Shared taxi

Hi,

From Khiva, the only shared taxis I know of go to Urgench. In Urgench you can definitely find shared taxis to Bukhara, though I think all the way to Samarkand might be stretching it (I think the shared taxis will go anywhere if they get paid enough money, but I would have thought finding other passengers traveling direct to Samarkand would be difficult). The best way to do this journey by shared taxi would be Khiva-Urgench-Bukhara-Samarkand. You can also take the train from Urgench to Samarkand, which will be more comfortable and much less hassle, though I don't think there's one every day.

Giora

Agree with #1. Urgench-Bukhara is long enough. I can't imagine locals taking one to samarkand. They're likely to hop on a train.

I traveled all the way from Khiva to Samarkand in one day via shared taxis, and it was a very long day. As the others have noted above, you will need to do it in several stages. My advice? Start out as early as you can. This is because you are more likely to find others heading to Samarkand from Bukhara the earlier you leave. I ended up having to pay for all four seats from Bukhara to Navoi (partway), and then found others to share the fare from Navoi to Samarkand.

Your hotel staff can find out the time the earliest shared taxis to Urgench leave from Khiva.

At the Urgench bazaar, your shared taxi should be able to take you to the place where the Urgench-Bukhara taxis leave. Ask before you get get in if your driver will take you to the Bukhara - Samarkand "avtostancia" in Bukhara. If he won't, find one who will. (There will likely be several vying for your fare.)

But I agree with the others, also, that if you don't have to do it all in one day, I wouldn't.