This ‘trip report’ of mine, for the lack of a better word, will differ from the previous ones. As this Uzbekistan trip was part of a larger plan that involved two other destinations in southern Kazakhstan, and as I could not find the time to be extra careful with my documentation for all the payments etc. that I made throughout the journey, I will not be providing a day-by-day detailed look at my own itinerary this time. There is another, if not more important, reason for that as well. Though I loved every bit of it, I think there is room for improvement in the itinerary I had for Uzbekistan, which is often not the case with my better planned out trips. As this coincided with the first winter break of my doctoral studies, I was simply too exhausted to ‘care’ about every minute detail, as I would normally do. Nevertheless, after providing my usual, more general, tips and tricks regarding travelling around Uzbekistan, I will share links to my previous works on the country, which should help any and all aspiring travellers who wish to explore this magical corner of our globe!
General Itinerary Notes
- It takes a lot of time to plan a proper itinerary, and it takes some self-awareness to admit that even after all that work, you may end up failing. To be honest with myself, my own itinerary for Uzbekistan could have been better. After actually going there and seeing three of its most important cities with the exception of Khiva, I can confidently say the following: three full days in Bukhara and Samarkand are the right amount though both can be done in two, and one does not need more than four full days in Tashkent, five tops. I should have just added Khiva to my itinerary by removing a few days from Tashkent, it would have been more tiring, sure, but well worth the effort without really eating into my experience in the capital. Moreover, at the very least, I could have added a night at a town in the Fergana Valley, to see a very different part of Uzbekistan, which most travellers seem to skip.
- The high-speed train network of Uzbekistan makes travelling the country a breeze, but it does not go everywhere, not yet. So far it reaches Bukhara from Tashkent, visiting Samarkand on the way. This is good, but Khiva is still pretty far away. The good news is, in due time, and hopefully quiet soon, the route from Bukhara to Khiva will be completed, allowing you to do what I dumbly skipped myself, and actually visit Khiva with the comfort of using the Afrosiyob high speed train network.
- It does not take a genius to see some glaring exemptions in my itinerary, as I already mentioned most of them. I have not visited the Fergana Valley, Khiva, and the once blue Aral Sea. There are many reasons for that, different ones for each. In a part of my brain, since technically it only costs me just over 100 USD to reach Tashkent from Astana and be back, I am hoping to visit this gem of a country once again eventually, so in a way, I left a few things for me to be excited about. Nevertheless, just be warned that there is more to see in this country than the things you will see below.
General Budgetary Notes
- Uzbekistan is indeed a pretty cheap country, and especially for hostel-lovers and meat-eaters you can probably keep your costs as low as 20 USD a night, depending on your appetite as well as the season of your visit. If money is an issue (and it is for most of us), do be assured that it will be less of an issue here.
- Hotels in Samarkand and Bukhara can be really cheap, like 10 USD a night cheap, including a breakfast no less. Though perhaps I did make use of some off-season discounts as well, which was certainly the case for my Tashkent accommodation.
- Tashkent’s accommodation scene is more, difficult. It is hard to find good deals, but if you go say all the way up to 25 USD a night, then suddenly you start finding a lot of high scale apartments, at least in December. To me, it seems like something is missing here, some stepping stone between the cheap hostels on the outskirts of the city and the upper scale housing solutions at the heart of it. You can still find 10 USD deals, but they will be hostels, and not so close to the center, and not with raving reviews…
- Train, bus, and even inter-city taxi costs are very low, so do not be afraid of often being on the road. In fact, do not be like me, do not stay anywhere for more than 4-5 nights, just move.
- Groceries are extremely cheap in this country, so if you are into cooking, or need to do some budget travelling, know that a few dollars a day goes a long way here.
- Museums are plentiful in this country rich in history, and they are cheap. But that last part is deceiving. When you pay one USD to go and see a glorified tomb for five minutes and keep doing that a bit too much in a single day, you will easily end up spending tens of dollars on just entry fees. This can be avoided by simply not being me, and trying not to enter every single place with an entry fee… Not all of them are worth your time, nor your money, so read my local guides to figure out which ones to enjoy, and which to avoid.
- Food can be cheap in restaurants, or not, but it is almost never expensive. In any case, know that prices often do not include a service fee, which ranges from 10 to 20 percent. Some restaurants apparently do not give that to their waiters, who may also ask you for some tips. Be prepared for that.
- Uzbekistan is not a very rich country, unfortunately. Its people are extremely friendly, but do not assume that every single person who helps you does it for free. Anyone from a pedestrian who offers to get you to the roof of their homes to get a better view of the city, to a driver that stops to ‘help’ you without you trying to hitchhike may charge you for those ‘services.’ People here often make their living with tourism, which means that they mastered interactions with foreigners. I have never seen nor heard of any unpleasant exchanges, but just know when to say no if things seem too transactional to you.
Uzbekistan: A Land of Beauty and Plenty
In total I spent fourteen days in Uzbekistan, with the first and the last being fully dedicated to travelling to and from the country. I visited Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent, in this order, making sure that I have seen as much of them as I can see every single day. Here is everything I have written on Uzbekistan to date, properly categorized for your leisure!
The Captivating Bukhara
I loved Bukhara, I just loved it. It is plain and simple. It was by far the best part of my entire trip last December, and I would go back there in a heartbeat given the chance.
If you want to read all about some of the best things to do there, all through my eyes as we walk around this beautiful oasis town together, please click here.
If you just want to find out more about what to eat when you are visiting there, please go here.
The Timurid Samarkand
For many, Samarkand is the true gem of Uzbekistan. For me, that is questionable. What is not questionable is how this exceptionally historic town is nevertheless a must see.
If you want to explore this ancient city alongside me, and find all about its best landmarks, please click here.
If you would rather hear all about its surprisingly decent dining scene, you can go here.
The Bustling Tashkent
Tashkent is an amalgamation of old, Soviet, and modern identities, all mashed up into one. It is a must see if you are in Uzbekistan, but it probably does not deserve the eight days I have given it.
If you want to read about the city’s older past, its more medieval history, refer to this article here.
If you would rather dive into the captivating Soviet architecture and history of the town, then you better click here.
If you want to understand modern Tashkent, and through that modern Uzbekistan better, then you better go here.
If you want to find out more about the cultural and national museums of Tashkent, then you can read this article of mine here.
If you would rather enjoy more technical museums, with fancy trains and so on, then you should head to this link here.
If you want to read about the finest museum I have seen in Tashkent, and one of the best on The Great Patriotic War in general, you should enjoy the reading here.
If you want to enjoy some of the finest Mediterranean and Caucasian food that the city offers, you should click here.
If you are instead craving some sushi, or perhaps a curry, then you should enjoy the read found here.
What else is there to do?
My work on Uzbekistan does not end here. In order to help you get through some formalities of travelling around Uzbekistan, as well as to put a limelight on some lesser written about issues regarding the country, I penned down a few more articles, and here they are!
If you want to learn all about how to cross the lander border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, read this article here.
If you want to read about how does it feel to spend one’s December in Uzbekistan, a country not known for its winter tourism, go here.
If you are interested in reading about the rather eccentric cemeteries of Uzbekistan, which even deserved an article of its own, do click here.
If you are more interested in cults of personality, and want to read my own take on the case of Tamerlane and Islam Karimov’s cult of personalities in Uzbekistan, read the article found here.
If you are a vegetarian, or a pescatarian like me, and want to see how well you can do in this country obsessed with meat, definitely go ahead and read the work here.
A Final Note on Budgeting
Do not worry my dear reader, I will not finish this article without giving you some more concrete information regarding its costs. Though I did not keep a record of every single spending of mine this time, I obviously know how much of my savings evaporated during this trip in total. Remember that this trip took place in December of 2023, and that it included a four-day leg in Kazakhstan where I travelled around Shymkent and Turkistan. Nevertheless, the following is a very simplified look at my spending, with some abstractions.
Transportation – 150 USD (Mostly flights from/to Astana, trains in Uzbekistan costed around 50 USD only.)
Accommodation – 400 USD (330 USD was spent on accommodation in Uzbekistan.)
Food, Taxi, Gifts, and Entry Fees – 300 USD (Around 250 USD for Uzbek part of the trip.)
All in all, I spent 850 USD for this trip. This was actually 50 USD above my initial plan, which I attribute to the inflated number of museums I visited (almost fifteen more than originally planned) and the cost of some high-end restaurants I visited at a whim.
For the Uzbek side alone, this comes to around 630 USD, which is definitely on the high end, if you ask me, for Uzbekistan. Reasons for that are given above partially. For meat eaters this can go down to 550 USD easily, if you also stick to only the good museums, then you can reach a solid 500 USD. It is possible to go even lower, as my accommodation in Tashkent was admittedly the real dealbreaker here, costing me a whopping 270 USD for 8 nights. I had a huge luxury apartment with heated floors all to myself, which is probably not the wisest financial choice I made so far… In any case, if you work on that a bit too, and last but not least, keep most of your meals budget friendly, I think it is actually possible to go as low as 400 USD. I already know backpackers who did it with less than that, so it feasible for sure. This being my first winter holiday for a long while, I found it more fitting to splurge a bit instead. Moreover, in all other cases I omitted the travel and accommodation costs from these texts of mine, so do keep that in mind too. In all honesty, per diem spending per person in Uzbekistan likely was cheaper than any other place I visited so far, so do keep that in mind.
Well, that must be enough numbers for all. I genuinely think that adding Shymkent and Turkistan to this Uzbekistan itinerary would only be natural for most, as long as you do not have any visa issues, so do try to keep that in mind as you are planning your trip’s details. Uzbekistan is a magical place to visit, but its neighbouring Kazakhstan has something up its sleeves as well. Happy travelling!