Best of Tajikistan & Uzbekistan — Self-Launched

Fly into Dushanbe and settle into a guesthouse near Rudaki Avenue. Pick up a local SIM (Tcell or Megafon, ~£3 for data) and change cash to somoni at a bank or the Green House exchange — cards are accepted in mid-range places but you'll want cash for the mountains. Evening stroll along Rudaki Avenue and the Ismoili Somoni monument, dinner at a chaikhana (expect plov, shurbo and non for under £5).

🚌Arrival transfer by Yandex Taxi from the airport, ~£5; walk the city centre

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in central Dushanbe (~£15 per person in a twin/dorm)

• →Rudaki Avenue evening walk
• →Ismoili Somoni monument
• →Chaikhana dinner

Morning self-launched city tour: National Museum of Tajikistan, Haji Yaqub Mosque and the main monuments — the museum entry is around £3. Around midday join a shared taxi or minivan from the Zarnisor/Green Market stands towards Saratog/Iskanderkul (negotiate ~£25-35 per person for the 3-hour mountain drive, or hire a car with driver for ~£90 split between 3-4 people). Short hike to the Iskander Darya waterfall below the lake, then dinner and overnight with a local family in a mountain homestay.

🚌Shared taxi/minivan from Dushanbe to Iskanderkul, ~£30 per person

🛏Community homestay in Saratog/Iskanderkul valley, multi-share, with dinner (~£20 including meals)

• →National Museum of Tajikistan
• →Haji Yaqub Mosque
• →Iskanderkul lake viewpoint
• →Iskander Darya waterfall hike
• →Tajik homestay dinner

Full-day trek along the Karakul River towards Saratog village — 4-6 hours of gentle valley walking with Fann Mountain views. Back to the homestay for a home-cooked lunch, rest in the afternoon, then walk into Sarytag to meet families, learn about village life and hear about seasonal mountain farming. Big Tajik dinner back at the homestay.

🚌All on foot — no local transport needed

🛏Same community homestay (multi-share) with breakfast, lunch and dinner (~£20)

• →Karakul River valley trek
• →Sarytag village walk
• →Homestay dinner and evening with hosts

Drive north with a stop in Istaravshan to see the Hazrati Shoh mosque complex and the Mug Teppe citadel mound (Alexander the Great stormed it in 329 BC) — entry is pennies. Optional lunch at a local chaikhana, then continue to Khujand. Afternoon wander: Historical Museum of Sughd (castle-like Soviet building, ~£2) and the Mausoleum of Sheik Muslekheddin. Evening at Panjshanbe Bazaar area for fruit and snacks.

🚌Shared taxi/minivan Iskanderkul to Khujand via Istaravshan, ~£25 per person (or a day-hire car split between the group)

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Khujand (~£15 per person in a twin)

• →Hazrati Shoh mosque, Istaravshan
• →Mug Teppe citadel
• →Historical Museum of Sughd
• →Mausoleum of Sheik Muslekheddin

Early visit to Panjshanbe Bazaar, the largest market in Tajikistan, for dried fruit and flatbreads. Then take a shared taxi to the Fotehobod/Oybek border (~£5), walk the crossing (allow 1-2 hours), and pick up a shared taxi or bus on the Uzbek side to Tashkent (~£5). Check into a hostel in the old city. Evening orientation walk around the metro, Amir Timur Square and the Khast Imam area — remember to photograph Tashkent's ornate metro stations (small fee to photograph, ~£2).

🚌Shared taxi Khujand to border ~£5; border crossing on foot; shared taxi/bus to Tashkent ~£5

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Tashkent (~£12-15 per person, dorm or twin)

• →Panjshanbe Bazaar
• →Border crossing experience
• →Tashkent metro station tour
• →Amir Timur Square walk

Free day. Options: the State Museum of Applied Arts, the History of Uzbekistan Museum, Chorsu Bazaar (best for plov and spice shopping), the Hazrati Imam complex with its 7th-century Uthman Quran, and Tashkent Tower's observation deck. Use the metro to hop between districts — a single ride is about £0.15. Evening: go see a plov centre at Chorsu, or a chaikhana near the Anhor canal.

🚌Metro and Yandex Taxi around the city, ~£4 total

🛏Same Tashkent hostel/guesthouse (~£13)

• →Chorsu Bazaar
• →Hazrati Imam complex
• →State Museum of Applied Arts
• →Tashkent Tower observation deck

Take the morning Afrosiyob high-speed train from Tashkent to Samarkand (2h05, ~£12-18 for second class — book on the Uzbekistan Railways site or at the station a few days ahead, seats sell out). Afternoon orientation walk: Registan Square from the outside at golden hour, then the Amir Timur Mausoleum (Gur-e-Amir) and the Bibi Khanum Mosque. Dinner near the Registan with a view over the lights.

🚌Afrosiyob high-speed train Tashkent to Samarkand, ~£15

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Samarkand, walking distance from Registan (~£15 per person)

• →Afrosiyob train ride
• →Registan Square at sunset
• →Gur-e-Amir mausoleum
• →Bibi Khanum Mosque

Self-launched city tour using a local guide found via GetYourGuide or arranged at your guesthouse (~£25-35 for a half-day): Ulugbek Observatory, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis (go early to beat crowds), Siab Bazaar for fresh bread and dried fruit, Bibi Khanum, then inside Registan Square with its three madrasas. Free afternoon for the Afrosiyob Museum or a hammom (bathhouse).

🚌Walk or short taxi hops, ~£4

🛏Same Samarkand guesthouse (~£15)

• →Shah-i-Zinda necropolis
• →Ulugbek Observatory
• →Siab Bazaar
• →Registan Square interior
• →Local hammom

Morning shared taxi or train onward to Bukhara (sharq train ~3h, ~£8; shared taxi ~£10-15 per person, 4-5 hours). Afternoon arrive in the old town — check into a courtyard guesthouse inside the walls. Evening stroll around the Lyabi-Hauz plaza: tea, ice cream and people-watching among the mulberry trees.

🚌Shared taxi or train Samarkand to Bukhara, ~£10

🛏Courtyard guesthouse inside Bukhara's old town (~£18 per person, twin)

• →Lyabi-Hauz plaza evening
• →Old town walk

Full day on foot in the UNESCO-listed old town: the Ark Fortress, Bolo-Hauz Mosque, Poi Kalyan complex with the Kalyan Minaret and Mosque, the Chor Minor, and the trading domes (Toki Zargaron, Toki Telpak Furushon) for silk, knives and carpets. Sunset from the Kalyan minaret viewpoint. Climb to the top is restricted, but the plaza at dusk is the highlight.

🚌All on foot

🛏Same Bukhara guesthouse (~£18)

• →Ark Fortress
• →Poi Kalyan complex
• →Chor Minor
• →Trading domes
• →Kalyan minaret at sunset

Shared taxi or minivan to Gijduvan and on to the Nurata/Aydar Lake area (~£15-20). From the roadside, arrange a desert camp transfer by 4WD (often bundled with the yurt stay, ~£35-50 per person including dinner, breakfast and a camel ride). Sunset over the dunes, traditional Uzbek dinner cooked over the fire, and stargazing from the yurt camp.

🚌Shared taxi/minivan to desert access point, ~£18; 4WD camp transfer bundled with yurt stay

🛏Traditional desert yurt camp, shared yurt, with dinner and breakfast (~£50 inclusive via local operator)

• →Kyzylkum dune sunset
• →Camel ride
• →Yurt camp dinner and stargazing

Morning at the camp: sunrise over the dunes, then transfer back to the highway. Stop in Nurata to see the 10th-century fortress ruins and the Chashma spring with its sacred fish. Continue by shared taxi or train towards your next base, and enjoy an easy evening with a hammom. This section mirrors the operator's transition day and lets you adjust pace.

🚌Shared taxi and/or train, ~£15

🛏Guesthouse in Bukhara or Samarkand (~£16)

• →Nurata fortress
• →Chashma spring
• →Evening hammom

Take the train or a shared taxi onwards to Khiva (overnight train from Bukhara ~£12-18, or shared taxi ~£20). Wander the walled Itchan Kala: the Kalta Minor minaret, the Juma Mosque with its 200 carved wooden columns, and the Tosh-Hovli Palace. Climb the Islam Khoja minaret for the best rooftops view (~£3).

🚌Overnight train or shared taxi Bukhara to Khiva, ~£15

🛏Guesthouse inside Itchan Kala, Khiva (~£18 per person)

• →Itchan Kala walled city
• →Juma Mosque
• →Islam Khoja minaret climb
• →Kalta Minor

Slow morning in Khiva's bazaars and workshops — watch silk carpet weaving, buy suzani embroidery, and have a final Uzbek plov lunch. Afternoon/evening train back to Tashkent (Khiva-Tashkent overnight, ~£20-25 for a couchette; book ahead on Uzbekistan Railways or via the Uzrailways app).

🚌Overnight train Khiva to Tashkent, ~£22

🛏Overnight train berth, or a Tashkent hostel if arriving early (~£16)

• →Khiva craft workshops
• →Plov lunch
• →Overnight train journey

Arrive in Tashkent, final wander through Chorsu or a last coffee in a Soviet-era cafe, then head to the airport for your flight home. Pick up any last-minute souvenirs and top up your Uzbek SIM if you need data for onward travel.

🚌Metro or Yandex Taxi to Tashkent airport, ~£4

🛏None — departure day

• →Chorsu Bazaar final visit
• →Airport transfer