7-day Uzbekistan itinerary

The plan

Tashkent → Samarkand → Bukhara, at walking pace

Seven days is the classic first trip: two days in the capital, two in Samarkand, two in Bukhara, and a travel day home. Nothing here is rushed — each city gets its mornings, when the light and the crowds are best.

Day	Where	What to do
Day 1	Tashkent	Arrive, settle in, and explore the old city: Chorsu Bazaar in the morning and Kukeldash Madrasah nearby. Evening around Amir Timur Square.
Day 2	Tashkent → Samarkand	Morning: the decorated Tashkent Metro stations (Beruni and Alisher Navoi are the most photographed). Afternoon: Afrosiyob high-speed train to Samarkand (about 2 hours 10–30 minutes). Evening: first walk around Registan as it lights up.
Day 3	Samarkand	Registan Square at sunrise, then Gur-e Amir Mausoleum. Afternoon: Siab Bazaar and the Bibi-Khanym Mosque beside it.
Day 4	Samarkand → Bukhara	Morning: Shah-i-Zinda, the lane of tiled mausoleums — go early, it is narrow and popular. Afternoon: Afrosiyob to Bukhara (about 1 hour 30–45 minutes). Evening: Lyabi-Hauz plaza as the cafés fill.
Day 5	Bukhara	Po-i-Kalyan — the Kalon Mosque and its 12th-century minaret — then the Ark Fortress and its museums.
Day 6	Bukhara	The trading domes (bargaining expected), Chor Minor, and a slow afternoon wandering the old town. Second evening at Lyabi-Hauz.
Day 7	Bukhara → Tashkent → home	Morning Afrosiyob back to Tashkent (about 3 hours 40 minutes to 4 hours), then your flight home. If your flight leaves early, add a final night in Tashkent instead of a same-day connection.

City details: Tashkent guide · Samarkand guide · Bukhara guide. Where to stay: best hotels. What it costs: trip cost calculator — the sample there (7 days, Samarkand, mid-range) comes to $490.

Getting between cities

Trains first, roads where trains do not go

Afrosiyob high-speed trains are the backbone of this itinerary: fast, comfortable and cheap by European standards. Book a few weeks ahead in April–May and September–October — seats sell out. Timetables change a few times a year, so treat the times below as planning figures and check the booking site for your dates.

Route	Mode	About how long
Tashkent → Samarkand	Afrosiyob high-speed train	About 2 hours 10–30 minutes
Samarkand → Bukhara	Afrosiyob high-speed train	About 1 hour 30–45 minutes
Bukhara → Tashkent	Afrosiyob high-speed train	About 3 hours 40 minutes to 4 hours
Bukhara → Khiva	Road across the Kyzylkum Desert	7–8 hours, about 450–480 km — pack lunch and water; roadside cafés are basic
Khiva → Urgench airport	Taxi	About 30–45 minutes
Urgench → Tashkent	Domestic flight	About 1 hour 35–40 minutes

Inside the cities, everything on this itinerary is walkable except a few outlying sights — taxis are cheap, and the Yandex Go app removes haggling. Bukhara's Afrosiyob station sits in Kagan, 12–15 km from the old town, so allow 20–25 minutes by taxi at each end.

Sources: Uzbekistan Railways-linked Afrosiyob guides (timetable pattern and durations, October 2026) and tour-operator route notes for the Bukhara–Khiva road and Urgench flight, checked 26 October 2026.

Add Khiva

The 10-day version

Khiva is the most atmospheric stop in the country, but it costs three extra days — which is why it is an extension, not part of the 7-day core. Replace Day 7 above with the following:

Day	Where	What to do
Day 7	Bukhara → Khiva	Early start for the desert road (7–8 hours). Arrive in Khiva late afternoon, check in, and take a first evening walk inside the walls.
Day 8	Khiva	Itchan Kala: enter through the West Gate in the morning, then Kalta Minor, the Juma Mosque's forest of carved columns, and Kunya Ark.
Day 9	Khiva → Tashkent	Morning: Islam Khoja Minaret for the rooftop view, and Tosh Hovli Palace. Evening: taxi to Urgench airport and flight to Tashkent.
Day 10	Tashkent → home	Fly home from Tashkent, or add a final night if your flight leaves early.

Khiva practicalities: it is the coldest stop in winter (January nights average around −6 °C) and reaches about 36 °C in summer; ATMs are scarcer here than in Tashkent, so bring cash. Full details: Khiva guide.

Pacing notes

How not to ruin a good itinerary

Four things that make the difference between a trip you remember and a trip you endure.

• Go in the right months. April–May and September–October are ideal. Summer reaches 35–40 °C in Bukhara and Khiva — sightsee early and late, and rest at midday.
• Do Registan twice. Once at sunrise, when it is empty, and once after dark, when the facades are lit. The same applies to Shah-i-Zinda in the early morning.
• Do not add a city to save a day. The classic mistake is squeezing Khiva into the 7-day route. It needs its own days — that is what the 10-day version is for.
• Keep one buffer. A missed train or a slow desert road is a story, not a disaster, if your flight home is not the same evening.

Transport times and climate figures on this page were checked on 26 October 2026; timetables and prices change with season, so check before booking. Banner photo: Registan Square, Samarkand — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, photo by Stomac. Full city guides: Tashkent · Samarkand · Bukhara · Khiva · Hotels · Cost calculator.