Uzbekistan Tours and Trips for Seniors

An epic adventure full of jaw dropping moments & experiences: Desert to ancient cities, mountains, museums & a whole lot more. The scale, size & beauty of the architectural monuments alone is spectacular. An unforgettable(but tiring) trip..the people are very friendly, the food is plentiful & cheap compared to the UK & the artisanal crafts just exquisite. Be prepared for a tiring first 2 days especially, as jet lag will ‘get’ you & overall I think the trip should be re-classified as Moderate as their isn’t much down time at all & the middle 3 days (Home stay, overnight train, Yurt camp ) with a long minibus drive on extremely bumpy track is quite exhausting. Pack as light as you can (make space for taking some of the amazing textiles home)& comfortable travelling clothes. Take dollars & change them when you get there (not everywhere takes cards or dollars-Uzbek Som preferred). I do think that Exodus should review the itinerary if possible as the long road trip on very bumpy track was tough & we had a full size coach into the Homestay when 2 Mini buses would have been better as the coach really struggled to get through the narrow roads. Does the final section from Bukhara to Tashkent have to be by train??Travellers be prepared for long presentations by the Tour Leader when you arrive at a site (to be honest, these should be shortened as its very hard to take lots of info in when you’re recovering from jet leg). Hotels overall very good . An experience (or hundred) for a lifetime!!

This trip exceeded my expectations in many ways! There is so much to see and enjoy on this tour. It is a tale of two halves: the first half, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, focus more on the stunning scenery and nature. The beauty of Kyrgyzstan was a revelation to me. And the Eagle-hunting workshop was an absolute highlight for everyone in the group. I did also enjoy the 'brutalist beauty' of Bishkek (expect your first day to be a long day, as you land in the morning and do a city tour in the afternoon - I basically skipped a night's sleep, but it was worth it!). A personal highlight for me was the walk from the yurt camp (most of the group cited the overnight stay in a yurt as their highlight) to the red rocks - absolutely stunning. The Grand Canyon in Kazakhstan was also a great experience. The second half of the trip, Uzbekistan, is more cultural: you will see many impressive mausoleums, madrasas and mosques. Samarkand especially blew me away! Khiva is also very beautiful but seems a bit more geared towards tourists - it was definitely more expensive than other parts of Uzbekistan, although still cheap. In Tashkent we also visited a market and some metro stations, which was a little different and a very interesting interlude. There is just so much to see and do. Some might find the many mausoleums a bit repetitive towards the end, but I found they all had something different to offer and it truly is a unique opportunity to visit these beautiful places before it gets to overcrowded with tourists (especially Uzbekistan is geared towards receiving more tourists and is getting more coverage in the international press as an up and coming tourist destination!).

This trip was the perfect mix of big-name Silk Road cities and places I’d never heard of but will never forget. It was amazing to explore the spots you read about in history books, but I also really loved getting off the main tourist trail. Walking through what used to be the Aral Sea was eye-opening. It’s one of those moments that makes you pause and reflect. Uzbekistan is bigger than you expect, so there are definitely some long travel days, but they’re totally worth it if you go in with a good attitude.

This is a fast paced holiday, with lots of places to be and even more things to see. Every day brings new wonders. Our whole, lovely group, said that they had taken far more photos than they had expected to. The scenery, especially in Kyrgyzstan, is awesome. The buildings, and statues, are built on an epic scale. Countryside, cityscape, desert landscape, lakes this holiday has it all. One of our group summed it up "Before I came people asked me "Where? Why on earth would you go there?" Now I would reply "why on earth wouldn't you". There are long drive (with plenty of stops) and early starts but that's what allows you to see so much. The train rides in Uzbekistan added to the feel of adventure. I'm in my sixties, and I like my sleep, I certainly never expected to actually enjoy being woken in the middle of the night to travel to the station, catch a sleeper train and back to sleep for three hours! When I woke I was in the middle of a desert, with a glorious red sunrise shining across the land and it was stunning. If you're thinking about this holiday then book it asap. Oh and the food in all three countries was fantastic.

A fascinating mix of tree-filled, modern cities and desert with welcoming locals and well-situated hotels. Uzbekistan is a country I would recommend to anyone looking for something a bit different. Bukhara had a lovely atmosphere and which I enjoyed exploring in the evenings. The mosaic-tiled buildings, although there are a lot of them throughout the trip never fail to be awe-inspiring with the detail and care put into their construction. Other highlights included a visit to a desert fort after a delicious traditional lunch at a neighbouring yurt camp and the Savitsky Museum/Nukus Museum of Art in Nukus, which houses a large collection of ancient artifacts and soviet era avant-garde artwork. The food was also fantastic value.

The trek in the Fann Mountains was a stand out. I would do it again despite it pushing me to my limits at times. It was like stepping into a fantasy novel- the colours, the remoteness and to my eyes the strangeness as well as the mountainous glories. The guides, cooks, porters were very supportive and I felt safe at all times. The food was excellent- even though everyone managed to get sour stomachs- it was maybe the strangeness factor. Cultural visits also well curated.