Going to Uzbekistan? Awesome! We are not surprised you want to see the tons of jaw-dropping architecture in the world, explore fascinating Silk Road cities and experience some of the most epic train rides in the world. Before you go, read our post that will prepare you for your upcoming journey. Anything from the basic information to our insider tips, we got you covered. We travelled to Uzbekistan in June 2022, so all the information is after the pandemic. 

You don’t need the letter of invitation anymore, making it very easy for most nationalities to get a 30-day free visa on arrival. What are you waiting for? Uzbekistan is all ready for travellers. 

Bureaucracy

1. Visa 

Just a few years ago, the Uzbek government eased the entry requirements from the necessity of a letter of invitation to the possibility of getting a 30-day free visa on arrival for most nationalities. 

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2. Hotel registration

It is mandatory in Uzbekistan that your hotel does online registration as a confirmation you stayed with them the night. Basically, they give you a registration paper confirming that and once you are leaving the country, you will show these papers to the officials. Officially you need to have a paper proving you stayed in the hotel for every night of your stay. In reality, nobody even asked about these when we were crossing the borders between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In case you bump in the officer who wants to see it and you don’t have it, you can get a fine. If you are camping, we believe if you prove it with photos or the same payment slips from restaurants, trains or buses, you can get along with it, but again, you never know. 

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3. Covid 19

As of June 2022, Uzbekistan recently scrapped all the entry requirements, making it very easy to travel to Uzbekistan. Doesn’t matter your vaccination status; you can freely come in without making any test. 

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Transportation in Uzbekistan

4. Tourism in Uzbekistan 

Uzbekistan, in comparison to its neighbours, is pretty touristic. However, many tourist groups visiting Uzbekistan concentrate mainly on Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. That being said, outside those places, it doesn’t feel touristic. When we visited Uzbekistan in June 2022, we met a few groups of elderly travellers. Still, most of the time, we felt almost alone. 

The area around Moynaq, Nukus, Tashkent and Fergana Valley is pretty authentic and not crowded with tourists.

TIP: Make sure you visit all the Top places in Uzbekistan: Khiva, Nukus, Moynaq, Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent and Fergana Valley.

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5. Travel to Uzbekistan 

By plane, you can get easily to Tashkent or Urgench. Sometimes there are good connections to Bukhara and Samarkand as well. We personally flew from Istanbul to Urgench. 

Some people also fly to Shymkent (Kazakhstan) as it is usually cheaper and then cross the overland borders by bus to Tashkent. It is only around 130 km (4 hours). Another option is to fly to Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and cross the borders to Samarkand. 

Find the cheapest flight connection here.

To cross the overland borders, you have more options. All of them are pretty easy. From Kazakhstan, there is a direct bus from Shymkent. 

From Tajikistan, you can cross the borders between Khujand and Kokand or Penjikent to Samarkand. 

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6. Land borders in Uzbekistan

All borders to surrounding countries are easy to cross and usually open. Just make sure you check the restrictions for your nationality and current rules. 

To Kazakhstan, you can cross the border between Tashkent and Shymkent (Kazakhstan). From Fergana Valley to Tajikistan or another popular option is the train from Kungrad to Beyneu (Kazakhstan). Caravanistan has some useful insights and tips. However, we found it a bit outdated as after the pandemic, many things changed. 

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7. Travel Insurance 

It is not mandatory to have travel insurance for Uzbekistan. However, make sure you always have one to protect yourself. For travelling in Central Asia, we recommend IATI Insurance as they cover most of the activities you might do, such as hiking and horse riding. They also cover expenses regarding Covid 19. Use our exclusive 5% discount for IATI Insurance.

Get your 5% discount with IATI Insurance here.

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8. Best time to go to Uzbekistan 

Uzbekistan gets unbearably hot in the summer months. So make sure you won’t arrive in July and August. We visited Uzbekistan first half of June, and we’ve had temperatures around 40 degrees some days. Not very pleasant, but still bearable. And if you consider Uzbekistan being the city destination, it could be done all year round. However, the ideal months for backpacking are April and May and the middle of September to the beginning of November. The Winters get really cold. Spring and Autumn are the best seasons to come if you want to make the most of your trip. 

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9. How to travel around Uzbekistan 

Uzbekistan is the most tourist-friendly country in Central Asia. It is very easy to move between places using public transport. Trains are the best form of transportation between all the top places in Uzbekistan. High-speed trains are easy to get between Bukhara – Samarkand – Tashkent. Make sure to also try the old Soviet Train, which can go between Nukus and Bukhara. Download the railway app and book your tickets online; the whole process takes a few minutes! The app is called Uzrailway tickets. 

We created an ultimate guide on how to travel by train in Uzbekistan and other transportation tips. If you want to know how to book your tickets online, read below.

Read: Make the most of the epic train rides in Uzbekistan.

Short distances between Urgench and Khiva and all around the cities are covered by shared marshrutkas or minibuses, which are super cheap. Always ask in your accommodation which number goes to the place you need and then it gets very easy. 

In Tashkent, use the Metro, as it is also the perfect example of Soviet times. Some of the stations are super unique. Yandex is the easiest way of transport in cities. Download their app; it works like Uber. Easy, cheap and convenient. 

Useful information:

• It also came to Uzbekistan; taxi drivers lie about buses claiming they are not going anymore etc. They just want to confuse you, so you go with them. Don’t trust those. Marshrutkas, buses always work until late. 

• Always pass through the taxi drivers waiting at train and bus stations and walk to the main road where you catch your own taxi. It’s way cheaper. 

• If you need an extra seat for your luggage in a marshrutka, you must pay for it.

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10. How many days do you need for Uzbekistan

We think the ideal for travelling around Uzbekistan and having enough time to explore is 14 days in case you skip Fergana Valley or Nukus with Moynaq. If you want to do all, 18 days should be enough; 3 weeks would be the ideal amount of time. 

Do you have just a week? It’s ok, you can still visit the top Silk Road cities – Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. Unfortunately, you won’t have time to see Khiva. 

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Money 

The currency used in Uzbekistan is Uzbek Sum (UZS). The exchange rate in June 2022: 

$1 = UZS 10 833 

11. Uzbekistan on a budget

Uzbekistan can be done in any budget category. It has simply something for everyone. You find backpacker hostels for an amazing price, as well as family-run mid-range hotels and also big luxury hotels that will take care of everything for you. We travelled to Uzbekistan on the budget side and still had a fantastic time. Check the price examples below. 

Prices

Backpacker hostels $6 dorm, $12-20 double room 

Marshrutka UZS 1500 ($0.30)

Train Nukus – Bucharra from UZS 115000 ($10)

Yandex in Tashkent UZS 15-25000 ($1-2.5)

Plov UZS 12-25000 ($1.1-2.3)

Manti, Langman UZS 25000 ($2.3)

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12. ATM 

Plenty of ATMs are all around cities in Uzbekistan and accept foreign cards. Even though we travelled with some backup cash, we never used it and always either withdrew money or paid by card. Note, there is always a 1-2% fee. You can withdraw both UZS and USD. 

You can also bring cash; $ dollars and € euros are widely accepted in banks, and exchange it in one of the banks. We haven’t seen any exchange money offices, but again, we didn’t search for them. By the markets, we have been approached by guys exchanging money – the black market. However, this is illegal in Uzbekistan, so why risk it. 

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13. Cash

You need to pay in cash for most of the services as they don’t accept cards. Some restaurants and bigger supermarkets accepted cards. Accommodation is happy if you pay in USD. However, UZS are, of course, accepted. 

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Culture, people

14. People

People in Uzbekistan are a bit abstract, in our opinion. We grew up in a post-communist country, so for us, their behaviour reminded us of our childhood in Czechia. Every now and then, somebody wanted to have a conversation, rather a small talk than talking something deep. But if you travel by train or know the Russian language – we are sure it is something different. We speak basic Russian, which definitely helped us to converse with people. What surprised us was that in most of the conversations, people asked how much money we earn in our job and insisted we answer. We found this a bit strange. In general, people are very friendly.

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15. Language 

The official language is Uzbek, hoverer most people speak Russian. We recommend you learn basic Russian before going to any country in Central Asia. We barely found anyone speaking English, even in some hotels. Learn at least how to read the Russian words, numbers and basic sentences that might be useful in transportation, hotels and restaurants. In Karakalpakstan, they have their own language – the Karakalpak language. 

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16. Religion 

Most people are Sunni Muslims, but in our experience, you would never guess. Most people don’t follow the religion. 

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17. Dress code 

There is no strict dress code you need to follow in Uzbekistan. Even as a woman, you can dress up however you like. If you visit temples, you need to cover your shoulders and knees, but that’s probably the only rule. In more strict parts of the country, such as Nukus or Fergana valley, women dress up more traditional. 

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18. Food

Are you vegetarian? Vegan? Congratulations, you are in trouble! We read this many times about different countries: ,,Oh, so you’re a vegetarian’’ then there is no food for you’’. But it never was so serious as in Uzbekistan and the whole of Central Asia. In Uzbekistan, the food culture is heavily based on meat. Lamb, mutton meat, horse meat, but most of the time, it is beef. They put it everywhere.

If you eat meat? Wow! You are in paradise. 

Vegetarian Dishes to try: Somsa with potatoes – pastry filled with potatoes; some places had a really delicious filling. Others put just boiled potatoes, but it still did a job. Laghman without meat – noodles with veggies and tomato sauce. Manti is another delicious food – dumplings filled with eggs. In Samarkand, we found it filled with pumpkin. 

The most traditional dish is Plov. Rice, raisins, and veggies fried in animal fat. Topped with tons of meat and eggs. It is usually served at lunchtime; only some places still have it for dinner. Some, Laghman, Manti as mentioned above are the most typical food you find in restaurants, filled with beef most of the time. We had the best plov in a Plov Center and Art Restaurant in Tashkent. Shashlyk, the meat on the stick, is another very popular food in Uzbekistan. 

Note: Most restaurants charge a service fee between 10-20% 

• Local markets 

In local markets, you can buy lots of fruit and veggies, homemade bread and other kinds of pastries, nuts and dried fruit and spices. We really liked the market in Nukus, Tashkent and Fergana valley. 

• Alcohol 

You can buy alcohol without any problem in one of many stores selling anything from beers to spirits. 

• Water 

Water is not drinkable. You either have to buy or bring a filter with you. 

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Accommodation

Khiva I Carousel Hotel
Nukus I Family Guest House – Friends J
Moynaq I Yurt Camp
Bukhara I Rumi
Samarkand I Furkat Guesthouse
Tashkent I Art Hostel

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Internet, useful apps, Simcard 

Internet in Uzbekistan works pretty well in hotels and some fancier restaurants. It is always best if you have a local sim card, and it is very cheap to get one in Central Asia. 

19. Simcard 

We chose UZ telecom; they offer 20 GB of data, some calls and SMS for around UZS 145000 ($13) or an unlimited data package for around UZS 190000 ($18). It worked well everywhere, except in Moynaq. 

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20. Apps for Uzbekistan 

• Uzrailway tickets – the official app for booking train tickets in Uzbekistan

• Yandex – for cheap taxi rides in cities

• Mapsme – all important places and great tips are shown in the Mapsme app.

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Facts 

21. Cotton disaster 

Since travelling can’t be only about the nice places, make sure you visit Monyaq to witness the biggest manmade environmental disaster. Soviets made huge cotton fields, and to make it grow faster, they cut off the Aral Sea from the water source of two river flows. So they could use the river water for cotton instead. It resulted in the Aral Sea almost completely drying out. To read more about it and how to get there, you find it in our travel guide to Moynaq and the Aral sea.

Essential reading: How to visit ghost town Moynaq and the Aral Sea.

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22. Uzbekistan is an Ex-Soviet country

There is no better place to see the soviet history than Tashkent. Especially the metro stations and Hotel Uzbekistan are the best examples. In other cities, the Soviet heritage was slowly erased. Multiple statues of Amir Timur are to be seen across Uzbekistan. The best examples are Amir Timur Square in Tashkent and Samarkand. 

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23. Disneyfication

Good or bad move? You decide. Uzbek government try to separate the old, ugly part of the city from the touristic, sparkling areas of the old towns. Building walls separating these two areas make you feel the perfectness that the historical centres of the Silk Road cities have. It’s pretty ridiculous.

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24. Safety in uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a very safe country to travel to, even for solo travellers. A certain level of caution is, of course, necessary, as everywhere in the world. Corruption is still a big thing in Uzbekistan, so you may face offers from guards offering you cheaper entry to famous sights, such as Registan. 

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Tips  

25. Tips for travelling

• Book accommodation and train a few days in advance during the main season. It gets pretty packed, not because of the travellers but because locals travel a lot. We often experienced backpacker hostels full of Uzbek families rather than budget travellers. 

• If you want to photograph a place without crowds, you must wake up early. 

• In most of the sights, you find souvenir shops. We didn’t like that, as it takes down the magic of the historical place. 

• Negotiate prices. This might be obvious, but in Uzbekistan, you need to be very patient and actively negotiate. Uzbek people just let you leave if you ask for a lower price, and they don’t agree at first. You need to put more energy into negotiating, and then it usually works. 

• The prices for sights rose like crazy in 2022. They also have two prices, for locals and 10 times more for foreigners. They also want you to pay for the camera if you want to take photos. 

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Where to go next? 

Kazakhstan – check all of our detailed travel guides

Explore Aksu Zhabagly, a National park in Kazakhstan 

Want to Change the area? 

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