What‘s Included

What To Expect

Reviews

• Experience the Silk Road in Uzbekistan!

  Dovhoz,

  Oct 28, 2023

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Authentico Tours in Uzbekistan was the company that took excellent care of us while we were there for 7 days. Our tour guide was Alex and he was excellent. Extremely courteous, knowledgeable and provided a tour that we will never forget! My husband’s family/ancestors were from Bukhara and Tashkent in Uzbekistan. We traveled with his brother and sister and those 3 are foodies to the fullest extent. Alex made sure that every market and restaurant were tailored for their interests and tastes. They eat a LOT of meats and delicious breads in Uzbekistan. I’m a pescatarian and this is a double landlocked country so seafood isn’t plentiful but Alex made sure that we did eat at a restaurant in Bukhara that specialized in fish and he didn’t disappoint! I was interested in their gorgeous fabrics and architecture, so there was more than enough to see and learn as well. We arrived in Tashkent and our guide Alex and driver Ahmad picked us up in a large comfortable van and took us to our hotel-The Hyatt Regency. Beautiful hotel with exceptional amenities such as pool, steam room, sauna and fabulous breakfast buffet which we enjoyed each morning. We saw the Khast Imam complex which was rich with history and then off to the Chorsu Bazaar for a feast of the senses. We had the pleasure of tasting multiple food items and the bakery was phenomenal. The Uzbek people are very kind, friendly and hospitable. Uzbekistan is KNOWN for their textiles and embroidery. They never once tried to hustle you and bargaining wasn’t an issue where some countries are much more aggressive. We took a train the next day to Samarkand and arrived within 1.5 hours. The bullet train was very comfortable and the country is beautiful. Tashkent and Samarkand are very green and tons of various trees. They are very proud of their landscaping and EVERYTHING IS CLEAN. Women are constantly sweeping and they do not allow smoking in public places!! In Samarkand, we toured several famous places and the Registan Square-the icon of Uzbekistan. After experiencing these beautiful building with fantastic tiling we visited the Bazarre Siab market. I had wanted to purchase a wool winter coat with their infamous embroidery and found it here!! We also enjoyed amazing fruits and sweets. Our hotel was very nice, comfortable and offered a steam room/sauna and pool for relaxing after a long day. The breakfast buffet offered many items and delicious. We visited a paper mill and I LOVED this place. It was a beautifully treed place with a running river through it which they demonstrate paper making. It was so interesting!!!! After 2 days in Samarkand, we took the bullet train to Bukhara which is the primary reason for the trip. Their food is what my husband and his family grew up eating and they were able to indulge themselves to the “fullest!” This area of Uzbekistan is more desert like. We visited Pol Kalyan, Lyabi Hauz, the Ark Fortress and Bolo Hauz Mosque. Amongst all the historical sites, we visited many Madrases. They often times use the trading domes within these structures to sell their beautiful scarves, robes, hand crocheted skullcaps, embroidered bags and SILK SILK SILK. I was in love and wanted to buy everything!!!! We spent 2 days there and took the bullet train back to Tashkent for our last 2 days. My husband had watched a YouTube video 2 years prior and Alex was able to find that place for my husband to enjoy the meats wrapped in puff pastry like no others. It was a definite gastronomical experience for them and I purchased so many items for myself and friends. Uzbekistan is THE SECRET of Central Asia and The Silk Road. I highly recommend Alex and his company Authentico Tours. You won’t be disappointed!!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• 12 Days of Travel to Uzbekistan

  gabrielebS8243SA,

  Aug 15, 2022

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  I returned from a 2 week trip to Uzbekistan where I visited the 4 main cities Taskent, Samarkand, Bukara and Khiva. It was a beautiful trip that brought me to know a Central Asian country that is easy to access and even easier to visit. It’s probably the country where I spent less than everyone I visited (even less than Thailand). Its standards are modest but if you have some tolerance to some limitations (see food for me) you can feel very good. It is a country that needs to be explained why the few available paper guides give general information but there is much more to know. For this reason we hired a local guide who accompanied us from Samarkand to Khiva and revealed stories and anecdotes about monuments and Uzbek life today and past really interesting. If anyone was data subject qs his reference: Mukhamadiev (Seb) Sukhrob +998902705188. He speaks Italian, English, Russian, Uzbek, Farsi. Here You will not find descriptions of monuments and historical places. On the internet there is everything you want. I wanted to give some updated info to visit this beautiful country. All in my opinion, questionable and questionable as it should be. Input and Output to/from UBZ : Arrival in Taskent via Istanbul. Passport control quick. No questions (also because as you will discover English is not commonly spoken) to immigration. I had a prescribed medicine and I declared it as indicated on the Uzbek Government website. I could have avoided it. Nobody ever asked me about it on the trip. Same thing coming out. You show your passport, they just give you a visa. Payments: Credit cards are spreading and all hotels accept them. In Taskent also restaurants. For daily payments you need local SUMs that you can withdraw at the bank or at many ATM points. If you exchange dollars and Euros I suggest you bring new notes. Old or damaged ones are not accepted or exchanged at 25% less than the official exchange rate. Overnight stays : Many hotels are new and offer you a Western standard even though breakfasts are local with almost no desserts. If you want to sleep in the madrassas better do it in Bukara and Khiva where the atmosphere lends itself better than in larger cities. The most historic structures have very hard mattresses. Typical of the Uzbek tradition of sleeping on carpets. I recommend sleeping near the old town in Bukara and Khiva. This way you avoid taxi travel. In Taskent and Samarkand it is indifferent since you will have to move a lot. Travel in cities: In Taskent there is a wonderful subway that I recommend visiting. The stations are Soviet air raid shelters but for a tourist they are fascinating places and they are all different. Official taxis are very cheap but must be hailed via Yandex app; a credit card-free version of Uber that works very well provided you have an Uzbek sim. We had taxis hailed from restaurants or hotels not having a local sim. In Bukhara and Khiva you can find official taxis in tourist spots. Alternatively there are private taxis that appear everywhere and that demand at least double and require bargaining. Remember that an official ride costs max 15,000 Sum (1 and a half Euros) while private individuals ask you 3 or 4 Euros for the same distance so you see if you bargain. Travel between cities: Taskent, Samarkand and Bukara are connected by fast train and regular train. We both tried and personally I found the normal one very interesting. It was like being in a 1960s movie with carriages full of brass and mirrors, restaurant carriage and flower pot on the tables. Very cheap tickets even in VIP class in high season are almost all booked by agencies so I recommend buying them as soon as possible. The purchase at the station is possible with a lot of patience and many smiles. Alternatively use the website. From Bukara to Khiva you go by car in 5-6 hours given the road conditions. I recommend a vehicle with air conditioning. The dust of the streets does not allow you to keep the windows down and in summer it is 35 degrees if not more. Food: Meat, Vegetables, Meat, Fruit, Meat, Meat, Meat. There are soups with meat. And Onions, lots of onions. Difficult life for vegetarians. Better bring bars from Italy. The dishes are always the same even if presented differently from restaurants. Salads Skewers & grills. The Uzbeks eat Plov (national dish with rice, meat and seasoning on their own recipe) for lunch. Fresh from cooking. Tourists eat it in the evening. I also ate it in the evening and found it good. But I am a tourist. Fresh vegetable salads are delicious. We used to always pull out onions for reasons you know. Equally good fruit with Watermelon, Melon and Plums on the altars. The Uzbeks: Kind, smiling and helpful. If you put your hand on your chest when you cross them they all respond and say hello. They love their country and as soon as they can they make you understand. For them, Italy is that of Toto Cutugno, Celentano, Paolo Rossi and Bruno Conti. The cities : Taskent is very large and not very characteristic from a historical point of view. But it has many mosques and madrassas to discover and has its own post-Soviet flavor to live by going for a coffee at the Hotel Uzbekistan. To see the main market Chorsu and the Metro. You don't walk around. I recommend a local guide. Samarkand : The most magnificent monuments can be found here. You are speechless before Registan. Unfortunately they are all far apart so you will use many taxis. From here the Silk Road begins (or ends if you do my tour in reverse). Bukhara and Khiva : Small towns to walk around to enjoy all the atmosphere of the Silk Road you were looking for. Sleep close to the historic centers so if you want to take pictures at dawn of mosques and madrassas you are already on site. Have a nice trip!