The 5 Stan-s - Follow in the footsteps of Genghis Khan

Traveler Reviews

• GN

  Glen2.7•October 2026
  This was our second experience with Penguin and many of the downsides of our first tour in Saudi Arabia were greatly...
  This was our second experience with Penguin and many of the downsides of our first tour in Saudi Arabia were greatly amplified in the 5 Stans Tour. On the plus side, it is a very full program and you do have a lot included and some priceless cities in the program. The downside is that the pacing of the tour leads to a number of exhausting 6-7 hour plus bus travel in a single day that greatly impacts your enjoyment of those destinations. This is compounded by the fact that Penguin just co-ordinates five tour independent tour providers in each of the five countries so it is definitely hit and miss. The 8 local guides throughout the tour ranged from adequate to extremely poor. The vans/buses used were also problematic. In Kyrgysztan the van was inadequate for 15 guests and their luggage which led to four days of cramped and uncomfortable travel. In Almaty we ended up having to do a 4.5 km route march through the city because the driver broke his door to his van and was unable to close it. in Tajikistan, our bus broke down leading again to a 3km hike on highway followed by a vertical 100m climb to a restaurant the co-ordinator had selected for a lunch. we had no say in choosing whether to use ground level alternatives that were available before the vertical mountain hike. In Turkmenistan, our local guide did not surface at the border until we had been there for two hours and so did not help facilitate entry. As a result we had a six hour border wait to get through. Groups behind us got in ahead of us because their local guides seem to be able to facilitate a quicker entry. Penguin had also not warned us that Turkmenistan has a compulsory COVID test at the border -- which resulted in a nosebleed for my partner from the doctor's jab which led to recurrent problems until we got to Istanbul airport after the tour. Overall, the tour is best organized in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It is quite horrific in Turkmenistan and poor in Tajikistan. In hindsight I wish we had chosen an alternative that dodged Turkmenistan completely. The hotels are also hit and miss. Some were excellent and above expectations. The worst was the hotel Sarazm Plaza in Penjikent, Tajikistan where we had a 60 square foot room with a bed but no furniture -- we had to request two chairs from the breakfast room so we could at least sit in the room. All in all, the 5 stans are well worth visiting but I think Penguin botched the organization and flow of the 20 days and made some terrible choices of local partners in some countries. We don't regret going but I think I can safely say we will not choose Penguin again. I also do not understand their "300 euro per person fee" payable onsite. According to the material received from Penguin that amount paid was apparently "discounted from the total price of the invoice" but I see nothing on the invoices that indicates that occurred. I can also assure that if the fee is for unexpected group costs for the Penguin co-ordinator to handle, it would have been less than 50 euros per person overall, not 300. The five stans are definitely worth visiting. Penguin is not however a partner I would trust to run a balanced and enjoyable program. They quite literally put together some travel days between cities where you wish you were no longer on the trips -- and their trip documentation and narrative consistently under plays the very real physical challenges and length of time of the journeys between cities. Buyer beware on this one.Show more
  Traveled in September 2026
• LV

  line3.7•October 2026
  What a magnificent journey through Central Asia! Traveling across all Five Stans was a true highlight: from...
  What a magnificent journey through Central Asia! Traveling across all Five Stans was a true highlight: from Turkmenistan’s unique architecture and Uzbekistan’s iconic Silk Road history, to the majestic mountains of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan’s untouched landscapes, and the vast beauty of Kazakhstan. A big shoutout to our trip leader, Ivalo, who was simply top-tier! His broad general knowledge gave so much depth to everything we saw. What I admired most is his passion for learning and seeking out new encounters along the route—it kept the whole adventure fresh and exciting. A five-star experience with a phenomenal guide! MichelineShow more
  Traveled in September 2026
• MD

  Mileta3.8•October 2026
  This was a very good tour. I loved seeing countries that I knew nothing about. And it was great to have such a...
  This was a very good tour. I loved seeing countries that I knew nothing about. And it was great to have such a wonderful tour leder. Ivo was so knowledgable and helpful. He did everything and a lot more to make everybody happy. The itinerary was very good. Every day brought a new surprise. Mostly good suprises! Of corse there were some things that could have been better such as some of the hotels and the bus in the first country which was too small. And some of the local guides were a bit boring. I recommend the tour to anybody whop wants to see central AsiaShow more
  Traveled in September 2026
• JF

  Joanna4.0•October 2026
  Spectacular varied history geography, religion mosaics, architecture, Cities, & countryside, Hiking, lakes,...
  Spectacular varied history geography, religion mosaics, architecture, Cities, & countryside, Hiking, lakes, waterfalls, From Sand, dunes to glaciers. Excellent tripShow more
  Traveled in September 2026
• AN

  Andrei4.0•October 2026
  This tour of 5 Stans through the Silk Road for 21 days was a worthy gem at affordable cost. I wish i could go on for...
  This tour of 5 Stans through the Silk Road for 21 days was a worthy gem at affordable cost. I wish i could go on for another week or two since i felt like it wasn’t long enough. Too many things to absorb and not enough time. The best part of the tour beside the busy itinerary was the tour leader. Ivaylo from Bulgaria was one of the best tour guides i ever had. He did his best to have every detail of the packed itinerary in great control. He was knowledgeable, patient and helpful in supporting the group needs on a daily basis. His own vast experience in travelling the world himself gave us valuable input in different aspects of travel especially in land border crossings and black market currency exchange etc. Most hotels were around average quality. Breakfast quality and options were not consisteny among different hotels but it was sufficient for me most days. There were not a big variety of international options for cuisines in these 5 countries. The weather was excellent in late September through mid October. Local people were friendly and it felt safer walking around in big cities here compared to similar cities in Europe. I would definitely come back to a handful of places that I didn’t have enough time to explore this time with only 1-2 nights.Show more
  Traveled in September 2026
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  David3.5•October 2026
  Initial transport for 15 plus 2 guides plus luggage was too small. I felt we maybe could have started earlier each...
  Initial transport for 15 plus 2 guides plus luggage was too small. I felt we maybe could have started earlier each day so we would have more time at our next destination to settle in.Overall I enjoyed the tour.Show more
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  Traveled in September 2026
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  ron4.0•October 2026
  My wife and I went on the 5 Stans tour. Over the past twenty years, we have travelled on dozens of group tours. A...
  My wife and I went on the 5 Stans tour. Over the past twenty years, we have travelled on dozens of group tours. A key component of these tours is the quality of the tour leader. Our leader, Ivo, was fantastic. Knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. Nothing was too much trouble for him. We had several local guides at various places; most were OK, but the one in Tashkent was dreadful. The itinerary was good, although I could have done with a few less city tours. There is one part of the itinerary that could be improved, and that is the two train journeys. One was at 5:20 in the morning, and the other was at 10:20 at night. As a result, there was a lot of time wasted on these two days. There are other trains at more convenient times that could have been booked. If tickets on those trains were unavailable, regular commercial buses ran throughout the day. It would have been much better to take four hours and arrive in Bukhara at 6 pm than to take 1 hour 40 minutes and arrive at midnight. The hotels were generally acceptable, apart from the one in Penjikent. A huge room with almost no furniture and a bed that felt like lying on concrete. The two homestays were very good. We spent a lot of time travelling on buses. The bus provided in Kyrgyzstan was terrible, very cramped and not suitable for anyone of normal size. The other buses were much better. Overall, we enjoyed this tour a great deal, and learned a lot about countries that relatively few foreigners visit.Show more
  Traveled in September 2026
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  Sacha4.5•October 2026
  My first tour ever. Chose Penguin for it, and definitely don’t regret it. Had a tour leader for the tour and local...
  My first tour ever. Chose Penguin for it, and definitely don’t regret it. Had a tour leader for the tour and local guides in each destination. The tour leader spoke some Russian, which helped a lot in this region. Ivo was knowledgeable and always went out of his way to make sure most of the group were on board with the plan for the day. If every tour is run at this standard, I might make it a habit.Show more
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  Traveled in October 2026
• EN

  Eniko4.5•October 2026
  This is a review of the 21 day trip to the 5 Stans by Penguin Travel. ITINERARY - Overall, I think Penguin has a...
  This is a review of the 21 day trip to the 5 Stans by Penguin Travel. ITINERARY - Overall, I think Penguin has a very good itinerary for this trip. It includes a good combination of nature and culture. A couple things I personally would change: - In Tashkent, we spent about an hour in rush hour riding the packed metro to see some stations. I found this unnecessary and unpleasant. I would just go down to the Cosmonaut station, look at it and go back up. The stations don’t measure up to Moscow’s, and the time would be better spent exploring the waterfront, for example. - There was practically no time in Dushanbe. We arrived after dark, and left in the morning. I struggle to even call it a stop on the route, instead of just a layover for sleep. We did walk around a little bit in the dark. - Immediately after Dushanbe is the optional trip to the 7 lakes. The lakes themselves are nice; but it requires 2 nights in Penjikent in a horrible hotel (more on that later). If anyone opts not to do the lakes trip, there is nothing to do in town. Plus, it requires backtracking when coming out of Panjikent to get back on route to the next destination. Unless more time can be dedicated to Dushanbe, I would skip this leg altogether. There are other nice lakes on the way. ACCOMODATION - My absolute favorite was the guesthouse in Karakol. The rooms were beautiful, and the demonstration of the traditional instruments in the evening was great. - The homestay in Chon Kemin is mediocre. The walls of the house (both inside and out) were OSB boards, that just seemed that they ran out of money before putting up the façade and interior wall covering. Also, water was either just dripping, or not coming out at all. - The first yurt camp in Issyk Kul was beautiful. Very nice yurts and good showers. The second yurt camp in Darvaza is very primitive, with just dripping water (not enough to even consider a shower). - Most hotels were good, with the exception of Ashgabat and Panjikent. Both had stained sheets and dirty towels, stinky bathrooms, and overall places that you just don’t want to touch if you can avoid it. I used a sleeping bag liner and that helped a little. FOOD - All breakfasts are included, and most were good Some better than others. Ashgabat was horrible. - I would not even bother buying a lunch on the way from Bukhara to Khiva. They are small and mostly inedible portions, and they charge more than some very good meals elsewhere. A snack would have been more worthwhile. - Portion sizes in Turkmenistan tended to be at least twice as big as in the other countries. TRANSPORTATION - In Kyrgyzstan and Kazahstan we were in Sprinter vans. There were 15 guests plus the tour leader, guide and driver, plus all the luggage. The vans were fully packed with people and luggage, with suitcases spilling over into the seats. There were even suitcases in the aisle, that had to be moved when we needed to get in an hour. It was not safe, and definitely not comfortable. - Eventually Penguin sent a second vehicle to carry the luggage and later used a bigger bus, but it took them a week, two countries and several complaints to do so. GUIDES - We were lucky to get a very good tour leader. He was professional, friendly, and handled tour logistics well. - Some local guides were decent, some were outstanding (eg the lady in Almaty and the lady in Samarkant), and one was absolutely abysmal (the guy in Tajikistan). - We should have gotten better leadership/guidance for the border crossing into Turkmenistan. We left Khiva at 7:30, got to the border just before 9, and crossed at 3pm. We should have left at 6am to avoid the crowds. TIPPING - Some guides/drivers change every day, and in some cases we have more than one driver a single day (or in the case of the border crossing to Turkmenistan, 3 drivers). That is a lot of small change in local currency that needs to be managed. - It might work better if all the tip money (plus a little extra) were collected by the tour leader in the beginning. At the end of each day, the group could rate the guide, and tipping would be made according to the rating. - This would enable a) easier cash management, b) ensuring that every guest pays equally, and c) encourage guides to do a good job. It makes no sense for a great local guide to be compensated equally as one that just comes along for the ride. TOUR SETUP - Penguin should cap this trip at about 12 people. We were 15, which is too many for the smaller vehicles, the uneven number makes it hard to rotate seats, and often feels like too large of a group. - There should also be a rule for luggage size accepted for this tour. Ideally each passenger should be able to handle their on bags. Luggage needs to be moved every day, in and out of vehicles, up stairs, dragged across border crossings, etc. As mentioned, luggage didn’t even fit properly in vehicles in the beginning. Also, the group leaders should not be expected to handle everyone’s humongous suitcase. HEALTH PROTOCOL - This could be a controversial suggestion, but I think it would be nice to establish from he beginning that if someone has a respiratory illness, they should wear a mask. The local guide should have a box of masks to give out as needed. This might prevent a cold from going around in the group. NET PROMOTER SCORE: 9 - It was a good trip, and a good value. As everything, it has a few opportunities for improvement, and some would be quite easy to change. If anyone is more independent and doesn’t particularly enjoy group travel, the 4 countries (except for Turkmenistan) can also be done alone – although it would take a bit more time and energy in logistics.Show more
  Traveled in September 2026
• TM

  Tehseen4.2•October 2026
  Very well organised trip , with a tour guide all the way plus local guides in every city . Great itenarary .Enjoyed...
  Very well organised trip , with a tour guide all the way plus local guides in every city . Great itenarary .Enjoyed the whole trip gives you a very good intro with room to enjoy later extensive tours . Well done to penguin and your radar . Radka was exceptional.Show more
  Traveled in August 2026