12-Day Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan Tour with Khiva to Samarkand

Arrive at Tashkent International Airport, meet the local tour guide, and transfer to the hotel.

After breakfast, take a tour of Tashkent city, visiting the Kokaldosh Complex, Khast Imam, Barak Khan Madrassa, Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum, Djami Mosque, and Chorsu Bazaar Market.

Continue to the Museum of Applied Arts, the Opera and Ballet Theatre named after A. Navoi - the great Uzbek poet, Independence Square, and Amir Temur Square. Also visit the beautiful Tashkent Metro, where every station is decorated according to various themes.

Have dinner and stay overnight in Tashkent.

Have an early breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the airport to catch the flight to Urgench.

Arrive in Urgench and transfer to Khiva (30 km).

Tour Ichan Kala, an old town dating to the fifth century BC that was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Visit the West Gate Ata Darvaza, the statue of the great scholar Al-Khorezmi, the complex of Muhammed Aminkhan (XIX), the Madrassa of Aiminkhan, Kalta Minor Minaret, and the Fortress of Kunya Ark, which includes a reception hall, the Royal Mosque, the harem, and old prisons.

See the Tash Khovli Palace, the mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud, the complex of Islam Khodja, the West and East Gate Complex, Palvan Darvaza, the Ak Mosque, the Madrasse Allakulikhan and Kutlimurad, and the Royal Caravanserai with its fascinating bazaar.

End with a visit to the Summer Palace Nurullabay, which is famous for its unusual architecture.

Return to the hotel for dinner and stay overnight in Khiva.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan border point, where you will complete the border formalities.

Meet the tour guide at the Shavat border and transfer to Dashoguz city, then continue to Kunya Urgench.

Visit the Mausoleum of Sultan Tekesh, the monument of Sultan Tekesh located in the fortress of Kyrk Molla.

See Arslan, a monument located between Dashgala Fortress and the Mausoleum of Tekesh. Also visit the Mausoleum of Torebeg Hanum, built in her honor.

Drive to Derwaza (300 km), an area rich in natural gas and home to the famous gas crater, which is 70 metres in diameter and still burns today. Local people call it "The Door to Hell".

Have dinner and stay overnight at the hotel.

Drive to Ashgabat (360 km), the capital of Turkmenistan.

See how the natural oases between the sands and foothills have been improved by man, where the urban environment harmoniously interacts with the natural landscape. The combination of unique architectural buildings, numerous museums, exhibition halls, and theatres attracts the attention of visitors to the capital.

Check in to the hotel and have lunch at the Turkish restaurant Nurana.

Visit the National Carpet Museum, the recreational center "Alem," the Arch of Neutrality, the Neutrality Monument, and more.

Rest and stay overnight at the hotel.

Have breakfast and visit the ancient city of Nisa, which is included on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Enjoy the sight of the ruins of Nisa in a picturesque valley near Bagheri.

Visit the ancient capital of the Parthian kings and the National Museum of Ethnography & History.

Drive to the hotel and have dinner at Restaurant Merdem in a Turkmen yurt.

Stay overnight in Ashgabat.

Have breakfast at the hotel and meet fellow tourists.

Transfer to Ashgabat Airport to catch your domestic flight to Mari. On arrival, transfer to the hotel and check in.

Take a tour of Old Merv and visit famous attractions such as the Mausoleum of Soltan Sanjar, the Big Gyz Gala, the Small Gyz Gala, and more.

Have lunch at a local restaurant and, after lunch, visit the Museum of History and Ethnography.

Have dinner and stay overnight at the hotel.

Drive to the Farap border in the Lebap region (around 200 km).

After completing customs formalities at the border, drive to Bukhara. This city is known for the strange "shaggy hats" on top of its minarets.

Upon arrival at the hotel, check in, have lunch, and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Stay overnight in Bukhara.

Visit the Mausoleum of the Samanids, the Mausoleum of Tchashma Ayoub, and other attractions.

Continue to the Kalon Complex and see the twelfth-century Kalon Minaret and the Poi-Kalyan Complex, which includes the Minaret of Kalyan (XII), the Medrese of Mir-Arab (XVI), the Kalyan Mosque (XV), and the old covered market (bazaar).

Have dinner at Medrese Nadir Devan Begi with a folklore show.

Stay overnight in Bukhara.

Have breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Samarkand via Shahrisabz (250 km, 3.5 hrs).

Begin an excursion to Shahrisabz by visiting the Mausoleum of Jakhongir in the Dor-us Saodat Memorial Complex, the remains of Ak-Saray Palace, and the Dor-ut Tilavat Ensemble with Kok-Gumbaz Mosque and the burial vault of Tamerlane's father.

Drive to Samarkand (90 km, 1.5 hrs).

Have dinner at the hotel and stay overnight.

Have breakfast at the hotel.

In Samarkand, the town of blue domes, visit Ulugbek Observatory, Shakhi-Zinda Necropolis, and the Afrosiab Museum, which displays a model of the ancient city, including fortress walls, pottery, weaponry, coinage, altars, and mural paintings from the 7th century.

Break for lunch.

Visit Registan Square, one of the most extraordinary monuments of Central Asia, with its three madrasas completely covered with tiles and mosaics of lapis lazuli: the Ulugbek Madrassa, the Sher Dor Madrassa, and the Tilla Kari Madrassa.

Have dinner and stay overnight in Samarkand.

Visit the Gur-Emir Mausoleum, Bibi-Khanum Mosque, built by Timur for his favourite wife, and the city's biggest Siyab Bazaar, with its pyramids of melons, bags of walnuts, seedless raisins and dried apricots, bunches of grapes, and alluring piles of figs.

Transfer to Tashkent (300 km).

Arrive in Tashkent and stay overnight at the hotel.

Transfer to Tashkent International Airport for your journey back home.