Sophie Ibbotson, an experienced tourism expert, will now be sharing her expertise as an author to our website. In her third article, she covers everything first-time visitors need to know before traveling to Uzbekistan. You can read the second article about best seasons to visit Uzbekistan here.
Sophie Ibbotson, Uzbekistan Tourism Ambassador to the UK, @uzambassador
So, you have decided to visit Uzbekistan. Congratulations! You are in for a treat. Here is my simple travel guide to travel around Uzbekistan to help you plan a fascinating, rewarding trip to the heart of Central Asia, the jewel of the Silk Road.
Before you go
If you have been scanning magazines and social media for travel inspiration, you may already have a few ideas about where to go and what to expect when visiting Uzbekistan. To help with your planning, I recommend buying a guidebook from an authoritative travel publisher. My guidebook, Uzbekistan, is published by the award-winning British publisher Bradt Travel Guides, and the fully-updated 4th edition will be ready in 2025, and I also wrote the first full length guidebook to Karakalpakstan. But if you’re intending to travel across multiple republics on the same trip, Lonely Planet’s more concise Central Asia guide is a good alternative. All my recommended guidebooks to the region are available online from Amazon here.
Most first-time visitors to Central Asia choose to book their trip with a tour operator: this takes away much of the stress of planning and organising your itinerary, and means you have someone to help if you need to make changes or have problems. There are many experienced tour operators based in Uzbekistan that are used to working with foreign tourists, the best one for you will depend on your interests and budget. As a starting point, I recommend Caravan and Veres Vert for cultural tours, Marakanda Travel and peopletravel for active tours and adventure travel, Nuratau Travel for community-based tourism, and Sezam Travel for women-only trips.
Travelling independently is possible but not always cheaper, as tour operators often have access to wholesale discounts. If you do make your own plans and bookings, do consult Indy Guide to find local drivers and guides. Their services will enrich your travel experience and enable you to discover wider parts of Uzbekistan.
Most nationalities can visit Uzbekistan visa-free for up to 90 days, but do check the latest information as there are some surprises: US and Indian passport holders need to apply for an evisa, for example. If you do need an evisa, apply at least two weeks before you travel at e-visa.gov.uz.
Getting there
Uzbekistan is now well served with international flights direct from destinations across Asia and Europe, and there are also flights on other key routes such as Tashkent — New York. Uzbekistan Airways is the national carrier and operates most of the international routes, and you can check flight schedules and book tickets on their website, as well as via travel agents and price comparison sites. Not all flights are daily, so if the destination you want isn’t showing up, do check nearby dates.
Several budget airlines have entered the Uzbek market, operating a limited number of routes at very competitive prices. Flying from the UAE, check prices with flydubai and WIZZ. IndiGo flies from New Delhi. For connecting flights, Turkish Airlines tends to have the most options: from Istanbul you can fly not only to Tashkent but also to Bukhara, Namangan, Nukus, Samarkand, and Urgench — the airport closest to Khiva.
If you are already travelling in Central Asia, it is straightforward to reach Uzbekistan by road or rail. Train lovers should consult Man in Seat 61 for routes, schedules, and prices. If you need help booking train tickets, Advantour is excellent. Caravanistan has reliable, up to date information on all international border crossings. Please note that at the time of writing this article, it is not allowed for foreigners to cross the border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Getting around
Wherever possible, I recommend taking the train in Uzbekistan. On many routes it is the quickest, most comfortable, most affordable, and most environmentally friendly way to travel. The high speed electric train service, Afrosiyob, links Tashkent with destinations including Bukhara, Karshi, Navoi, and Samarkand, and will soon be extended to Khiva and Nukus. To many other destinations there is a slower diesel train service.
You can check train schedules and book tickets on the Uzbekistan Railways website and app. If you are paying with a foreign Visa or MasterCard, it is better to use the app as the payment system is more reliable. Afrosiyob tickets are in high demand and often sell out, so book them as early as possible. If your desired departure is sold out, Advantour can often get them for you for a small surcharge. Tashkent has an excellent metro, where many of the stations are attractions in their own rights.
If time is of the essence, you may wish to take a domestic flight in Uzbekistan. The Tashkent — Nukus and Tashkent — Urgench routes are particularly popular with tourists due to the length of the journey by road or rail. Most domestic flights are operated by Uzbekistan Airways but there are some budget options, including Silk Avia, so it is worth checking their website, too.
There are plenty of reasons you may need and want to travel by road, including within cities and to reach smaller locations. It is more common to book a car and driver together than to just rent a car, but if you do wish to do the latter, SIXT has an office in Tashkent and peopletravel also offers self-drive tours. Small minibuses called mashrutkas operate set routes in cities, and taxis are easy to commonplace: you can hail one on the street or use the Yandex app, which works like Uber.
Where to stay
Your accommodation in Uzbekistan will largely depend on your tastes and budget, but in most tourist destinations there is now a wide choice of options. International brand hotels are well represented in Tashkent, with a few other properties in Samarkand and Bukhara, but I generally prefer to stay in boutique hotels and guesthouses. What they may lack in facilities they more than make up for in character and hospitality. You can also stay a night or two in a yurt — most of the yurt camps are in Navoi Region and Karakalpakstan.
Relatively few hotels in Uzbekistan have their own websites, and their social media usage is patchy. Your best option is therefore to use booking.com as most properties are now listed there. Using this platform also helps get around any language barrier, and you can check the availability and pricing and make a booking immediately. I’ve shortlisted my top 10 hotel recommendations in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, and put a collection of my favourite hotels from cities across Uzbekistan in a separate Twitter thread.
If you can, I also suggest booking a few guesthouses and homestays, especially in rural areas. This form of community-based tourism will give you authentic cultural experiences and the chance to enjoy local hospitality, all at an affordable price.
What to see and do
Classic sightseeing itineraries in Uzbekistan focus on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva. Whilst these are must-sees for a first time visitor, they represent a fraction of the country’s treasures, and I urge everyone to travel beyond the beaten path to experience more of what Uzbekistan has to offer.
I’m fascinated by archaeology and believe it is important to understand Uzbekistan’s ancient history in order to make sense of the medieval period and the present day. Although you can find archaeological sites almost everywhere, the greatest concentrations of them are in Karakalpakstan and Surkhandarya. Karakalpakstan has more than 50 desert fortresses, as well as necropolises and a Zoroastrian tower of silence, and around Termez you can see evidence of Uzbekistan’s Buddhist past, especially in the monasteries of Fayaz Tepe and Kara Tepe. Kampir Tepe — recently identified as the lost city of Alexandria-on-the-Oxus — is unmissable.
Lovers of applied arts will be in their element in Uzbekistan. The State Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent is a good starting point, but I also recommend the smaller applied arts collections at the Friday Mosque in Kokand, the Sitorai Mokhi Khosa in Bukhara, and the Savitsky Museum in Nukus. There are numerous opportunities to see artisans at work: Gijduvan and Rishtan are major centres for ceramics; Margilan is the heart of silk production and weaving; and there are high quality handmade carpet factories in Samarkand and Khiva. If you want to buy suzanis — traditional embroideries, either vintage or modern, the best shops are in Bukhara, but Jamshed Yakubov also has a superb selection of antique pieces in Urgut.
Uzbekistan’s natural landscapes are too often overlooked, but are the ideal playground for adventurous travellers and nature lovers. If you travel to Uzbekistan in winter, you can ski and snowboard in Tashkent Region. The modern ski resort of Amirsoy is particularly well equipped. Later in the year, in these same mountains you can hike, horse ride, raft and canoe, and swim in idyllic lakes. I also recommend venturing south to Surkhandarya, where there are dramatic canyons and waterfalls, and to the more gentle scenery of the Nuratau-Kyzylkum Biosphere Reserve. The best birding in Uzbekistan is at Aidarkul — Navoi and Jizzakh Regions, and at Sudochye Lakes in Karakalpakstan, where you can even see a flamboyance of flamingoes!
Other travel tips for Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s national currency is the soum — UZS. It isn’t fully convertible, which means you won’t be able to exchange your travel money at home before your trip. Although many larger businesses will now accept foreign Visa and MasterCards, cash is still king. I usually withdraw cash from an ATM when I arrive: there’s a convenient ATM by the baggage carousels in the arrivals hall at Tashkent International Airport, but you can also exchange USD and EUR at banks and official exchange counters. It is possible to exchange GBP too, but the exchange rate isn’t as good.
The cheapest and easiest way to have internet on the go is to buy a local SIM card when you arrive. Ucell, Mobi.uz, and Beeline are popular networks and have good coverage. You can get a SIM card from the tourist information desk at Tashkent International Airport or in any of the networks’ offices, but will need to show your passport. If you are planning to stay in Uzbekistan for longer than 60 days, or are returning for a second trip, you will also need to register your handset with UZIMEI.
Tap water isn’t always drinkable in Uzbekistan, so as in many places in the world, single use plastic bottles are a problem. To get around this issue, and help protect the environment, I travel with a Water-to-Go bottle that has a filter in it. I can fill the bottle from anywhere — including springs and streams — and be confident that the water will be safe to drink.
It is illegal to import a drone into Uzbekistan without a permit from the Civil Aviation Authority. You must apply for the permit at least one month before your trip, via an Uzbek Embassy abroad. Failure to get a permit before you travel may result in the seizure of your drone by customs, and/or prosecution, so take the requirement seriously.
