Ashgabat Cultural, religious and historic sites Trips

This trip was the best group tour I’ve ever taken in 25 years. It wasn’t perfect, but the combination of Itinerary, sites visited, transportation and guides/ground staff made it an excellent trip. (Victoria, Muftuna and Slava) Look the Accommodation wasn’t consistent, it was either magnificent like The Elements in Tashkent or poor like Hotel Maroqanda in Samakand but the local guides had passion for the their towns, the sites we saw over the 13 days were mind blowing and the local people we met were so friendly. A big thank you to Andrew in your UK office for keeping this trip running despite it having to run in reverse order because of the sudden change on the Turkmenistan side. Some days were very long, the pace was full on despite ‚free afternoons‘ but there was so much to see and do. The border crossing was a 4 hour challenge but we made it through. I would 100% recommend this trip and suggest you personally add a few days before and after the trip for more exploring.

My first organised trip and I enjoyed it more than I expected to! This was mostly due to the guides and fellow members of the group being such nice people!

This was our first time on an organised tour so we were unsure what to expect. But the experience was wonderful: very well organised, helpful and full of opportunities to capture what was best about the places we visited. Our two tour guides were excellent in every respect: very well informed and sympathetic, as were the additional experts. Only slight disappointment was the change in timetable that led to us having only an afternoon in Khiva. The small group nature of the tour was crucial as it allowed us to bond with our fellow explorers.

Everything I would expect from Explore! Thought Hotel Mary was scraping the bottom of the barrel even for a basic hotel. Overall a fantastic experience with tour leaders and guides who were both knowledgeable and passionate about their respective countries.

Amazing! I will travel to Central Asia again. Kamaola was always and had time for all members of the tour. While some members were very needy and constantly interrupted briefs or asked for information that was easily attainable from Google or the Hotel she always accommodated these members, Hats off to Kamalo :) I couldn't do her job!

If you want to discover 5 countries and their varied cultures, histories and scenery and meet some lovely people, all in three weeks, this trip is for you. We saw some wonderful, stunning scenery, met some amazing friendly people, found out about the past complicated history and the challenges they face today. It is fast paced, there are long journeys but totally worth it and loads to see and do on the way.