The route at a glance
| Day | Where | Travel that day |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tashkent | arrival |
| Day 2 | Tashkent → Samarkand | Afrosiyob train, about 2 h 10 min |
| Day 3 | Samarkand | none |
| Day 4 | Samarkand → Bukhara | train, about 1.5–2 h |
| Day 5 | Bukhara | none |
| Day 6 | Bukhara → Khiva | train, about 4 h 40 min |
| Day 7 | Khiva → Tashkent | flight from Urgench, or a long train |
The return from Khiva to Tashkent is the longest leg (about 7.5 hours by fast train, 14 hours by sleeper). If you can, fly into Tashkent and out of Urgench, or do the route in reverse.
Day 1: Tashkent
Settle in, get a SIM card and som at the airport or in town, then spend the afternoon at Chorsu Bazaar and the Khast-Imam complex. Ride the metro for its decorated stations (2,500 som a ride by card). Full plan: Tashkent in one day.
Day 2: to Samarkand
Take a morning Afrosiyob from Tashkent's main station (Economy about 311,000 som, roughly $26). Check in, then see Gur-e-Amir, Timur's tomb, and finish at the Registan at sunset. From spring to autumn there is a light show on most evenings. Tickets: Tashkent–Samarkand train guide.
Day 3: Samarkand
Start early at Shah-i-Zinda, the avenue of tiled mausoleums, before the groups arrive. Then Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Siyob Bazaar next door, and in the afternoon the Ulugbek Observatory. The main five tickets cost about 330,000 som. Details: Samarkand in one day. With an extra day, add Shahrisabz.
Day 4: to Bukhara
A mid-morning train reaches Bukhara in about 1.5–2 hours. Walk the old town in the afternoon: Lyabi-Hauz, the trading domes and the madrasas around them. Dinner by the pool at Lyabi-Hauz is the classic first evening.
Day 5: Bukhara
The Ark fortress, the Poi-Kalyan ensemble with the Kalyan Minaret, the Samanid Mausoleum in the park and Chor-Minor. Most sights charge about $2–6. Route and times: Bukhara in one day.
Day 6: to Khiva
Spend the morning in Bukhara (the Sitorai Mohi-Hosa summer palace is a good extra), then take the afternoon train. Since September 2026 a new fast train runs Bukhara → Khiva daily except Mondays, leaving at 15:45 and arriving at 20:25. Check the timetable on railway.uz: schedules change. By car the desert road takes about 6–7 hours.
Day 7: Khiva
The walled Itchan Kala is compact: a full day covers it at an easy pace. The combined ticket is 250,000 som and valid for two days. Climb a minaret for the view, then fly from Urgench (about 30 km away) back to Tashkent, or stay the night. More: Khiva in one day.
Make this plan yours
UzGidAI builds a day plan around your start time, pace and food wishes, and replans tomorrow from what you managed to see.
Plan my dayWhat to book ahead
- Trains go on sale up to 60 days ahead on railway.uz; Afrosiyob and the fast Khiva trains often sell out, so book 1–2 weeks before at least.
- The flight back from Urgench, if you use it.
- Hotels in Samarkand and Bukhara in April–May and September–October.
- Check your visa and registration and read the money guide: carry cash in som for tickets and bazaars.
Fewer or more days
- 5 days: Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara; skip Khiva.
- 8–10 days: add Shahrisabz from Samarkand, a second day in Bukhara, or the Chimgan mountains from Tashkent.
- 14 days: add the Fergana Valley (silk in Margilan, ceramics in Rishtan) and Nukus with the Savitsky Museum.