8 Day Uzbekistan Itinerary: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva

This plan prints no opening hours or ticket prices for the individual monuments. Each site sets its own, so read them at the ticket office or on the museum's own website on the day you go.

The Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva route, and the one leg that decides it

The four cities sit along one rail corridor, so the plan never doubles back until the flight on Day 7. The only real decision is how to get from Bukhara to Khiva.

Two trains for the Bukhara to Khiva leg

• Jaloliddin Manguberdi: 3 h 28 min, 11:14 → 14:42, economy 332,000 som.
• Electric train 706: 4 h 40 min, 15:45 → 20:25, 270,800 som.

This itinerary is built on the Jaloliddin Manguberdi, the morning train from Bukhara to Khiva. Drivers and flyers can make the crossing too; price those with a local operator or an airline.

Why this itinerary takes the morning Manguberdi to Khiva

The Manguberdi reaches Khiva at 14:42. That leaves the late afternoon for Itchan Kala when the light is low and warm. Train 706 arrives at 20:25, after dark, and costs you that first evening.

Day-of-week gaps before fixing dates

The Manguberdi has no departure from Tashkent on Sundays or from Khiva on Mondays. The timetable lists gaps per departure point and gives none for Bukhara, so search your exact Bukhara date on the Uzbekistan Railways e-ticket site before you fix dates. Train 706 does not run on Mondays, so on a Monday departure the Manguberdi is your only train.

The day-by-day split on this page is Fortrip's own advice, not an official standard. Every timetable and fare here is an autumn 2026 snapshot and should be treated as indicative.

Book the trains and check your visa before the hotels

When Afrosiyob tickets go on sale

Tickets go on sale no earlier than 60 days before departure at 10:00 Tashkent time on the Uzbekistan Railways e-ticket site. October Afrosiyobs were already full by late September. Lock the Tashkent–Samarkand and Samarkand–Bukhara legs first, then build hotels around them. Before you pay for anything, run your dates through the itinerary validator.

What you need to board

You need the e-ticket and the passport used to make the booking, shown at the station checkpoint 30 minutes before departure. The Tashkent departure on Day 2 is at 07:30, so plan an early start.

Changes and refunds

There are no date changes. A return more than 24 hours out costs a 40,000 som agency fee plus a 15,000 som refund fee. Between 24 and 6 hours you also lose half the seat part of the fare, and under 6 hours all of it. Buy only once your flights are fixed.

Tickets at the sites

The Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Shah-i-Zinda, the Ark of Bukhara, Po-i-Kalyan and the Tashkent museums each run their own hours and prices. The plan leaves those figures to each ticket office and to the museum's own website, and your hotel can phone ahead the day before. Khiva's walled city is covered by the UNESCO listing for Itchan Kala; the ticket office at the gate explains what its entry covers.

Visa rules

Visa requirements depend on your passport. Check eligibility on the official Uzbekistan e-visa portal before you book anything.

Day 1 — Tashkent: the Soviet-era city, the metro and the bazaar

Tashkent is a one-day city here. It is the arrival point and the least medieval stop on the route, so the old-city days go to the other three.

The day assumes you land in the morning, take a taxi from the airport to your hotel and can drop your bags before starting. Ask the hotel to hold your luggage if your room is not ready.

Morning: Tashkent Metro

Use the metro as transport and as a sight. Some stations have mosaic walls and metal lettering, as in the photo above. Ask a station attendant before you raise a camera.

Midday: Chorsu Bazaar

Go around midday, when the produce and bread stalls are busiest. Buy for tomorrow's train: flatbread, dried fruit, nuts, something for the carriage.

Afternoon: Museum of Applied Arts

Spend the afternoon at the Museum of Applied Arts, which holds Uzbek ceramics, suzani embroidery and carved woodwork, a useful primer for what you will see in Samarkand and Bukhara. Read its days and hours on the museum's own website before you set out.

Evening: an early night

The Afrosiyob leaves at 07:30, and the passport check at the station is 30 minutes before departure. Lay out your passport and e-ticket, pack the bazaar food, and eat dinner near the hotel before an early night.

Day 2 — Samarkand: Afrosiyob to Samarkand and the Registan at dusk

Morning: the train and settling in

Afrosiyob 766 runs Tashkent 07:30 → Samarkand 09:43, 2 h 13 min, economy 311,000 som. Carry the passport you booked with, as the checkpoint is 30 minutes before departure. Take a taxi to the hotel, drop your bags and eat a proper breakfast; early check-in is worth asking for when you book.

Midday: Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Siyob Bazaar

Walk to Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the Siyob Bazaar beside it. At the bazaar, buy bread, dried fruit and nuts, and eat something warm from the stalls for lunch.

Afternoon: rest before the square

Go back to the hotel for a shower and a lie-down through the heat of the day. Ask the hotel to call a taxi for an hour before dusk, so you reach the Registan with time to walk the square before the light changes.

Evening: Registan at dusk

Time the Registan for dusk, when the Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori madrasas face each other across the square. Ask the Registan ticket office about evening lighting and entry on arrival.

Day 3 — Samarkand: Gur-e-Amir, the Registan by day and Shah-i-Zinda

Morning: Gur-e-Amir

Start at Gur-e-Amir, Timur's tomb. Go early so you see the interior before tour groups arrive.

Midday: the Registan by day

Return to the Registan in daylight for the courtyards you could only see from the square the night before. Then eat lunch nearby and rest before the afternoon.

Late afternoon: Shah-i-Zinda

Save the avenue of tombs for the cooler end of the day. Wear shoes you can slip off easily, since several of the shrines are active places of prayer.

Day 4 — Bukhara: train west and an evening around Lyabi-Hauz

Morning: the train

Afrosiyob 770 runs Samarkand 10:59 → Bukhara 12:36, 1 h 37 min, economy 225,000 som. Book a hotel pickup or a taxi in advance for the run from the station into the old town, so the 12:36 arrival does not cost you the afternoon.

Afternoon: the trading domes

Check in, eat, and walk without a plan through the old town's trading domes.

Evening: Lyabi-Hauz

Lyabi-Hauz is the pool-side square, with the Nadir Divan-Begi madrasa on one side, where Bukhara gathers after dark. That makes it a good first evening: everything is in one place and you can sit at a café table instead of queueing for a ticket office.

Day 5 — Bukhara: Po-i-Kalyan, the Ark and the slow day

Morning: Po-i-Kalyan

The Kalyan minaret and the Kalyan mosque beside it work best before midday, while the square is still quiet.

Late morning: the Ark of Bukhara

The Ark is the fortress and former seat of the emirs, a short walk from Po-i-Kalyan. Ask the Ark's ticket office which of its rooms are open that day.

Afternoon: off

This is the one built-in pause. Take a long lunch, or make a second pass through the trading domes when the tour groups have gone.

Book the Manguberdi for tomorrow

The cited timetable gives day-of-week gaps for the Manguberdi from Tashkent and Khiva only, so search your Bukhara date on the Uzbekistan Railways e-ticket site before you rely on it. Date changes are not allowed. Electric train 706 is the fallback, but it does not run on Mondays.

Day 6 — Khiva: Manguberdi across the Kyzylkum and Itchan Kala at golden hour

Morning: the train

The Jaloliddin Manguberdi runs Bukhara 11:14 → Khiva 14:42, 3 h 28 min, economy 332,000 som, per the autumn 2026 snapshot.

Midday: crossing the Kyzylkum Desert

The train crosses the Kyzylkum between the two oases, which is why Khiva reads as the far end of the route. Pack lunch before boarding: flatbread, dried fruit and nuts from a Bukhara bazaar, plus water, enough for the 3 h 28 min ride.

Late afternoon: Itchan Kala at golden hour

Walk Itchan Kala, the walled old city, in the late afternoon, when the brickwork and tiled domes pick up the low sun. Ask at the gate ticket office what the monument ticket covers.

If the Manguberdi is sold out

Train 706 arrives at 20:25 and loses the evening light. You would walk Itchan Kala at first light on Day 7 instead. It does not run on Mondays, so a Monday departure needs the Manguberdi.

Day 7 — Khiva and Urgench: a morning in the walls, then the flight to Tashkent

Morning: back inside Itchan Kala

Go back at first light, before the day trippers arrive. Pick two or three things, such as a minaret climb, a medressa courtyard and the market lanes, rather than trying to see everything.

Afternoon: Urgench to Tashkent

Fly Urgench to Tashkent with Uzbekistan Airways. The flight times, fares and the Khiva-to-Urgench airport transfer time are not in the timetable data behind this plan, so read the day's schedule on the Uzbekistan Airways booking page and ask your Khiva hotel how long the car takes. Book the flight once your Day 6 Manguberdi seat is confirmed. Choose a departure that leaves the Khiva morning intact and lands you in Tashkent with the evening free.

Evening: Tashkent

Check in and ride the metro to a station you skipped on Day 1, then eat near the hotel. Keep it short: Day 8 has the airport.

Day 8 — Tashkent: Chorsu Bazaar and the flight home

Morning: last Chorsu Bazaar run

Go back to Chorsu Bazaar for the things you passed on Day 1: dried fruit, nuts and bread to carry home. It is a shopping stop, not a sightseeing one. Skip it if your flight leaves early in the day.

Midday: lunch, bags and the airport

Eat near the hotel, collect your bags and take a taxi booked through the hotel once your airline's check-in window is open; the airline's own page gives its check-in cut-off. If your flight is late in the day, the Chorsu stop is the part you can stretch.

How to choose: who should cut, swap or extend a day

If you want to compare this against other shapes, see the itinerary selection page, or build a version around your own dates with the AI trip planner.

Is Khiva worth it on 8 days in Uzbekistan?

Yes, if you can take the Manguberdi. It puts you in Khiva at 14:42 with the golden-hour walk still ahead. The price is the Day 7 flight and one fewer slow day. If the Manguberdi is out, train 706 takes 4 h 40 min and the case for Khiva weakens.

Cut Khiva if

Cut it if you dislike the Urgench flight or cannot get a Manguberdi seat. Spend Day 6 as a second Samarkand or Bukhara day, then take the train back to Tashkent. The timetable data behind this plan covers Tashkent to Bukhara, not the return, so check the Bukhara to Tashkent departures on the Uzbekistan Railways e-ticket site before building around them.

Keep Khiva if

Keep it if you can get the Manguberdi and want the walled-city evening, and you accept one fewer slow day.

Extend Samarkand or Bukhara if

With a ninth day, a second Bukhara day gains more for the old town. Shahrisabz from Samarkand is the better pick if you have already had enough of old-town lanes.

Shorten Tashkent if

Day 1 is already one day, so the saving is on the way out. If your flight home leaves early on Day 8, drop the morning Chorsu run and head straight to the airport. If the Urgench flight lands early on Day 7, you can also skip the Tashkent evening plan and rest.