Authentic Uzbekistan: Aral Sea to Samarkand in 10 Days
Overview
The four cities plus the far west: Nukus and the Savitsky museum, the ship graveyard of Muynak and a night in a yurt on the dry bed of the Aral Sea. For travellers who want the story of the country, not only its monuments.
Private car and guide throughout; the Aral Sea is reached by 4x4 with a driver who grew up in Karakalpakstan.
Highlights
Is this trip for you?
- Travellers who want the Aral Sea story as well as the cities
- Photographers — the ship graveyard and the seabed at dawn
- Return visitors adding the far west
- You need a hotel bed every night — the Aral camp is a yurt with shared facilities
- You dislike long off-road drives (two 4-hour 4x4 days)
Our honest opinion
- The Savitsky museum alone justifies the flight west
- The fortress day and the seabed day are unlike anything else in the country
- Three long road days (3, 4 and 6)
- The Aral Sea is sobering rather than beautiful — go for the story
Take the Aral Sea night as an experience, not a hotel stay, and it will be the memory of the trip.
The trip in numbers
Your route
Line style shows how you travel each leg: solid = train, dotted = car, dashed = flight.
Day by day
Airport pickup and transfer; evening at leisure.
Khast-Imam, Chorsu bazaar, the metro and the applied arts museum.
Morning flight, the Savitsky museum, then north by 4x4 to the Muynak ship graveyard and across the seabed to the yurt camp. Dinner under the stars.
Sunrise on the seabed, the Ustyurt cliffs and the Mizdakhan necropolis on the way back to Nukus.
Drive to Khiva and an afternoon in Itchan-Kala; sunset from the walls.
Ayaz-Kala, Toprak-Kala and the desert road with a chaikhana lunch.
Old town on foot; evening folklore show.
Pottery workshop lunch, Samarkand by afternoon.
Registan, Shah-i-Zinda, Gur-Emir and the bazaar.
Morning train to Tashkent and the airport.
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.
Traveller reviews
What guests wrote
“The Fergana Valley days made this tour. Margilan silk, Rishtan ceramics — we met the masters, not shop assistants. Our guide Farrukh translated everything including the jokes. Hotels in Fergana are simpler than in Samarkand but perfectly clean.”
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.
You may also like
All tours
Fly in, walk out Any date 
Winter Any date 
Our best of Georgia Any date 