Day 1 UK-Tashkent

After taking your included VIP door-to-door travel service to the airport, fly overnight to Tashkent.

Day 2 Tashkent

Transfer to the 4-star Wyndham Hotel Tashkent (3Q) for a one night stay.

Have breakfast at the hotel and meet a Professor of Archaeology who will give a number of talks and visit some key sites including the Museum of History, the Muyi-Mubarak Mosque and the Khast-Imam complex. B, D

Day 3 Tashkent-Urgench-Khiva

This morning fly to Urgench. Visit the ancient fortresses of Ayzkala, a 2nd-century defence frontier that protected the oasis, and have lunch in yurt camp.

Transfer to Khiva for an overnight stay at the 3-star Asia Khiva (3Q) or a similar hotel. Enjoy a short city tour around Khiva's inner fortress, Itchan Kala, an architectural treasure trove of carefully restored mud-walled monuments. B, L, D

Day 4 Khiva to Bukhara

Join an early morning tour of the Ismail Khodja Mausoleum, the 16th-century Kunya-Ark Castle and 19th-century Muhammed Amin Khan Madrassah. Then journey across the Kyzyl-Kum or Red Desert, a route that once took camel caravans laden down with silk and spices a month to make. Arrive in Bukhara in the evening, and relish dinner at a local hotel.

Stay three nights at the 3-star Asia Bukhara (3Q) or a similar hotel. B, L, D

Day 5 Bukhara

A centre of trade and education for more than 2,000 years, Bukhara is the best example of a medieval city in Central Asia. Seek out its key sights on an included three-quarter day walking tour of its old town, including the 10th-century Samanids Mausoleum, the Citadel Ark, and the heart of sacred Bukhara – the 12th century minaret Kalon, the Kalyan Mosque and Miri Arab Madrassah. Look forward to an included dinner at a local restaurant. B, D

Day 6 Bukhara

Head out of the city for the day to learn more about the Paykend settlement, a former trading town buried by desert sands and dubbed the Asiian Pompeii. Continue to Varakhsha, where you'll find the painstakingly unearthed remains of this beautiful city of the Bukhara oasis. B, D

Day 7 Bukhara to Shakhrisabz and Samarkand

Travel to Samarkand via the ancient settlements of Kasbi, Bazda and see the remains of Erkurgan, which was abandoned in the 6th century. Stop for lunch in Shakhrisabz then visit the ruins of the ancient town of Kesh that date back to the 8th century BC.

Stay two nights at the 4-star Grand Samarkand (4Q) or a similar hotel. B, D

Day 8 Samarkand

Head out of the city to visit the Afrosiab Museum, the archaeological sites of Kafyr-kala and Jartepa. This evening enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. B, D

Day 9 Samarkand to Tashkent

Admire the colourful mosaics, blue domes and lofty arches of Registan Square on today's included tour. This grand plaza is bordered on three sides by a group of splendid structures spanning the 14th to 16th centuries, built by the Timurid dynasty. Wonder at the beauty and history of the Guri Emir Mausoleum, still a place of pilgrimage. This afternoon take the bullet train journey to Tashkent.

Stay two nights at 4-star Wyndham Hotel Tashkent (3Q). B, D

Day 10 Tashkent

Transfer to the archaeological site of Kharashkent to see the ruins of this ancient town that dates back in parts to the 2nd century BC. This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. B, D

Day 11 Tashkent-UK

Explore Tashkent on an included sightseeing tour before your return flight to the UK and your included VIP door-to-door travel service home. B