Samarkand 7-Day Itinerary: Shakhrisabz & Bukhara by Train

How should you spend 7 days in Samarkand?

Spend days 1 and 2 on Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Shah-i-Zinda and Bibi-Khanym at an unhurried pace, day 3 on Shakhrisabz, Timur’s birthplace 80 km away, and day 4 on Afrasiyab and the Ulugh Beg observatory. Then take the Afrosiyob train to Bukhara for days 5 and 6, returning or moving on on day 7.

The Samarkand 3-day itinerary gives one day each to Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Afrasiyab. This week keeps those clusters but spreads them out, adds Shakhrisabz and gives Bukhara two days of its own. Hours come from the Registan Ensemble directorate, which on 9 September 2026 reported evening opening until 23:00 at four major sites and until midnight at Registan.

It assumes a base between Registan and Bibi-Khanym for the first four nights (where to stay in Samarkand) and a hotel in Bukhara’s old centre for nights 5 and 6. For timing, read best time to visit Samarkand; for sights to swap in, things to do in Samarkand.

What hours, closures and rules shape this week?

Registan opens at 08:00 and, since September 2026, stays open until midnight, while Gur-e-Amir, Bibi-Khanym, the Afrasiyab Museum and the Ulugh Beg observatory museum stay open until 23:00. Carry your passport at all times, and keep your registration slips: hotels register you within three days, and hotels in Bukhara must register you too.

The Registan directorate set hours of 08:00 to 22:00 from 21 November 2025, and its September 2026 update extended Registan to midnight, with a music show on the square every day at 21:00 and Siab Bazaar open until midnight. Registan tickets are sold through the directorate’s online ticket site.

Under the FCDO’s entry rules, UK visitors can stay up to 30 days visa-free and must be registered within three days of arrival, which hotels usually do; you must re-register if you stay more than three days in another city. The tourism portal says hotels must register independent foreign guests through the E-mehmon system, which also calculates the tourist fee.

Dress for religious sites: the portal’s travel tips say shorts, T-shirts and short skirts are not welcome in mosques and that women should cover their heads before entering, and its Samarkand page asks women to cover shoulders, back and legs at monuments that are also religious sites.

How should you pace days 1 and 2 in Samarkand?

Arrive, rest and save Registan for the evening and the 21:00 music show on day 1. On day 2, start at Shah-i-Zinda in the cool of the morning, rest through the heat, browse Siab Bazaar, then visit Gur-e-Amir and Bibi-Khanym after dark, when both stay open until 23:00.

Registan’s three madrasahs, Ulugbek, Sherdor and Tilla-Kari, are the city’s defining landmark, according to the tourism portal, and its Ulugbek Madrasah page notes that the madrasah once trained more than a hundred students a year. Many craft workshops sit inside the old madrasahs, so browsing is part of the visit; come back at the 08:00 opening on another day if you want morning light.

Shah-i-Zinda’s blue- and turquoise-tiled buildings span the 11th to the early 20th century (tourism portal); it is not covered by the directorate’s evening-hours update, so go in the morning and confirm hours locally. Siab Bazaar, beside Bibi-Khanym, sells dried fruit, nuts, sweets, Samarkand bread and halva (tourism portal), and the FCDO warns that pickpocketing and bag-snatching are common in bazaars.

Gur-e-Amir holds the tombs of Amir Timur, his mentor and members of his family (tourism portal), and Bibi-Khanym is the mosque whose entrance portal Timur ordered rebuilt in 1404 because it was not grand enough. With both open until 23:00 (Registan directorate), the evening is the most comfortable time to see them from late June to August.

How do you plan the Shakhrisabz day trip?

Book a tour or driver for Shakhrisabz, 80 km from Samarkand and the birthplace of Amir Timur. Its UNESCO-listed historic centre holds the ruins of the Ak-Saray palace, the Dor-ut Tilovat memorial complex and the Kok-Gumbaz mosque. Leave early, dress for religious sites, and be back for a quiet evening.

The tourism portal says Amir Temur was born in Shakhrisabz and made it a centre of science and art, and that its historic centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Only ruins remain of the Ak-Saray palace, with a park on the site, while the Dor-ut Tilovat complex and the Kok-Gumbaz mosque are the main sights, along with the mausoleums of Dor-us Saodat and Shamsad-Din Kulala.

The portal gives no public transport details, so a tour or a driver booked through your hotel is the practical choice. The FCDO recommends licensed or app-booked taxis because unlicensed ones are common, and notes that many taxis lack rear seatbelts, so ask for a car that has them.

Women should cover shoulders, back and legs at the religious sites, which the portal marks on its map. After a long day out, keep the evening near your base and save energy for the observatory.

Why is day 4 a slower day at Afrasiyab and Ulugh Beg?

Day 4 sits between two travel days, so keep it light: Afrasiyab hill and its museum in the morning, a long rest, then the Ulugh Beg observatory museum in the cooler evening, as both open until 23:00. If you have energy, add the Meros paper workshop, where paper is made from mulberry bark.

The tourism portal says Afrasiab’s ruins date back to the 8th century BC, with excavated palaces, houses, mosques, baths and Samanid-era cobbled streets. The Afrasiyab Museum and the Ulugh Beg observatory museum complex both open until 23:00, according to the Registan directorate, so the observatory works well after an afternoon rest.

The portal’s Samarkand page describes the Meros workshop, where craftsmen keep alive a 10th–11th-century method of making paper from mulberry bark. It is on the edge of the city, so use an app taxi; the portal lists the Yandex Taxi and MyTaxi apps for Samarkand (travel tips).

The State Museum-Reserve’s price list sets separate, higher rates for foreign visitors at the museums it runs; the page is undated, so check prices at the ticket desk. Use the evening to pack and confirm the next day’s train.

How do you spend days 5 and 6 in Bukhara?

Take a morning Afrosiyob high-speed train to Bukhara, whose historic centre has been on UNESCO’s list since 1993. Spend day 5 around the Poi-Kalon ensemble and Lyabi-Hauz, and day 6 at the Ark citadel, the Samanid Mausoleum and Chor-Minor, with the trading domes in between. Stay two nights in the old centre.

Uzbekistan’s tourism portal says Afrosiyob high-speed trains connect Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and other cities, and advises booking train tickets in advance in peak tourist seasons. Buy through the official Uzbekistan Railways ticket site linked from railway.uz, carry your passport, and check the timetable for your date. The travel tips recommend the high-speed train to Bukhara and the intercity bus onward to Khiva.

In Bukhara, the Poi-Kalon ensemble combines the Kalon minaret, built in the 12th century, the Kalon mosque and the Miri-Arab and Amir-Alimkhan madrasahs, with the complex largely in its 16th-century form. Lyabi-Hauz, once a Silk Road trading post, is framed by the 16th-century Kukeldash Madrasah, one of the city’s largest with 160 hujras, and the Nadir Divan-Begi madrasah, with a bronze statue of Khoja Nasriddin nearby.

On day 6, the Ark citadel is described by the portal as the oldest archaeological monument, and the Bukhara page also highlights the Samanid Mausoleum, built by Ismail Samani, and Chor-Minor, the Khalifa Niyazkul Madrasah opened in 1807. Shops cluster on Lyabi-Hauz Square and in the trading domes beside Poi-Kalon, and Bukhara has a tourist police unit to help visitors (tourism portal).

What should you do on day 7?

Use the last morning in Bukhara for anything you missed, then take an Afrosiyob train back to Samarkand or on to Tashkent for your flight home. If you return to Samarkand, plan one last evening at Registan, which stays open until midnight, and keep your hotel registration slips until you leave Uzbekistan.

Afrosiyob services link Bukhara with both Samarkand and Tashkent, the tourism portal says, so the week can end in either city. If your flight leaves from Tashkent, book that leg when you book the outward train, and check the Uzbekistan Railways timetable for your date.

The FCDO says you must re-register if you stay more than three days in another city, and that codeine, common in UK medicines, can cause problems, so carry prescriptions. The Unified Safe Tourism Call Center number, 1173, is listed on the tourism portal.

How do you get around during the week?

Walk in Samarkand’s old centre, use app taxis for Afrasiyab and the station, and book a driver or tour for Shakhrisabz. Between cities, Afrosiyob high-speed trains link Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent. The FCDO recommends licensed or app-booked taxis, because unlicensed ones are common, and requires you to carry your passport.

The tourism portal’s travel tips list Yandex Taxi and MyTaxi as the apps for Samarkand, and the FCDO notes that photographing government buildings, airports, police stations and metro stations can cause problems. Keep your camera down around the railway stations and police posts.

For the trains, the portal’s safety page advises booking ahead in peak tourist seasons. Keep your passport with you on board and at stations, because police checks are common and carrying it is compulsory (FCDO).

How should you adjust the week for heat, rain or cold?

In summer, walk before 11am, rest at midday and use the evening hours at Registan and the main monuments; Samarkand averages a 34.5°C high in July. In March and April, the wettest months, put museums first. In winter, wrap up for evenings near freezing and keep indoor sights for the coldest afternoons.

The WMO 1991–2020 normals for Samarkand give July a 34.5°C average high and January a −1.3°C average low, with March (73.2 mm) and April (62.9 mm) the wettest months. The tourism portal describes chillya, the 40-day summer heat from after 20 June to early August and the 40-day winter cold from mid-December to late January. Best time to visit Samarkand has the full table.

Bukhara is hot and dry in summer and mild in winter, according to the tourism portal, so the same early-and-late rhythm applies there. Shakhrisabz is the most exposed day, so in July and August leave at first light or swap it with day 4.

Which tours and tickets should you book ahead?

Book the Afrosiyob trains as soon as your dates are fixed, as the tourism portal advises for peak seasons, and arrange the Shakhrisabz day with a tour or driver. Registan tickets are sold online by the directorate. A guided walk adds context at Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Poi-Kalon but is optional elsewhere.

Compare guided options on meeting point, duration, inclusions and cancellation terms; GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook explains the platforms. For Shakhrisabz, check whether entry fees and lunch are included and how long you get on site.

Who suits this plan? First-time visitors to Uzbekistan who want Samarkand in depth plus Bukhara without a rushed one-night stop. Families can drop Shakhrisabz, photographers can repeat Registan at opening and after dark, and travellers flying from Tashkent can end the week there. Same-sex relationships are illegal in Uzbekistan, the FCDO notes, and it advises LGBT+ travellers to avoid public displays of affection. For food, see Samarkand eats.

• Can I see Bukhara in a day? A day is rushed; this plan gives it two.
• Do I need a guide? Not to get around; a guide helps with the history at the big ensembles.
• Are monuments open in the evening? Yes; in September 2026 the directorate reported hours to 23:00 at four sites and to midnight at Registan.
• What should I wear? Cover shoulders, back and legs at religious sites; women should cover their heads in mosques.
• Where should I stay? Between Registan and Bibi-Khanym; see where to stay in Samarkand.