Superb tour through the 'Five Stans of the Silk Road'! I can honestly say as a seasoned traveller the 'Five Stans of the Silk Road' tour was one of the best I've been on! In a well-planned and packed 3-week itinerary we got to compare & contrast the highlights of five countries in Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan) each with its own distinct culture, history and approach to life. Exodus provided local guides for each country to ensure we got beneath the surface to learn more about the people. We stayed in a variety of excellent accommodation from plush hotels to lakeside yurts and the food was usually locally sourced, freshly cooked and delicious. An endlessly fascinating and thoroughly recommended for anyone with a sense of adventure and desire to learn about & experience a little-known corner of the world!
Just back from the Five Golden Stans trip. Great group of travellers and Anya was a fantastic guide. The trip was exciting, challenging, invigorating, educational and culturally different. Would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about a part of the world which is unknown to Westerners. Be prepared to experience wonderful culture, great food and the friendliest and most hospitable people. Previously, The Persian Caravan was my favorite journey, but the Five Golden Stans may just beat it! Well done, tour operator!
The must see's of the Five Stans This is my 17th trip with Exodus and this has been one of the best so far, if not the best. There is so much to see, though there is quite a lot of travelling to enable this to happen. However the scenery, mostly deserts and mountains, are delightful. The accommodation ranged from the sublime (A Sheraton!) to the plain and simple, homestays, which gave us an even better chance to interact with local people. If you have the time to do this trip, do it, the scenery is stunning and the history of this region is the history of the civilised world. Brilliant!