Five Stans: Silk Road Highlights — Self-Launched

Land at Ashgabat airport and get your Turkmenistan visa on arrival (you'll have your pre-approved LOI printed). Note: in Turkmenistan you are legally required to travel with a licensed guide, so this first leg is best booked as a 3-day Ashgabat–Darvaza–Dashoguz package through a local agency — expect roughly £270–330 per person including guide, driver, visa support and two nights' accommodation. Settle into a budget hotel near the centre, then walk the surreal marble boulevards, Independence Monument and the Alem entertainment centre. A local SIM is basically useless here — download offline maps before you fly.

🚌Airport taxi ~£5; guide-driver from agency package

🛏Budget hotel in central Ashgabat (via local agency)

• →Airport visa formalities with printed LOI
• →Self-guided walk of Ashgabat monuments and parks
• →Evening at Russian Bazaar area for cheap plov

Morning at the National Museum of Turkmenistan (£3–4 entry) then out to the UNESCO-listed ruins of Old Nisa, the Parthian fortress city (~£3 entry). After lunch, your driver takes you ~260km north across the Karakum Desert to the Darvaza gas crater. Arrive late afternoon, walk the rim as the sun drops, then eat at the yurt camp and watch the crater burn through the night. Bring a headtorch, warm layer and cash for extras — there's nothing to buy out here.

🚌Private 4x4/van with driver-guide across the Karakum ~£0 extra (in package)

🛏Yurt camp at Darvaza (shared bathroom, included in agency package)

• →National Museum of Turkmenistan
• →Old Nisa UNESCO ruins
• →Darvaza gas crater at sunset and after dark

Drive north to Dashoguz (~2.5hrs), stopping at the regional history museum (£2). Then head to the Shavat/Dashoguz border crossing into Uzbekistan — this can take 1–2 hours so keep water and snacks handy. On the Uzbek side take a shared taxi to Urgench, then a local taxi or marshrutka up to Khiva (about 35km). Check into a guesthouse inside or just outside the Itchan Kala walls. Cash only — bring clean post-1996 USD notes to change, and withdraw som at an Urgench ATM before you get to Khiva.

🚌Agency transfer to border; shared taxi Urgench–Khiva ~£2–3

🛏Guesthouse in Khiva old town, £12–18

• →Dashoguz regional museum
• →Border crossing Dashoguz–Shavat
• →Evening wander inside the Itchan Kala walls

Buy the combined Itchan Kala ticket (~£10–12, covers most monuments and museums). Climb the Islam Khodja minaret for the classic rooftop view of turquoise domes, see the Juma Mosque's 200-plus wooden columns and the Kuhna Ark fortress. A local guide for a half-day costs around £25–35 and is worth splitting with a hostel-mate; otherwise the site signage is decent. Afternoon free: shop for suzani embroidery, or book a seat on tomorrow's train online in advance (Uzbekistan Railways site or app).

🚌On foot

🛏Guesthouse in Khiva old town, £12–18

• →Itchan Kala combined ticket
• →Islam Khodja minaret climb
• →Juma Mosque and Kuhna Ark
• →Optional half-day local guide

Take a shared taxi or marshrutka to Urgench (~£2) and catch the daytime train to Bukhara — the Sharq/Afrosiyob run takes 6–7 hours and costs £8–15 depending on class. Rolling desert, tea from the samovar, very civilised. Arrive Bukhara, check in near Lyabi-Hauz, then do a self-guided orientation loop: Lyabi-Hauz pool, the three trading domes, and Poi Kalon minaret at dusk.

🚌Shared taxi to Urgench ~£2; train Urgench–Bukhara ~£8–15

🛏Boutique guesthouse or small hotel, £15–20

• →Urgench–Bukhara train journey
• →Self-guided evening walk of Lyabi-Hauz and trading domes

Most of old Bukhara is free to walk: the Ark Fortress (small entry fee), Bolo Hauz Mosque, the Chor Minor and the Samanid Mausoleum. A licensed local guide for a half-day costs £25–35 — book through your guesthouse. In the afternoon either take a plov cooking class (£12–18 at most guesthouses) or the 16th-century hammam bathhouse (~£25–35, the G Adventures optional costs $35). Evening rooftop tea over the Lyabi-Hauz.

🚌On foot

🛏Guesthouse or small hotel, £15–20

• →Half-day guided or self-guided old city walk
• →Ark Fortress and Samanid Mausoleum
• →Optional Uzbek cooking class
• →Optional Bukhara hammam

Slow morning in the artisan alleys — the covered bazaars behind the trading domes are where the pottery, carpets and knives are actually made. Afternoon Afrosiyob high-speed train to Samarkand, under 2 hours and around £10–16. On arrival, check in and walk the short hop to Registan Square to see the madrasas lit up after dark (best free view in Central Asia).

🚌Afrosiyob train Bukhara–Samarkand ~£10–16

🛏Guesthouse or small hotel near Registan, £15–20

• →Artisan bazaars of Bukhara
• →Afrosiyob high-speed train
• →Registan Square at night

Buy the combined ticket (~£12–15) for Registan, Bibi Khanum Mosque, Shakhi Zinda necropolis and the Gur-e-Amir (Amir Timur's mausoleum). A local guide for the day is £30–40; genuinely useful for reading the tilework. Then hit Siyob Bazaar for bread, dried apricots and non (the round stamped loaves). Late afternoon: Ulugh Beg Observatory and, if you have legs left, the Shah-i-Zinda walk again in golden hour.

🚌On foot and short taxi hops ~£3

🛏Guesthouse or small hotel near Registan, £15–20

• →Registan, Bibi Khanum, Shakhi Zinda, Gur-e-Amir
• →Siyob Bazaar
• →Optional local guide
• →Ulugh Beg Observatory

Shared taxi from Samarkand to the Jartepa border (~1hr, £3–5 shared, or £15 split as a group). Cross on foot — straightforward, but allow an hour. On the Tajik side, hire a driver from Panjakent to take you up the valley to Marguzor village; negotiate the whole return trip for £55–75 per vehicle (split 2–3 ways). Stop at each of the lakes — the colours genuinely shift from turquoise to jade. Check into a family guesthouse in Marguzor, walk the village lanes, and eat a home-cooked dinner.

🚌Shared taxi to border ~£4; private driver Panjakent–Marguzor return ~£60 per vehicle split

🛏Family guesthouse in Marguzor, £12–18 (usually half-board included)

• →Jartepa border crossing
• →Panjakent bazaar snack stop
• →Seven Lakes drive with photo stops
• →Village walk in Marguzor

Free hike from the guesthouse up to the sixth and seventh lakes — 4–6 hours return depending on pace, no guide needed, just follow the valley trail. Head back down, drive to Panjakent, re-cross the border at Jartepa, and take a shared taxi to Samarkand. Then the evening Afrosiyob to Tashkent (~2hrs 15m, £12–18). Check into a hostel or budget hotel near the metro.

🚌Driver down ~£60 split; shared taxi to Samarkand ~£5; train to Tashkent ~£15

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Tashkent, £12–18

• →Self-guided hike to lakes 6 and 7
• →Return border crossing
• →Afrosiyob train to Tashkent

The Tashkent metro itself is the sight — Kosmonavtlar, Alisher Navoi and Pakhtakor stations are tiled and gilded like palaces, all for about 10p a ride. Walk Chorsu Bazaar for plov, samsa and dried fruit, then Independence Square and the Hazrati Imam complex. A half-day local guide runs £25–35 if you want the Soviet-era context. Afternoon free — coffee shops on Amir Temur Boulevard are cheap and good.

🚌Metro ~£0.50, short taxi hops ~£3

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Tashkent, £12–18

• →Tashkent metro station-hopping
• →Chorsu Bazaar food crawl
• →Hazrati Imam complex and Independence Square

Book the Tashkent–Bishkek flight yourself (Uzbekistan Airways or Avia Traffic, roughly £60–110 one way depending on lead time) — 1h 20m and much better than two days of overland. Alternatively, the overland route via Shymkent–Taraz–Bishkek by train and marshrutka is about £40 but eats 36 hours. Arrive Bishkek, check into a hostel in the city centre, and take a wander round Osh Bazaar for dried goods and kymyz.

🚌Flight ~£60–110; airport marshrutka ~£1

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in central Bishkek, £10–15

• →Tashkent–Bishkek flight
• →Osh Bazaar wander

Free walking loop of Bishkek: Victory Square and the WWII memorial, Panfilov Park with its wooden Zenkov-style cathedral, the State History Museum, and Ala-Too Square for the changing of the guard. Green Bazaar for lunch. Book your onward transport tonight — a shared minibus to Karakol (£6–9, five hours) or, more fun, arrange a three-day yurt-and-hike package through a Bishkek agency (Kyrgyz Concept, CBT Bishkek or a local operator) covering Altyn Arashan or Song-Kul territory.

🚌On foot and marshrutka ~£1

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in central Bishkek, £10–15

• →Victory Square and WWII memorial
• →Panfilov Park
• →Ala-Too Square
• →Green Bazaar lunch
• →Book onward Karakol transport

Shared taxi or minibus west to Tokmok (~£3), then a local taxi to Burana Tower, the 11th-century minaret of the lost city of Balasagun — climb the narrow stair for views over the ruins, and walk the balbal stone carvings (£1–2 entry). Continue east to Karakol on a shared minibus (4–5 hours, £8–12). Karakol's Dungan mosque, the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Przhevalsky Museum are all free or pennies.

🚌Shared minibuses and taxis ~£15 total

🛏Guesthouse in Karakol, £10–15

• →Burana Tower climb
• →Balbal stone field
• →Karakol Dungan mosque and cathedral

Load up on bread, cheese and dried fruit at Karakol's Sunday animal bazaar (if the day lines up) and head into the Terskey Alatau. A shared taxi to Ak-Suu (£5–8) or the trailhead at Altyn Arashan (£10–15 per vehicle) gets you into the valleys; hike in with a local guide if you want a night at the hot springs. Overnight in a community yurt camp — family-run camps around Altyn Arashan, Jety-Oguz and Alakol charge £15–25 per person including dinner and breakfast. Learn to build a yurt frame with the family if they offer it, and eat boorsok and kymyz.

🚌Shared taxi/4x4 to trailhead ~£8 split

🛏Family yurt camp, £15–25 with half board

• →Karakol animal bazaar
• →Altyn Arashan valley hike
• →Yurt-building demo with host family
• →Hot springs

Morning walk out of the yurt camp, then stop at Jety-Oguz canyon — the red sandstone 'Seven Bulls' formations are a 20-minute free walk from the road. Shared minibus back to Bishkek (5 hours, £8–10) or break the journey at Cholpon-Ata on Issyk-Kul if you have the time. Evening in Bishkek: beer and lagman at a cheap chaikhana.

🚌Shared minibus ~£10

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Bishkek, £10–15

• →Jety-Oguz red rocks walk
• →Shared minibus to Bishkek

Shared taxi or minibus Bishkek to Almaty is £6–10 and takes around 5 hours including the border at Chong-Kemin/Ak-Zhol. Drop bags at a hostel near Panfilov Park. If you want Charyn Canyon, either join a day tour from Almaty (£30–45 with GetYourGuide or a local agency) or take a shared taxi toward Chundzha and negotiate a driver for the canyon's Valley of Castles — done independently it's around £20–25 per person split. Back in Almaty for dinner.

🚌Shared minibus to Almaty ~£8; shared taxi/canyon tour ~£25–40 split

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Almaty, £12–20

• →Bishkek–Almaty overland crossing
• →Charyn Canyon (Valley of Castles)

Take metro to Abay and walk Panfilov Park — the candy-coloured Zenkov Cathedral is wooden, built without nails, and free to enter. Then Green Bazaar for horse sausage, honey and apples (Almaty means 'father of apples'). Optional: the Kok-Tobe cable car (£5–6) for city views, or a half-day trip up to Big Almaty Lake by shared taxi (£6–8). Dinner at a cheap Kazakh cafe — beshbarmak or kazy.

🚌Metro and shared taxi ~£8

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Almaty, £12–20

• →Zenkov Cathedral and Panfilov Park
• →Green Bazaar
• →Kok-Tobe cable car
• →Optional Big Almaty Lake trip

Final morning — coffee on Zhibek Zholy, last-minute shopping at TsUM, and the airport bus (Line 92, ~£1) or a taxi (£5–8) out to Almaty International. Fly home or continue onward to Bishkek, Tashkent or Xi'an depending on your routing.

🚌Airport bus ~£1 or taxi ~£7

🛏Departure day

• →Airport transfer
• →Last morning in Almaty