Five Stans Ultimate: Bishkek to Ashgabat in 21 Days
Overview
All five republics in one journey, from the yurts of Issyk-Kul to the crater at Darvaza. Kyrgyzstan’s lakes, Almaty, Tashkent, Khujand and Dushanbe, the three Uzbek cities, then Turkmenistan to finish. Three weeks, up to 16 travellers, named hotels throughout, every flight, train, border and visa letter handled.
It is a long trip and it moves most days; the reward is the whole region, in order, with one team looking after you from the first airport to the last.
Highlights
Is this trip for you?
- Travellers who want all five in one go and have three weeks
- Anyone who prefers one organiser for five visas and six borders
- People who enjoy a group over a long trip
- You like slow travel — fourteen of twenty nights are one-night stops
- You need hotel comfort every night (two camps)
- You want to go deep in any one country
Our honest opinion
- Visa letters, GBAO-free routing and every border handled
- The order is right: mountains first, cities in the middle, the crater as finale
- Seven days with 5+ hours of road
- Fatigue is real by week three — pace yourself in the free evenings
Travellers who do this tour tend to come back for one country properly. That is the point of it.
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.
Shavat border, the Kunya-Urgench minaret and the Karakum road to the crater; dinner by the fire.
Craters at dawn; the marble city by evening.
Nisa, the Turkmenbashi mosque, the monuments and the carpet museum.
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
“I am from the region and still learned something every day. Twenty-one days, five countries, five border crossings, and not one thing went wrong that the team did not fix within the hour. The guides in each country were locals who clearly loved their work. The Pamir–Wakhan stretch and the Darvaza night were the peaks; the Registan at sunset the perfect ending. If you have three weeks, this is the one.”
“We are 68 and 71 and managed it comfortably, though the Wakhan days are long and the homestays are basic. Everything else — trains, hotels, guides, border logistics — was first class. Great value for what you get.”
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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