Samarkand Group Day Tour: Five Monuments with a Local Guide
Five monuments in a day with a licensed guide: the Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Bibi-Khanym, Shah-i-Zinda and Ulugh Beg's observatory. Transport included. From $20.
Private Samarkand Day Tour with Hotel Pickup: Registan, Gur-e-Amir and Shah-i-Zinda
Samarkand's great monuments in one day, just for your party: your own English-speaking guide and car, pickup at your hotel and a day paced around you. From $59 per person.
About this trip
The same six monuments as our group day tour, but private: the guide, the car and the day are yours alone. We collect you from your hotel at the time you choose, and the pace, the order and the length of each stop follow you rather than a group.
What you see
- The Registan, the square framed by three madrasahs: Ulugh Beg's from the 1420s, the Sher-Dor with its lions, and the Tilya-Kori with its gilded prayer hall
- Gur-e-Amir, the tomb of Amir Timur under its fluted turquoise dome
- Bibi-Khanym, the great mosque Timur built after his Indian campaign
- Siab Bazaar, the city's working market, for Samarkand bread, dried fruit and nuts
- Shah-i-Zinda, a street of tiled mausoleums climbing the hillside
- Ulugh Beg's observatory, where Timur's grandson catalogued the stars in the 15th century
How the day goes
About seven hours, with your car waiting between the sites, as the observatory and Shah-i-Zinda are on the edge of the old centre. Stop for lunch wherever you like; your guide will suggest a good local restaurant, and you pay for the meal there. Monument tickets are paid on the day.
Private or group?
Choose this tour if you want hotel pickup, your own guide and your own timing, or if you are travelling with children or older relatives. If you are happy to share the day with other travellers, our Samarkand group day tour covers the same monuments for less.
Who it suits
Couples, families and small groups with one day in Samarkand who want to see it properly and in comfort.
Day by day
- 09:00 — Pickup and the Registan
Your guide and driver collect you at your hotel at the time you agreed the day before; 09:00 suits most people, before the heat and the coaches. Five minutes later you are on the Registan, with an hour and a half for its three madrasahs: Ulugh Beg's, the oldest, the Sher-Dor with its tigers, and the Tilya-Kori with its gilded prayer hall. Your guide knows which courtyards are quiet at that hour.
- 10:45 — Gur-e-Amir
A short drive to the tomb of Amir Timur, his sons and his grandson Ulugh Beg, under the fluted turquoise dome. Inside, the gold of the ceiling and the dark jade of Timur's tombstone; outside, time for the photograph everyone wants, with nobody rushing you.
- 11:45 — Bibi-Khanym and Siab Bazaar
The vast mosque Timur built after his Indian campaign, then straight into the bazaar next door: Samarkand bread stacked in towers, dried apricots, walnuts, halva and spices. A good place to buy what you will take home, with your guide to bargain for you.
- 13:00 — Lunch
Your guide suggests a restaurant to suit you: plov in a chaikhana, shashlik in a courtyard, or something quieter. You order from the menu and pay there; about an hour.
- 14:15 — Shah-i-Zinda
The street of tiled mausoleums climbing the hill beside the old cemetery, the finest tilework in Central Asia. Your guide tells you which façades to look at closely and lets you climb the famous steps at your own pace.
- 15:30 — Ulugh Beg's observatory, back by 16:00
The giant arc of the sextant that Timur's grandson sank into the hillside in the 1420s to measure the stars, and the small museum beside it. Then your driver takes you back to your hotel, or wherever the evening takes you. The whole day is about seven hours; if you want more time anywhere, say so and the day is reshaped around it.
What's included
- Private car or minivan with driver for the whole day
- Pickup and drop-off at your hotel in Samarkand
- Your own professional English-speaking guide
- Bottled water
Not included
- Lunch — your guide suggests a restaurant and you pay there, choosing from the menu
- Tips for guide
- Personal expenses & souvenirs
- Travel insurance — required for every traveller
- Monument tickets, paid on the day: Registan Square 100 000 UZS, the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum 75 000 UZS, the Bibi-Khanum Mosque 50 000 UZS, Shah-i-Zinda 75 000 UZS and the Ulugh Beg Observatory 75 000 UZS — about 375 000 UZS per person.
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