Silk Road to Samarkand reviews
Read holiday reviews by Mountain Kingdoms travellers.
Seeing places I had heard about and studied. Meeting friendly people and experiencing their lives, learning some of their skills and eating the food. Really well planned trip.
An excellent well-paced tour of the major cities and impressive sites and monuments of the Silk Road in Uzbekistan. We especially liked the chance to have a free day in each location with the opportunity for further individual exploration. The optional excursion to Shakrisabz and Langar was worthwhile to go closer to the mountains and give a view of village life.
I loved every minute of this tour. The weather was great. It was cold but pleasant in Khiva and warm everywhere else. Its the architecture that was mind blowing! I've never seen anything like it. The tiling was exquisite and the colours were so beautiful. Even up on the domes was all tiled! The work was just incredible every place we went. Shaknoza our guide was great and so helpful. She gave us a wonderful history of the country and the important people that ruled Uzbekistan. The hotels we stayed in were very good .Very comfortable and the food was excellent.I did the extra tour of Shakhrisabz and Langar and it was wonderful as it was so different again! We went up into the mountains. Very rural and saw how people lived there.
We loved the opportunity to see such a wide variety of sights with an expert guide and likeminded companions. The colours of the buildings and tiles blew us away and the history was fascinating. The tour fulfilled all my hopes.
This tour opened up the magic of Uzbekistan for us. We learnt so much about the country and its history. The most amazing part was that as we progressed around from Tashkent to Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, the beauty of the buildings and the skills of the builders surpassed each other until we could no longer envision anything more stunning. Our guide Shakhnoza was so knowledgeable and had us all fascinated despite the history being so complex. We enjoyed the free days which enabled us to revisit places or to shop and which, as part of an intense tour, let us have time to consolidate everything. We also particularly enjoyed the day out to the desert forts which added variety.
Very well organised and excellent value. We would be happy to use Mountain Kingdoms again.
We saw everything we wanted of the section of the Silk Route which is in Uzbekistan. Our guide was excellent in every way: a fountain of knowledge and history and a very pleasant person to spend time with. She organised everything most effectively, but with a light touch. The relaxed pace with a day off in the three key cities was a major selling point for us
Khiva was the highlight of the trip for us but Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent did not disappoint. Every city has different plus points and the sights to see in all the destinations are breathtaking. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and highly conscientious, going over and above her role to ensure that everything went to plan. The lunch and dinner venues were all very different and of a good standard throughout. We did suffer from meat overload by the end of the trip but that was to be expected in a double land-locked country. The people are diverse and charming. Uzbekistan is a very special country and I cannot recommend this trip with Mountain Kingdoms enough.
We enjoyed the majesty and beauty of the mauseleums and mosques, the varied types of landscapes and land management and our WONDERFUL guide, Shakhnoza.
I travelled to Uzbekistan with a couple of friends in mid April, visiting the fascinating Fergana Valley first of all, as a trip add on - a must in my view! It was exciting travelling to Kokand on the very comfortable train through the lush countryside and mountains. For me, the culture of the Fergana area and opportunity to visit top artisans of silk weaving, batik and ceramics, alongside beautiful palaces and mosques was a unique experience! Our guide throughout the whole trip was excellent...she was so knowledgable, charming and prepared for anything, a real joy to spend time with. We travelled widely across the country but everything was so smoothly organised, the drivers excellent (even if the roads were a little bit bumpy!) and the transport high quality. All the hotels we stayed in were very comfortable, not too big and in great locations. As for Uzbekistan...the star of the show! What a beautiful country, lovely welcoming people - especially the children who love to practice their English with you! There is so much to see and absorb and having around 4 days in each city - Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand in particular- was a really good amount of time to explore them properly. Leisure days in each place were welcome, if only to wander, especially very early in the morning, meet Uzbekis and then shop and haggle in the wonderful markets and bazaars! Each place we visited had its own special atmosphere and mood. I loved the quiet majesty of Khiva in the early hours and the busy back streets of Bukhara! The colours and patterns on the buildings combined with their history was heady stuff - so beautiful! We all loved the delicious food too - everything cooked from scratch wherever we went, fully seasonal and yes, quite meat based, and so tasty but with lots of substantial salads, soups and fresh bread too. The local beer is very welcome after a long day sightseeing! Mountain Kingdoms were excellent( and very patient!) from the very start in helping us plan and organise this trip...there was even a birthday cake on my arrival in Tashkent! What a lovely, thoughtful surprise. I HIGHLY recommend the Silk Road to Samarkand holiday, it really was everything I hoped it would be and MORE! Thank you to Mountain Kingdoms and our brilliant guide Shakhnosa for making it such a special adventure.