Most Inspirational Moment
Seven lakes Tajikistan was stunning.
Cities of Khiva and Bhukara were great.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ocsana in Kyrgyzstan was friendly, sweet and helpful.
Our Turkmenistan guide was very good. Very engaging. Simple straightforward information. I have forgotten his name!
Sergi in Uzbekistan/ Tajikistan was very poor. He prattled on for hours, talking very loudly into a microphone while driving in the bus. Reading page after page of statistics, history etc from his iPad. Completely vacuous that most of us were wearing noise cancelling headphones to block it out. After spending 4 hours in a bus we would stop at a market and he would announce : go to the toilet and you can look around for 12 minutes!! Yet we would spend 90 minutes at a horribly busy lunch spot with poor service and long waits.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The travel times are way longer than what’s stated. Be prepared to see a ton of mosques mausoleums. Some ancient sites were not worth the drive. I wish there would have been more natural sites or cultural activities vs so many historical sites. For instance passengers in our group organized an archery and falconry demonstration. And another arranged a viewing of a game of “goat polo”. Neither of these things was on the itinerary but were refreshing and fun.
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Reply from Exodus
We’re grateful to Nickey for leaving a review, and we’re glad she found Seven Lakes in Tajikistan to be stunning and enjoyed the cities of Khiva and Bukhara. It’s also great to hear that our guide in Kyrgyzstan was friendly, sweet and helpful, and that our Turkmenistan leader was engaging and effective.
We’re sorry that the pacing and amount of travel time on certain days detracted from Nickey’s experience – this is a full on trip covering five countries in a relatively short period of time but we’ve acted on this feedback and have revised the itinerary to reduce long road journeys and improve the flow of the trip: the visit to Kunya Urgench now takes place on the day of the border crossing from Khiva into Turkmenistan (so sightseeing isn’t pushed into the evening), the gas crater has been removed because the flames are diminishing and it’s no longer the highlight it once was, and, crucially, the poor‑quality road section to and from the crater has been eliminated and replaced with a flight between Dashoguz and Ashgabat. We’ve also added a train journey between Samarkand and Bukhara to bring more variety and cut back a road transfer.
We’ve noted Nickey’s comments about breakfasts. Hotels in Turkmenistan offer limited morning options, so for 2026 we’re arranging for the leader to carry fruit on the bus for anyone who’d like something extra alongside what’s provided at the hotels.
We also recognised Nickey and her group’s the desire for more cultural and nature‑focused moments alongside the rich history. An eagle‑hunting demonstration is now included in the trip, adding hands‑on local culture to complement the historical sites.
We hugely appreciate Nickey taking the time to share such detailed feedback about this itinerary. We’re glad she found there to be some really memorable highlights, and we appreciate the candid suggestions that have directly shaped improvements we have made to the trip for future travellers.
– Thomas Manchester, Exodus Product Manager for Central Asia
