The Best of Five Stans | Yampu Tours

Custom Travel Experiences Since 1998

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The Best of Five Stans

PRIVATE/GROUP TOUR - 15 DAY SAMPLE ITINERARY

FROM £$ 10500

Private/Group Tour Highlights

  • Discover the modern and vibrant city of Almaty, with visits to the main square, Panfilov's Park, and the iconic Kok Tobe hill.
  • Immerse in Bishkek's heritage and culture with visits to the History Museum, Manas Monument, and Ala Archa National Park.
  • Explore the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, with visits to the Usman Koran Book Museum, Courage Monument, Mustakillik Square, and the Chorsu Bazaar.
  • Experience the architectural wonders of Samarkand, including the Registan Square, Gur Amir Mausoleum, Shahi Zinda Necropolis, and Ulugbek's Observatory.
  • Cross into Tajikistan and explore Penjikent's history, including visits to the Rudaki Museum and the ruins of ancient Penjikent.
  • Take a scenic drive to see one of the famous "Seven Lakes," the picturesque Marguzor Lake, surrounded by stunning natural beauty.
  • Discover Bukhara's rich history with visits to Samanid's Mausoleum, Bolo Havuz Mosque, Ark Fortress, Poi Kalon, and more.
  • Explore the UNESCO-listed city of Khiva, visiting Amin Khan Madrasah, Djuma Mosque, Pakhlavan Makhmud Mausoleum, and the Panoramic Tower.
Interested in this tour?   Let us build you a customized quote based on your budget.

Tour Overview

Embark on a captivating 15-day journey through the heart of Central Asia, commencing in the bustling metropolis of Almaty and concluding in the dazzling city of Ashgabat. This immersive adventure promises a kaleidoscope of experiences, from the vibrant energy of modern cities to the serene beauty of natural landscapes, all while delving into the rich tapestry of history and culture that defines this enthralling region.

Inclusions
Price includes domestic and regional flights within the itinerary; all hotel accommodations including daily continental or buffet breakfast and daily city tax; all transfers between airports and hotels with assistance and baggage handling; guided tours in English including entrance fees.
Exclusions

International airfare (unless specifically included), airport departure taxes that must be paid on-site, gratuities, meals not mentioned, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages with meals, early / late check-out, room service, visa fees/services and other personal items or services not mentioned.

Best Time to Travel
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN
JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Best Good Consult

Package Price: From £$ 10500

Prices shown above are per person. Hotel categories do not adhere strictly to international ratings; Yampu has evaluated the hotels according to destination and availability. Prices include local airfare (where applicable), hotel accommodation including daily breakfast; all transfers with baggage handling, all guided tours in English and all entrance fees.

Please note that prices are subject to change based on availability and seasonality, especially during the holiday season from December 20th through January 5th each year. Please contact a Yampu Travel Specialist for more information on best times to travel.

Trip Type:

All our trips are operated on a private basis unless specified otherwise. This is only a sample itinerary; your Yampu Tour Consultant will personalize this trip for you according to your available dates, interests and type of hotels. This is your trip and we will work on making it perfect!

Tour Itinerary

Day
1

Flight to Almaty

Overnight International Flight to Almaty

Overnight International Flight to Almaty

Day
2

Welcome to Almaty

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Private Transfer from Almaty Airport to Hotel with City Tour, Dinner Included.

At the appropriate time, you will be met at the airport and taken to your hotel in Almaty. Along the way, you will be able to sightsee around the city.

The leafy city of Almaty, with a backdrop of the snowcapped Zailiysky Alatau, has always been among the more appealing Russian creations in Central Asia. Today, Almaty's new-rich have expensive suburban apartments, large SUVs, glitzy shopping malls, Western-style coffee lounges, expensive restaurants, dance-till-dawn nightclubs and new ski resorts to help them enjoy life to the fullest.

The sightseeing of Almaty includes the main square, historical museum, Panfilov's Park with orthodox cathedral and instrumental museum, green bazaar and Kok Tobe hill.
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Day
3

Almaty - Bishkek

At the appropriate time, you will be picked up from your hotel and taken to the airport for your flight to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Regional Flight to Bishkek

Private Transfer from Bishkek airport to Hotel with City Tour, Dinner Included
Upon arrival to Bishkek, you will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. At midday we start sightseeing of the capital, visiting several highlights including the Usman Koran Book Museum, the highlight of the Old City. The Koran is considered to be the oldest and holiest in the world from the VII century. Next, stop by the Monument of "Courage", dedicated to the victims of the earthquake in 1966, after which Tashkent was wholly reconstructed. From there, visit Mustakillik Square, formally known as "Red Squire" with its Lenin Statue. Today is a new modern main square of Tashkent with official governmental buildings., Lenin Monument and the Victory Square. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel.
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Day
4

Bishkek - Tashkent

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Private Half Day Ala Archa National Park Tour.

In the morning excursion to Ala Archa National Park, located in a picturesque gorge of Ala Archa 40 km far from Bishkek. It covers the area of 200 sq. km. - mostly forested valleys, waterfalls and rivers rich in trout. The altitude of ranges varies from 1500 m to the highest point 4895m (Peak Semenov Tien Shanskii) The first 1.5 kilometers pass through a wooded area and lead to the first checkpoint "Broken Heart". Then we go to the mountain plateau of Tepshi, which offers a magnificent view of the Ala-Archa gorge, then we traverse along the mountain slope to the waterfall. Drive back to Bishkek. At the appropriate time, you will be picked up from your hotel and taken to the airport for our flight to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Regional Flight to Tashkent

Upon arrival to Tashkent, you will be met at the airport and privately transferred to your hotel. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel.
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Day
5

Tashkent

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Private Full Day Tashkent Museum Tour, Dinner Included.

After breakfast we visit today the Usman Koran Book Museum is the highlight of the Old City. The book is considered to be the oldest and holiest in the world from the VII century. The Mustakillik Square - former "Red Squire" with its Lenin Statue, today is a new modern main square of Tashkent with official governmental buildings. The Applied Arts Museum is a very beautiful house of the Russian diplomat with precious samples of the Uzbek arts. Chorsu bazaar is a very oriental and colorful shopping place for the locals with stalls of fruits and vegetables. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel.
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Day
6

Tashkent - Samarkand

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Private Full Day Samarkand Historical Tour with Fast Train.

At the appropriate time, you will be transferred to the train station for your speed train to Samarkand.
Upon arrival to Samarkand, you will be met at the train station and taken to your hotel in Samarkand.
We dedicate the whole day for the exploration of the city: the Registan Square (XV-XVIIc) the official center of Timur Empire, consists of 3 grandiose madrasahs of Ulugbek, Sher Dor & Tillya Kari. Visit the Gur Amir mausoleum (XV c), Timurids dynastic burial vault. This is a unique monument of Architecture with blue ribbed tessellated dome. Next up is Shahi Zinda necropolis (XIV-XV) a complex of more than 20 unique buildings of different ages. To finish the program, we visit the Ulugbek's Observatory (XV c)1st observatory in orient with a 30m sextant built by Ulugbek to make exact astronomical catalogue. The museum of Afrosiab is a handout of the past history of Samarkand with its impressive wall painting.

Private Dinner at Uzbek Family Home

Tonight you will enjoy a home made meal in a local Uzbek family home. Witness them create traditional dishes, and maybe even help out, too!
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Day
7

Samarkand - Penjikent

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Private Transfer to Penjikent with City Tour, Dinner Included

At the appropriate time, you will be transferred from your hotel to the Tajikistan border. After crossing formalities, you will meet your local guide on the other side.

Upon arrival to Penjikent, you will enjoy a tour of the city, including visits to the Rudaki Museum, the local Bazaar and mosque. Next, drive to the ruins of ancient Penjikent located within 5-minute drive from modern Penjikent. Penjikent was a major Sogdian city dating back to the 5th century and was destroyed by Arab conquerors in the 8th century. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel.
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Day
8

Penjikent - Samarkand

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Private Half Day Seven Lakes Tour

In the morning we drive to the mountains to see one of the famous "Seven Lakes", the beautiful Marguzor Lake. After some light walking in the surrounding area, you will transfer to the border. After crossing formalities, you will meet your local guide on the other side.

Private Transfer from Uzbekistan Border to Samarkand Hotel with Silk Paper Factory Tour, Dinner Included

At the appropriate time, you will transfer to your hotel in Samarkand. Along the way, you will visit the Bibi Khanym mosque, the biggest construction of Timur the Great. Then visit the famous Oriental Bazar, "Siab". After lunch, head over to the Silk Paper Factory to learn about this extraordinary spot of the city where the antique method of paper production is used. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel.
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Day
9

Samarkand - Bukhara

Train to Bukhara with Bukhara City Tour, Dinner Included

At the appropriate time, you will be picked up from your hotel and taken to the train station for your speed train to Bukhara.

Upon arrival to Bukhara, you will be met at the train station and transferred to your hotel in Bukhara.
Explore the old town area called "Labi Havuz" with different buildings around: including the marionette puppets Theatre, Jewish neighborhood with a very old synagogue. In the afternoon we visit the Chor Minor madrasah, which is unique and one of the most surprising buildings in Bukhara with four minarets - one for each corner. It was built in 1807, by Turkmen merchant Khalif Niyazkul. Visit to the summer residence "Sitorai Mohi Hosa". It is one of the most beautiful and well preserved residences of the Emirs of Bukhara. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel.
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Day
10

Bukhara

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Private Full Day Bukhara Cultural Tour, Dinner Included

Breakfast in hotel and the city tour includes the Samanid's mausoleum (IX - X c) - it was the first building in Central Asia constructed from backed bricks in the shape of a cube covered by a dome with unrepeatable geometrical brickwork design - a masterpiece of world architecture. Bolo Havuz mosque is a highlight of the morning with its fantastic columns which is located by the pool. The fortress Ark is the official residence of Emirs of Bukhara for the past centuries, destroyed and bombarded by the Red Army in 1918. Poi kalon (XII - XVI c) architectural ensemble in the center of old Bukhara - includes the cathedral mosque "Masjidi Kalon", "Miri Arab" madrasah and the highest minaret (46 m) at that time in the Orient. Ulugbek Madrassah 1417 was the earliest of three commissioned by the enlightened Timurid ruler and his secular influence dominates the exterior design of the religious college.

Maggoki Attori Mosque is a four-pillared mosque which was burnt down the ground in a city-wide fire and in the 12th century the present mosque was erected, from which the focus of the mosque, the original southern portal remains. It is a very impressive building where once in its place a Zoroastrian temple had been built. It is a museum of carpets today. In the afternoon continue of the city tour: Tim Abdullakhan was built in 1577 and was one of the most elegant trade halls in Bukhara where silk and wool was sold by Afghan trades. Trading Domes consists of three trading centers: Tok-i-Zargaron (1570) - Jeweler's Bazaar, Tok-i-Tilpak Furushon - Cap Maker's Bazaar and Tok-i-Sarrafon–Moneychanger's Bazaar. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel.
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Day
11

Bukhara - Khiva

Private Transfer Bukhara Hotel To Khiva Hotel, Dinner Included

At the appropriate time, you will depart for Bukhara by coach through the Kyzyl-Kum desert. For centuries it has marked the northern limits of Transoxiana and the edge of the boundless nomadic steppe. You will see Amu Darya one of the two second rivers of Central Asia, separating the Kyzyl Kum from the Kara Kum of Turkmenistan. Typical steppe astrakhans sheep are seen a lot. Dinner outside and overnight in the hotel.

Private Transfer Bukhara Hotel To Khiva Hotel, Dinner Included

At the appropriate time, you will depart for Bukhara by coach through the Kyzyl-Kum desert. For centuries it has marked the northern limits of Transoxiana and the edge of the boundless nomadic steppe. You will see Amu Darya one of the two second rivers of Central Asia, separating the Kyzyl Kum from the Kara Kum of Turkmenistan. Typical steppe astrakhans sheep are seen a lot. Dinner outside and overnight in the hotel.

Day
12

Khiva

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Private Full Day Khiva Tour, Dinner Included

Dating back more than 2,500 years, Khiva was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1990. Learn about Amin Khan Madrasah and Kalta Minor, the first buildings of the city, built in the 1850's and have served since Soviet times as the main hotel of the region. Witness Djuma mosque (X-XVII c) a cathedral mosque whose roof lies on 212 wooden columns with unique acoustics and original technical ideas of natural lighting. See Kunya ark (XVII c), an inner fortress with administrative buildings, gunpowder works, law courts, and a mosque. Next is Pakhlavan Makhmud Maosoleum (XIV - XIX c), the most remarkable architectural and memorial complex in Khiva with ornate tile work. From here, visit Islam Khodja minaret and madrassah (1908) - at 45 m high, this is the highest minaret in Khiva with the observation area high above the city. Follow your guide to Tosh Havli, known simply as Harem. This is a very particular place of the city where khans had lived with their four official wives and forty concubines. In the afternoon visit the Panoramic Tower of the old city from where you can see fantastic views and special atmosphere. It is a must stop. Dinner outside and overnight in the hotel.
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Day
13

Khiva - Dashoguz - Ashgabat

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Private Transfer to Dashoguz with Tour

After breakfast you will transfer to the border. After crossing formalities, you will meet your local guide on the other side transfer to historical site Kunya Urgench (UNESCO) Explore historical park with Kutlug Timur minaret, Mausoleum Turabek Khanum, Mausoleum Tekesh, Mausoleum Il Arslan, Caravansaray gateway and etc. Return to Dashoguz and transfer to the airport to fly to Ashgabat.
Domestic Flight to Ashgabat

Upon arrival to Ashgabat, you will be met at the airport and privately transferred to the city and dinner in a restaurant. Overnight in the hotel.
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Day
14

Ashgabat

Private Full Day Ashgabat City Tour, Dinner Included

After breakfast full day introductory tour with visits Sunday bazaar, Ahalteke horse stables and National museum. Then continue visit to Earthquake monument, Soviet War memorial complex, Nissa (UNESCO) and Turkmenbashi mosque-mausoleum. Dinner and then city tour by night with visits Independence Park, Rukhnama monument, Neutrality Arch and Wedding Palace panoramic viewpoint. Overnight in the hotel.

Private Full Day Ashgabat City Tour, Dinner Included

After breakfast full day introductory tour with visits Sunday bazaar, Ahalteke horse stables and National museum. Then continue visit to Earthquake monument, Soviet War memorial complex, Nissa (UNESCO) and Turkmenbashi mosque-mausoleum. Dinner and then city tour by night with visits Independence Park, Rukhnama monument, Neutrality Arch and Wedding Palace panoramic viewpoint. Overnight in the hotel.

Day
15

International Flight Home

At the appropriate time, you will be met at your hotel and transferred to the airport for your flight home.

International Flight Home

At the appropriate time, you will be met at your hotel and transferred to the airport for your flight home.

International Flight Home

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Panjakent, Tajikistan

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Khiva, Uzbekistan

Dashoguz, Turkmenistan

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Places You'll See

  • Uzbekistan

    Known as the heart of the Silk Road, Uzbekistan offers bewildering sites filled to the brim with history, making it one of Central Asia’s most sought-after destinations. Teeming with culture, Uzbekistan is home to many ancient relics and holy sites including one of the oldest manuscripts of the Koran. Nature lovers and adventure seekers will fall in love with Uzbekistan’s diverse nature while foodies will be salivating over some of the most flavorful gastronomy in the east.

  • Tajikistan

    Simply calling Tajikistan “mountainous” truly dismisses the astounding landscape of the country. With more than 90% of the area being upland, locals have adapted to the harsh conditions of the region high above their neighbors, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. While Tajikistan’s snowcapped peaks call adventurers to their summits, the hospitality of the locals will be sure to keep them warm no matter the season.

  • Kazakhstan

    Thanks to its abundance of oil reserves, Kazakhstan is the most economically advance country of Central Asia, allowing the nation to offer some of the finest accommodations and dining experiences in the region. The capital, Nur-Sultan once served as the central trading hub of the region and now welcomes visitors by adorning bold, ultramodern architecture while the largest city in Kazakhstan, Almaty provides a chic atmosphere of shops and nightlife similar to Europe. Venturing outside the city limits, visitors are greeted with astounding landscapes and cultural experiences with the warm locals.

  • Turkmenistan

    One of the least known of the ‘Stans” and notorious for its absurd regime, Turkmenistan has an ancient history along the Great Silk Road that once linked the eastern and western worlds through extensive trade. Turkmenistan’s landscape majorly consists of Central Asia’s largest desert, the Karakum, and other peculiar natural sites such as The Darvaza gas crater, also known as the Door to Hell. Known for its carpet-making, be sure to take home an ornate masterpiece as a remembrance of your travels and of the welcoming hospitality of the Turkmens.

  • Kyrgyzstan

    With a history as vast as are its mountains are tall, Kyrgyzstan is a culturally rich destination that spans centuries. Once an important crossing point of the Silk Road, Kyrgyzstan today remains virtually unchanged with its pristine nature. Traditionally nomadic people, Kyrgyz await to share their traditions and heritage with visitors with open arms.

Hotel Options

4 Star Properties

Samarkand : DiliMah Premium Luxury

Bukhara : Paradise Plaza

Khiva : Farovon Khiva Hotel

Bishkek : Ambassador Hotel

Panjakent : Panjakent Plaza Hotel

5 Star Properties

Tashkent : Mercure Hotel

Ashgabat : Divan Hotel

Testimonials

Alina M.

Traveled July 2019

Always a great trip with Yampu!

Always a great trip with Yampu!

Traveled To

Alina P.

Traveled December 2018

All their choices were excellent and I recommend them highly

I was very pleased for all the arrangements that Yampu tours made for my family of 12. All their choices were excellent and I recommend them highly. I would definitely use them again.

Traveled To

Let Us Customize This Trip For You

Our World Experts offer full support and dedication to customizing this tour to fit your wishlist - We can mix and match experiences, hotels and highlights to fit your budget and taste.

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