Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan Tours and Trips

There were 12 of us on this journey. All were experienced travellers: curious, well-informed, energetic, good-humoured and punctual. Many of them kept detailed photo records and journal accounts of what they were seeing. We came from very different backgrounds, but all managed to get on well together which greatly enhanced the trip. We appreciated each other. Our Tour Director, Begaim, was managing her first Explore journey, and gained in assurance with every day that passed as she settled into her job; she ended up being very popular and highly valued. One of our local guides, Bekhruz, also stood out for his knowledge and his skill in communicating it. He asked us to submit questions that he could discuss during long bus journeys; these were penetrating and challenging but he handled them all with aplomb. The organization of this complex journey was a logistical tour de force. It used buses, an aeroplane and cars to cover terrain that was often very rough — many roads were not made up and were full of ruts or potholes. Towards the end, Explore provided FIVE vehicles with FIVE different drivers to get us across the desert: very good drivers they were too. Hotels were mostly of very good quality. The final one was decorated in white and gold which was the pervasive colour scheme of Ashgabat: positively luxurious and certainly beautiful. One hotel did not have enough furniture to satisfy this particular traveller (the present reviewer) who would have liked a table in her room. However, all were clean and safe. We stayed in 2 yurts: one was very comfortable with toilets and washroom beside each installation and a well-equipped central module where food was served and songs were sung. The other, near Darvaza, the “gate to hell”, was much simpler, with two shared toilets quite far away from the yurts. These were difficult to visit at night. Some of our group were “under-whelmed” with Darvaza where the fire is slowly abating, but remains a tourist magnet. The journey was on the whole well-structured. Explore supported us in procuring visas for Turkmenistan though the local guide there made a mistake in charging the same amount of entrance money for EU and UK passport holders. The UK is charged more! This matter was rectified. An irritant was that Mastercard was often declined and sometimes this was in places where there were no exchange offices. People borrowed money from each other. Explore may wish to suggest in future that VISA cards might be more widely accepted as a supplement to Mastercards. I have already said that the roads were very rough. The journey to the seven lakes followed a bone-shaking trip the previous day with yet more bone-shaking to get to lakes 6 and 7. More of the same. The village of Erbent turned out to be almost totally devoid of interest, except for a statue. Some changes could be envisaged here. Explore is becoming ever more inventive in finding interesting things for us to do. We saw how eagles were trained, how felt was made and embroidered & how yurts were assembled. We saw how “the best paper in the world” was made at Konigil, Samarkand, how the horses performed (including Przewalski’s which have a museum dedicated to them); how men kidnapped women on horseback in order to avoid paying the bride price; how a small band of musicians could make music from almost any domestic implement. I was even asked to dance with one of the troupe. We saw some of the best architecture in the world. One of my favourites was a building that I had seen during my first visit to Uzbekistan: the Ismail Samani Mausoleum which was completed in AD 905. I was able to compare it with a little picture that I have cherished ever since my first visit. This was a powerful journey that gave us indelible impressions. We all appreciated it greatly.

A really enjoyable and interesting trip with a lovely group and very helpful leader, as well as local guides in each city. We learned a lot about the history and culture and travelled on all sorts of different modes of transport. Most of the hotels were excellent, but the one in Samarkand had been changed and didn't match up to the "upgraded" category on either facilities or location. I had a very small room without bedside light and very little storage space. Having said that, the other hotels were lovely! The meals included on the trip were excellent and there were helpful recommendations for the other nights, although most of us had guidebooks too. Worth doing some reading up about the Silk Road beforehand.

Rifa our leader was great over Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan. The over all trip gave a great insight to Central Asia. A number of the countries it would be great to explore them further. As they had so much to offer.

The trip was very well run with the tours and transport always smooth and on time. The guides were well informed and there were plenty of breaks and the tours weren't exhausting. The hotels were pleasant especially in Khiva and Tashkent. Our tour leader Fariddun was extremely helpful, well-organised and coped with all sorts of small and larger problems with ease and grace. He never seemed stressed or out of his depth.

Excellent holiday, fascinating destinations. Group was very friendly and we laughed a lot. I would have liked an extra day in Tashkent not necessarily part of the tour as both countries felt very safe but maybe as a suggestion at the time of booking.

I thought this was a great trip. The pace was quite fast but we had some free time as well. The Moslem architecture of the mosques and madrasas is stunning and I also greatly enjoyed the Savitsky art gallery and museum in Nukus, where we had an extremely well-informed guide. Uzbekistan is a very clean and safe country for tourists. As a female travelling alone, I had no concerns about exploring the cities on my own when we had free time. Our guide was very knowledgeable, efficient and pleasant, and everything ran like clockwork. We all particularly enjoyed Bukhara, where the hotel was conveniently located in the heart of the old town; it had a variety of interesting sights and a vibrant atmosphere, without being overwhelmed by tourists in the way that Khiva and the key attractions of Samarkand were. We were also lucky to be there at the time of the first Bukhara Biennial, which was an added bonus. The hotels at Tashkent and Samarkand, though very good, were located some way outside the city centres; at Tashkent this necessitated negotiating the underground and walking quite a distance to the nearest station when we had free time, while in Samarkand it was not an issue as we had no time to explore directly from the hotel. If you want to do souvenir shopping, I would advise doing it in Khiva and Bukhara as the options and time for this are limited in Samarkand. Bottled water is freely available in all the hotels and on the coaches. For anyone who enjoys almost guaranteed sunshine and warm weather (in September at least), comfortable travel in spacious coaches, beautiful architecture, and learning about the culture and history of this fascinating region, I would thoroughly recommend this trip.