1-Day Tour of Samarkand from Tashkent: Discover Ancient Capital of Timurid Empire

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Samarkand

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Embark on a guided 1-day tour from Tashkent to Samarkand, the ancient capital of the Timurid Empire. Explore its famous mosques, mausoleums, and historical sites, including Registan Square and the Ulugbek Observatory. Hotel pickup, drop-off, and entry fees included.

Duration: 2 days

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

Bibi Khanym Mosque - This full day of sightseeing begins with a 7:15am pickup from any hotel in Tashkent. Travel to the railway station to catch an 8am, high-speed train departing for Samarkand. After arriving in Samarkand at 10:30am, the local tour guide and driver will be waiting upon arrival to introduce some of the most popular attractions in Samarkand.

Some of the attractions and points of interest to see include:
• Bibi Khanum Mosque - Named in honor of the eldest wife of Great Timur (14th century)

Gur Emir Mausoleum - • Gur-Emir Mausoleum - The burial place of Amir Temur and his dynasty
Registan - • Registan Square (15th-17th century) – Located in the heart of Samarkand, Register Square consists of three madrassahs: Madrassah Uughbek, MadrassahTillakari, and Madrassah Sherdar
Shah-i-Zinda - • Shah-i-Zinda necropolis (12th-15th century) - The burial place of Kusamibn ibn Abbas, the cousin to the prophet Muhammad
Ulugbek Madrasah - • Registan Square (15th-17th century) – Located in the heart of Samarkand, Register Square consists of three madrassahs: Madrassah Uughbek, MadrassahTillakari, and Madrassah Sherdar

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Entrance ticket to Monuments
English-speaking driver/guide
Lunch included
Train tickets provided, with alternative car or minibus service
Local guides available

What's Not Included

Drinks
All fees and/or taxes

Additional Information

Embark on a guided, 1-day tour of Samarkand, renowned as the 14th-century capital of the Timurid Empire, from Tashkent. Samarkand, being one of the most anciently inhabited cities in Central Asia, flourished due to its strategic placement on the Silk Road which connected China and the Mediterranean. Stroll through the city of Samarkand admiring its renowned mosques and mausoleums. Additionally, get to see the Registan Square located in Samarkand’s heart, the Ulugbek Observatory, the Gur-Emir Mausoleum, and much more. This small-group tour includes hotel pickup and drop-off in Tashkent, and all entrance fees.

A minimum of two people per booking is required

Location

Bibi Khanym Mosque

Guzarskiy Lane

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.7

(18 Ratings)

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Luke_l

Jun 22, 2023

Spectacular architecture and history. - Spectacular architecture and history. Each site we visited was several centuries old had exquisite design and detail. Learning the history from our excellent guide helped make the experience much more meaningful.

Review provided by Viator

Xrp101

Apr 1, 2023

Unmissable - Excellent and well worth it. Wear comfy footwear and prepare for the heat. Always retain your tickets and only buy them from the official ticket stand, if someone 'official' demands your ticket at a later time decline to give them it because they want to resell it. Also, some of the tickets are reusable so you can enjoy another entry after sundown and experience the place in different light.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Gareth_w

Mar 21, 2023

Day trip to Samarkand - Despite the logistical challenges caused by the Nowruz holiday, the travel team succeeded in getting me to Samarkand and back for a very worthwhile day trip at the end of a one week conference in Tashkent. I'm really grrateful that I was able to fit this into my visit to Uzbekistan. The travel company were very communicative and the guide was really informative.

Review provided by Viator

Greggy_k

Aug 11, 2022

Amazing experience! - The tour guide was very knowledgeable and nice. The tour was very organized, and the communication was excellent. The tour exceeded my expectations, and I would recommend it to every tourists who are thinking of visiting Samarkand.

Review provided by Viator

Pogino

May 17, 2021

Rich of History - If you love history then it’s your best choice. I have booked this trip last minute and luckily it was available. The tour was well organized, I got a driver picked me from the hotel to the railway station and while arriving to Samarkand, Mr. Kahraman was waiting for me to start our journey. We have been to many beautiful places, I was amazed with architectures and took many amazing photos. I have got a lot of information about each place we visited and heard many interesting stories. Lunch was very good and delicious, I really loved it. After finishing the day, they took me back to railway station to go back to Tashkent and over there the driver was waiting for me to drop me back to my hot Overall, I do recommend this tour to other people because the service and the experience was fantastic specially with Mr. Kahraman who was for a history book full of knowledge.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Vinod

Dec 11, 2019

Its was nice experience as compare to Tashkent. - samarkand trip is include in my tour package. If you go for shopping do lot of barging start with half price .

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Catalin1971

Dec 6, 2019

Simply amazing - A fully recommended 1 day tour if you don’t have time to stay longer. Excellent organization, we’ve been picked up from hotel, got in the fast train and being welcomed by the guide/driver. To the beauty of the places we’ve visited it was added the outstanding talent of the guide who immersed us into the atmosphere. He had an excellent command of French, as well as English and Russian. We’ve chosen French and it was fantastic. Very good lunch in a local restaurant. Thank you for the excellent organization and outstanding guide.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Inacornerofthisglobe

Nov 29, 2019

Day tour to Samarkand from Tashkent - Lovely and well-planned day tour; perfectly organised from start to finish! The train ride from Tashkent to Samarkand was very comfortable with a 5-star service!! The guide met us at Samarkand station and drove us to the main sites by car. In between we stopped for a lovely lunch! The guide was very informative; he liked to tell many stories about Samarkand during the ancient times, and the rich history of this wonderful country! The snow made Samarkand even more magical….

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Bill

Nov 20, 2019

See everything in Samarkand in a day trip from Tashkent - Very well-planned and executed tour. Right from the hotel pick-up to the high-speed trains, and of course the rich historic sites in Samarkand. The guide was knowledgeable and we hit all the main sites and left the most scenic one (Resgistan) for last. Just wonderful!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Zahra_a

Oct 13, 2022

Utter waste of time - dont bother - I booked this months in advance knowing that I only had 3 days in the country. I booked this with the expectation that I would get to see Samarkand despite my short stay (I was staying in Tashkent). I woke up early and waited for the driver at 6am. No one showed up. After about 30 minutes I tried to call their office and their was no answer. I tried to message them through the Viator website - no answer. I texted them and again there was no answer. By 6.45am I gave up only to hear from the company around 7am tellng me that because they were unable to secure the train tickets the trip had been cancelled. There was no explanation as to why I wasn't informed beforehand (naturally they would have had to book the tickets at least the day before) and I wonder now if they would have contacted me at all if I hadn't texted them first. Complete and utter waste of my time. Don't bother with these guys and save yourselves the headache.

Review provided by Viator

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up to 15 guests