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…
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 white-marble Ashgabat with Nisa and the Akhal-Teke horses, and ancient Merv. Private, with a licensed English-speaking guide and your Turkmenistan e-visa included.
About this trip
Between Khiva and Bukhara most travellers drive straight across the Kyzylkum. This trip takes the long way round, through Turkmenistan: three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the burning crater at Darvaza and a full day in Ashgabat, then back into Uzbekistan an hour and a half from Bukhara.
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 | Shavat border – Kunya-Urgench – Darvaza | Yurt camp |
| 2 | Darvaza – Ashgabat: museum, Akhal-Teke horses, Nisa, Gypjak | Ashgabat |
| 3 | Ashgabat – Mary: Ancient Merv | Mary |
| 4 | Mary – Farap 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: Shavat is about an hour from Khiva, and Alat about an hour and a half from Bukhara. 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 Bukhara to Khiva through Turkmenistan.
Day by day
- Day 1
Shavat border, Kunya-Urgench and Darvaza
Your guide meets you at 09:00 on the Turkmen side of the Shavat border, after border formalities. A 1.5-hour drive to Kunya-Urgench, the medieval capital of Khorezm and a UNESCO World Heritage Site: 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. After lunch, 4–5 hours by 4×4 across the Karakum desert to Darvaza, arriving in the evening, and the gas crater after dark. Meals: lunch and dinner. Night in a yurt camp.
- Day 2
Darvaza to Ashgabat
An early start for Ashgabat, with a short stop in the village of Erbent, arriving around midday. After lunch, the National Museum of Turkmenistan and 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 to Mary and Ancient Merv
About 3.5 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. Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Night in Mary.
- Day 4
Mary to the Farap border
After breakfast, past Turkmenabat to the Farap border, arriving in the early afternoon. You cross into Uzbekistan at Alat, about 1.5 hours from Bukhara. Meals: breakfast.
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
- Meals as listed in the day-by-day plan, 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 Khiva to the Shavat border and from the Alat border to Bukhara (we can arrange them)
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