5 Stans Self-Launched: Almaty to Ashgabat in 20 Days

Fly into Almaty (buses 92 or 79 from the airport to the centre cost about 150 KZT / £0.25, or Yandex Go taxi ~£5). Settle into a hostel or guesthouse near Panfilov Street, then walk Panfilov Park, the Zenkov Cathedral and Green Bazaar before an evening on the Arbat pedestrian street. Pick up a local SIM from an operator shop (Beeline/Activ, ~£4 for 20GB).

🚌Airport bus ~£0.30

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Almaty centre (£14)

• →Panfilov Park and Zenkov Cathedral self-walk
• →Green Bazaar food browsing
• →Arbat evening stroll

Charyn Canyon is 200km east of Almaty and awkward by public transport. Book a shared day-trip minivan via a local agency or GetYourGuide (~£35-45) that includes the Valley of Castles walk, or take a bus to Chundzha and negotiate a taxi. Do the 2km riverside walk between the canyon walls. Return to Almaty for the evening.

🚌Shared day-trip minivan ~£40

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Almaty (£14)

• →Charyn Canyon Valley of Castles walk
• →Riverside canyon trail

Morning at the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan (£3) then a shared taxi or minibus from Sayran bus station to Bishkek (~4.5 hrs, 4,000 KZT / £6-7). Cross the land border on foot with your vehicle. In Bishkek walk Ala-Too Square, Oak Park and Osh Bazaar. Guesthouses around Chuy Avenue are cheap and central.

🚌Shared minibus Almaty-Bishkek ~£7

🛏Guesthouse private room, Bishkek (£12)

• →Central State Museum
• →Ala-Too Square and Oak Park
• →Osh Bazaar

Marshrutka to Tokmok (~1.5 hrs, £1.50), a short taxi to the 11th-century Burana Tower and balbal stones (£2 entry), then on to Cholpon-Ata on Issyk-Kul's north shore (£3). Afternoon at the lake beach and the open-air petroglyph field. Overnight in a lakeside guesthouse — in summer these are plentiful and cheap.

🚌Marshrutkas and taxis ~£7

🛏Lakeside guesthouse, Cholpon-Ata (£13)

• →Burana Tower climb
• →Issyk-Kul lakeside swim
• →Cholpon-Ata petroglyphs

Hire a shared taxi or join a small group to Grigorievskoe (Grigorievka) Canyon at the mouth of the Terskey Ala-Too (£15-20 return with waiting), then continue to Karakol (£8). Visit the wooden Dungan Mosque and the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral, then eat Karakol ashlyanfu at the bazaar.

🚌Shared taxi and canyon detour ~£25

🛏Guesthouse private room, Karakol (£12)

• →Grigorievskoe Canyon walk
• →Dungan Mosque visit
• →Karakol bazaar food crawl

Take a shared taxi to Jeti-Oguz red sandstone cliffs (£5) for a short hike to the Broken Heart rock and hot springs. Continue to Bokonbaevo village where community tourism offices can arrange an eagle-hunter demonstration with a local salburun family (~£25-35 per small group). Evening marshrutka or shared taxi back to Bishkek (£8).

🚌Shared taxis and marshrutka ~£20

🛏Guesthouse private room, Bishkek (£12)

• →Jeti-Oguz gorge hike
• →Eagle hunting demonstration in Bokonbaevo
• →Hot springs

Cheap morning flight on Uzbekistan Airways or the new Bishkek-Tashkent route (~£45-65 one way, 1hr) — far faster than the 12hr overland route via Osh. Spend the afternoon on the Tashkent Metro (7,000 UZS a ride, £0.40) marvelling at the Soviet-era stations: Kosmonavtlar, Alisher Navoi, Pakhtakor. Then Chorsu Bazaar, Khast Imam complex (Barak Khana seminary and the Uthman Quran), Kukeldash Madrassah and Amir Temur Square.

🚌Flight ~£55 plus metro ~£1

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Tashkent (£13)

• →Tashkent Metro station-hopping
• →Khast Imam complex and rare Quran
• →Chorsu Bazaar
• →Kukeldash Madrassah

Shared taxi or marshrutka from Tashkent's Kuyluk/Abu Sahiy bus area to the Oybek border (~£4), cross on foot, then a shared taxi to Khujand (~1.5 hrs, £4). Buy a Tajik SIM (Tcell/Megafon, ~£3). Visit the Panjshanbe Bazaar, the Sheikh Muslihiddin Mosque and the Khujand Fortress museum, then wander Somoni Park.

🚌Shared taxis and border crossing ~£9

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel, Khujand (£13)

• →Panjshanbe Bazaar
• →Sheikh Muslihiddin Mosque
• →Khujand Fortress

Shared taxi to Panjakent (~£8) then up to the Seven Lakes area with a local driver (£20-25 shared, essential — the road is rough). The classic walk links the lakes from Mazor-e Sharif village, with homestays in Padrut or Nofinjin village offering rooms, dinner and breakfast for ~£15-20 full board. Drink in the still, turquoise lakes framed by 4,000m peaks.

🚌Shared taxi and local driver ~£30

🛏Village homestay, Seven Lakes area, full board (£18)

• →Seven Lakes walk between Marguzor lakes
• →Village stay with local family
• →Mountain viewpoints

Descend by shared taxi to Panjakent (£8) and spend the afternoon at the Sarazm proto-urban site (UNESCO, 4,000 BCE) and the Panjakent archaeological dig — the 5th-8th century Sogdian city with its reconstructed 'Rustam' murals, plus the Rudaki Museum. This replaces the tour's guided Penjikent city tour at a fraction of the cost.

🚌Shared taxi ~£8

🛏Guesthouse, Panjakent (£12)

• →Ancient Panjakent archaeological site and murals
• →Sarazm UNESCO site
• →Rudaki Museum
• →Panjakent bazaar

Cross the Jarteppa border by shared taxi (£3) and continue to Samarkand (£4). Arrive, check in, then head to Registan Square for late afternoon light and stay for the evening illumination (£6 combined ticket). Registan is the single most spectacular sight in the region — give it time.

🚌Shared taxis across the border ~£8

🛏Guesthouse near Registan, Samarkand (£13)

• →Registan Square at sunset
• →Registan evening light show

Buy the combined ticket and walk Shakhi Zinda necropolis (best early), Gur Emir mausoleum, Bibi Khanym Mosque and the Ulughbek Observatory. Afternoon at Siab Bazaar for bread, dried fruit and nuts, and the handicraft workshops along Tashkent Street. A local guide for a half-day is ~£25-35 per group if you want the history layered on.

🚌Walking plus cheap taxis ~£3

🛏Guesthouse near Registan, Samarkand (£13)

• →Shakhi Zinda necropolis
• →Gur Emir mausoleum
• →Bibi Khanym Mosque
• →Ulughbek Observatory
• →Siab Bazaar tasting

Take the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Bukhara (£12-15, 1.5 hrs) — book on Uzbekistan Railways' site a week or two ahead. Or stop the morning at Gijduvan village for the Narzullaev pottery workshop, then a shared taxi to Bukhara (£10). Afternoon: Lyabi-Hauz plaza for tea and the Jewish quarter.

🚌Afrosiyob train ~£14

🛏Guesthouse in the old town, Bukhara (£13)

• →Gijduvan pottery workshop
• →Lyabi-Hauz plaza
• →Old town wander

Walk the whole compact old town on foot: the Ark Fortress (£3), Poi Kalon complex with its 47m minaret, the Samanid Mausoleum, Chashma Ayub, Nadir Divan-Begi Khanaka and Madrassah, and the Chor Minor. Climb the Kalon minaret at sunset if it's open. Eat plov at a chaikhana in the bazaar for about £3.

🚌Walking throughout

🛏Guesthouse in the old town, Bukhara (£13)

• →Ark Fortress
• →Poi Kalon complex
• →Samanid Mausoleum
• →Nadir Divan-Begi Madrassah
• →Chor Minor

Shared taxi from Bukhara to Urgench is ~£12-15 and takes 6-7 hours through the Kyzylkum Desert and over the Amu Darya, or the train to Urgench is ~£10 and comfortable. Shared taxi onward to Khiva (£2). Arrive in the walled city of Ichan Kala and take a first evening walk inside the walls.

🚌Shared taxi or train ~£15

🛏Guesthouse inside Ichan Kala, Khiva (£14)

• →Kyzylkum Desert crossing
• →Amu Darya river crossing
• →Evening walk in Ichan Kala

Buy the Ichan Kala combined ticket (£10, valid 2 days) covering the Tash Khauli harem, Kuhna Ark, Juma Mosque's 200 wooden columns, the Islam Khodja minaret and Pakhlavan Mahmud mausoleum. Climb the city walls and the Ak-Sheikh Bobo bastion for sunset views over the desert.

🚌Walking

🛏Guesthouse inside Ichan Kala, Khiva (£14)

• →Ichan Kala combined ticket sights
• →Islam Khodja minaret climb
• →City wall sunset

Turkmenistan is the tricky one: you need a pre-arranged LOI and, in practice, a licensed agency with a guide and driver for your whole stay. Most independent travellers book a 3-4 day Turkmenistan package from Khiva/Dashoguz (roughly £350-500 covering LOI, guide, driver, 4x4 to the crater, meals and hotels). Cross at Shavat/Dashoguz, visit the Kunya-Urgench UNESCO site — Tyurabek-Khanum mausoleum, Il Arslan and Najm al-Din Kubra mausoleums — then drive out to the Darvaza gas crater for a night in a yurt camp beside it.

🚌4x4 vehicle and driver (in package)

🛏Yurt camp at Darvaza Gas Crater (in package)

• →Kunya-Urgench UNESCO mausoleums
• →Darvaza Gas Crater night viewing
• →Desert yurt camp

Sunrise at the crater, then the 3-4 hour drive south through the Karakum to Ashgabat. Stop at the Old Nisa fortress ruins (Parthian, UNESCO tentative, £2) and the Akhal-Teke horse farm for a look at Turkmenistan's national breed. Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque at Kipchak is on the way but is a short stop — check access with your guide.

🚌4x4/vehicle with guide (in package)

🛏Budget hotel, Ashgabat (in package)

• →Darvaza crater sunrise
• →Old Nisa fortress
• →Akhal-Teke horse farm

The white-marble capital is surreal and best seen with your mandatory guide. National Museum of History (£4), the Independence Monument, Neutrality Arch, Ertugrul Gazi Mosque and the Russian Bazaar for caviar and dried melon. English signage is limited — this is the day your guide genuinely earns their fee.

🚌Vehicle with guide (in package)

🛏Budget hotel, Ashgabat (in package)

• →National Museum of History
• →Russian Bazaar
• →Independence and Neutrality monuments
• →Ertugrul Gazi Mosque

Taxi to Ashgabat airport (~£4). Flights out go via Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) or Dubai (flydubai) — book a one-way ticket home in advance as Turkmenistan flights are limited and pricier. Note that your flight cost is not counted in this trip estimate, matching the original tour.

🚌Airport taxi ~£4

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• →Departure