Agent FAM to Uzbekistan

• Accommodations, as noted in the itinerary.
• Meals, as noted in the itinerary: 9 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 5 dinners.
• Arrival/departure airport transfers. MIR will arrange for all travelers to be met on arrival and seen off on departure whether we make your flight arrangements or not, provided you arrive and depart on the tour start/end dates in the tour start/end city.
• Ground transportation throughout itinerary by private vehicle.
• Train tickets, Bukhara to Samarkand, Samarkand to Tashkent, seated class.
• Guided sightseeing tours and entrance fees as outlined in the itinerary.
• Special events, excursions and cultural performances per the itinerary.
• Services of experienced MIR Tour Manager, drivers and other staff.
• Gratuities to any site guides, drivers, porters and other service personnel.
• Bottled water at group meals.
• Baggage handling, where available.
• Complete pre-departure electronic document that includes detailed packing suggestions, reading list links, country-specific information, maps, travel tips and more.
• Assistance booking your custom flight arrangements (on request; please note that international airfare is not included in the land tour cost).
• Customized visa application and instruction kit (please note, visa fees are not included in the tour price).
• Electronic final update bulletin, with any late news, updates and important information.

• International airfare or taxes/fuel surcharges.
• Meals not specified as included in the itinerary.
• Single supplement charge, if requested or required.
• Items of a personal nature (phone calls, email, laundry, alcohol, excess baggage, etc).
• Gratuities to Tour Manager.
• Visa/passport fees, airport departure fees.
• Expenses incurred as a result of delay, modification or extension of a tour due to causes beyond MIR’s control.
• Travel and trip cancellation insurance.

Level 3: Medium

This small group tour features long days walking and standing while touring, some long segments of overland travel, uneven surfaces and steps, absent handrails, some stair-climbing, and absence of elevators. Only those fit to travel and who are willing to accept local standards of amenities and services, and the physical challenges, should consider joining this program.

Travelers must be able to walk at least two miles a day, keeping up with fellow travelers. Overland transportation segments can be eight hours or more driving time, and road conditions can be roughly paved or unpaved, dusty, and uncomfortable. While electricity is expected throughout the itinerary,  if you rely on rock-solid electricity for CPAP, or for any other reason, we recommend you have your own battery or other back-up, or please reconsider participation.

There are overall shortcomings in the tourism infrastructure, including some that can cause walking challenges such as unpaved sidewalks, uneven surfaces and steps, packed-dirt streets, broken pavement (streets or sidewalks), and a general absence of handrails or ramps. Some attractions are only accessible via steep staircases with tall uneven steps (80 or more steps at some sites) – these additionally may be spiral staircases and/or in narrow passages with limited light. Elevators are not available at touring sites, nor at a few of the hotels.

It’s always possible in Uzbekistan to encounter challenges with plumbing, bureaucratic service, road conditions, unpaved sidewalks, uneven surfaces and steps, the availability of public restrooms and the variety of locally available foods – but challenges are becoming fewer every day and with expectations set, we are confident you’ll be delighted by the destination.

Hotel properties in Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand are boutique hotels rather than being grand 5-star properties – we emphasize location, quality and service when picking hotels to use in these towns, and these are top picks. Uzbekistan is rapidly developing, yet the hotel infrastructure remains somewhat limited. True western 5-star hotels exist only in a single location on the outskirts of Samarkand, and in the capital of Tashkent. The range of smaller, privately-owned boutique hotels provide excellent locations and local flavor (think along the lines of moderate riads of Marrakech).