Wonders of the Silk Road

A full on trip, as described. Look out for a white car in Ashgabat! The guides knew their history. The first one took care of a lot of the payments, which since the currency in both countries ended in a lot of zeros, was helpful to this 'old' seasoned traveller. Ladies, you may need to take an extra bag, as Ioved the clothes etc.

The trip to Turmenistan and Uzbeckistan was well organised, exciting and informative. The guides were knowledgeable and very approachable. The accommodation was good and the wonders seen were amazing. Would highly recommend this trip.

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.

Overall, this was an excellent trip and one of the best I have done with Explore over very many years. It was certainly helped by having a good, small group and two superb leaders (one in each country), who were extremely knowledgeable and very personable. The local guides were also outstanding. The sights were extraordinary (the Islamic architecture is simply breath-taking), the people were lovely and I did not mind the long drives (on spacious air conditioned coaches) or the 9.5 hour train journey. to Samarkand As expected, the trip’s pace was full-on. As a group we took advantage of the optional extras offered and I would recommend that others seriously consider those too, especially the spectacular Uzbek music and dance show at the Grand Hall in Samarkand. Hotel accommodation was better than I had expected and generally pretty good. If I have a criticism it is that the trip should perhaps be a day longer. It would have been nice to have spent more time in Khiva and the last day in Tashkent was too long, tiring and rushed. Thankfully, I had booked an extra day in the city, although others had early morning flights. While Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are very different, I much preferred the time we spent in the latter.