Multi-Stan Adventure: Self-Launched Bishkek to Tashkent

Land at Manas Airport and take marshrutka 380 or a Yandex taxi (~£4-6) into the centre. Settle into a guesthouse near Chuy Avenue, then wander Ala-Too Square and Oak Park to shake off the flight. Cash is king — change money at a bank or ATM on Chuy. Sort out your onward plan: tomorrow you head east toward Chon Kemin.

🚌Marshrutka or Yandex taxi from Manas Airport, ~£5

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Bishkek centre (~£12-16 private twin / £7 dorm)

• →Ala-Too Square
• →Oak Park and Erkindik Boulevard
• →Osh Bazaar for supplies

Shared taxi or a hired car with driver from Bishkek's East Bus Station toward Tokmok (~45 min), stopping at the 11th-century Burana Tower and its balbal stone field (~£1 entry). Continue up into the Chon Kemin valley. Family guesthouses here can be booked direct by phone/WhatsApp or via Booking.com; most include breakfast and a home-cooked dinner.

🚌Shared taxi Bishkek-Tokmok ~£2; hired car Tokmok-Chon Kemin ~£15 split

🛏Family guesthouse in Chon Kemin (~£15 half board)

• →Burana Tower and balbals
• →Valley walk to viewpoints
• →Home-cooked Kyrgyz dinner

The big mountain day. Arrange in advance (guesthouse owner can help) a 4WD with driver for the Kalmak-Ashuu pass route up to Song Kul at 3,000m — the road is rough and marshrutkas don't run it. Expect ~£60-80 for the vehicle split between 3-4 travellers. Yurt camps around the lake take direct bookings and include dinner and breakfast. Afternoon free for a walk to the shoreline or a ridge hike.

🚌4WD with driver Chon Kemin-Song Kul, ~£18-25 per person split

🛏Yurt camp on Song Kul (~£20-25 with dinner and breakfast)

• →Kalmak-Ashuu mountain pass
• →Song Kul shoreline walk
• →Optional ridge hike
• →Sunset over the lake

Descend by 4WD to Kochkor, where the CBT (Community Based Tourism) office can arrange a home lunch (~£5) and, if you want, a felt-making demo. From Kochkor catch a shared taxi or bus toward Bokonbayevo/Karakol and get off at Tamga. Late afternoon detour to the red-rock Skazka (Fairytale) Canyon, best in golden light — a taxi from Tamga is ~£6 return.

🚌4WD to Kochkor ~£15 split; shared taxi Kochkor-Tamga ~£6

🛏Guesthouse in Tamga (~£12-15)

• →Lunch with a Kochkor family
• →Skazka (Fairytale) Canyon
• →Issyk-Kul south shore

Shared taxi or minibus east along the lake to Karakol (~2 hrs, £3-4). Visit the wooden Dungan Mosque and the Russian Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, and stop by the Ak-Orgo workshop centre to see yurt-building and felt work. A local guide (~£15 split) adds context. Evening at the Dungan or Uyghur restaurants on Jusup Abdrakhmanov street.

🚌Shared taxi Tamga-Karakol ~£3.50

🛏Guesthouse in Karakol (~£12-16)

• →Dungan Mosque
• →Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
• →Ak-Orgo workshop centre
• →Karakol bazaar

Take a taxi out to Jety Oguz gorge (Seven Bulls red cliffs, ~£8 return) for a short walk to the waterfall, then continue south to the Kyrgyz-Kazakh border at Kegen. Border formalities are usually quick; marshrutkas don't cross, so arrange a driver for Saty (~£25-30 split) or share with other travellers. Saty village guesthouses are the base for Kolsay and Kaindy lakes — book ahead in summer.

🚌Taxi to Jety Oguz ~£3 pp; hired car to Saty via Kegen ~£10 pp split

🛏Village guesthouse in Saty (~£15 with breakfast and dinner)

• →Jety Oguz Seven Bulls gorge
• →Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border crossing
• →Kazakh village stay

Hire a local driver for the day (~£40-50 split between 3) to hit Kaindy's sunken forest lake and Kolsay Lakes National Park — a short hike between the lower and middle lakes (~£3 park entry). Return via Charyn Canyon for sunset on the Valley of Castles, then continue to Almaty. Alternatively split it: lakes today, Charyn en route to Almaty.

🚌Hired car with driver, ~£15-18 pp split

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Almaty (~£15-22)

• →Kaindy Lake sunken forest
• →Kolsay Lakes National Park hike
• →Charyn Canyon (Valley of Castles)

Free day on foot and by metro. Zenkov Cathedral in Panfilov Park, the Green Bazaar for food and dried fruit, and a ride up Kok-Tobe hill for city views. Optional half-day to Medeu and the Shymbulak cable car if you want mountains close to town (~£10). Evenings on Panfilov Street's bar strip.

🚌Metro and city buses, ~£3 for the day

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Almaty (~£15-22)

• →Zenkov Cathedral and Panfilov Park
• →Green Bazaar
• →Kok-Tobe hill viewpoint
• →Optional Shymbulak cable car

Book the Air Astana or Somon Air flight roughly 2-3 weeks ahead for the best fare (aim ~£70-110). Afternoon arrival; e-visa should be sorted online before travel. Walk Rudaki Avenue, see the giant flagpole and the Navruz Palace area, and stock up on Tajik somoni. Book your onward shared taxi for tomorrow evening.

🚌Flight Almaty-Dushanbe ~£90; airport taxi ~£5

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Dushanbe (~£15-20)

• →Rudaki Avenue walk
• →Dushanbe flagpole and Navruz Palace
• →Mehrgon Market

Shared taxi or hired car west toward Panjakent, turning off at Ayni for the climb to Ghazza (~4-5 hrs, £10-15 pp). Check into a community guesthouse — the village tourism association places you with families, including dinner. Afternoon walk down to the Iskander Darya waterfall and Lake Iskanderkul, named for Alexander the Great.

🚌Shared taxi/hired car Dushanbe-Ghazza, ~£12 pp split

🛏Community guesthouse in Ghazza (~£15 with dinner and breakfast)

• →Iskanderkul lake
• →Iskander Darya waterfall
• →Fann Mountains scenery

A full-day guided walk (~£15-20 for a local guide) from Ghazza up to Voru village along the Voru River — a car-free mountain hamlet with a working water-powered blacksmith. Lunch with a family, then back down. Rooftop tea with the host family is the reward. Confirm guide and lunch the night before via your guesthouse.

🚌On foot

🛏Community guesthouse in Ghazza (~£15 half board)

• →Voru village hike
• →Traditional blacksmith demonstration
• →Rooftop terrace sunset

Descend to Ayni and pick up a shared taxi toward Istaravshan (~£8), where the Mugh Teppe bazaar, Hazrati Shoh complex and the old citadel are worth 2 hours and a chaikhana lunch. Continue by shared taxi or minibus to Khujand (~£4). Evening at the Panjshanbe Bazaar and the Sughd History Museum area.

🚌Shared taxis Ghazza-Istaravshan-Khujand, ~£12 total

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Khujand (~£15-18)

• →Istaravshan old town and Mugh Teppe bazaar
• →Chaikhana lunch
• →Panjshanbe Bazaar, Khujand

Cross at the Oybek (Fotehobod) border, ~30 min from Khujand by shared taxi (£3). The border is typically open to foreigners and takes 1-2 hrs. Taxi or marshrutka from the Uzbek side to Tashkent centre (~£4-5). Evening stroll around Amir Timur Square and pick up your Afrosiyob train ticket for day 15 at the station or online.

🚌Shared taxi to border ~£3; taxi border-Tashkent ~£5

🛏Hotel or hostel in Tashkent (~£18-25)

• →Tajikistan-Uzbekistan border crossing
• →Amir Timur Square
• →Chorsu Bazaar

Hazrati Imam complex for the Uthman Quran, the Metro stations (Kosmonavtlar is a museum in itself, ~£1), Chorsu Bazaar for plov and non bread, and the Applied Arts Museum. Optional Tashkent Tower observation deck (~£6). Easy day to reset laundry and bank admin.

🚌Metro, ~£1 for the day

🛏Hotel or hostel in Tashkent (~£18-25)

• →Hazrati Imam complex
• →Tashkent Metro station tour
• →Chorsu Bazaar
• →Applied Arts Museum

Morning Afrosiyob high-speed train Tashkent-Samarkand (~2h10, from ~£9 for economy, book on railway.uz or at the station). Check in, then an afternoon walking the Registan, Gur-e-Amir (Amir Timur's mausoleum) and Bibi Khanum Mosque. A local guide for 2 hrs runs ~£20-25 split; otherwise audio guides and signage are decent.

🚌Afrosiyob train ~£9-12

🛏Guesthouse or hotel in Samarkand (~£15-22)

• →Registan Square
• →Gur-e-Amir mausoleum
• →Bibi Khanum Mosque
• →Shahi Zinda at sunset

Shahi Zinda necropolis in the morning light, then Ulugbek's observatory. Afternoon to Konigil village for the silk paper-making workshop (~£5-8, marshrutka 15 min from Siab Bazaar) — the DIY equivalent of the tour's optional visit. Finish with plov and a walk in the old town.

🚌Marshrutkas and taxis, ~£4

🛏Guesthouse or hotel in Samarkand (~£15-22)

• →Shahi Zinda necropolis
• →Ulugbek Observatory
• →Konigil silk paper workshop
• →Siab Bazaar

Shared taxi from Samarkand to Jizzakh or Nurata (~£6), then arrange a driver out to the Aydar Kul yurt camps (~£15-20 split). Visit the Chashma spring complex and the Alexander the Great fortress ruins en route. Yurt camps include dinner and breakfast; swim in the lake before sunset if it's warm.

🚌Shared taxi plus 4WD transfer, ~£20 pp split

🛏Yurt camp at Aydar Kul (~£22-28 with dinner and breakfast)

• →Chashma Complex holy spring
• →Alexander the Great fortress ruins
• →Aydar Kul lake swim
• →Desert sunset

Drive back to Nurata or Navoiy and catch a shared taxi or train onward to Bukhara (~£8-10). Afternoon free in Bukhara's old town — Lyabi-Hauz square, the trading domes, and an optional hammam (~£15-20 for a local bathhouse rather than the tourist 35 USD option). Kukaldosh Madrasah area has cheap decent plov joints.

🚌Shared taxi/train to Bukhara, ~£9

🛏Guesthouse in Bukhara old town (~£15-20)

• →Lyabi-Hauz square
• →Trading domes bazaar
• →Optional hammam

Full day on foot: the Ark fortress, Bolo-Hauz Mosque, the Kalyan Minaret and Mosque, and the Chor Minor. A local guide for 3 hrs is ~£25 split; or self-guide with the excellent signage. Optional puppet show in a caravanserai (~£5) or a trip out to the Chor-Bakr necropolis by taxi (~£5).

🚌On foot

🛏Guesthouse in Bukhara old town (~£15-20)

• →Ark Fortress
• →Kalyan Minaret and Mosque
• →Chor Minor
• →Chor-Bakr necropolis (optional)

Take the morning shared taxi (~5-6 hrs, £10-12 pp) or the slower train to Urgench plus a 30-min taxi. Khiva's walled Ichon-Qala is small enough to walk end to end. Check in inside or just outside the walls, then catch the sunset from the Islam Khodja minaret or the city walls.

🚌Shared taxi Bukhara-Khiva ~£11

🛏Guesthouse inside or beside Ichon-Qala (~£15-20)

• →Ichon-Qala walls at sunset
• →Kalta Minor minaret

Buy the combined Ichon-Qala ticket (~£9) and work through the Kuhna Ark, Tash Hauli Palace, Juma Mosque's carved pillars and the Islam Khodja minaret climb. Afternoon out to the desert fortresses — Ayaz Kala and Toprak Kala — by hired taxi (~£25 split, 4 hrs). Evening on a rooftop restaurant.

🚌Day taxi to desert forts, ~£8 pp split

🛏Guesthouse inside or beside Ichon-Qala (~£15-20)

• →Kuhna Ark
• →Tash Hauli Palace
• →Juma Mosque
• →Ayaz Kala and Toprak Kala fortresses

Fly Urgench-Tashkent (Uzbekistan Airways, ~£40-60, book a few weeks out) or take the overnight train for a cheaper, slower option (~£12-18 in a couchette). Afternoon in Tashkent for last shopping and a farewell plov. Pre-book your airport transfer for the morning.

🚌Flight Urgench-Tashkent ~£50, or overnight train ~£15

🛏Hotel or hostel in Tashkent (~£18-25)

• →Last-minute bazaar shopping
• →Farewell plov dinner

Airport transfer (Yandex ~£5 or metro to the airport bus). If your flight is late, the Fine Arts Museum or the Metro's more ornate stations fill a morning nicely.

🚌Airport taxi ~£5

🛏—

• →Departure