Best of Central Asia: Four Stans in 18 Days
Overview
The five-stans route without Turkmenistan: Kyrgyzstan’s lakes, Almaty, Tajikistan’s two cities and all of Uzbekistan, finishing inside Khiva’s walls. Eighteen days, up to 16 travellers, departures every two weeks in spring and autumn.
For most people this is the better choice: no Turkmen visa, three fewer days, and the same mountains-to-minarets arc.
Highlights
Is this trip for you?
- Travellers who want four countries without the Turkmen paperwork
- Anyone finishing in Khiva and flying from Urgench
- First-time Central Asia visitors with two and a half weeks
- You want the crater (take the 21-day version)
- You like two nights everywhere
Our honest opinion
- Ends in the calmest city, Khiva
- Three fewer road days than the five-stans route
- Still a one-night-stop pace in the first week
- One yurt camp with no showers
Add our 4-day Turkmenistan crossing at the end and you have the five-stans trip with a slower Uzbek middle.
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, Ala-Too square, the Osh bazaar and a welcome dinner with your guide.
The 11th-century Burana tower and its field of stone warriors, lunch in a Dungan family home in Iskra, then the north shore of Issyk-Kul and a swim if the season allows.
Bronze Age petroglyphs above the lake, the Grigoriev and Semyonov gorges on foot, and Karakol’s painted Dungan mosque and wooden Orthodox cathedral.
The red cliffs of Jeti-Oguz, the Barskoon waterfalls and a yurt camp on the quiet south shore.
The Fairy Tale canyon, an eagle-hunter demonstration in Bokonbaevo and the felt workshops of Kochkor, where the women show you how a shyrdak carpet is made.
Over the Kyzart pass and round to the green Chon-Kemin valley; an afternoon horse ride and a guesthouse dinner.
Cross the Korday border into Kazakhstan; evening in Almaty’s leafy centre.
Medeo and Shymbulak by cable car, the Green bazaar, Zenkov cathedral and Kok-Tobe at sunset.
Morning flight to Tashkent; afternoon at Khast-Imam, Chorsu bazaar and the metro.
The Oybek border and Khujand on the Syr Darya: the citadel and the Panjshanbe bazaar.
Istaravshan’s old town, then the Shahristan tunnel road through the Turkestan range.
National museum, the Hissar fortress and the Mehrgon bazaar.
Anzob tunnel, the Sogdian ruins of Penjikent, the border and Samarkand by evening.
Registan, Shah-i-Zinda, Bibi-Khanym and Gur-Emir.
Train to Bukhara; the trading domes and an evening at Lyabi-Hauz.
Morning in the old town — the Ark, Poi-Kalyan — then the Kyzylkum road to Khiva.
Itchan-Kala on foot; sunset from the walls.
Airport transfer.
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
“Four countries without Turkmenistan, which suited us (no visa worries). Kyrgyz lakes, Charyn, Tajik mountains, Uzbek cities — the order is clever, nature first and the big monuments at the end. Group of eight, great guides, honest briefings about the long days.”
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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