Proposed Itinerary for 3 Weeks

[asamuelson14]

Hi all,

I'd love to get some feedback about this itinerary. My husband and I have American passports. I know that some will say we are squeezing too many things in, but we have friends in several of these countries and want to at least get a taste for 5 of the Stan countries. We will plan another visit in the future to do the Pamir Highway (perhaps cycling!).

Does this route make sense? Any changes? Thanks in advance!

Day 1: Land in Almaty, KZ
Day 2: KZ
Day 3: KZ
Day 4: KZ
Day 5: Bus or car to Bishkek, KGZ
Day 6: Bishkek
Day 7: Bishkek
Day 8: Fly to Tashkent, UZB
Day 9: Tashkent
Day 10: Fly from Tashkent to Dushanbe
Day 11: Dushanbe
Day 12: Dushanbe
Day 13: Taxi to Penjikent
Day 14: Penjikent
Day 15: Taxi to Samarqand
Day 16: Samarqand
Day 17: Train from Samarqand to Bukhara
Day 18: Train to Bukhara, UZB
Day 19: Bukhara, UZB
Day 20: Train to Khiva, UZB
Day 21: Khiva to Dashoguz, TKM (I'm wondering if it's possible to do a quick day trip to Dashoguz? Just for a small taste of TKM? I realize visas/invitation letter/border may be tricky)
Day 22: Fly from Urgench to Baku (via long layover in Tashkent)
Day 23: Baku
Day 24: Baku
Day 25: Fly home

[sebhoff]

Why fly back via Tashkent? There are direkt flights to Baku from Urgench (every Saturday night) and Samarkand. Also, I’m not sure Penjikent is worth it unless you plan to spend more time nearby. Why not take the train from Dushanbe to Samarkand? That will save you some time that you could spend in Tashkent. (I’m assuming you like big cities - as you mainly list them in your itinerary. And Tashkent is worth spending a day more in, I think.)
Unless you have someone to visit in Dushanbe, I would perhaps also consider dropping this (although I haven’t been myself) in favour of something near one of the other cities. There is some nice scenery near Almaty, for example. Or fly from Bishkek to Osh and travel via Fergana/Margilon (- Rishton) - Kokand to Tashkent. Or visit the famous museum in Nukus. So many options…
The train from Bukhara to Khiva is a night train - have you factored this in?
I haven’t heard of a day-trip option for Turkmenistan, and even if, I suspect that it’s not worth the expense and effort, just to nip over the border.
Sebastian

PS: I’m assuming that day 17 should just say Samarkand?

[willemspie]

The interest of Tadjikistan lies in the mountains, not in the cities. You could spend one or two days in the Fann mountains.
The same is true for Bishkek. In fact, I don't see well the interest of this itinerary that goes from one city to another city in a rush.

[asamuelson14]

Thanks for your replies. @sebhoff, I was unable to find any direct flights from Urgench to Baku, even on Saturday nights. I checked Uzbekistan Airways, as well as other websites like Skyscanner. I'd love to know what airline has a direct flight, if you could point me in the right direction! It's not that we love cities, exactly. Those are mostly placeholders, as I haven't planned out the details. We do have good friends in Dushanbe and Almaty, and they will probably take us into the mountains/surrounding areas instead of staying in the city. Good suggestion to skip Turkmenistan, and I'll look into taking the train from Dushanbe to Samarqand.
@willemspie, thanks for your suggestion of the Fann mountains. We're also planning to get out of Bishkek and do some more scenic touring in Kry with friends.

[sebhoff]

There’s one this week, for example: https://flight.azal.az/flights?lang=en& ... NF=0&isAZ=
I don’t see any much further down in the future, which could mean the connection will soon be terminated, or that flights aren’t available much in advance.
Sebastian