Ready-made plans

Custom planning is temporarily unavailable for this route. Ready-made plans are still available.

Home › Journeys › Asia › Tashkent to Khiva via Samarkand & Bukhara

Tashkent to Khiva via Samarkand & Bukhara: Route Guide

Last updated:

The tiled madrasahs of Samarkand's Registan square
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

A four-city Silk Road journey with the railway doing the long-distance work. Begin among Tashkent's market life, give Samarkand's Registan and Shah-i-Zinda real time, walk Bukhara's trading-city core, then finish inside Khiva's walled Itchan Kala. Each leg is a separately checked and reserved train; no permanent departure time or uninterrupted service is promised.

Tashkent to Khiva via Samarkand & Bukhara is a 1000 km one-way journey (rail). It works best as 7–9 days; the plan below is the 8-day version for April, built from 244 verified places, with published scheduled journey times, opening hours and daylight checked.

7–9
days
1000km
distance
4
Stops
244
curated stops

View ready-made plans 7-day plan · 8-day plan · 9-day plan · best time to go

The route

Tashkent→ 300 kmSamarkand→ 270 kmBukhara→ 430 kmKhiva
Turquoise domes and tiled mausoleums at Shah-i-Zinda in Samarkand

Samarkand · Day 1

Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble

Admire vibrant 14th-16th century mausoleums on a hilltop.

8-day plan →

Photo: Vaurien · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

What you'll see

Kukeldash Madrasah
See the grand yellow-brick courtyard and historic hujras.
Tashkent
Gur-e-Emir Mausoleum
Marvel at the final resting place of the legendary warlord Timur.
Samarkand
Ark Citadel
Walk through the historic heptagonal fortress walls and grounds.
Bukhara
Itchan Kala
Wander through the ancient walls of Khiva's historic inner town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Khiva
State Museum of the Temurids
Explore the legacy of Timur through gripping exhibits and artifacts.
Tashkent
Bibi-Khanym Mosque
Witness the grand yet troubled architecture of Timur's era.
Samarkand

Choose your length

7-day plan22 stops · 16.9 h transit3.1 stops/day · 2.4 h transit/daySee the full plan →8-day plan25 stops · 17.2 h transit3.1 stops/day · 2.1 h transit/daySee the full plan →9-day plan28 stops · 17.4 h transit3.1 stops/day · 1.9 h transit/daySee the full plan →

When to go

Best months: March, April, May, September, October

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable periods for long outdoor visits; reserve every dated train before fixing the city sequence.

See the month-by-month breakdown →

Similar journeys

View ready-made plans