Bukhara Day Trip from Samarkand: By Train or by Car, and What to See

Samarkand and Bukhara are the two great Silk Road cities, about 277 km apart. Many travellers base themselves in Samarkand and ask whether Bukhara can be done as a day trip. It can — with the right transport and an early start. This guide explains the two ways to do it, what fits into one day in Bukhara, and when a night there is the better plan.

Key facts

• Distance: about 277 km by road.
• By train: the Afrosiyob high-speed train takes about 1.5–2 hours between the stations; the slower Sharq about 2.5–3 hours (as of October 2026).
• By car: about 4–5 hours each way with our driver, depending on traffic and stops.
• Stations: Samarkand station is more than 6 km from the Registan; Bukhara station is about 12 km from the old town.
• Our advice: for a day trip take the train; for the road and its stops, go one way by car and stay the night.

By train: there and back in one day

The train makes the day trip comfortable. Take a morning Afrosiyob to Bukhara, spend the day in the old town and return on an evening train. Remember that both stations are outside the historic centres: allow time for the ride to the station, the ticket and security check at the entrance, and the ride from Bukhara station to the old town. Tickets for popular trains can sell out, so book early. See our Afrosiyob train guide and Afrosiyob tickets and booking.

By car: the stops on the old Silk Road

By car the drive takes longer, but it starts at your hotel door and you can stop on the way: the portal of the Rabat-i-Malik caravanserai, the domed Sardoba Malik water cistern beside it, and the pottery workshops of Gijduvan. There and back by car in one day means 8–10 hours on the road, so we suggest the car for one direction and a night in Bukhara. Compare the two in Samarkand to Bukhara by car or by train.

What to see in Bukhara in one day

Bukhara's historic centre is compact and walkable, so one well-planned day covers the essentials:

• The Ark — the fortress of the emirs, with its sloping crenellated walls.
• Po-i-Kalyan — the Kalyan Minaret, the Kalyan Mosque and the turquoise domes of the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah.
• Lyab-i Hauz — the old pool under mulberry trees with the Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasah, a good place for tea and lunch.
• The Samanid Mausoleum — a perfect cube of patterned brickwork, one of the oldest monuments in Central Asia.
• Chor Minor — the small gatehouse with four turquoise-domed towers.

With a local guide you see these in a few hours and still have time for the trading domes and the bazaar. See our Bukhara city tour.

Another way: Shakhrisabz on the way to Bukhara

If you are moving on from Samarkand to Bukhara anyway, the day can become a tour of its own: our Samarkand to Bukhara day tour goes through Shakhrisabz, Amir Timur's birthplace, and the village of Langar-Ota, and ends at your hotel in Bukhara.

Day trip or a night in Bukhara?

A day trip shows you the main sights. A night in Bukhara shows you the old town in the evening, when the domes and minarets are lit and the day visitors have left, and lets you see it without hurrying. If your plan allows, give Bukhara at least one night — see Bukhara and Samarkand in 2 days.

Plan it with TravelBliss

We arrange train tickets, the transfers to and from the stations, a private car with a driver for the road, and a local guide in Bukhara. Write to us on WhatsApp with your dates and we will put the day together.