Two-day Aral Sea Tour
Tour Details
2 days
from $340 / per person
Prices
EconPrices are in $ per person and for larger groups are available upon request
Description
The unfortunate history of the Aral Sea becomes reality in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in western Uzbekistan that’s home to a plethora of monuments, diverse desert landscapes and the rich cultural heritage of the Karakalpaks. Of particular interest to many travelers is the forlorn remains of the Aral Sea port city Muynak, the soft beauty of the Ustyurt Plateau and the distinct Karakalpak language and culture.
The Aral Sea Tour packs a combination of historical, architectural, natural and cultural stops and is designed for adventurers, historical enthusiasts and fans of exotic photography. A qualified guide and driver will accompany you on both days, informing you of the rich story of this region, its natural peculiarities and the tragedy of the Aral Sea.
Program
- Arrive in Muynak to see the “Cemetery of Ships”, the former port of Muynak now home to abandoned sea vessels lodged in desert sands.
- Tour the Muynak History Museum (subject to close without prior notice). It’s a sad yet impressive place where you can see the location of the former Aral Sea from a viewing platform, climb up a lighthouse for a more all-encompassing view, and even walk down onto the dried-up seafloor to see the ships up close.
- Lunch at the guesthouse in Muynak.
- Continue driving across the boundless Ustyurt Plateau.
- You will reach the Aral Sea in late afternoon (200 km from Muynak). Stop along the way to take pictures of beautiful desert canyons and depressions.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
- After breakfast, visit the settlement Kurgancha Kala, a caravanserai and fortress dating back to the 13th century.
- Drive through Kungrad, a small town and former trading center along the Silk Road. On the way, you’ll see the remains of a lighthouse and pass by the ruins of the abandoned settlement Urga.
- Stop for a photo op at Lake Sudochie.
- Have a lunch in Kungrad before heading back to Nukus.
- On the way to Nukus, stop at the Mizdakhan Necropolis, an ancient cemetery and one of the most visited pilgrimage sites of Karakalpakstan. It includes the Mazlumkhan Sulgu Mausoleum (14th century), Mausoleum of Shamun Nabi (12th-13th century) and Halika Erjep Madrassah (9th-13th centuries).
- Continue on to the remains of the Gyaur-Kala Fortress (4th century B.C.), partially destroyed by Genghis Khan around 1220 and currently the site of archaeological excavations.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Includes
Price includes:
- All transportation on 4WD vehicle (2-4 persons, including guide);
- Private, English-speaking guide;
- Meals as listed per itinerary;
- Accommodation in the yurt camp;
- Entrance fees to the local History Museum and Mizdakhan memorial complex.
Prices
| Persons | Economy |
|---|---|
| 1 person | $800 |
| 2 persons | $450 |
| 3 persons | $340 |
| 4 persons | $400 |
per person
Booking Inquiry
Fill out the form and we will contact you shortly.
Reviews
Thank you, the service you provided was excellent. We liked our trip very much. All the drivers are very good. Our favorite was Devron, a very kind man. We wish you all the best. Kind regards Rob and Alice.
April 9 (Wednesday): Urgench – Nukus
April 10 (Thursday): Nukus – Muynak – Ustyurt Plateau – Aral Sea
April 11 (Friday): Kurgancha Kala – Sudochie Lake – Kungrad – Mizdakhan – Gyaur-Kala – Nukus
April 12 (Saturday): Nukus – Ancient Khorezm Fortress – Khiva
April 13 (Sunday): Khiva
April 14 (Monday): Khiva – Bukhara
April 15 (Tuesday): Bukhara
April 16 (Wednesday): Bukhara
April 17 (Thursday): Bukhara – Gijduvan – Navoi - Nurata - Yurt Camp
April 18 (Friday): Yurt camp/Aydarkul Lake – Samarkand
April 19 (Saturday): Samarkand
April 20 (Sunday): Samarkand
April 21 (Monday): Samarkand – Tashkent
April 22 (Tuesday): Tashkent
April 23 (Wednesday): Tashkent, departure
Thanks for everything Sultan! People loved it! Hope to come back soon. Wish u all the best and many happy customers.
15.09.2024 (Sunday) Tashkent – Nukus
16.09.2024 (Monday) Nukus - Aral Sea
17.09.2024 (Tuesday) Aral Sea - Nukus
18.09.2024 (Wednesday) Nukus - Khiva
19.09.2024 (Thursday) Khiva - Bukhara
20.09.2024 (Friday) Bukhara
21.09.2024 (Saturday) Bukhara - Samarkand
22.09.2024 (Sunday) Samarkand - Tashkent
Accommodation:
Tashkent – Praga hotel
Nukus – Pana hotel
Aral Sea – Yurt camp
Khiva – Arslan boutique
Bukhara - Minzifa boutique
Samarkand – City hotel
Guides:
Tashkent – Zohir
Khiva – Izzat
Bukhara – Venera
Samarkand – Aleksandr
Everything worked great with our Aral Sea Tour and we were very happy with it, thank you so much.
We’re coming back from the Aral Sea. One last stop before heading to our hotel. Was an amazing thing to see up there.
Tour was nice and extensive. Guide was quite funny actually. We’re back safe and sound. Thanks for your efficient and responsive planning of the tour, everything went pretty well. We’re very satisfied.
Our 11 day trip to Uzbekistan was perfectly organized. The trip across the Aral Sea was wonderful. The nights in the yurts were unforgettable for the group, and the hosts were very hospitable and kind. The route was very good and the places we visited too. Our trip was very comfortable. We really liked the jeeps.
The buses were also in excellent condition and the drivers were very good (Nukus-Khiva-Bukhara-Samarkand-Tashkent). Everyone in the group is fascinated by everything. Thank you for the whole organization of the trip to your beautiful country. The only insignificant remark is the condition of the main roads, but it is not your fault.
Very best regards
In October 2021 we had a wonderful tour of most of Uzbekistan - from the Aral Sea to Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. The tour was organised by the travel company OrexCA with personal participation of Shavkat and Sultan, both highly professional experts. The organisation was perfect - all transfers, sightseeing and all other services were provided in the best possible way. Before the tour, I always received timely answers to my questions via email, almost immediately with the best possible advice. During the tour there were no delays, no complications... simply perfect. I can only recommend the services of the Uzbek travel company OrexCA. I personally will continue to use their services for all our group tours to Uzbekistan, because it is crucial to have a reliable partner like OrexCA.
We arrived safely in Italy and we are back to work, so we miss Uzbekistan even more. We really enjoyed the country, which surprised us with its monuments, landscapes, and the warmth of the people we met.
We want to thank you so much for the organization you provided us, you really gave us a nice overview of each city, also because most of the guides we met were really professional and friendly. We loved to spend our time with Kamila (it was like wandering around with a good friend), Oktober (he is really passionate about his job, so his stories are very involving) and Timur (even if I didn't follow his suggestion to drink a whole glass of vodka to cure my stomachache!): give them our best greetings. The cemetery and the museum seen in Nukus are really worth the trip. We were at a loss for words when visiting Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, and probably this is the best order: beginning with the small cities you get slowly used to the madrassas and the mosques, but in the end Samarkand surprises you with its massive ancient buildings.
We really enjoyed our holyday and we would suggest our friends to contact you. Next time we decide to travel in that area we'll write you for sure, and we are eager to taste some Italian dish cooked by you! In exchange if you want we can try to prepare a plov for you... Talking of food, the restaurant you booked in Samarkand was really delicious, and we had so much fun with the marriage ceremony. To thank you we want to give you some fun too, so in attachment you can find a picture of us with a new smelly friend.
Thank you again for everything, we wish you all the best!
Everything O.K. and according with descriptions of tour. Hotels perfect. Driver was a good professional. I would appreciate if driver speaks in English but doesn't a really matter.
Guides: mostly good professionals specially Nina in Samarkand, Oktoyber in Aral Sea.
I recommend OrexCA.com to everyone who wants to visit Uzbekistan.
We were very pleased with our trip to Uzbekistan and your services were excellent: everything was Ok, we had a wonderful guide from Nukus to Ayaz Qala and the hotels in Khiva and Samarkand were perfect.
We would like to say thank you that our travel in Uzbekistan was a fantastic journey. There were some thinks that I would like to comment:
Hotel Boutique Amelia in Bukhara is excellent hotel for location, staff, comfort, breakfast...
Homestay in Chimgan at Rosa Miralieva house was fantastic Rosa is an excellent cooker and all the family are very nice, and we stay there like in our house.
The visit to Aral Sea takes 10 hours from Nukus to Aral Sea and the 9 hours from Aral Sea to Moynak then Moynak to Nukus and then to Khiva, that makes a very long journey. In spite we enjoy, the night in the beach was very nice, Maybe is not necessarily go as far as we went. I think it's possible to stop at the beginning of the waters of the Aral Sea.
P.S. If we return to Central Asia, we no doubt to contact another time with OrexCA.com
I want to compliment you on the excellent service you gave us for our group's trip to Khoresm and Karakalpakistan in April 2006. First, your website is impressive. You keep it current, offer detailed, accurate information with correct English and use great graphics and design. Then, when I wrote you an email, you answered all my questions promptly, which haven't had a local agency do before. Finally, your ability to do everything I asked was greatly appreciated. For instance, I wanted our gals on one floor and the guys on another and you made sure this happened. Thank you so much. And you were so flexible when we were all able to get on the earlier flight and therefore had to shift all our plans by 6 hours. Wow, we are so thankful we didn't have to sit at the Urgench Airport that whole time. Thank you, thank you for your QUICK work.
I did not expect your agent Jahongir to assist us in Khoresm. Yet, he called to see how we were doing at the yurts, on the bus, and in Nukus. Then, he met us at the Hotel Arkonchi to get us settled in, and it was his birthday! He went beyond his duty by being our tour guide the next day when the one had previously arranged could not come. He was perfect for our group of teenagers - catering the historical stories to what they would be interested in and not boring them at all! I wish he had been available for another tour in the afternoon.
All the meals that he arranged for us were excellent and he was able to get the local foods I had specifically requested with plenty of salads and drinks at a reasonable cost. We really appreciated this unexpected service.
I will highly recommend your agency to anyone in need of travel assistance in the future. We, of course, will use you for all our travel needs as well; it is great to find excellent service in Uzbekistan.