Please note the tour price reflected on the brochure is subject to change. Due to seasonality, and taxes prices of the tour are subject to change without due notice. Please consult with the operator directly for the recent price.
Highlights of Central Aia: Kyrgystan's mountains and Uzbekistan's architecture

Overview
Short Description
Landlocked Uzbekistan is a hinterland of inhospitable desert, and yet it has produced works of such architectural sumptuousness and skill, they’ve beguiled visitors and itinerants for centuries — and they continue to do so. Whether you visit Uzbekistan as part of a longer journey retracing the Silk Route, or as a standalone destination, our specialists will talk you through the country’s primary points of interest. They’ll weave their knowledge of its backstreets, museums, Soviet relics and Islamic sacred sites into your own tailor-made Uzbekistan itinerary.
The triptych of madressehs (Islamic schools) gracing Registan Square in the historical city of Samarkand is likely to form the climax to your holiday in Uzbekistan, and our specialists will help you make the most of your visit here. You can complement this with exploring Khiva’s city walls, Tashkent’s teahouses and Bukhara’s marketplaces. Our specialists can also point you toward half-forgotten, lesser-known places: ruined mud-brick fortresses marooned amid desert sands, and once-powerful port towns.
Itinerary
Day 1 : International outbound flight
Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Tashkent.
Day 2 : Tashkent
You will be met at the airport by your driver and guide and driven to your hotel to check in. Once freshened up you'll be collected and taken on a tour of the city. A tour of Tashkent provides an excellent overview of what Uzbekistan and Central Asia have to offer as you take in mosques and markets, as well as the State History Museum.
Day 3 : Khiva
Today you will be collected from your hotel and driven to the airport for your flight to Urgench. Upon arrival you'll be met by your new driver and, along with your guide, travel to Khiva, a journey of around one hour.
Day 4 : Khiva
You have a full day tour of Khiva today. The city feels very much like an open air museum, and the architecture within the city walls is truly stunning including the blue tilled Kalta-Minor Minaret and Mohammed Rakhim Khan Madrassah.
Day 5 : Bukhara
Today you'll be collected from your hotel by your driver and guide and driven to Bukhara. It's a long journey through the desert, which will take at least seven hours.
Day 6 : Bukhara
You have a full day tour of Bukhara today. A fabulous, bustling old city and one that feels very much lived in. You'll sense the atmosphere as you wander the winding, dusty streets of the old town.
Day 7 : Bukhara
Today is free to explore this wonderful old city at your own pace. We'd suggest a visit to one of the cities bazaars, merchant buildings or bath houses.
Day 8 : Samarkand
This morning you'll be collected from your hotel for the drive to the station for your train to Bukhara, a journey of around two and a half hours. On arrival you'll be collection from the station for the drive to your hotel.
Day 9 : Samarkand
Today you have a tour of Samarkand including the magnificent Registan square - the highlight of a visit to Samarkand. The city's grand leafy streets give it a distinctly different feel to other Uzbek cities.
Day 10 : Bishkek
You will be driven back to Tashkent today in time for your onward flight to Bishkek. On arrival you'll be met by your new driver and guide and driven to your hotel.
Day 11 : Karakol
Today you will be collected from your hotel and driven along the north shore of Izzyk Kul stopping at Burna tower en route. This is a long journey of around eight hours in total.
Day 12 : Karakol
You will spend today walking through the alpine valleys of Altyn Arashan with your private guide.
Day 13 : Tamga
Today you'll be collected from your hotel and driven to the village of Tamga located on the southern shore of Izzyk kul. En route you'll visit Jeti Oguz canyon around 30 minutes from Karakol.
Day 14 : Song Kol Lake
You will be collectedd from your hotel in Tamga today and driven to your ger on the shore of Song kol. Along the way you'll visit Fairy-tail Canyon and the village of Kockor.
Day 15 : Bishkek
Today you'll be driven from your ger on the shores of Song Kol to Bishkek a drive of around seven hours out of the mountains to the Kyrgyz capital.
Day 16 : International return flight
Today you will be collected from your hotel and driven to the airport for your onward flight. Your return flight will arrive the same day.
Availability
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3,322 Audley Travel Travel Reviews & Ratings
Highlights of Central Aia: Kyrgystan's mountains and Uzbekistan's architecture
Company Reviews
I’ll use Audley for all my travel moving forward
The locations were perfect and the activities made the experience extra special.
I would definitely recommend Audley and especially Ewan to anyone looking for a more bespoke experience.
Unresponsive
I contacted Audley as they came recommended by Wilderness Travel, the company we traveled with previously.
I left multiple messages for their regional specialist Adam -- voice messages through his co-workers (Alec and Jacky), email, website inquiry -- he didn't reply. I finally spoke to another specialist at the office (Lydia) and pressed her to not take yet another message for Adam, but tell me honestly if they are interested in working on our itinerary or we should move on. She then told me that they are busy. Well, wish they had some integrity to tell me on the first call, so I didn't have to loose time on trying to contact their "specialist".
p.s. They sent their automated marketing message with ALL their trips listed in response to my website inquiry. In this message they included: "When you are ready...". I replied that, indeed, we are ready, as I explained in my inquiry -- ready, know where and when we want to travel and are inquiring if you are interested in creating a private journey for us. No reply! Instead, they sent another marketing message the next day (and after Lydia already told us that they are very busy and won't be able to make reservations.) The second marketing message had no option to "unsubscribe". Again, I replied to that message and asked them to stop spamming me with marketing materials.
UPDATE: Audley's Client Experience Executive reached out to me in response to this review. She apologized profusely and wanted me to know that my "feedback is being heard". She said that she spoke with the employees' manager to "ensure mistakes like this don’t happen again and provide additional training to support their growth." She also promised to ask the marketing to delete my name from their marketing list. I took her at her word.
I don't know if this interaction with the client experience executive convinced me to seek Audley's services in the future, but I promised her to include in my review this "status update".
There are much better travel companies than Audley
I’m booking for South Africa and they simply can’t accept that another company can provide a better itinerary at a lower price - even to the point of asking for the other quote and saying this is usual practice in the industry!! ( rubbish) . Totally unprofessional behaviour. Furthermore , sending me emails knocking my choice of hotel and safari park while at the same time promoting hotels that clearly have issues as evidenced by poor ratings on the major sites
I use another well known travel provider that actually provide high quality at a decent price
Audley are simply interested in selling the highest price hotels etc that give them the maximum profit rather than what is right for you
They love themselves and keep on saying nonsense such as “ I’m really pleased with what I’ve come up with and hope you are too “
They need to get real
I won’t reveal the name of the agent dealing with me as that’s probably unfair
Amazing Trip of a life time
Christmas in Thailand
Mark Hotham at Audley Travel helped us to put together the holiday of a lifetime. He helped us through the complexity of different start dates, advised on a suitable hotel and arranged a terrific trip to the Elephant Hills camp in the jungle.
The arrangements worked splendidly, the hotel in Khao Lak was first class and the Elephant Hills trip was magical.
Nothing was ever too much trouble for Mark and every effort was made to deliver the holiday we were looking for.
We have already recommended Audley travel to our friends and they will be our first choice of travel agency from now on.
Our California Trip
Details
Flight & Transport Inclusions
All internal ground transport
Group Size
Intimate Group - 12 max
Trip ID#:
audley-travel-43836
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