Central Asia 2015


Bukhara city wall, Uzbekistan

Changing of the guard Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Changing of the guard Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

 Ala Archa National Park

Ala Archa National Park

 Karakol's Sunday market

Karakol's Sunday market

Falconer with Golden Eagle

Falconer with Golden Eagle

  First step in tie dying silk threads

First step in tie dying silk threads

Mother and child Ferghana Valle

Mother and child Ferghana Valley

Wall of pottery designs

Wall of pottery designs

Khiva's ancient city wall

Khiva's ancient city wall

Bukhara's main madrassa gate

Bukhara's main madrassa gate

Tamerlane's tomb and mosque

Tamerlane's tomb and mosque

Preliminary Itinerary
September 22 to October 10, 2015

Tuesday, Sept. 22

  • Depart US for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Thursday, Sept. 24

  • Arrive Bishkek in the early morning
  • Check in to Hyatt Regency Hotel
  • Afternoon of sightseeing in Bishkek, including Parliament, the National Museum, the changing of the guard in the Old Square

Friday, Sept. 25

  • Day in Bishkek
  • Embassy visit
  • Barbecue lunch and hiking in spectacular Ala Archa National Park just outside Bishkek, with its 18,000 foot high peaks, capped in snow and glaciers
  • Dinner and music in the evening

Saturday, Sept. 26

  • Drive to Karakol via Bokombayevo village with visit to women's handmade felt workshop
  • Lunch in family home
  • Continue on to Karakol
  • Check in to Green Yard Guest House, Karakol

Sunday, Sept. 27

  • Day in Karakol, beginning with early morning visit to the Sunday animal market to see a wide variety of animals being bought and sold
  • Picnic lunch and hike in Djety Oguz Gorge
  • Afternoon visit to Russian Orthodox Church and Chinese mosque
  • Dinner at Gunna's house

Monday, Sept. 28

  • Drive to Bishkek, stopping to see falconer and his Golden Eagle
  • Check in to Hyatt Regency Hotel

Tuesday, Sept. 29

  • Fly to Osh
  • Depending on flight arrival time, visit bazaar and Suleiman's Mountain
  • Drive to border and cross to Uzbekistan
  • Afternoon in Ferghana Valley
  • Visit silk factory and family home where women make mattresses
  • Check in to Asia Hotel

Wednesday, Sept. 30

  • Day in Ferghana Valley
  • Visit silk and pottery workshops to see the fine crafts produced in this valley, with lunch at a pottery workshop

Thursday, Oct. 1

  • Drive to Tashkent
  • Afternoon sightseeing in Tashkent

Friday, Oct. 2

  • Fly to Khiva
  • Afternoon sightseeing in Khiva, visiting the old inner city, the Fortress, Kalta Minor Minaret and the magnificent mausoleums, madrassas and mosques of Khiva
  • Check in to Malike Khivaek Guest House

Saturday, Oct. 3

  • Continue our sightseeing in Khiva
  • Overnight at Malike Khivaek Guest House

Sunday, Oct. 4

  • All day drive to Bukhara across the Kyzil Kum Desert, stopping for delicious grilled fish from the Amu Darya River
  • Check in to Salom Inn

Monday, Oct. 5

  • Sightseeing in Bukhara, Central Asia's holiest Muslim city, with its fascinating Silk Road history and beautiful monuments

Tuesday, Oct. 6

  • Continue sightseeing in Bukhara, visiting the last Khan's palace, magnificently tiled madrassas and tombs and the Jewish Quarter, where we will have lunch in one of the old Jewish homes

Wednesday, Oct 7

  • Drive to Samarkand
  • Afternoon of sightseeing in Samarkand, including the Registan, Samarkand's huge central square, surrounded on 3 sides by madrassas, Timur's (Tamurlane's) tomb, Timurid tombs and a huge mosque commissioned by Tamurlane that collapsed of its own weight
  • Check in to Grand Samarkand Hotel

Thursday, Oct. 8

  • Continue sightseeing in Samarkand, visiting a tomb complex with gorgeous tile work and a silk workshop, with time to walk along the city' s pedestrian park in the afternoon

Friday, Oct. 9

  • Drive to Tashkent
  • US embassy visit in afternoon
  • Check in to Tashkent Palace Hotel

Saturday, Oct. 10

  • fly home to US










Services End


Cost of the trip:

The ground cost for the trip per person (based upon double occupancy and not including international airfare) will be:
10 travelers or more (not including us)   $10,990 per person
9 travelers or less (not including us)       $11,400 per person

The trip price includes the best available hotels that we've personally visited and selected, most meals, internal flights, ground transportation, guides, admissions, transfers, and tips. Not included are international air fare between the U.S. and Central Asia, alcoholic beverages, excess baggage charges, independent airport transfers, incidentals (such as internet access, laundry, phone and fax calls), passport and visa fees, and medical expenses. Internal flights will be coach class. We will have our own private guides traveling with us throughout each country and busses or vans exclusively for our group.

Visas

Currently, Kyrgyzstan does not require a visa for U.S. citizens traveling on a U.S. passport. Uzbekistan does require a visa, which can take up to 30 days to obtain, so we must apply well in advance. Uzbekistan visas can only be obtained through their embassy in Washington, so we recommend using a visa service.

Itinerary changes

Please note that we may change the itinerary based on changes in airline schedules, natural disaster, availability of hotels, or other circumstances requiring such changes.

Refund Policy

Deposits and any payments are fully refundable, less a $250 per person cancellation fee, until 120 days prior to departure. After that date, refunds can be made only if the program is sold out and your place(s) can be resold, in which case a $1,000 per person cancellation fee will apply. After May 25, 2015, we cannot make any refunds unless we must cancel the trip because of circumstances outside our control (i.e., war, natural disaster). In that case, your payments are fully refundable. We recommend trip-cancellation insurance and, if the trip insurance doesn't include it, medical evacuation insurance.

Currency Fluctuation Policy

We reserve the right to adjust the cost of the trip if exchange rates negatively affect the value of the dollar against the local currencies, thereby increasing our costs significantly.

Trip cancellation

We reserve the right to cancel the trip if we do not have at least 6 people participating or if circumstances beyond our control (i.e., war, quarantine, etc.) require it. In the case of cancellation by us, we will refund your entire payment.


 

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