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Women-only Uzbekistan: Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva on the Silk Road
10 days for women only with a woman See Sight Tours guide: a slow first evening in Tashkent, three nights in Samarkand, two in Bukhara and two inside Khiva's walls, with the fast trains and a flight back.
10 jours · Départ et retour : Tashkent · jusqu'à 12 voyageurs
The Kalta Minor minaret and Itchan Kala, seen from the Kuhna Ark in Khiva Photo: Fabio Achilli from Milano, Italy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khiva,_Kalta_Minor_Minaret,_Uzbekistan_(6132641582).jpg)
Les faits
En bref
- Durée
- 10 jours, 9 nuits
- Départ et arrivée
- Départ et retour : Tashkent
- Taille du groupe
- 7 à 12 voyageurs
- Niveau d'activité
Modéré
Walking days of 5 to 9 km on paving, cobbles and uneven old-town lanes, with short flights of steps at Shah-i-Zinda and an optional steep climb up the Islam Khoja minaret in Khiva. Spring and autumn days can still reach 30 C, so we walk in the morning and late afternoon, and you can sit out any afternoon at the hotel.
- Repas compris
- 9 petits-déjeuners, 6 repas du midi, 2 repas du soir
- Chambre individuelle
- + CAD 730 (prix estimé)
- Saison
- April to June and September to October
Points forts
Pourquoi ce voyage
- A slow first evening in Tashkent: tea and an honest briefing with your guide, then dinner a short walk from the hotel
- Shah-i-Zinda at opening, its avenue of tiled tombs quiet before the tour groups
- Cooking plov with the women of a Samarkand family, then lunch at their table, where we confirm a host
- The Registan at sunset and lit after dark, then its madrasa courtyards at opening the next morning
- An afternoon with Bukhara's suzani embroiderers, where a women's workshop is confirmed for your dates
- Two nights at the walls of Itchan Kala, with Khiva's forest of carved wooden columns in the Juma Mosque
- Tashkent's painted metro stations and a farewell dinner together on the last night
Ce qui distingue ce voyage
Le temps libre fait partie du programme
Le temps libre et les choix sont indiqués les jours où ils ont lieu.
En solo, sans pénalité
Une chambre individuelle coûte + CAD 730 (prix estimé).
Jour par jour
Itinéraire
Touchez une étape de la carte pour ouvrir ce jourCliquez sur une étape de la carte pour ouvrir ce jour
Arrive in Tashkent, a slow first evening
Tashkent International Airport to your hotel in Tashkent
- Welcome dinner
- Nuit : Tashkent
- Environ 15 min de route
Fly into Tashkent International Airport (TAS), a short drive from the centre of the capital, and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall, whatever time you land.
Après-midi
Nothing is planned until about 6:30 pm, so arrive by mid-afternoon if you can, rest and take a shower first. Tashkent was largely rebuilt after the 1966 earthquake, so its centre is wide boulevards, fountains and parks, a calm place to stretch your legs; Amir Timur Square is a short walk from the hotel area. Your See Sight Tours guide then meets the group over tea at the hotel. She introduces everyone and gives an honest briefing: what to wear at mosques and shrines, how the bazaars work and how to say no, photos of and by local people, taxis, tipping, the trains, how the ten days run, and who to call if anyone makes you uncomfortable.
Soir
Dinner is together at about 7:30 pm, a short walk away: salads, bread from the tandoor and grilled shashlik.
Compris
- Pick-up at Tashkent International Airport (TAS)
- Welcome tea and briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Temps libre : Afternoon free to rest before the group meets
Activité : A short, flat walk to dinner and back.
Old Tashkent, then the fast train to Samarkand
Tashkent old city to Chorsu Bazaar, then Afrosiyob train to Samarkand
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Samarkand
- Environ 30 min de route

We start in the old city at the Khast Imam complex, Tashkent's religious centre, where the library holds the Uthman Quran, a manuscript traditionally dated to the 7th century and one of the oldest surviving copies.
Matin
A few minutes away, Chorsu Bazaar fills a great tiled dome with bread, dried apricots, spices and pickles, and the busiest hour is the morning.
Après-midi
Lunch is plov, the rice, carrot and lamb dish Tashkent cooks in huge cauldrons and eats at midday. Then we board the Afrosiyob high-speed train for Samarkand, 344 km away, about two to two and a half hours in reserved seats. Your bags go with us in our own vehicle to and from the stations. We check in to our hotel near the Registan and walk to Gur-e-Amir, the tomb of Timur, while the late sun warms its ribbed turquoise dome.
Soir
At sunset we reach the Registan, three tiled madrasas around one square, and stay as the lights come on.
Compris
- Khast Imam complex and the Uthman Quran with your guide
- Chorsu Bazaar
- Plov lunch in Tashkent
- Afrosiyob high-speed train from Tashkent to Samarkand, reserved seats
- Gur-e-Amir, the tomb of Timur, in late light
- The Registan at sunset and after dark
Temps libre : Evening free after the Registan
Activité : The train time is set by the timetable and confirmed with your final itinerary. If it leaves early, we shorten the time at Chorsu Bazaar; if it leaves too early for the Khast Imam complex as well, we move that visit to the morning of day 10 for those with an afternoon or evening flight.
Shah-i-Zinda at opening and Samarkand before Timur
Samarkand: Shah-i-Zinda, the Afrosiab Museum and Ulugbek's Observatory
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Samarkand
- Environ 30 min de route

We are at Shah-i-Zinda when it opens, before the coach groups, and climb the short stairway into an avenue of mausoleums, most from the 14th and 15th centuries, faced in turquoise, cobalt and carved glazed tile. It grew around the shrine believed to hold Qusam ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet, and it is still a place of pilgrimage, so we walk it quietly with scarves on. Next door rises Afrosiab, the hill where Samarkand stood until the Mongols destroyed it in 1220. Its museum keeps a 7th-century wall painting of ambassadors arriving at a Sogdian court. A short drive on, the curved trench of Ulugbek's Observatory survives from the 1420s.
Après-midi
At midday we go to a Samarkand family home, where a host is confirmed for your dates, and the women of the family show us how they cook plov over the fire; we help, then eat together and talk. The afternoon is free to rest through the heat.
Compris
- Shah-i-Zinda at opening with your guide
- The Afrosiab Museum and its 7th-century wall painting
- Ulugbek's Observatory
- Cooking plov with the women of a Samarkand family, then lunch together, where a host is confirmed
Option plus facile : Take the Shah-i-Zinda stairway at your own pace, then ride in our vehicle between the museum and the observatory, or go back to the hotel after the museum.
Option plus active : In the free afternoon, walk out to the Tomb of Daniyar by the Siab river below Afrosiab hill, a shrine revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Temps libre : Afternoon free
Activité : About 3 to 4 hours on foot in the morning, with short flights of steps at Shah-i-Zinda. Covered shoulders and knees, and a scarf over your hair, at the shrine. If no family host is confirmed for your dates, lunch is at a local restaurant and we tell you before you travel.
The Registan inside, Bibi-Khanym and paper in Konigil
Samarkand: the Registan, Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Siyob Bazaar, then Konigil village
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Samarkand
- Environ 45 min de route

Back at the Registan at opening, we walk into the three madrasas you saw lit two nights ago: Ulugbek's, from the 1420s, then Sher-Dor with its tiger-and-sun portal and Tilya-Kori with its gilded mosque, both from the 17th century. Early in the day the courtyards are quiet and the light is soft on the tiles. From there it is a short walk along a pedestrian street to Bibi-Khanym, the vast Friday mosque Timur built after his Indian campaign of 1398 to 1399, partly rebuilt since an earthquake brought down much of it. Next door, Siyob Bazaar sells Samarkand's round flat bread, nuts, dried fruit and halva.
Après-midi
We then drive about twenty minutes to Konigil, a village on the river where craftspeople still make Samarkand paper from mulberry bark by hand, and you try a sheet yourself before lunch in the village. Back in town by mid-afternoon, the rest of the day is yours.
Compris
- The Registan madrasas at opening: Ulugbek, Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori
- Bibi-Khanym Mosque
- Siyob Bazaar
- Paper-making workshop in Konigil village
- Lunch in Konigil
Activités en option
- A wine tasting at a Samarkand winery in the late afternoon, priced when you book
Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free
Activité : About 3 hours on foot on flat paving in the morning.
Fast train to Bukhara and an evening at Lyabi-Hauz
Samarkand to Bukhara by Afrosiyob train, then Bukhara old town
- Petit-déjeuner
- Nuit : Bukhara
- Environ 30 min de route
A slower start, then the Afrosiyob train west to Bukhara, about one and a half to two hours across cotton fields and the edge of the desert. Bukhara's station is in Kagan, about 15 km out, and our vehicle takes us into the old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, lower and quieter than Samarkand and built of fawn brick around ponds and covered markets.
Après-midi
Lunch is free near our hotel. In the afternoon your guide walks you through the centre: Lyabi-Hauz, the 17th-century pool under old mulberry trees; the domed trading halls; the sunken Magoki-Attari mosque; and the facing madrasas of Ulugbek and Abdulaziz Khan. Then we sit with the women of a suzani workshop, where one is confirmed for your dates, to see how the big embroidered hangings are drawn and stitched by hand, and try a few stitches. Buying is never expected.
Soir
We end at Chor Minor, and the evening is free at Lyabi-Hauz.
Compris
- Afrosiyob high-speed train from Samarkand to Bukhara, reserved seats
- Lyabi-Hauz and the Nadir Divan-Begi madrasa with your guide
- The trading domes
- Magoki-Attari mosque
- Ulugbek and Abdulaziz Khan madrasas
- A suzani embroidery workshop run by women, where one is confirmed
- Chor Minor
Activités en option
- A traditional hammam in the old town in the evening, in women's hours where we confirm them for your dates, priced when you book
Temps libre : Lunch and the evening free
Activité : About 2 to 3 hours on foot in the afternoon on flat lanes, with an hour seated at the workshop.
Bukhara from the Samanids to the emirs
Bukhara: Ismail Samani, the Ark and the Po-i-Kalyan
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Bukhara
- Environ 15 min de route

We go out early to the park west of the old town while it is cool. The Ismail Samani Mausoleum, built in the 10th century, is one of the oldest buildings in Central Asia, a cube of brick laid in patterns so fine the walls look woven, and it is said to have survived the Mongols because it lay half buried in sand. Then on to the Chashma-Ayub shrine over a spring, a few minutes away, and about a kilometre east to the Bolo-Hauz mosque facing the Ark, whose porch stands on slender wooden columns reflected in its pool. Then we climb the ramp into the Ark, the fortress where Bukhara's emirs ruled until 1920.
Après-midi
After a sit-down lunch the afternoon is free. When the light turns gold we meet at the Po-i-Kalyan: the Kalyan Minaret, built in 1127 and about 46 metres tall, the Kalyan Mosque's arcaded courtyard, and the blue domes of the Mir-i-Arab madrasa across the square, the moment most photographers wait for.
Compris
- Ismail Samani Mausoleum with your guide
- Chashma-Ayub and the Bolo-Hauz mosque
- The Ark fortress
- Sit-down lunch in the old town
- The Po-i-Kalyan at golden hour: the Kalyan Minaret, the Kalyan Mosque and the Mir-i-Arab madrasa from the square
Activités en option
- Sitorai Mohi Hosa, the last emir's summer palace about 5 km north, by vehicle with your guide in the free afternoon, priced when you book
Option plus facile : Our vehicle takes you from Ismail Samani to the foot of the Ark, and you can watch the Po-i-Kalyan from a terrace cafe.
Option plus active : In the free afternoon, walk the lanes of the old Jewish quarter and its synagogue with your guide's map.
Temps libre : Afternoon free
Activité : About 6 km on foot across the day, on paving and the Ark's steep brick ramp.
Across the Kyzylkum to Khiva
Bukhara to Khiva across the Kyzylkum Desert, by train or road
- Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
- Nuit : Khiva
- Environ 6.5 h de route

This is the one long travel day, and it is long because Bukhara and Khiva are about 450 km apart across the Kyzylkum, the Red Sands desert, with no practical flight between them. The daytime train runs on some days of the week only, so we confirm road or train for your date with your final itinerary.
Après-midi
By road we drive the desert highway in our own vehicle, six to seven hours of driving broken by stops every hour or two, a view over the Amu Darya where the road meets the river, and a sit-down lunch at a roadside tea house. When the train runs on our date, it takes about six to seven hours in reserved seats with room to walk about, and lunch is a picnic of bread, samsa, cheese and fruit bought fresh in Bukhara that morning. Out of the window the desert is low scrub, saxaul and red sand, then the irrigated fields of Khorezm.
Soir
We reach Khiva in the late afternoon, see the clay city walls turn gold at sunset, walking along the top where the wall walk is open, and sit down to dinner together.
Compris
- Bukhara to Khiva across the Kyzylkum in our own vehicle with a sit-down lunch, or by daytime train in reserved seats on dates it runs
- Lunch on the way
- The Itchan Kala walls at sunset with your guide, and the wall walk where open
- Dinner in Khiva
Activité : By road the drive is about 450 km and six to seven hours, over our 4-hour daily cap; it is the only day that breaks it, and the stops and lunch are built in. The daytime train runs only on some days of the week, so we confirm road or train for your date with your final itinerary.
A full day inside Itchan Kala
Khiva: Itchan Kala on foot
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
- Nuit : Khiva

Itchan Kala, the walled inner town of Khiva, was Uzbekistan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1990, and it is small enough to know by the end of the day. We start early, before the day visitors drive in from Urgench. Through the west gate stands the Kalta Minor, a fat turquoise minaret left unfinished in the 1850s. Inside the Kuhna Ark, the khans' fortress, we climb the Ak-Sheikh Bobo bastion for the view over domes and flat roofs. The Juma Mosque is a single hall held up by about two hundred carved wooden columns. After the blue-tiled harem courtyards of the Tosh-Hovli palace and the green dome of the Pahlavon Mahmud mausoleum, we visit a workshop inside the walls where local women weave carpets or stitch embroidery, where one is confirmed, and see the patterns copied from Khiva's tiles and carved doors.
Après-midi
Lunch follows, perhaps green dill noodles, a Khorezm dish.
Soir
The afternoon is free, and at sunset the walls turn gold.
Compris
- Itchan Kala with your guide: the West Gate, the Kalta Minor, the Mohammed Amin Khan madrasa, the Kuhna Ark and the Ak-Sheikh Bobo bastion
- The Juma Mosque
- The Tosh-Hovli palace
- The Pahlavon Mahmud mausoleum
- A carpet or embroidery workshop where local women work, where one is confirmed
- The Islam Khoja minaret and madrasa
- Sit-down lunch inside the old town
Option plus facile : Skip the bastion stairs and rest at the hotel after lunch; Itchan Kala is flat and every sight is within a few minutes' walk.
Option plus active : Climb the narrow, steep stairway of the Islam Khoja minaret, the tallest in Khiva, for the view across the old town to the desert.
Temps libre : Afternoon free
Activité : About 4 to 5 km on foot on flat lanes, with stairs at the Kuhna Ark bastion and an optional minaret climb.
Fly to Tashkent, the metro and a farewell dinner
Khiva to Urgench airport, flight to Tashkent, then central Tashkent
- Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
- Nuit : Tashkent
- Environ 1 h de route
Soir
A last early walk inside the walls while Khiva is still quiet, then a 40-minute drive to Urgench airport for the flight to Tashkent, about an hour and a half, instead of the night train some trips use. From the airport we go straight into the city for a guided afternoon in the capital's modern half. Tashkent's metro, opened in 1977, is the reason to ride underground here: each station is decorated differently, from cosmonauts in blue ceramic at Kosmonavtlar to the chandeliers and carved plaster of Alisher Navoi. We come up at Amir Timur Square and walk past the arched Alisher Navoi Theatre, finished in 1947 partly by Japanese prisoners of war, to the Courage Monument, which marks the 1966 earthquake that levelled much of the old city. After a free hour at the hotel, we meet for a farewell dinner together.
Compris
- Flight from Urgench (UGC) to Tashkent (TAS)
- Guided afternoon in Tashkent: a metro ride through the decorated stations, Amir Timur Square, the Alisher Navoi Theatre and the Courage Monument
- Farewell dinner
Temps libre : An hour free before dinner
Activité : Flight times change by season; if the flight lands late, we take the metro ride on the morning of day 10 for those with afternoon or evening flights, alongside any Khast Imam visit moved from day 2.
Depart from Tashkent
Your hotel to Tashkent International Airport
- Petit-déjeuner
- Environ 15 min de route
Matin
Breakfast is the last meal of the trip, and there is nothing planned after it, so the morning is yours.
Soir
If your flight leaves in the afternoon or evening, there is time to go back to Chorsu Bazaar for dried fruit, nuts and spices to take home, to see the Museum of Applied Arts in its carved and painted house from the early 1900s, or to sit in a park with a pot of green tea. Our vehicle takes you from the hotel to Tashkent International Airport, a short drive from the centre, at a time set by your flight. Allow about three hours at the airport before an international departure, as security and passport checks can be slow at busy times. If you would like to stay longer in Tashkent, or add a few days in the Fergana Valley or the mountains east of the capital, ask us when you book and we will quote the extra nights and transfers.
Compris
- Drop-off at Tashkent International Airport (TAS)
Temps libre : Free until your airport transfer
Activité : Any flight time works; plan to be at the airport about three hours before an international departure.
- Tashkent1 nuit
- Samarkand3 nuits
- Bukhara2 nuits
- Khiva2 nuits
- Tashkent1 nuit
- Étape avec nuitée
- Excursion d'une journée
- En bateau ou en train
Faune et météo : April to June and September to October bring warm, dry days and cool evenings. July and August are very hot in Bukhara and Khiva, often above 40 C, and winter is cold, so we do not run this trip in those months.
Vous voulez recevoir ce programme par courriel?
Recevez l'itinéraire jour par jour par courriel, ou posez-nous vos questions sur ce voyage. Un conseiller en voyages vous répond le jour même ou le jour ouvrable suivant.
Avant de réserver
Ce voyage est-il pour vous?
Ce voyage vous convient si vous recherchez
- Women travelling alone who want company and a woman leading
- Friends, sisters, mothers and adult daughters travelling together
- Architecture, history, crafts and bazaars at an unhurried pace
- Trains and a short flight rather than long days in a bus
Ce voyage ne vous convient pas si vous recherchez
- Mixed groups, partners or men: ask for the private version or our standard Uzbekistan trip
- Step-free access: old-town lanes are uneven and some sights have stairs
- Travellers who want nights in a desert yurt camp or a homestay
- July and August travel, when the cities pass 40 C
Âge minimum : 18
Réservez vos vols une fois votre place confirmée.
9 nuits
Où vous logerez
Vos hôtels sont nommés dans la confirmation de votre voyage.
- Tashkent1 nuit
- Samarkand3 nuits
- Bukhara2 nuits
- Khiva2 nuits
- Tashkent1 nuit
Un seul prix
Ce que le prix comprend
Compris
Hébergement
- 9 nights in central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard: 1 in Tashkent, 3 in Samarkand near the Registan, 2 in Bukhara near Lyabi-Hauz, 2 in Khiva inside or at the gates of Itchan Kala, and 1 more in Tashkent
- Share with another woman at no extra cost, or a room of your own for the single supplement
- Hotels named when we confirm your dates
Transport
- Pick-up and drop-off at Tashkent International Airport (TAS)
- Our own vehicle and driver for the group in each city, including station and airport transfers
- Reserved seats on the Afrosiyob high-speed train from Tashkent to Samarkand and from Samarkand to Bukhara
- Bukhara to Khiva across the Kyzylkum in our own vehicle, or by daytime train on dates it runs (confirmed for your date)
- Flight from Urgench (UGC) to Tashkent
Votre guide
- A woman See Sight Tours guide with the group from day 1 to day 10, including on the trains and the flight
- Licensed local guides in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva where sites require them; we ask for women guides and confirm them with your dates
Activités
- Tashkent: welcome tea and a briefing on dress, shrines, bazaars and conduct; the Khast Imam complex and the Uthman Quran, Chorsu Bazaar, a metro ride through the decorated stations, Amir Timur Square, the Alisher Navoi Theatre and the Courage Monument
- Samarkand: Gur-e-Amir, the Registan at sunset and its three madrasas at opening, Shah-i-Zinda, the Afrosiab Museum, Ulugbek's Observatory, Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Siyob Bazaar; cooking with the women of a local family, where a host is confirmed
- Konigil: a paper-making workshop
- Bukhara: Lyabi-Hauz, the trading domes, Magoki-Attari, the Ulugbek and Abdulaziz Khan madrasas, a suzani embroidery workshop run by women where one is confirmed, Chor Minor, the Ismail Samani Mausoleum, Chashma-Ayub, Bolo-Hauz, the Ark and the Po-i-Kalyan
- Khiva: the Itchan Kala walls at sunset (and the wall walk where open), the Kalta Minor, the Kuhna Ark, the Juma Mosque, the Tosh-Hovli palace, the Pahlavon Mahmud mausoleum, the Islam Khoja minaret and a carpet or embroidery workshop where local women work, where confirmed
- All entrance fees for included sights
Repas
- 9 breakfasts
- 6 lunches: plov in Tashkent, lunch you help cook with the women of a Samarkand family, lunch in Konigil village, lunch in Bukhara, lunch on the way to Khiva and lunch in Khiva
- 3 dinners: a welcome dinner in Tashkent, dinner on arrival in Khiva and a farewell dinner in Tashkent
Non compris
- International flights to and from Tashkent
- Visa fees, if your passport needs a visa
- Travel insurance
- Meals not listed above
- Drinks
- Tips for your guide, local guides and driver
- Optional activities: the Sitorai Mohi Hosa palace, a hammam visit in women's hours and a winery tasting
- Anything you choose to buy at the workshops
- Photo fees where a site charges them
- Personal expenses
Suppléments
- Chambre individuelle
- CAD 730 (prix estimé)
Quand partir
Dates et prix
Choisissez votre date de départ au moment de votre demande de réservation. Nous vérifions cette date et la confirmons dans votre devis.
Vous préférez voyager sans groupe ni guide? Demandez-nous d'organiser vos hôtels, vos transports et vos visites de ville pour voyager en autonomie.
Avant de réserver
Conditions de réservation
Rien n'est facturé maintenant. Les conditions complètes et le barème d'annulation accompagnent votre devis, avant que vous acceptiez.
Adresses de l'entreprise
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Avis des voyageurs
Ce que disent nos voyageurs
Avis de voyageurs ayant participé à nos visites d'une journée.
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Bon à savoir
Questions
Who can join a women-only trip?
Anyone who identifies as a woman and is 18 or over. The group is women only and is led by a woman See Sight Tours guide. Drivers, train and hotel staff and some licensed site guides will often be men, and we say so plainly.
What does the Uzbekistan women-only trip include?
Nine nights in central hotels, 9 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 3 dinners, airport transfers, our own vehicle and driver, reserved seats on the high-speed trains, the road or train crossing to Khiva, the flight from Urgench to Tashkent, a woman See Sight Tours guide throughout, the women's workshops and family cooking where confirmed, and every entry on the day plan.
I am travelling alone. Do I pay a single supplement?
Only if you want a room of your own. Tell us when you request to book and we pair you with another woman in the group at no extra cost. A room of your own is CAD 730 more. If no roommate is found, we tell you before you pay anything.
What should a woman wear in Uzbekistan?
In Tashkent, what you would wear in a European city is fine. At mosques and shrines, cover shoulders and knees and cover your hair at working mosques and Shah-i-Zinda, so carry a light scarf. Loose, light clothes that cover shoulders and knees suit the sun and a family home. Comfortable closed shoes matter most.
Is Uzbekistan safe for women travelling in a group?
For most women, yes. The usual nuisances are curiosity and persistent sellers: strangers may ask for a photo or where you are from, and stallholders in the trading domes can be pushy. Saying no politely is fine. Your guide briefs the group on the first evening and walks with you in the busy areas.
Will we really meet local women?
Yes, where hosts are confirmed for your dates: cooking plov with the women of a Samarkand family, an afternoon at a Bukhara suzani workshop run by women and a Khiva carpet or embroidery workshop where local women work. We tell you before you travel if any visit changes, and buying is never expected.
How big is the group and who leads it?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 women, fewer than the up to 16 that most Uzbekistan group tours take. A woman See Sight Tours guide travels with you from arrival to departure, and licensed local guides join in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva; we ask for women and name them when we confirm your dates.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately. Most days involve 5 to 9 km of walking on paving and uneven old-town lanes, often in warm sun, with short stairs at Shah-i-Zinda and the Kuhna Ark. Afternoons are mostly free to rest, and the minaret climb in Khiva is optional.
When is the best time to visit Uzbekistan?
April to June and September to October. Days are warm and dry, evenings cool, and the gardens and bazaars are full. July and August often pass 40 C in Bukhara and Khiva, and winter is cold, so we do not run departures then.
Do I need a visa for Uzbekistan?
Canadian citizens can currently visit Uzbekistan without a visa for up to 30 days. Rules differ by passport and change from time to time, so we check yours when you book. Hotels register you with the authorities each night; keep the slips they hand you.
How do you get from Bukhara to Khiva?
By road or by daytime train across the Kyzylkum Desert, confirmed for your date. The train runs only some days of the week, so most dates go by road: about 450 km in our own vehicle, six to seven hours with stops and a sit-down lunch. It is the trip's one long travel day.
How much does it cost and how do I book?
The small group starts from CAD 3,790 per person sharing, taxes included, and a room of your own is CAD 730 more. Send your preferred dates as an enquiry. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. For your own dates, or a party with partners or men, ask for the private trip from CAD 6,825, or an independent quote.