Uzbekistan Classic: Khiva to Tashkent in 8 Days
Overview
This is the route we would choose for our own family: start inside the walls of Khiva, the most complete medieval city in Central Asia, and travel east through the desert to Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. Every night is in the historic centre, every city is walked with a guide who grew up there, and the long desert stretch is broken by the Khorezm fortresses and a picnic.
We keep groups to 15 and run the mornings guided, the afternoons loose. The rooftop tables, the evening show in a Bukhara madrasa and the pottery lunch in Gijduvan are already booked — you only have to turn up.
Good to know: the first train is on day 6; the rest is by comfortable minibus with a driver who knows every tea house on the road.
Highlights
Is this trip for you?
- First-time visitors who want the classic Silk Road cities in one trip
- Couples, friends and solo travellers who like small groups
- Photographers — the empty squares at 8 am are worth the early start
- You dislike early starts (two 7:00 departures)
- You need step-free access everywhere — old towns are cobbled and stepped
- You want a beach or a spa day — there is none
Our honest opinion
- Starting in Khiva means the desert day comes early, while you are fresh
- Family-run hotels in the historic centres, not business hotels on the ring road
- Evenings free in every city
- Day 3 is long: 6–7 hours across the Kyzylkum, fortress stops included
- Summer afternoons reach 40 °C — walk early, rest after lunch
I have guided this route more than forty times. Trust me on the early starts — the Registan before the tour buses arrive is a different place.
The trip in numbers
Your route
Line style shows how you travel each leg: solid = train, dotted = car, dashed = flight.
Day by day
Our driver meets you at Urgench airport with a name sign and brings you to Khiva in half an hour. Check in inside the walls, then an easy evening walk with your guide to the Kalta Minor minaret as the lamps come on, and a welcome dinner of Khorezm dishes you will not find elsewhere in the country.
A whole day for the walled city. Kunya-Ark fortress and its watchtower, the 213 carved wooden columns of the Juma mosque, Tash-Hauli palace with its painted harem courtyard, the Pahlavan Mahmud mausoleum and the craft workshops where the famous Khiva fur hats and carpets are still made. Climb the Islam-Khoja minaret before sunset, then the walls for the view.
Cross the Amu Darya into the desert and stop at Ayaz-Kala and Toprak-Kala, the mud-brick castles of ancient Khorezm, before the long road through the Kyzylkum. Picnic lunch at a chaikhana on the way; Bukhara by late afternoon and a first evening around the Lyabi-Hauz pond.
Bukhara is walked, not driven. The Ark fortress, the Poi-Kalyan ensemble, the Samanid mausoleum, Chor-Minor and the three trading domes, with time in the carpet and miniature workshops. Dinner with a folklore show in the Nadir Divan-Begi madrasa.
An hour out of Bukhara, the Narzullaev family have made pottery in Gijduvan for six generations. Lesson at the wheel, lunch in their courtyard, then the road on to Samarkand and a first look at the Registan as the evening light hits the tilework.
Registan Square, Gur-Emir where Tamerlane is buried, the enormous Bibi-Khanym mosque, the blue necropolis of Shah-i-Zinda and the Siab bazaar. Late afternoon Afrosiyob train to Tashkent (2h10).
The Khast-Imam complex with the world’s oldest Quran, Chorsu bazaar at full tilt, the Soviet-era metro stations and the leafy new city. Farewell dinner with the group.
Private transfer to Tashkent airport at any hour.
What’s included
What’s not included
Where you’ll stay
Or equivalent, depending on season. Hotels are inside or beside the historic centres wherever the town has one.
Choose your hotel category
Same itinerary, same guide — pick the comfort level that suits you. The price switch is in the booking box.
- TashkentMarwa
- SamarkandShahristan Art
- BukharaEmerald
- KhivaAnor Qal'a
- TashkentSwissotel
- SamarkandMowenpick
- BukharaMisgaron
- KhivaMercure Khiva
Traveller reviews
What guests wrote
“Il nostro viaggio di nozze. Organizzazione impeccabile, guida preparatissima (Akmal), alberghi nei centri storici. Samarcanda di notte è magica. Unica nota: il prezzo è salito rispetto all’anno scorso, ma vale ogni euro.”
“I had read a lot before booking and was still not prepared for how good this was. Our guide Bekzod has a history degree and it showed — he could answer anything, but he also knew when to stop talking and let us look. The Registan at 8 in the morning with nobody there is something I will not forget. Hotels were small and family-run, exactly as promised, and the one in Khiva was inside the walls. Only tiny criticism: the desert drive to Khiva is long. They warn you about it, and the fortress stops help, but it is still six hours.”
“Group of nine, four nationalities, everyone got on. The fast train between Samarkand and Bukhara was a joy after years of buses on other tours. Our Bukhara hotel had a courtyard where we ate breakfast under a vine. Ellen’s highlight was the plov class we added in Samarkand; mine was the evening the guide took three of us to a chaikhana nowhere near the tourist area. Would use Guided Travels again without hesitation.”
“Alles hat funktioniert. Pünktliche Abholung, saubere Hotels, ein Guide mit Humor und Wissen. Khiva bei Sonnenuntergang von der Stadtmauer – unbezahlbar. Das Essen ist viel Fleisch und Reis, Vegetarier sollten vorher Bescheid sagen (meine Frau hat es getan und wurde gut versorgt).”
“Four stars only because June was hotter than we expected and two afternoons were a struggle — go in spring or autumn if you can, which the website actually says. Everything else was five: the guide, the train, Shah-i-Zinda, the night walk in Bukhara. The hotel in Tashkent was a bit ordinary compared to the others.”
“Travelled solo and this was the perfect way to do it. Half the group were also solo, the coordinator Dilnoza replied on WhatsApp within minutes every time, and I never once felt unsafe or out of place. The early starts are real, do not fight them, the light is worth it.”
“We have done about a dozen small-group tours around the world and this is up with the best of them. The thing that stood out: the free evenings. Most companies schedule every hour. Here you get two or three evenings to wander, and the guide gives you a short list of where to eat. That is confidence in the destination.”
Good to know
Most nationalities enter Uzbekistan visa-free for 30–90 days. If your passport needs an e-visa, it takes 2–3 working days online — we check your case and guide you at booking.
The local currency is the Uzbek som (UZS). Visa and Mastercard work in city hotels, restaurants and supermarkets; keep some cash for bazaars, taxis and tips. ATMs dispense som and sometimes USD.
April–June and September–November are warm and clear — ideal for walking the old cities. July–August afternoons exceed 35°C; winter departures run at reduced prices.
Uzbekistan uses European plug types C and F, 220V. Travellers from the UK, US and Asia need a standard Euro adapter — one per device is enough, hotels have plenty of sockets.
Everyday dress is relaxed across all four cities. Inside mosques and madrasas, shoulders and knees should be covered; headscarves for women are only needed in a few active mosques — your guide will tell you when.
Your included eSIM is activated on arrival, so you’re online from the airport. Hotel Wi-Fi is reliable in all four cities; your coordinator stays reachable on WhatsApp or Telegram throughout.
Free cancellation up to 30 days before departure. 50% refund up to 15 days before; after that the booking is non-refundable, but you can move to another date once for free.
Medical insurance for the tour days is included. We still recommend personal travel insurance covering cancellation and baggage — we can suggest trusted providers.
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