Uzbekistan, a deserted landscape where time-stood still or, that's what everybody thinks! In truth, Uzbekistan is a well-developing country with beautifully-tiled mosques, palaces with thorough accessories, yummy food with their fresh vegetables and fruits, a high-speed train network as well as best of all, some of the friendliest as well as inviting people around. Strategy to take a trip Uzbekistan with our 10-day schedule.
Uzbekistan Travel Itinerary
This undiscovered gem of Central Asia has a rich background as a result of its location on the famous Silk Road. The fantastic mix of the old and the brand-new is a pleasant touch to the country. "However why has Uzbekistan been so under the radar?" The brand-new president heavily bought tourism by building a high-speed train system as well as by making the visas more affordable or cost-free. One to two weeks is enough time to circumnavigate Uzbekistan.
Day 1: Tashkent
Tashkent is the largest city in Central Asia. This contemporary funding is the starting factor of your Uzbekistan travel plan due to its well-connected global flight terminal. Tashkent is extremely different from others and also doesn't have much to offer apart from visiting the Bazaar and also the stunning Metro terminals.
Idea: Download the Verum QR application considering that mid-2019 all websites have QR codes that provide information about the things. (Like a complimentary tourist guide).
Day 2-- 4: Samarkand-- Uzbekistan Traveling Fave.
Step into the fantastic city of vivid mosques, turrets, mausoleums, and the conventional market-- Samarkand is the must-see city of Uzbekistan. Invest three days visiting all its websites and having a chat with the inviting locals.
Tashkent to Samarkand.
The high-speed train from Tashkent to Samarkand only takes two hours and is really convenient.
Bukhara.
The walkable city of Bukhara might be one of the most attractive city of Uzbekistan. The maze of slim silent streets and green parks make it a rather enjoyable place to invest a number of days. See the Ark as well as Po-i Kalyan Complicated, two architectural work of arts.
Samarkand to Bukhara.
Get on the high-speed train in Samarkand and also get here in Bukhara under 2 hrs.
Khiva
Khiva, the al fresco gallery in the desert, was the starting point in Uzbekistan to obtain a UNESCO heritage listing. Taste the tasty food of this area as well as stray around in this old, mud-brick-walled, town that seems like strolling in an actual film scene.
Bukhara to Khiva.
From all the destinations on your Uzbekistan traveling plan, Khiva is certainly the hardest to get to. From Bukhara, it is best to take the train (5h) or taxi (7h).
Tashkent
Finally, spend the last day of your time in Uzbekistan making your method to Tashkent to catch your international flight back home with a backpack filled with new experiences. You can either take the evening train from Khiva (16.5 h) or fly back from Urgench to Tashkent. (1.5 h).
Costs of taking a trip in Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan is an extremely cost effective nation to travel around as well as can conveniently be done by yourself. Transportation and also holiday accommodation are the greatest costs while traveling in Uzbekistan.
Expect to take a trip in Uzbekistan for 25-- 45 USD per person on a budget and 60-- 100 USD when choosing for a little bit extra comfort in scenic tours and also hotels.
? Transportation: ~ 10 USD/ day.
✈ Trips: ~ 70 USD.
? Destinations: 3-- 20 USD.
? Sim card: 8 USD (9 GB-- UCell).
Getting cash in Uzbekistan.
Each city has a handful of good working ATM MACHINE's. Some give Uzbek Sum as well as other US Dollars. Master as well as Visa cards are commonly approved whereas Mastercard is restricted.
Food in Uzbekistan.
The big markets with fresh fruits, veggies, and also loaves of bread stand for the delicious meals of the food in Uzbekistan. Expect delicious salads, soups, bread, plov, dumplings and so far more. Also for vegetarians, it isn't as well tough to find fantastic meat-less dishes like pumpkin dumplings (Manti).
How to get around Uzbekistan.
A generally misinterpreted truth is that you would have to see Uzbekistan with a trip business-- wrong! Uzbekistan's rail network is a very convenient, inexpensive and total great means to navigate the country. The fast-trains are from the same quality as Italy or another European country.
Right now, booking tickets online is still extremely difficult (2019) yet fortunately, Advantour, the silk road excursion operator, takes away the trouble by pre-booking whatever for you.
Train tickets for the above giving Uzbekistan take a trip course costs in between 5 and also 20 USD per flight each depending upon the class.
All major cities are gotten in touch with a domestic or international airport and also have actually on a regular basis set up flights. Right now, we would only recommend taking a trip to return from Khiva to Tashkent because the train between the other cities is a far better way of taking a trip.
Ideal time to travel in Uzbekistan.
It is best to go to Uzbekistan in their spring or fall months when the climate conveniently cozy and also dry. Generally, it is recommended skipping the summer months June to August however our check out late August was fine if we would stay out of the sunlight in the mid-day.
What to use in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a modern-day nation without stringent rules on exactly how women need to clothe. The bulk of the country is Muslim, headscarves are not needed at all, and also you will certainly see ladies wearing whatever they feel comfortable with, also ripped pants or skirts. Expect numerous selfie questions as western travelers are still brand-new and also amazing.
Wear a way that is considerate to everyone. Naturally, at some religious websites, you are needed to cover yourself so always take an added scarf with you while taking a trip in Uzbekistan.
Safety in Uzbekistan.
Besides corruption taking place a couple of years earlier, the criminal activity rate in Uzbekistan is extremely low making it a risk-free nation to take a trip in. In comparison to a city journey to Europe, you don't have to focus on pickpockets. The Uzbek people are respectful and also couples neither solo vacationers need to fret in this beautiful country.
Visa in Uzbekistan.
Getting your visa for Uzbekistan has come to be a piece of cake for most races due to adjustments in 2018. E-visas can currently be gotten and to some countries the visa is totally free.
Exactly how to reach Uzbekistan.
Few airlines serve Uzbekistan so there are no big concerns with getting there.
The nationwide airline-- Uzbekistan Airways-- fly to Tashkent from several European airports, consisting of Paris, London or Rome.
There is additionally Turkish Airlines flying from Istanbul.
After investing a long time in Kazakhstan I flew from Almaty with Uzbekistan Airways (there is additionally Air Astana serving this path but it was a lot more costly on the day I was taking a trip).
I recognized next to nothing about Uzbek national airline company however considering that they are allowed to fly in European Union I presumed they are conserved to fly with.
And everything was fine, the plane was relatively brand-new and also the cabin staff was very good. Even if the flight was just 1 hour and 10 mins we were offered some treat and also beverages.
On the way back from Tashkent to Almaty it was even far better-- we had a little hold-up as apparently the flight terminal in Almaty was closed and also as quickly as they revealed it the steward underwent the cabin, using drinks to every person-- that could be a small thing yet certainly not something much of the airlines would certainly think about.
The complete expenses of my tickets from Warsaw using Kiev and also Almaty to Tashkent was $290 and that consisted of 6 flights in total amount:.
Warsaw-- Kiev as well as return ($ 40 with Ukrainian International Airlines, purchased 10 months before the trip).
Kiev-- Almaty and also return ($ 110 with UIA, acquired 10 months prior to the journey).
Almaty-- Tashkent as well as return ($ 140 with Uzbekistan Airways, purchased 2 months prior to the trip).
How to get from Tashkent airport to the city.
After reaching Tashkent airport terminal you still have to get out to the city somehow.
And that's where the hardest component begins as taxi drivers are outrageous there.
Ask your lodging if they can offer an airport transfer for you, that would certainly make everything a lot less complicated.
We really did not have this organized, we got to twelve o'clock at night so it was a bit difficult to get the transportation out of the flight terminal.
We took care of to pass through the crowd of motorists, stroll a bit away from them and afterwards at some point returned to the location where the cars were parked.
After a couple of 2nd we were approached by one driver who behaved enough that settling on the price with him and afterwards the trip to the resort was an extremely smooth experience.
Exactly how to travel around Uzbekistan.
We selected trains as our major way of transportation around Uzbekistan and it was an excellent decision. They were comfortable as well as reliable.
We took the evening train from Tashkent to Urgench (15 hrs, we took a trip in kupe-- 4 beds area), regular train from Urgench to Bukhara (7 hrs, it was the evening train right to Tashkent, we took a trip in platzkarta-- an open carriage with beds) and quick trains from Bukhara to Samarkand (1,5 hr) and from Samarkand to Tashkent (2 hours).
The last 2 trains were actually comfortable, comparable to quick trains in Europe like Thalys, Eurostar, TGV or ICE. The fastest speed I have actually seen on the display was 240 km/h.
You can likewise circumnavigate by buses or shared taxis but certainly I can say nothing about them. And I can most definitely advise trains.
Getting a taxi in Uzbekistan.
Uzbek taxi drivers are in some way a tale and also not in a positive means.
Before arriving right here a few of my friends who have actually currently checked out Uzbekistan told me exactly how difficult handling the vehicle drivers might be so I was gotten ready for the most awful.
And also well, after few fairly good experiences (at the airport after surviving the group, at Urgench train station and also Khiva old town) we lastly had some issues after showing up to Samarkand.
Obviously there was a huge crowd of hungry vehicle drivers waiting for tourists at the leave of the train station, we asked some of them for the price but it was undoubtedly far more than it should have been so we kept strolling as well as disregarding them.
After couple minutes we were come close to by another vehicle driver that once again informed us a higher cost but he was way as well aggressive in his actions so we passed also as well as maintained strolling, hoping that a little bit far from the train station we will obtain a taxi for an appropriate price.
But this vehicle driver began following us. He was driving next to us and also was quiting few times, hoping we will not determine it's him and also will approach him again.
