The Three Stans of the Silk Road — Self-Launched Edition

Fly into Manas International Airport and take the shared minibus (marshrutka #193, ~£1) or a Yandex taxi (~£6) into the centre. Check into a central guesthouse or budget hotel near Chuy Avenue, then do the Explore! sightseeing route on foot for free: Oak Park, the Manas sculpture, the Alley of the Youth and the Philharmonic Hall square. Grab dinner at a local chaikhana (tea house) — try lagman noodles and samsa for £4-6.

🚌Marshrutka #193 or Yandex taxi from Manas Airport (~£1-6)

🛏Central Bishkek guesthouse or budget hotel (private room, ~£22)

• →Self-guided walk: Oak Park
• →Manas sculpture
• →Alley of the Youth
• →Philharmonic Hall
• →Chuy Avenue evening stroll

Take a shared taxi or marshrutka from Bishkek's East Bus Station towards Kochkor (~3.5-4 hrs, £6-8). Ask the driver to stop at Burana Tower near Tokmok — an 11th-century minaret on the site of ancient Balasagun, with a small museum (£2 entry). In Kochkor, check into a family guesthouse and ask about a felt-making demonstration at the Altyn Kol women's cooperative (£4-6, bookable on arrival) — the same craft session the tour includes. Dinner with your host family is usually included in guesthouse rates.

🚌Shared taxi/marshrutka Bishkek → Kochkor with Burana stop (~£7)

🛏Family guesthouse in Kochkor (half-board, ~£20)

• →Burana Tower & museum (£2)
• →Altyn Kol felt-making masterclass (£5)
• →Family dinner in Kochkor

Hire a shared taxi or arrange a driver through your guesthouse to the south shore of Issyk Kul (~3 hrs, £25-35 per car split between travellers). Stop at Kyzyl Tuu to see the yurt-building workshops, then in Bokonbayevo arrange a short meeting with a local eagle hunter (typically £10-15, booked through your yurt camp or the CBT office). Overnight at a yurt camp on the lake shore — swim in the (cold, brackish) lake, learn boorsok bread-making from the camp cooks, and eat a home-cooked dinner.

🚌Shared taxi/driver Kochkor → Bokonbayevo (~£10 per person shared)

🛏Yurt camp, south shore Issyk Kul (dinner & breakfast included, ~£25)

• →Kyzyl Tuu yurt workshop
• →Eagle hunter visit (£12)
• →Lake Issyk Kul swim
• →Boorsok bread-making

Continue by marshrutka or shared taxi to Karakol (~2.5 hrs, £4-5). En route stop at Jety-Oguz Gorge for the red sandstone 'Seven Bulls' rocks and a short walk (£1 entry). In Karakol do the town circuit yourself: the wooden Dungan Mosque (free/£1), the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral, and the Przhevalsky Museum (£2). Ask your guesthouse to arrange dinner with a local Uyghur family — many Karakol guesthouses can set this up for £8-12.

🚌Marshrutka Issyk Kul → Karakol (£5) with Jety-Oguz detour

🛏Karakol guesthouse or budget hotel (~£22)

• →Jety-Oguz Gorge walk (£1)
• →Dungan Mosque
• →Russian Orthodox Cathedral
• →Przhevalsky Museum (£2)
• →Uyghur family dinner (£10)

The trickiest leg: from Karakol take a shared taxi to the Kegen border crossing (~£12-15, 2.5-3 hrs), walk through the border, then pick up a local taxi on the Kazakh side towards Saty village and the Kolsai Lakes (~£15-20 shared). Book a guesthouse in Saty or near the lakes in advance (many are on Booking.com). Afternoon hike to the first Kolsai Lake — turquoise water ringed by spruce forest — entry about £3.

🚌Shared taxi Karakol → Kegen border (~£13); local taxi Kegen → Saty (~£10 shared)

🛏Saty/Kolsai guesthouse (~£20)

• →Kegen border crossing
• →Kolsai Lakes National Park hike (£3 entry)

Arrange a driver from Saty to Charyn Canyon, a long but stunning drive (~4-5 hrs). Walk down into the Valley of Castles, descend the steps and follow the 2.5 km flat canyon floor trail, dip your feet in the Charyn river (£3 park entry). Optional detour to Kaindy Lake's sunken forest if you have a 4x4 driver arranged. Continue to Almaty in the evening (~3 hrs from Charyn; total day's driving £30-40 shared), and check into a hostel or budget hotel near Panfilov Street.

🚌Private/shared driver Saty → Charyn → Almaty (~£20 per person shared)

🛏Almaty hostel or budget hotel (~£20)

• →Charyn Canyon Valley of Castles (£3)
• →Canyon floor hike
• →Optional Kaindy Lake sunken forest

A full day in Almaty on foot and by metro: Park of 28 Guardsmen with its eternal flame, the candy-coloured Zenkov Ascension Cathedral (free entry), and the Green Market for dried fruit and horse sausage. Ride the ornate metro stations for 80 tenge a trip. Dinner at a traditional Kazakh cafe (beshbarmak or kazy, £7-10), then board the overnight train from Almaty-2 to Turkestan (platzkart or kupe, £12-18, ~18 hrs — book on the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy site or at the station a few days ahead).

🚌Overnight train Almaty → Turkestan (£15)

🛏Overnight sleeper train, Almaty → Turkestan

• →Park of 28 Guardsmen
• →Zenkov Ascension Cathedral
• →Green Market
• →Almaty metro ride
• →Kazakh cafe dinner

Arrive mid-morning, drop bags at a hotel near the Azret Sultan complex, then explore on foot: the UNESCO-listed Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, the underground Khilvet mosque and a 16th-century bathhouse, all within the walled complex (£4 combined ticket). In the evening wander the modern Karavan Saray complex — the nightly boat parade and floating theatrical show are free to watch and genuinely fun.

🚌Arrive by train; everything walkable

🛏Hotel in Turkestan (~£22)

• →Azret Sultan complex & Yasawi Mausoleum (£4)
• →Khilvet underground mosque
• →Karavan Saray evening show

Take a marshrutka or shared taxi to Shymkent (~2 hrs, £4), see the Baidibek Bey monument and stroll the pedestrian Arbat area, then continue to the Uzbek border (Chernyaevka/Zhibek Zholy crossing). Once through, take a taxi or shared transport into Tashkent (~30-40 min, £3-5). Check into a hotel in the old city near Chorsu. Note: e-visa or visa-free entry rules depend on your passport — check before you travel.

🚌Marshrutka Turkestan → Shymkent (£4); shared taxi to border + into Tashkent (£6)

🛏Tashkent hotel near old city (~£25)

• →Baidibek Bey monument
• →Shymkent pedestrian walk
• →Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border crossing

A full day self-guided: the Khast Imom Complex with its 8th-century Uthman Quran, the vast domed Chorsu Bazaar, Independence Square and the Museum of Applied Arts (£3). Ride the spectacular Soviet-era metro stations (Kosmonavtlar, Pakhtakor) for 1,700 som a ride. Finish on the Amir Timur Square and the Broadway pedestrian alley for dinner — plov and shashlik for £5-7.

🚌Metro and walking (under £2)

🛏Tashkent hotel near old city (~£25)

• →Khast Imom Complex
• →Chorsu Bazaar
• →Museum of Applied Arts (£3)
• →Tashkent metro station tour

Book the Afrosiyob or Sharq high-speed train Tashkent → Bukhara (~4 hrs, £10-14, book on the Uzbek Railways site 1-2 weeks ahead as seats sell out). Check into a family guesthouse in the old town, then walk the classic circuit: Lyab-i Hauz pond, the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasah, Maghoki-Attar Mosque and the Poi Kalon complex with its Kalyan Mosque and minaret. Evening on the Lyab-i Hauz terraces with green tea.

🚌Afrosiyob high-speed train Tashkent → Bukhara (£12)

🛏Bukhara old-town guesthouse (~£25)

• →Lyab-i Hauz
• →Poi Kalon complex
• →Kalyan Mosque
• →Maghoki-Attar Mosque

Morning in the Ark Citadel and its museums (£4), then the Bolo Khauz Mosque and the elegant 9th-century Samanid Mausoleum (free). Take a shared taxi or marshrutka out to the Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa, the last emir's summer residence (£3, ~20 min), and optionally the Naqshbandi Mausoleum. Return for dinner in the old town — Bukhara's plov is famous.

🚌Shared taxi to Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa (~£2 each way)

🛏Bukhara old-town guesthouse (~£25)

• →Ark Citadel (£4)
• →Bolo Khauz Mosque
• →Samanid Mausoleum
• →Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa (£3)
• →Naqshbandi Mausoleum

Take a shared taxi or marshrutka north to Gijduvan to visit a working pottery workshop (the Narzullaev family workshops welcome drop-ins, £3-5 for a demo). Continue to Vobkent village to see its 12th-century minaret and walk through the cotton fields — a locally guided village walk and home-cooked lunch can be arranged through Bukhara guesthouses or the local CBT office for £8-10. Return to Bukhara and catch the evening Afrosiyob to Samarkand (~1.5 hrs, £7-9). Hotel near Registan.

🚌Shared taxi Gijduvan/Vobkent day (£6); Afrosiyob Bukhara → Samarkand (£8)

🛏Samarkand hotel near centre (~£25)

• →Gijduvan pottery workshop (£4)
• →Vobkent village walk & community lunch (£9)
• →Afrosiyob train

Start early at Registan Square (£5 combined ticket) before the tour buses arrive. Hire a local guide at the gate for Shah-i-Zinda necropolis (£3 entry, ~£15 for a 1-hr guide, shareable) or use an audio guide. Then Gur Emir mausoleum (£3), Bibi-Khanym Mosque (£3) and the Ulug-Bek Observatory (£3). Spend the late afternoon at Siab Bazaar for souvinirs and dried fruit — the shops around Registan sell the same handmade crafts at similar prices.

🚌Walking and short Yandex taxis (~£3)

🛏Samarkand hotel near centre (~£25)

• →Registan Square (£5)
• →Shah-i-Zinda necropolis (£3)
• →Gur Emir (£3)
• →Bibi-Khanym Mosque (£3)
• →Ulug-Bek Observatory (£3)
• →Local guide (£15, shareable)

Breakfast, a final wander through Registan at sunrise, then a taxi to Samarkand International Airport (~£5). If you have more time, add an overnight train to Khiva or a shared taxi to Shahrisabz — both easy additions booked at the station or through your hotel. Fly home or continue onward independently.

🚌Taxi to Samarkand Airport (~£5)

🛏—

• →Sunrise at Registan
• →Optional onward train to Khiva