Silk Road to Samarkand Tour reviews
Read holiday reviews by Mountain Kingdoms travellers.
Uzbekistan is a wonderful country, well worth visiting, with beautiful cities and fascinating history. The country felt safe and friendly. We thought our group size of eight people was ideal. Our guide Shakhnosa was really excellent. Full of interesting facts and stories, very friendly and a great sense of humour. All the hotels we stayed in were well-located, had good facilities and were comfortable. We liked eating together as a group. We appreciated having a free leisure day in each of the three cities we visited.
Good organisation which took in all the major sites. We were well informed of the history and culture of Uzbekistan by our excellent tour leader Shaknosa.
Absolutely brilliant holiday everything went so smoothly.
We joined three other couples, who all made a happy group. Our guide Shakhnoza is brilliant. Her anecdotes brought to life the history of the region, while her humour kept us all in good spirits. Her knowledge is considerable, and she could answer all our questions interestingly. Her advice on buying skills for the bazaars was also helpful. The itinerary of the trip is well planned with a good mixture of rural and city as well as desert locations. Travel by car and train enabled us to see much of the country, which in places are spectacular. Our day trip to Shakhrisabz and Langar with Alexander as guide was a good extra, as this enabled us to see the rural and non touristy region. A busy day, but the visit to the ruins of "the white castle" was special. The 2 day extension to the Fergana Valley was fascinating. Alone the train journey through the mountains was an experience.
Excellent holiday. Itinerary was well planned with introduction and guided tours in every place we visited and then a free day to explore further. Hotels were good, and the food was traditional. Our guide Shaknosa was excellent with her information on history, culture and general aspects of life in Uzbeckistan. Really enjoyed visiting all the places and the architecture was stunning. Small group was good fun. Loved every minute of it, apart from the longish coach journeys which could not be avoided, but our driver also excellent. Second holiday with Mountain Kingdoms just as good as the first (Bhutan).
Such an interesting trip and we learnt about so many areas of interest - Silk Road, history of Uzbekistan and Central Asia, geography of country, current socio and economic factors, soviet history, Islamic architecture and religion, foods, crops and crafts. The knowledge and care from our guide coupled with a safe driver and such good hotels and restaurants and warm friendly Uzbek people resulted in an unforgettable trip.
What a wonderful trip! Amazing architecture, interesting visits to crafts workshops, and friendly, welcoming people. Our guide, Shakhnoza, was outstanding. In addition to sharing her extensive knowledge of each place we visited, she went above and beyond to make sure that everyone was well cared for. It was a true pleasure spending the time with her. The food was very good and we enjoyed the company of our fellow travellers.
This was a fascinating and stimulating tour of Uzbekistan’s historical sights and culture. We particularly enjoyed wandering through the maze of streets in Khiva and our first sight of the awesome Registan Square in Samarkand. These amazing public sights were balanced by visits to domestic style carpet makers, silk producers, pottery workshops and wood carvers. Our guide was exceptional, catering to our every need with a smile and a lovely sense of humour. It was an unforgettable trip that we have already recommended to our friends. Thank you Mountain Kingdom!
The trip was a great introduction to the country, the guide was extremely knowledgeable, and the group of fellow travellers were very good company. Finally, the weather and the places visited were amazing.
I have long wanted to go to Central Asia and see in particular Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand. Tashkent was also on our itinerary and that also proved fascinating, even if a modern city. I loved the architectural sights, and also the visits to arts and crafts centres, including dinner at the home of a leading Uzbek artist, lunch at the pottery and embroidery centre cooked by the members of the family, plus the visit to the silk paper-making centre, and the silk and wool carpet weaving centre. The Bukhara Biennale was a real stroke of luck and so interesting. Shakhnoza was the most wonderful guide for our time in Uzbekistan. Her knowledge was superb, her manner caring at all times of her clients, and she had a great sense of humour too. Our driver for most of the trip - Barack- was also excellent and always helpful.