2028 Silk Road

Let’s trace the footsteps of traders, poets, and pilgrims along one of the most storied routes in history — the Silk Road. This engaging journey through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan reveals ancient cities, towering mosques, and lively bazaars where cultures once converged. 

We’ll gain insights from local experts through guided museum and archaeological site tours when we visit the iconic Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. We’ll also see one of the world’s oldest Qurans, visit world famous blue-tiled mosques, and explore the remarkable ruins of Old Nisa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and former Parthian capital. 

In Khiva, we’ll walk through perfectly preserved streets that feel frozen in time, and enjoy wandering the lanes of local caravanserai, seeing and smelling the mounds of spices that traveled the Silk Road alongside carpets and textiles. 

We’ll learn to cook local cuisines and watch the traditions of Khiva come to life at a Khorezmian music and dance show, featuring traditional instruments like the dutar and tanbur. We’ll connect with welcoming locals, hearing about enduring traditions, and gaining insight into the spiritual and cultural diversity that shaped these crossroads of civilization. 

Plus, we’ve carved out free time to engage in optional hands-on activities like silk paper making, a cooking class, or carpet weaving in Turkmenistan. 

We’re working on the details … please check back soon! Or, add your name to the interest list to be among the first to be notified when registration opens.

We’ll start in Tashkent and end in Ashgabat. You’ll be able to view – and download or print if you wish – the most up to date itinerary here.

Our intention with each tour is to provide an itinerary that introduces you to key elements related to your destination or the educational theme, while also providing some free time for you to pursue your own interests or have some down time. The balance can vary from day to day, and from tour to tour.

You’ll get the most out of study travel if you research what to do during your free time. This allows you to reap the benefits of group travel, while also customizing the tour to your interests and activity level. Read more about How to Be an Independent Group Traveler.

Karil Kucera is Professor of Art History and Asian Studies at St. Olaf. Her research centers on sacred sites, with her most recently completed work on the cliff sculptures found at the Buddhist cave site of Baodingshan in Sichuan province. This interest has produced a course entitled “Buddhism through Text and Image”, as well as a course on sacred sites of Asia. She is currently working on a digital textbook related to her sacred sites course. 

Karil has also spent a considerable amount of time pursuing issues related to the art of teaching. She has been actively involved in working with digital imaging issues, and has lectured on appropriate as well as effective usage of imagery in the classroom. She is a co-creator of a multimedia /multi-cultural/multi-institutional  Asian Studies database, the IDEAS project. IDEAS, an Image Database to Enhance Asian Studies, is available at www.ideasproject.org. Karil has also been actively working with students to put on exhibitions using materials from the St Olaf Flaten Art Museum collection. 

Karil completed her Ph.D. in Chinese art history at the University of Kansas, her Master’s degree at the University of Oregon, and her BA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to coming to St Olaf College, Karil held a postdoctoral position at the University of Washington in Seattle, and had previously taught as a visiting professor at Dartmouth and Lewis and Clark College in Portland. She has lived and traveled extensively throughout Asia and has led more than a dozen study tours to Asia for students. She will be joined by her husband, Daniel Jones, who will serve as co-leader of the group. Karil and Daniel have been traveling together in Asia for over 25 years, most recently with St Olaf alumni friends and family to Bhutan and Indonesia.

Daniel Jones is a professional botanist and ecologist with over 30 years experience studying and documenting the impacts of major projects on natural resources with specific expertise in rare plants and native plant communities. He has mapped native plant communities and conducted field surveys for state- and federally-protected endangered and threatened plants, mosses and lichens throughout the Midwest, the northern Great Plains, the Pacific Northwest and northern California. He is well versed in federal and state endangered species law and provides consultation assistance to industry and agency clients on compliance with those laws. Daniel also has expertise in the National Environmental Policy Act and its state equivalents, and has been a lead or contributing author on numerous federal and state environmental impact statements and associated documents.

Daniel has a B.S. in Botany and Plant Pathology from Michigan State University, and a M.S. in Biology (Ecology and Evolution) from the University of Oregon. He is a MN Master Naturalist, and is currently working as a senior environmental scientist with HDR, Inc., an international engineering and architectural firm based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Expect experiences that most of us have only read about!

Movement between cities will be by private motor coach. Movement within each city and at cultural/historic sites will be on foot and with public transportation, requiring a lot of walking and standing, often over uneven ground. You should be capable of walking a mile or more at a time and up to five to seven miles per day, often over uneven terrain, of climbing stairs that may not have handrails, of climbing in and out of various types of transportation, of keeping pace with an active group of travelers on long days of traveling,of dealing with the emotional highs and lows that can occur when experiencing different cultures, and be a considerate member of the group (prompt, courteous and flexible).

Any participant who has demonstrated an inability, in the opinion of the tour leader, of keeping up with the group or of safely participating in program activities may be prohibited from participating in certain activities.

You will be responsible for carrying your own luggage throughout the tour. Traveling lightly is highly recommended.

Hotels will be tourist class (four-star or superior rating) with private baths, air conditioning, and English-speaking staff.

If you’ve never traveled with a group — or spent this much on a vacation before — it’s completely normal to feel a little hesitant. But you absolutely can make this happen! Here is how we build the perfect safety net for your first big adventure: Your Tour, Your Way.

Inclusions and exclusions vary by tour, so please read the following information carefully. We try to strike a balance between nickel-and-diming you once on the tour and allowing you some freedom in your price point: including some meals and activities, for example, while making others optional or on your own. Private motor coaches throughout the tour are pricier than public transportation. Highly rated guides are essential and should command higher wages.

The tour price is PENDING and will be posted soon.

Inclusions: discussions led by Karil Kucera, a full-time guide, accommodations, breakfast daily and group meals as listed on the itinerary, admissions for group activities, ground transportation during the tour (except initial and final airport transfers), transportation between the countries, gratuities to group guides, drivers, and meal servers, and some limited medical coverage while overseas.

Exclusions: Airfare to and from Asia is not included. Participants are solely responsible for all expenses not specifically included in the tour fee. Examples of excluded expenses are: international airfare, airport transfers, any passport and visa fees, any recommended immunizations or vaccinations, baggage and trip cancellation insurance, alcoholic beverages, including at group meals, laundry, dry cleaning, phone charges, room service or other items of a personal nature, expenses incurred during free time or non-group activities, lunch and dinner, unless specifically included on tour itinerary.

This schedule is based on payments St. Olaf College must make to tour vendors to guarantee group rates. We highly recommend that you purchase additional trip cancellation insurance at the time of registration to recover your payments should you need to withdraw from the tour.

Deposit due: $500 upon registration
Refund if you cancel: $475 until July 14, 2027. If the deposit is made after July 14, 2027 there is no refund.

Interim payment due: $3,000 on July 15, 2027
Refund if you cancel: $1,500 if you cancel before February 29, 2028

Balance due: March 1, 2028
Refund if you cancel: None, unless the tour is full and your place can be resold

Cancellations must be in writing.

Read each tab carefully in the Participant Documents (coming soon).

Review the latest information on recommended immunizations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Look at the International Travel section of the U.S. State Department, including Before You Go, Country Information, While Abroad, and Emergencies.

Check your passport to ensure that it has at least 6 months’ validity past the tour return date. Should you need to renew, visit the U.S. State Department for instructions. No visa is required for U.S. citizens to visit Uzbekistan for less than 30 days. A visa is required for entry into Turkmenistan. At the appropriate time before departure, we will provide instructions on obtaining the visa.

Take time to prepare for your adventure by checking out a variety of resources, including frequently asked questions, general health information, included travel insurance, safety overview, and more.

Hold the dates of May 20–31, 2027, but do not book non-refundable air until we can confirm the tour is a go. See our Booking Your Flights page for some tips and suggestions.

Terms & Conditions
Release & Waiver (both are coming soon)