- After lunch, transfer to the railway station and depart to Samarkand by high-speed Afrosiyob train or Sharq train. Upon arrival in Samarkand, meet your driver and transfer to the hotel. Check-in and overnight at the hotel.
- Duration of sightseeing: approximately 3–4 hours.
- After breakfast at the hotel, start a full-day sightseeing tour in Samarkand. Visit the magnificent Registan Square, Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum — the mausoleum of Timur, the remains of Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Siyob Bazaar and Ulugh Beg Observatory. Free time in the afternoon.
- Overnight in Samarkand.
- Duration of sightseeing: approximately 6–7 hours.
- Breakfast at the hotel. Continue sightseeing in Samarkand: visit Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Afrasiab Museum and the Tomb of Prophet Daniel. Then drive to Konigil village to explore the traditional production of Samarkand paper from mulberry. Farewell lunch in Samarkand.
- At 16:30 transfer to the railway station to board the high-speed Afrosiyob train departing at 17:30 (300 km, 2 h 10 min) and arriving in Tashkent at 19:40. Meet your driver and transfer to the hotel. Tea/coffee break.
- Duration of sightseeing: approximately 4–5 hours.
- Check-out from the hotel by noon. Transfer to Tashkent International Airport. End of the Classic Uzbekistan Group Tour.
