Tours
5 Stans Combi Tour
Experience the essence of Central Asia as you traverse Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, immersing yourself in the region's vibrant culture and stunning landscapes.
Day 1
Almaty (KAZAKHSTAN)
Start sightseeing tour Almaty. Famous wooden Zenkov cathedral... Panfilov park to the Green Bazaar. Then to visit Medeo, the world’s highest mountain skating rink, surrounded by +4000m peaks. After that, we’re on the cable car to the Kok-Tobe hill, home of the world’s tallest TV tower, if measured from sea level. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 2
Almaty – Big Almaty Lake – Almaty
Visit Big Almaty Lake, altitude of 2500 meters above sea level between mountain peaks... We’ll have a picnic by the lake and indulge in mindful nature appreciation. Nearby is the Sunkar Eagle Sanctuary. We’ll take in their Golden Eagle Show. Visit also supports Sunkar’s work protecting and rehabilitation birds of prey in Kazakhstan. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 3
Almaty – Bishkek (KYRGYZSTAN)
Today we head to Kyrgyzstan. It’s a 4-hour drive to Bishkek... We’ll discover Bishkek on a guided tour. Bishkek is as Soviet and provincial as it is a window into the modern Kyrgyz soul. Monumental squares and busy bazaars, aging high-rises and street-sellers offering cups of fermented horse milk – we’ll see all of that and more.
Day 4
Bishkek – Issyk Kul
From Bishkek, we are driving to Issyk Kul. 160 km long... it’s the second largest alpine lake in the world at 1600m above sea level. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the whole area is a biosphere reserve. She’s a beauty. En route we’ll visit reminders of Kyrgyzstan’s ancient past: the 11th-century Burana Tower and an open-air museum of mystical stone warriors called balbals. We’ll have lunch with a family of Dungans; the Dungans are a community of Chinese Muslims who migrated to Kyrgyzstan in times past. Onwards to Cholpon-Ata along the winding coastal road. On the way, we will take a short break to visit ancient stone inscriptions. These petroglyphs were made more than 2000 years ago. This sacred place offers a wide panorama of the lake – it’s not hard to see how people back then thought they lived in the middle of the world. After that, it’s time to relax on the beach.
Day 5
Issyk Kul – Bishkek
Today we will visit Ala Archa gorge... This national park on the spurs of the Tien Shan mountains used to be exclusively reserved to Soviet party members. After a short hike to take in a panoramic view of the gorge, we return to Bishkek for the night.
Day 6
Bishkek – Tashkent (UZBEKISTAN)
One more sniff of Kyrgyzstan’s natural beauty before heading to Uzbekistan – we’ll hike in Alamedin gorge...You will have a picnic near this waterfall. This is a great chance to have a rest far from civilization and to enjoy the views of Mother Nature. After hiking we will return to Bishkek. Evening flight to Tashkent. Transfer to the hotel, free time for dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 7
Tashkent – Khiva via Urgench
This morning, we’ll catch another flight to Urgench and transfer to Khiva... We’ll take a guided tour of Khiva. Narrow streets, magnificently carved porches and doors, majestic minarets and mausoleums, heritage and arts –all kept with care in this city as a great treasure. Don’t worry, there’s time for shopping.
Day 8
Khiva – Darwaza (TURKMENISTAN)
Morning departure for Turkmenistan, we’ll drive to Ancient Konye Urgench... Genghis Khan raised the city to the ground, but what remains is stunning Turkmen brick magic. Lunch in a local restaurant. After lunch, we’ll drive to the Darwaza gas crater in the Karakum desert. There’s BBQ dinner. Truly a unique sight. Overnight in tents near the crater.
Day 9
Darwaza – Ashgabat
Drive to Ashgabat. It’s in the Guinnes book of Records for white marbled city... Accommodate at the hotel. Lunch at the local restaurant. After lunch sightseeing tour. Arch of the neutrality. Memorial complex. Akhal-teke horse-back riding acivity. Dinner.
Day 10
Ashgabat – Mary
Visit state ethnographic museum. Old Nissa UNESCO World Heritage site ruins... Lunch at the local restaurant. Drive to Mary region. On the way visit to Seyidjemaletdin mosque. Accommodate at the hotel. Dinner at the hotel outdoor terrace.
Day 11
Mary – Merv – Bukhara (UZBEKISTAN)
Today we will visit one of the main sites of turkmenistan, Ancient Merv... At one point it was perhaps the biggest city in the world, bigger than Rome, Constantinople or anywhere in China. The scale of this forgotten civilization will truly hit you as you drive across the former city streets. Takeaway lunch. Company representative will lead you to Farab-Bukhara border. Farewell.
Day 12
Bukhara
Bukhara breathes history from its every pore... On a guided tour, you will learn all about its heyday as a medieval center of (religious) studies on a par with Baghdad and Timbuktu. Trade is the other side of Bukhara, and it’s perhaps the best place to do some shopping for Uzbek crafts.
Day 13
Bukhara
More Bukhara? Yes, it’s a highlight. You need more time to see it all... You might have already gotten some inkling of Central Asia’s Sufi traditions in Turkmenistan, but today this spiritualist Islamic sect will reveal all its secrets to you. Join millions of pilgrims from across the world (but particularly Southeast Asia) on a visit to the mausoleum of Sufi saint Bahouddin Nakshbandi. We finish off with the eclectic summer residence of the last Emir of Bukhara. Afternoon free time. In the evening, we can teach you how to make plov (if you are not sick of it yet!).
Day 14
Bukhara – Shakhrisabz – Samarkand
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Shakhrisabz city (motherland of Great Amir Timur)... City tour: Ruins of Ak-Saray Palace (XIV-XV), Dor-ut Saodat Complex: Khazratiy Imam Mosque (XIV), Jahongir Mausoleum (XIV), Dor-ut Tillavat Complex: Gumbazi-Seiidan, Kok Gumbaz Mosque (XV). Continue to Samarkand. Arrival and Samarkand hotel accommodation. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 15
Samarkand
Today we visit Samarkand. We will focus on Amir Timur’s fantastic architecture... The Gur Emir Mausoleum, the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and the Bibi-Khanum Mosque are all fantastic sights to behold.
Day 16
Samarkand – 7 Lakes – Panjakent (TAJIKISTAN)
Now that we have seen Uzbekistan’s Persian-speaking side in Bukhara and Samarkand... We are ready for the real Persians of Central Asia. Off to Tajikistan! Seven Lakes is a world away from Samarkand. Located in the west of the Fann mountains each of the lakes has its own color which varies from calming turquoise to mesmerizing purple. It’s stunning, and the villages are very traditional here. Magical place. Overnight in a guesthouse in the 7 lakes or in nearby Panjakent.
Day 17
Panjakent – Iskanderkul Lake– Dushanbe
We’ll drive to Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe today... En route we stop at Iskanderkul Lake. As one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in the former Soviet Union, it is a popular tourist destination. Afternoon arrival in Dushanbe, a baffling mix of chic and village fashion.
Day 18
Dushanbe – Khujand
Today visit to the Historical Museum... Tajikistan’s giant Buddha tells a tale of a multicultural society of times past, and the many winding paths the Silk Roads have taken in the past. After lunch we drive to Khujand for another giant statue. Khujand used to be called Leninabad, and to celebrate that fact, it received the biggest statue of Lenin in the Soviet Union, now quietly moved to a park outside of the center.
Day 19
Khujand – Tashkent (UZBEKISTAN)
Another day, another border crossing... We’re heading for Central Asia’s biggest city today – Tashkent. We’ll visit Tashkent’s old part in the afternoon, its religious quarters and mahalla backstreets.
Day 20
Tashkent
Last day! And we’ll see how Tashkent evolved from a traditional Central Asian city of winding roads... and bazaars to a monumental Asian Soviet city of Brutalist buildings and massive boulevards. Tashkent’s history and arts museums are some of the bests in the region: they round up, recap and summarize the past 20 days in their exhibits. Tashkent is good for foodies, with an especially lively Korean food scene due to the many koryo-saram living there. Good idea for a farewell dinner perhaps?
Day 21
Tashkent – Home (flight)
Time to go home! We really hope you enjoyed your trip!
- Accommodation based on a single or twin/double hotel room, including breakfast
- Airport transfer (Almaty airport – hotel in Almaty)
- Meals: breakfast at the hotels
- Bottled drinking water en route 1.l pp pd
- A/C comfortable transport with professional driver per itinerary
- Entrance fees for all mentioned monuments (Medeu and Kok tobe cableways, birds of prey show)
- English speaking local guide services
Price includes (Kazakhstan):
- Accommodation based on a single or twin/double hotel room, including breakfast
- Mineral water 1L per person daily
- Comfortable AC transport: Minivan 7 seats/2-3 pax; Minibus Sprinter 14 seats/4-8pax
- English speaking local guide services
- Meals: Full Board
- Entrance fees to the monuments
Price includes (Kyrgyzstan):
- Accommodation based on a single or twin/double hotel room, including breakfast
- English speaking local guide services
- Transport services all over tour by luxury air-conditioned car (1-2 pax)/minivan (4-8 pax)
- Local flight Tashkent-Urgench
- Bottled drinking water en route 1.l pp pd
- Entrance fees to all sights
Price includes (Uzbekistan):
- Visa support (invitation letter, registration, travel pass)
- Overland transport as per program per AC vehicles as in the table under “itinerary”; 1-3 passengers per regular sedan car; 4-7 passengers per regular minibus; 1-4 passengers per jeep
- Accommodation based on a single or twin/double hotel/guesthouse room, including breakfast
- Accommodation based on shared 2-4-person yurt (incl. beds, mattresses, bedlinen, pillows, blankets, etc.), including breakfast
- Domestic airline tickets Ashgabat-Mary (economy seats, Boeing 737 aircraft) as in the table under “itinerary”
- English speaking local guide services
- Fixed menu where such meals are otherwise unavailable, indicated in the table under “meals”
- Entrance fees to sites mentioned in the table under “program” (museum visits are excluding guided museum tour)
- Bottled drinking water en route 1.5l pp pd
Price includes (Turkmenistan):
- A/C comfortable transport with professional driver per itinerary
- Accommodation based on a single or twin/double hotel/guesthouse room, including breakfast
- English speaking local guide services
- Entrance fees to sites mentioned
- Bottled drinking water en route 1.5l pp pd
Price includes (Tajikistan):
- Visa costs and processing
- Photo and video charges
- International and local air tickets
- Meals (lunches and dinners) 4 meals = 70 USD per person
- Tips and gratuities
- Any personal expenses
Price does NOT include (Kazakhstan):
- Early check in
- Airfare due to the program (international)
- All optional deviations from the main itinerary
- Beverages and meals not included in main menu
- Photo-and video charges
- All personal expenses (extra luggage fee, room service, medical expenses/insurance, etc.)
- Trip cancellation / accident insurance
- Tips to the guides and drivers
- Meals (lunches and dinners) 15 meals = 200 USD per person
- Escort guide for the whole tour 1350 USD for group
Price does NOT include (Uzbekistan):
- Turkmenistan tourist visa 55+4 USD per person, when obtained at land border post (subject to change)
- Turkmenistan migration tax 10+4 USD per person, to be paid at land border post (subject to change)
- Tourist fee per night, charged in the hotels (not applicable for overnights in tents/pilgrim house) at departure 2 USD per person per night (obligatory)
- COVID-19 PCR tests by arrival and/or departure 33 USD per person per test (subject to change!)
- Meals not indicated in above table; soft and alcoholic drinks during meals in above table
- English speaking guide-interpreter services
- Entrance fees to historical parks and museums
- Photo/video fees to historical parks and museums
- Tips for local driver
- Souvenirs and other personal items
- All other charges and services not mentioned under “Included”
- Single accommodation
- Early check-in
- Travel insurance
- Visa costs and processing
- Meals (lunches and dinners)
Price does NOT include (Turkmenistan):
Notice:
Arrival and departure points can be changeable according to traveler’s requests, (it can be Shavat, Farab, Bajigran, Ashgabat airport, Sarakhs, and Hodjaeyli) and we can shorten or prolong the time of the tour program.
Sometimes Yurtas are not available at the Darvaza gas crater, due to lots of tourists, therefore guests should be accommodated at the camps.
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