Central Asia - 5 Stans

Customer Reviews

• ED

  Emily

  · November 2nd, 2024
  Here are some of my thoughts on the tour from Oct 1st-19th. Eating meals in local restaurants was wonderful. We got to try the local food while knowing that the price of all of our meals was covered. This was a big selling feature for me when choosing a tour. Overall, the tour was very well organized and laid out. We got a good mix of modern and ancient while experiencing the local culture. Being able to shop at the bazaars was a fun experience and gave us the opportunity to see a wide range of items. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Ilya was a fabulous guide who was full of good information and always willing to change the itinerary on the fly when we wanted to do something else, like go to the chocolate factory. He had a great sense of humour and we all enjoyed his company. The Kazzhol Park Hotel was very nice and I would recommend it. The food was good and the staff were friendly and helpful. The falcon show was a highlight for sure and very enjoyable. The Ramada Hotel in Bishkek was good and the musical performance that evening was outstanding. The walk in the mountains in Kyrgystan was a nice break from the pollution and hustle and bustle of the cities. The visit to the Burana Tower was the first time that I felt I was truly on the Silk Road and I'm glad we got there. Uzbekistan I would go back to Uzbekistan in a heartbeat. It had everything, history, magnificent buildings, great food and friendly people. I loved the compact ancient cities. That was what I expected Central Asia to be like. Samarkand was a big highlight for me. Rimma was one of the best guides I have ever had. Her language skills were excellent and she had an encyclopedic knowledge of the sites we went to. She always made sure that we were looked after and had boundless energy. The Lotte Hotel in Tashkent was like home to me. It was comfortable and welcoming. The staff were great in helping us store our bags in the luggage room. The other hotels were fine but nothing else lived up to the Lotte. Turkmenistan Getting across the border was challenging as we expected. It took us 2 hours to navigate the various windows and fees. Our guide, Barashim came to rescue me when I was the only one in my group left. It was an interesting place, still very Soviet in style and closed. However,we found the people engaging and anxious to have their pictures taken with tourists. That was actually quite endearing. Nissa and Old Merv were fascinating. The Mary Hotel was fine but had the strangest breakfast I have ever seen. Food was served on plates covered in plastic wrap from a counter. The Yuluz in Ashgabat was spectacular and it was nice to have spent two nights there. Tajikistan It would have been nice to spend more time there and perhaps visit the capital. The museum was nice and the inlaid murals were breathtaking. Overall the trip was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone. I'm looking forward to the Caucasus trip next September.
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  Trip date: October 2024
• DT

  David

  · November 4th, 2023
  I absolutely loved this tour, and I highly recommend it. This was so well organized, and the local tour guides we had were like rock stars. They were the best. We were fortunate to have chosen East Site. We saw a couple other tour companies, and we were so glad we weren't part of what those other companies were doing. East Site is definitely the best at the 5 Stans.
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  Trip date: October 2023
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  David

  · October 24th, 2023
  This is a very well run tour carried out by a small group of people actually from Central Asia. It is all inclusive except for tips for the driver and guides and the difficult to obtain visa from Turkmenistan is included. Accommodations and meals are excellent. I would hardly recommend this tour. But the operator know what you think
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  Trip date: September 2023
• BF

  Brenda

  · October 23rd, 2023
  Good value for money. I kive that meals in local restaurants are covered
  Trip date: October 2023
• CD

  Charles

  · June 26th, 2023
  East Site isn’t a real travel company. It is one overwhelmed woman in NJ and its “Tashkent office” is one Russian who cannot speak any English. They contract with the same local guides most other international travel companies use, but they are incredibly unresponsive and don’t confirm details until the very last minute, in my case, when the trip was well underway. Their way of doing business created a lot of unnecessary stress, their itineraries were often outdated and changed without notice. Those changes had nothing to do with the “developing” nature of the region, it was because they were based on years old or just inaccurate information. Had I known how poorly they would have performed, it would have been a much better value to pay a little more money for a professional experience. I’d avoid them at all costs in the future.
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  East Site Inc commented on this review

  Dear Charles, so sorry to hear about your disappointing experience on our tour. We've been a leading Central Asia tour operator since 2005, and I'm sad our expertise didn't meet your expectations. I wish you provided a little more details as to what we... Show more
  Trip date: May 2023
• GO

  George

  · November 7th, 2022
  Too many mosques Too much repetition R
  Trip date: October 2022
• B

  BobFoster

  · December 23rd, 2020
  We traveled with East Site two years ago. They obtained our visas. All the hotels were 4* and centrally located. Professional guides. Daily unlimited bottles of complimentary water.
  Trip date: May 2018
• E

  EmmaKelly

  · December 23rd, 2020
  The trip was amazing. It was 5 Stans with 4*hotels, cool guides and drivers, interesting details of our itinerary: such as Abdulla's pottery, it was an absolute bloody master class, I made two Uzbek local "Rishtan" bowls.
  Trip date: April 2019
• C

  CharlieMartin

  · December 23rd, 2020
  East Site helped celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary while we were traveling through Central Asia in September 2019. Thank you for your hospitality, Julia.
  Trip date: September 2019
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  ElizaYoung

  · December 22nd, 2020
  5 Stans that we did in September 2019 - it was a first-class customer service. Transport - were new models, clean, well maintained. Our guide was very punctual and professional. Luxury hotels, tickets for the theater, business class railway tickets, presents from the company etc. Thank you.
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  Trip date: September 2019