Travel guide

Citizens of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway and more than ninety other countries can visit Uzbekistan without a visa for up to 30 days. Most other nationalities can apply online for an e-visa at e-visa.gov.uz; it is usually issued within a few working days.

• Your passport should be valid for at least three months after the end of your trip and have a free page for the stamps.
• Combining Uzbekistan with a neighbour? Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Georgia are visa-free for most Europeans. Tajikistan uses an e-visa. Turkmenistan requires a visa with a letter of invitation, which we arrange for our travellers.
• Tell us your nationality when you write and we will check the current rules for you.

Every foreign visitor must be registered at their place of stay within three days of arrival. Hotels and guesthouses do this for you automatically and give you a slip or a QR code. On our tours all accommodation is registered, so there is nothing for you to do.

If you stay with friends or in a private flat, registration is done online through the official emehmon.uz system. Keep your slips until you leave the country: border officers occasionally ask for them.

The currency is the Uzbek som (UZS). Visa and Mastercard work in hotels, larger restaurants, shops and at ATMs in the cities, and ATMs are easy to find in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Bazaars, small cafés and villages are cash only.

• Bring some euros or US dollars in clean, recent notes. Banks and exchange offices, including those at the airports, change them at the official rate. Do not change money in the street.
• Tell your bank before you travel so your card is not blocked.
• Cash above the equivalent of 2,000 USD must be declared on arrival. Keep the form to take the money out again.

Hotels, many cafés and most restaurants have free Wi-Fi. For mobile data, a local SIM card (Beeline, Ucell, Uzmobile) costs a few dollars and is sold at the airport and in shops on presentation of your passport. An eSIM bought online before departure works too.

WhatsApp and Telegram are used everywhere, which is also how your consultant and guide stay in touch with you during the trip.

220 V, 50 Hz, with round two-pin sockets (types C and F), the same as in most of continental Europe. Travellers from the UK and the Americas need an adapter.

• No vaccinations are required. Make sure your routine vaccinations are up to date and ask your doctor about hepatitis A.
• Drink bottled water; it is sold everywhere and provided on our tour vehicles.
• Pharmacies are common in the cities. Bring the medicines you take regularly, in their original packaging with a prescription. Strong painkillers and some psychotropic medicines are controlled and must be declared.
• Travel insurance with medical cover is strongly recommended.
• Summer is hot and dry: a hat, sunscreen and plenty of water make the difference.

Uzbekistan is one of the safest countries in the region, and regularly ranks among the safest in the world for walking alone at night. Tourist police patrol the old cities. Use the usual common sense with your belongings in crowded bazaars, and use licensed or app taxis (Yandex Go works in all main cities).

Uzbekistan is a secular country with a Muslim majority and a very hospitable culture. Everyday Western clothing is perfectly normal in the cities.

• In mosques and holy sites, cover shoulders and knees; women bring a light scarf for the head. Take your shoes off before entering prayer halls.
• During Ramadan restaurants stay open for visitors, but avoid eating and drinking conspicuously near mosques.
• Bargaining is expected in bazaars and craft shops, and is done with a smile.
• If you are invited to a home, a small gift (sweets, something from your country) is appreciated. Bread is treated with respect: never put it upside down or on the floor.

• You can photograph monuments, streets and the famous Tashkent metro freely.
• Ask before photographing people, especially women and anyone praying. Most people say yes with a smile.
• Avoid photographing military sites, border posts and airports.
• Drones are forbidden for visitors. Do not bring one: it will be held at customs.

Uzbek cooking is generous: plov, samsa from the tandoor, shashlik, laghman noodles, bread from the clay oven, and fruit and melons that taste the way they used to. Green tea comes with every meal.

• Vegetarians eat well with salads, soups, dumplings and vegetable dishes; tell us in advance and we brief the restaurants.
• Alcohol is legal and served in most restaurants and hotels.
• Tipping: around 10% in restaurants is appreciated when service is not already included. For guides and drivers, a tip at the end of the trip is customary but always voluntary.

• Comfortable walking shoes: the old cities are best seen on foot.
• Light, covering clothes for summer and for mosques, a scarf, a hat and sunglasses.
• A warm layer in spring and autumn: evenings in the desert and mountains are cool.
• A power adapter if you come from outside continental Europe.
• Some cash in euros or dollars and a card that works abroad.