Best of Uzbekistan & Turkmenistan — Self-Launched Silk Road Route

Fly into Tashkent and take the official Yandex Go app taxi or the metro (¥1,400 som, ~£0.10) from the airport. Base yourself in a guesthouse near Chorsu Bazaar or in the Mirzo Ulugbek area. Spend the afternoon walking the old town: Khast Imam complex with the Uthman Quran, then Chorsu Bazaar, then metro-hop the gloriously decorated Soviet-era stations (Kosmonavtlar, Alisher Navoiy) — the metro is a sight in itself. If you arrive early, add the Museum of Applied Arts. Evening: first plov of the trip at a chaikhana near the bazaar.

🚌Airport taxi via Yandex Go ~£3; metro rides ~£0.10 each

🛏Guesthouse or hostel private room near Chorsu Bazaar, ~£20/night

• →Khast Imam Complex & Uthman Quran
• →Chorsu Bazaar
• →Tashkent metro station tour (Kosmonavtlar, Navoiy)
• →Museum of Applied Arts (optional)

Book the Afrosiyob (or Sharq) high-speed train in advance on the Uzbek Railways site or via the Uzbekistan Railways app — morning departures take ~2h15. On arrival in Samarkand, walk 20 minutes or grab a taxi to a guesthouse in the old town. In the afternoon do the classic circuit on foot: Registan Square (buy the combined Registan ticket, ~£5), Gur-e-Amir (Amir Timur Mausoleum) and, if time allows, Bibi Khanum Mosque. Sunset from the Registan is the money shot. Book a private local guide for tomorrow morning (~£35-45 for half a day) through a Samarkand guesthouse or GetYourGuide.

🚌Afrosiyob train Tashkent–Samarkand ~£15 (book ahead, sells out); short taxi ~£2

🛏Old-town guesthouse near Registan, ~£22/night

• →Afrosiyob high-speed train
• →Registan Square (combined ticket)
• →Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum
• →Bibi Khanum Mosque

Early start with your local guide: Shah-i-Zinda necropolis (best in low morning light and before tour buses), then the Ulugbek Observatory and Afrosiyob Museum, then Siab Bazaar for non bread and dried fruit. Afternoon free: Shah-i-Zinda again is no crime, or head to Hazrat Khizr Mosque and the Tomb of Prophet Daniel (a short shared-taxi hop, ~£1-2 entry). Evening: wine or local beer at a terrace cafe on the pedestrianised street behind the Registan.

🚌Walking plus a couple of short taxis ~£4

🛏Old-town guesthouse near Registan, ~£22/night

• →Guided half-day tour (Shah-i-Zinda, observatory, Siab Bazaar)
• →Tomb of Prophet Daniel
• →Hazrat Khizr Mosque

This is the day the group tour takes a private vehicle for; you can do it with a shared 4x4 or by joining a 1-2 night yurt package from Samarkand (hostels and guesthouses in Samarkand sell these, ~£50-70 including transport, yurt, dinner and breakfast). The drive goes via the Chashma Complex and holy spring at Nurata, and the ruins of Alexander the Great's fortress (Nurata Fortress), then out to the Kazakh yurt camps on the shore of Lake Aydar Kül. Swim in the lake, ride a camel if you like, and eat dinner around a fire with Kazakh singing. Bring warm layers — desert nights are cold even in summer.

🚌Shared 4x4 from Samarkand with yurt package ~£25-35 per person

🛏Yurt camp on Lake Aydar Kül shore, included in package (~£15 equivalent)

• →Nurata Chashma Complex & holy spring
• →Nurata Fortress (Alexander the Great's fortress)
• →Lake Aydar Kül swim
• →Yurt stay with Kazakh dinner and singing

Return to Samarkand (or head straight for Bukhara in the yurt camp's vehicle if the group is going that way) and take the afternoon Afrosiyob train to Bukhara, ~2h15. Check into a courtyard guesthouse inside the old city walls. First evening is for Lyabi-Hauz plaza: tea, a wander around the Jewish quarter and its synagogue (free), and Chor-Bakr complex if you're there before dusk. Book a hammam (bathhouse) for tomorrow — Bozori Kord and the old hammams near Lyabi-Hauz cost around £30-35 for the full scrub treatment.

🚌Shared 4x4/van back to Samarkand ~£10; Afrosiyob Samarkand–Bukhara ~£13

🛏Courtyard guesthouse in Bukhara old town, ~£22/night

• →Lyabi-Hauz plaza
• →Jewish quarter & synagogue
• →Chor-Bakr Complex

Hire a local guide for a half day (~£30-40) or use a good guidebook and walk it yourself — Bukhara is compact. Must-dos: the Ark Fortress, Poi Kalyan complex with the Kalon Minaret, Ulugbek and Abdulaziz Khan madrasas, the covered trading domes, and the Chor Minor tower at sunset. Try the puppet show in an old caravanserai near Lyabi-Hauz (~£5). Late afternoon hammam session, then dinner at a family-run restaurant — ask your guesthouse for their favourite plov or shurpa spot, you'll pay ~£5-7 for a big meal.

🚌All on foot

🛏Courtyard guesthouse in Bukhara old town, ~£22/night

• →Ark Fortress & Poi Kalyan
• →Covered trading domes & Chor Minor
• →Local guide half day (~£35)
• →Bozori Kord hammam (~£33)
• →Puppet show (~£5)

Take a shared taxi or minivan from Bukhara to Khiva — about 6 hours on the road through the Kizilkum desert, roughly £10-15 per person shared (ask at your guesthouse or the shared-taxi stand near the bazaar; a private car costs £45-60 split between two or three people). Alternatively, the daily train (Sharq service) takes about 7 hours and costs ~£7. Arrive in Khiva in the late afternoon, check into a guesthouse inside or just outside the Ichon-Qala walls, and watch the sun go down over the minarets from a rooftop terrace.

🚌Shared taxi/minivan Bukhara–Khiva ~£12 (private car ~£50 split); train option ~£7

🛏Guesthouse in Khiva old town, ~£20/night

• →Kizilkum desert drive
• →Khiva rooftop sunset

Khiva is the most intact Silk Road city in Central Asia and unashamedly touristy — which makes it perfect for aimless wandering. Buy the combined Ichon-Qala ticket (~£10) covering most madrasas and mosques. Don't miss the Juma Mosque's 200-odd carved wooden columns, the Tosh-Hovli Palace, the Kalta Minor minaret, and the Islom Hoja minaret — climb it at sunset for the best view in Uzbekistan (~£1). Optional: a half-day trip to the desert fortresses (Toprak Kala, Ayaz Kala) with a shared driver, ~£20-25 per person.

🚌On foot; optional driver for desert forts ~£22

🛏Guesthouse in Khiva old town, ~£20/night

• →Ichon-Qala combined ticket
• →Juma Mosque, Tosh-Hovli Palace, Kalta Minor
• →Islom Hoja minaret climb
• →Optional desert fortress trip

The border crossing at Shavat/Dashoguz is the difficult part of this trip — organise it as part of a Turkmenistan package (most travellers do a 3-4 day Turkmenistan section with a licensed local operator from Dashoguz through Darvaza to Ashgabat, which includes visa LOI, guide, driver and 4x4). Cross early: the border is slow, allow 2-3 hours. On the Turkmen side, visit the UNESCO site of Kunya-Urgench — the mausoleums of Turabek Khanum and Sultan Tekesh, and the 60m Kutlug Timur minaret — then a look at Dashoguz town. The bazaar at Dashoguz is a good place to buy snacks for the desert.

🚌Shared taxi Khiva–border ~£3; Turkmen border pickup and 4x4 with operator (included in ~£300-380 Turkmenistan package)

🛏Simple hotel in Dashoguz (included in Turkmen package), ~£25 equivalent

• →Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan border crossing
• →Kunya-Urgench UNESCO mausoleums
• →Dashoguz bazaar

Morning in Dashoguz, then a 3-4 hour 4x4 drive into the Karakum Desert to the Darvaza gas crater — the 'Gates of Hell'. Arrive late afternoon, set up at the desert camp (basic tents or a yurt, toilet block, bring wet wipes and a headtorch) and eat a barbecue dinner cooked by the driver/guide. Spend the evening walking the crater rim — it's genuinely spectacular after dark. Bring a warm sleeping bag liner, plenty of water, and cash for drinks at the camp. Mobile signal is patchy.

🚌4x4 with operator, included

🛏Darvaza desert camp (tent/yurt) — included in Turkmen package, ~£20 equivalent

• →Darvaza gas crater at sunset and after dark
• →Karakum Desert barbecue dinner

Breakfast at camp, then visit the mud crater and the water crater nearby before driving out of the dunes (stop for photos on the big sand ridges). En route to Ashgabat, detour to the Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque at Gypjak, the vast white-and-gold mosque built for the first president — free entry, but dress modestly. Arrive Ashgabat in the evening; central hotels and guesthouses in the city are expensive for what they are, so a mid-range hotel is often the most practical option (~£35-45/night, usually booked through your Turkmen operator).

🚌4x4 with operator, included

🛏Mid-range hotel in Ashgabat, ~£40/night (via operator)

• →Mud crater and water crater
• →Karakum sand dunes
• →Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque (Gypjak)

Full day in Ashgabat, a city that looks like it was designed by a committee of marble salesmen. Start with the National Museum of History and Ethnography (worth 2 hours, ~£8 with camera permit), then the monuments: Independence Monument, the Arch of Neutrality, and the Alem cultural centre's giant Ferris wheel if it's running. In the afternoon drive out to the UNESCO-listed Parthian fortress of Nisa (~£5 entry, 30 min from the centre) — your guide/driver can take you. Finish with the Ertugrul Gazi Mosque (free) and dinner at a Turkish or Iranian restaurant near Magtymguly Avenue.

🚌Car with driver for the day ~£25 (or included in package)

🛏Mid-range hotel in Ashgabat, ~£40/night

• →National Museum of History and Ethnography
• →Independence Monument & Arch of Neutrality
• →Ancient Nisa fortress
• →Ertugrul Gazi Mosque

Final morning for the Tolkuchka bazaar (Sunday, if your dates line up — best for carpets and camel bags) or a last walk around the city's fountains. Taxi to Ashgabat airport (~£5-8) for your flight out. If you're flying back to Uzbekistan rather than home, book that leg in advance — Turkmenistan Airlines and Uzbek Airways run Ashgabat–Tashkent several times a week and tickets cost around £60-90 one-way.

🚌Airport taxi ~£6

🛏—

• →Tolkuchka bazaar (Sunday only)