Private Tour
The Golden City of Samarkand: A Self-Guided Audio Tour
Overview
Available languages
1 hour
Mobile ticket
As the author of an award-winning book about Central Asia, let me take you on a voyage of discovery, exploring Samarkand’s rich heritage and unearthing the stories of the people and places of this fascinating land.
Starting at the dazzling majolica and terracotta tile-covered 9th Century Shah-I-Zinda, the "Tomb of the Living King," our route proceeds to modern-day Samarkand's major market, the vibrant Siab Bazaar. We'll visit the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, learning about local folklore, history and present-day politics en route to the turquoise domes and tapering minarets of the Registan, the Holy Grail of most visitors to Uzbekistan. This tour also allows for more exploratory detours and the possibility of stops at popular local chaikhanas (tea houses).
The tour is ready whenever you are and the audio plays automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smartphone's GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
What‘s Included
VoiceMap Application
Lifetime access to The Golden City of Samarkand tour
Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
Smartphone
Transportation
Food/Drink
Tickets or entrance fees to any museums or other attractions en route
What To Expect
Shah-i-Zinda
The Shah-I-Zinda complex originally dates from the ninth century. The tiny doorways to the mausoleums ensure by design that bowing to Allah is compulsory. The plain white graves are laden with pilgrim’s gifts of bank notes for comfort in the afterlife. The sheer scale of the site’s majesty, the busyness and the minutia of the architecture is dizzying, as is the dry heat through much of the year.
Siab Bazaar
At the Siab Bazaar, girders hold aloft a two-tiered corrugated monster of a roof, an over spill of traders hunkering under bleached gazebos and parasols selling a wide array of goods. Everything can be found here. From children’s toys to hard, round, bagel-like lepyoshka. Look out for necklaces of wolves teeth, mixed in with Chinese imports piled high.
Options
The Golden City of Samarkand: A Self-Guided Audio Tour
Reviews
4 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Extremely superficial, and technologically deficient
DrLuc,
May 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00This self-guided audio tour was extremely disappointing on many levels. It was not at all user friendly. It seemed that to start the tour, I absolutely had to go the starting point, which was not conventient. I later found the button for "force start", but even then, it did not seem to work, I always had to re-download the tour before starting again if I used that. Also, even when turning my phone off (or not) between stops, often the app had closed, and again I had to re-download everything. In terms of content, it was even more disappointing. Many parts of many key stops are entirely ignored, and even those that are covered, are done so at a hugely superficial level. When I finally hired a real guide, for Registan, after having heard what the audio-guide had to offer, I knew vastly more about where I was. The only upside is that this guide has some interesting historical and socio-economic information about the region, that is presented convincingly yet also with a sense of humour. In that sense, as an extra, you may consider this audio-tour - but really, you'll get much more information, and for free, by just googling whatever aspect interests you.
Great tour
AndrewKavanagh2,
Oct 5, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This is a great tour of the key sights in Samarkand, and also includes a few off the beaten track options. The audio starts when you reach the GPS location, so there's no rush; plenty of time to be awestruck by the wonders. It is filled with information about the sites and the country, and all for a few Euros!
Brilliant tour
dogbotherering,
Jul 5, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was a superb audio tour. Very cheap with great information about the sites, history and the country in general. It was the perfect length, used GPS to start and pause when needed and had options to explore areas off the beaten track. The narrator was really knowledgeable. Recommended.
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Operated by VoiceMap Audio Tours