Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan Tours and Trips

It was an excellent trip with a delightful group many of whom are committed ‘explorers’ who had visited many countries. We all enjoyed the company of our young Uzbek leader whose English was exceptional as well as his pride in his country and his ambition for sustainable tourism. My first trip with ‘Explore’, I was impressed by their determination to fund local family-run small hotels in or just outside the gates of the old cities. Mohammed gave us good tips where we could eat at night and it was splendid to have free time to wander the streets and workshops in our own ways . Everywhere we found great friendliness and welcome even without a common language, though the Uzbeks language skills, particularly among the young are impressive and shaming. Their charm, business sense, command of technology, long tradition of beauty, colour and design in their architecture and crafts, their energy and ambition bodes well for their future prosperity.

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.