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Samarkand Tour: Explore Historic Landmarks and Bazaars
4.7
9 Ratings
Тоshkent
Discover Samarkand’s iconic landmarks and rich heritage on a private day tour from Tashkent via bullet train.
Discover Samarkand’s iconic landmarks and rich heritage on a private day tour from Tashkent via bullet train.
Duration:
12 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Registan - Registan became the city square when the life in Afrosiab stopped. Since that time Registan was reconstructed several times. Today it is surrounded by the three medreses Ulugbek, Sherdor and Tillokori.
- Bibi Khanym Mosque - Bibi-Khanym Mosque – named after the wife of Temur and built between 1399-1404 – is one of best-known…
- Registan - Registan became the city square when the life in Afrosiab stopped. Since that time Registan was reconstructed several times. Today it is surrounded by the three medreses Ulugbek, Sherdor and Tillokori.
- Bibi Khanym Mosque - Bibi-Khanym Mosque – named after the wife of Temur and built between 1399-1404 – is one of best-known architectural attractions of Central Asia. The Mosque was erected on Timur’s order after his combat of Delhi. The Minaret of the Mosque was supposed to be the tallest.
- Shah-i-Zinda - Shakhi-Zinda Ensemble – (9 -14, 19 centuries) situated on southeastern mound of Afrosiab. This architectural complex consists of 44 tombs in more than 20 mausoleums. The greatest significance of Shah E Zinda is that he was the First cousin of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and resembles the Prophet the most.
- Ulugh Beg Observatory - Ulugbek’s Observatory – observatory of Timur’s grandson. Only the foundations remain but it is truly extraordinary. Ulugbek was an astronomer, scientist and architect. His scientific and astronomical discoveries greatly advanced knowledge in these fields. The only thing that was preserved is a part of huge sextant – major astronomic instrument, the lowest part of which was in a deep trench (11km).
- Afrasiyab Museum - Afrosiab – The ruined site of ancient and medieval Samarkand in the northern part of the modern town. This place always ensured favorable conditions for human settlements. As proof, one can freely walk through the ancient ruins. A museum is in the center of the remains.
- Gur Emir Mausoleum - Gur Emir Mausoleum – As a conqueror there are few that are Tamerlane’s equal, both in territory and legacy left. Today one can visit his tomb in the beautifully reconstructed Gur-Emir Mausoleum (1404-1405, 15-17 centuries) and reflect on his life while looking at the largest piece of jade (greenstone) in the world.
What's Included
- Return Bullet Train Afrosiyob Tickets Tashkent-Samarkand-Tashkent option
- All Fees and Taxes
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Experienced licensed guide
- Entrance tickets
- Return Bullet Train Afrosiyob Tickets Tashkent-Samarkand-Tashkent option
- All Fees and Taxes
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Experienced licensed guide
- Entrance tickets
What's Not Included
- Tips for Guide & Driver
- photo & video Museum charge to be paid cash at entrance $1-2/sight
- Tips for Guide & Driver
- photo & video Museum charge to be paid cash at entrance $1-2/sight
Additional Information
Spending an entire day exploring Samarkand, known as the “pearl of the East,” is highly recommended. The city boasts stunning buildings with gold leaf interiors, refreshing courtyards, and vibrant bazaars.
- Explore renowned sites such as Registan Square, Gur Emir Mausoleum, Bibi Khanym Mosque, Ulugbek Observatory, and Afrasiab Museum.
- Immerse…
Spending an entire day exploring Samarkand, known as the “pearl of the East,” is highly recommended. The city boasts stunning buildings with gold leaf interiors, refreshing courtyards, and vibrant bazaars.
- Explore renowned sites such as Registan Square, Gur Emir Mausoleum, Bibi Khanym Mosque, Ulugbek Observatory, and Afrasiab Museum.
- Immerse yourself in the rich history, culture, and heritage of this ancient city.
- Please check Uzbekistan entry requirement at Wikipedia on Visa policy of Uzbekistan
Location
Shimoliy Vokzal
Turkiston ko'chasi
Meeting with local Guide at entrance with signboard
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(9 Ratings)
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Abhilasha_b
Aug 16, 2025
Had a great time :) - An absolutely fantastic and well-organized tour! Everything was seamless from start to finish, and our guide ‘Timur’ was knowledgeable, engaging, and truly superb. It’s the perfect way to spend a day exploring such a historic city – highly recommended!
Review provided by Viator
Katherinew
Jul 28, 2025
Talented guide and a wonderful day! - Charos, my guide, was so knowledgeable and professional! It was a brutally hot day and she expertly navigated us into shady spots before sharing the historical city of everywhere we visited. She also did an excellent job connecting the key characters and time frames between each location which helped me understand the full history. The car was clean (and cold!) and the driver was kind.
Review provided by Viator
Andrew_b
Apr 13, 2025
Exceptional Tour With Exceptional Guide - Guide was very knowledgeable, polite and informative.
As for Samarkand it was the gem I’d always hoped it would be but our guide Pushi made the trip.
I can’t recommend this trip enough.
Viator managed to get us a train ticket as we booked 2 days earlier but the bulletin train had sold out .. we should have followed Viators advice and booked much earlier but the normal train was superb too 😀
Review provided by Viator
Andreasjj6383gh
Dec 1, 2024
Highly recommended day tour in Samarkand! - The tour was highly interesting with unique views of the high culture of Amir Temur and Ulug‘bek. We had a very nice, educational and amusing guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Praveen_n
Oct 31, 2024
Sam - Tour operator New Prime India Cochin Tours and Travels recommended we enjoyed it very. Much with family
Review provided by Viator
Ramziya_j
Mar 13, 2024
Excellent tour with amazing, charming and knowledgeable guide - Easy to listen guide’s language
Carting, attentive and cheerful guide
Flexible schedule of tour
Enough information is provided to comprehend
Review provided by Viator
Fitriandika_n
May 16, 2023
satisfying experience! - this private tour was amazing, the car was very comfortable, our tour guide (shokhrukh) was very informative and flexible, he also knew very good spot for taking your pict! overall, we were satisfied with this tour! recommended 👍🏻
Review provided by Viator
Amir_z
Jan 27, 2022
Everything was organised... - Everything was organised perfect, beautiful city with a lot of very interesting sights, guide was really very friendly, helpful and had a hugh knowledge about the history and sights
Review provided by Viator
Maciej_m
May 3, 2024
Samarkand with travel problems…. - Samarkand is obviously a must- visit place when travelling to Uzbekistan. We managed to visit the most important parts of old/ancient Samarkand. Tombs, mausoleums, mosques, statues coverted to tourists traps and shops, shops, shops…. Beautiful but quite sad…. Unfortunately, our trip was not as smooth as it could be. When we received a written confirmation from travel agency we were sure that everything is booked. Surprise, surprise….. a day before the trip we got one-way train tickets only. Thanks to hotel staff we arranged on our own taxi to the train station, caught Afrosiab express and reached Samarkanda. We were welcomed by a nice and polite guide, who had no idea why we did not receive return train tickets. She called the office and learnt that they work on this now. Finally, we got two tickets for different trains and timing. Our tour should be cut by 2 hours and participant should travel back to Tashkent separately with different trains. We did not agree and complained. After few hours, the travel agency managed to find two seats in the same train ( one in economy class another one in vip class - vip class is a kind of Uzbek joke, worth nothing). I understand that Afrosiab trains are full in high touristic season and sometimes buying tickets is difficult or impossible but travel agency should never confirm tours if they do not have booked tickets for travel. Now, we will remember mainly travel issues from Samarkand instead of beauty of this place. Travel agency provided us with a knowledgeable guide, good driver, clean car but forgot to book train tickets….
Review provided by Viator
