Khiva to Bukhara through Turkmenistan: 4 Days with Darvaza, Ashgabat and Merv
Leave Khiva for Turkmenistan and rejoin the Silk Road at Bukhara: medieval Kunya-Urgench, a night in a yurt by the Darvaza gas crater, a day in…
Bukhara to Khiva through Turkmenistan: 4 Days with Merv, Ashgabat and Darvaza
Cross from Bukhara into Turkmenistan and out again near Khiva: ancient Merv, white-marble Ashgabat with Nisa and the Akhal-Teke horses, a night in a yurt by the Darvaza gas crater and medieval Kunya-Urgench. Private, with a licensed English-speaking guide and your Turkmenistan e-visa included.
About this trip
Between Bukhara and Khiva most travellers drive straight across the Kyzylkum. This trip takes the long way round, through Turkmenistan: three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a full day in Ashgabat and a night by the burning crater at Darvaza, then back into Uzbekistan an hour from Khiva.
It is a private tour for your own group, from two travellers, with a licensed guide and your own vehicle from border to border, including the 4×4 across the sands to Darvaza.
The route at a glance
| Day | Route | Night |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farap border – Mary: Ancient Merv | Mary |
| 2 | Mary – Ashgabat: museum, Akhal-Teke horses, Nisa, Gypjak | Ashgabat |
| 3 | Ashgabat – the Karakum desert – Darvaza | Yurt camp |
| 4 | Darvaza – Kunya-Urgench – Shavat border, into Uzbekistan | — |
Good to know
- Visa: your Turkmenistan e-visa is included and we apply for it for you. Send us a scan of your passport and a 3×4 or 4×5 cm photo on a white background, without glasses or a hat. Standard processing takes about 7 working days, so please book at least 4 weeks before you travel; express processing costs USD 40 more per person. Once the application is in, the visa fee cannot be refunded.
- Cash at the border: the migration fee (about USD 15 per person) and, if it is still required, a PCR test (about USD 33) are paid on arrival in clean, recent US dollar notes. Cards are rarely accepted outside large hotels.
- Getting to the border: Alat is about an hour and a half from Bukhara, and Shavat about an hour from Khiva. We can arrange both drives; ask us on WhatsApp.
- Hotels: 3★ Mizan in Ashgabat and Rahat in Mary, or 5★ Archabil and Mary Hotel — you choose when you book. The yurts at Darvaza sleep two or four.
- Groups: for 10 or more travellers, ask us for a group price on WhatsApp.
- Darvaza: the crater still burns, but much less fiercely than in older photographs.
- Photographs and the internet: government buildings, police, military sites and border posts may not be photographed. The internet is slow and many apps and websites are blocked, so download what you need before you go.
- When to go: April–May and September–October are best. In summer the Karakum often passes 40 °C.
Going the other way? See Khiva to Bukhara through Turkmenistan.
Day by day
- Day 1
Farap border, Mary and Ancient Merv
Your guide meets you at 09:00 on the Turkmen side of the Alat–Farap border, after border formalities. About 3 hours along the motorway to Mary for lunch. In the afternoon, Ancient Merv, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and once one of the great cities of the Silk Road: Gyz Gala, the "maiden's castle" with its corrugated walls, Erk Gala, Sultan Gala and the mausoleums of Sultan Sanjar and Muhammad ibn Zeyd. Back to Mary for dinner. Meals: lunch and dinner. Night in Mary.
- Day 2
Mary to Ashgabat
About 4 hours (350 km) to Ashgabat, the white-marble capital. After lunch, the National Museum of Turkmenistan, then an Akhal-Teke horse farm for tea, a short show and a look round the stables. Then Ancient Nisa, the UNESCO-listed capital of the Parthian kings, and the Turkmenbashi Ruhy mosque in Gypjak, the largest in the country. After dinner, a drive through Ashgabat lit up at night. Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Night in Ashgabat.
- Day 3
Ashgabat, the Karakum desert and Darvaza
A morning stop at the Russian Bazaar for souvenirs, then north into the Karakum desert, with lunch in the village of Erbent. The last stretch is by 4×4, as the road is rough. You reach Darvaza in the early evening and walk to the gas crater, the "Gates of Hell", as the light fades. Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Night in a yurt camp.
- Day 4
Kunya-Urgench and the Shavat border
4–5 hours north to Kunya-Urgench, the medieval capital of Khorezm and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After lunch, the mausoleums of Najmeddin Kubra and Sultan Ali, the Turabek Khanum mausoleum with its famous tiled dome, the 60-metre Kutlug Timur minaret and the mausoleum of Sultan Tekesh. Then on to the Shavat border and into Uzbekistan, about an hour from Khiva. Meals: breakfast and lunch.
What's included
- Your Turkmenistan e-visa, standard processing
- 2 hotel nights in a twin or double room and 1 night in a yurt camp
- Full board from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 4, without alcohol
- Private transport with driver from border to border, including the 4×4 to Darvaza
- A licensed English-speaking guide for all 4 days
- All entrance fees and camera fees at the monuments
- Travel insurance in Turkmenistan
Not included
- International flights
- Migration fee on arrival: about USD 15 per person, in cash
- PCR test on arrival, if required: about USD 33 per person, in cash
- Alcoholic drinks and extra meals
- Tips for the guide and driver
- Transfers from Bukhara to the Alat border and from the Shavat border to Khiva (we can arrange them)
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