A trip full of colour and beautiful buildings. The blue and turquoise colours and the intricate design of the religious buildings are breathtaking.
Our guide Dilshod made the trip with incredible knowledge and passion for his country. The group also contributed to a great trip, all lovely people and we all got on well.
Most of our hotels were well situated. There are so many parks and trees in each town which made walking very pleasant. We felt completely safe at all time. The people are very friendly and welcome tourists.
The only disappointment was our stay in a yurt. The camp lacked atmosphere, no entertainment was provided except half of hour of singing and music organised by our guide who borrowed a nice man from another camp. Exodus should choose another camp or spend another day in the beautiful Samarkand.
Samarkand
Samarkand Trips
Few names are as evocative or shrouded in legend as Samarkand: the one-time capital of the Timurid Empire and one of the most important cities on the Silk Road. Here, you are dazzled by the tilework on the mosques surrounding Registan Square, often described as the most beautiful city square in the world. Then there’s the stunning fluted dome of the Gur-i-Emir and the incredible avenue of Shah-i-Zinda, where the buildings are covered in beautiful mosaics. Our Samarkand tours also reveal what life is like in Uzbekistan today, with a visit to the huge markets in the city centre, where exotic fruits, nuts and other local produce stretch out before you. This truly is a city like no other.
Samarkand Holidays
Marie-Claude Alderson Uzbekistan Uncovered
Ruth Clamp The Silk RoadThe Silk road tour offered everything I expected and more. From the alpine scenery in Kyrgyzstan to the deserts of Uzbekistan, each day was a new adventure with something new to experience. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan seemed untouched by mass tourism and even Uzbekistan was fairly quiet compared to other destinations I’ve visited previously. Hotels were good quality with a variety of room types and location, included meals were all of a high standard and the guides were excellent.
There were plenty of WOW moments throughout this itinerary.
Jonathan Coles The Silk RoadThis trip was, without doubt, an experience of a lifetime. Yes, it is fast-paced and there are some early starts and full days, but I look back now over the two weeks and I am genuinely staggered by the number of experiences we packed into our time in this fascinating part of the world. Watching eagle hunters at work (and holding a golden eagle myself), visiting stunning mosques and Orthodox churches, walking through the awe-inspiring Charyn Cannon (Kazakhstan), exploring Almaty and being taken to see the very interesting Tashkent metro stations, climbing a minaret in Khiva to gaze into Turkmenistan… I can honestly say that this trip made the most of our time there, and the itinerary is well planned to take into account different interests and needs of guests.
Accommodation is clean, comfortable and full of local character. I don’t recognise the description in a previous review of ‘mediocre’ establishments – that was not my experience at all.
If you are interested in learning more about an often-forgotten part of Asia, definitely go for this trip – I would do it again in a heartbeat!
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