Uzbekistan

[Glitterbiscuits]

I know it's a bit obscure but has anyone had a holiday in Uzbekistan?

Thinking of doing something a bit different in the Autumn.

I'd appreciate any advice, tips and reviews. I have very little knowledge of this part of the world

Thanks for responses. Kalpak are on my shortlist.

I've made a spreadsheet (love a spreadsheet) but I'm having a hard time prioritising what we want to see with only 2 weeks.

Both times I went, I travelled independently. It was very easy. I took trains and (cheap) long distance taxis. The Tashkent metro is easy, and the country is safe and hospitable. If you stand and look a bit lost for more than a few seconds, someone will approach you to see if you need help, with their phone at the ready for translation purposes.

There really is no need to pay through the nose for a tour company.

@DuesToTheDirt It was my DD who went pre COVID. She used Steppes Travel who were one of the first agents to put together bespoke/organised tours. She added in the Fergana valley which she said was fantastic. She just didn’t want a loaf of hassle. Steppes used to do organized small group tours but certainly do bespoke.

There can be issues in Uzbekistan. Mostly hotels cancelling on you at the last minute and the alternative offer can be poor. Even with Steppes this happened. Twice. DD found the guides useful, some better than others, but then explored independently and found amazing places. Restaurants can be hit and miss too. Often a person on the ground can help with decision-making if your favoured one is fully booked. Another issue. If you are a backpacker, you might not care too much. If you like the idea of certain restaurants and hotels, the reality is you might not get them as large tour groups get the bookings.

There’s also only Uzbek Air direct so not much choice and aircraft can be old. They have basic newer ones but that’s a lottery too. The trains are not wholly as you would expect either. The high speed ones have odd timetables apparently so planning can be a trial.

No doubt you save money by DIY but only you know if you prefer an agent to help you out or not. This service might be needed on holiday and you might like to think about guides or not.

I'm a backpacker at heart, and we've never done a tour, but DH is fancying a tour this time he must be getting old so we'll see.

Bookmarking

@ChuckleMyPeanuts
I went in October! Happy to answer any questions

How did you find it OP? Just curious really!

I’ve been and would thoroughly recommend. We did a tour with G Adventures and had no issues at all - the hotels we stayed at were all stunning. Flew via Istanbul with Turkish. Beautiful country, friendly people and very cheap!

Love to know your itinerary , did you book it all yourself?

@Glitterbiscuits - we are doing a part of the Silk Road. I don't have my itinerary in front of me but we will be going through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan & Kyrgyzstan. I found an itinerary on line and then my husband turned it into reality, with flights, trains and hotels. We are considering renting a car to travel from Bishkek down to Lake Issyk-kul - is this realistic or madness?

@BigDahliaFan - we have planned everything ourselves. I found an itinerary online and then my husband turned it into an actual trip.

Has anyone been to Uzbekistan. If so, did you get the rabies vaccinations? I'm doing a tour not going to rural areas. But can't make up my mind. Would like to hear other people's experiences

I didn't for Uzbekistan. I don't think it was even on my radar for that trip

I'd already had the rabies jab for a sub Saharan African trip, but had I not, it wouldn't have occurred to me to get it for my Uzbekistan trip. No need at all.

I didn’t get any jabs at all.
its a great country and we loved it

I’d already had the rabies vaccine for trekking in Vietnam but I wouldn’t have got it specially for Uzbekistan. It doesn’t necessarily stop you getting rabies, really it just buys you some extra time if you get bitten by something to get medical attention so if you’re not going anywhere remote then you’ll be near hospitals etc anyway. I don’t know what you would catch it from either, there weren’t many dogs etc wandering round where we went. We didn’t get any new jabs for Uzbekistan at all.

We didn't get jabs.

I did get bad D&V though - lots of visitors do apparently, so I'd advise taking immodium with you.

How cheap can you do it once you are there for accomodation and food on a daily basis (would be double room - basic BnB)? Both vegan and teetotal!

Is it worth trying to get to 3 stans in 2 weeks or concentrate on one? I dont want to be tearing around - 5 stops over 2 weeks would be max. More interested in nature but with quirky cities/architectire/culture thrown in.

I did 5 Stans in 3 weeks with one internal flight and 2 high speed trains. I don't think I'd have wanted to do it any quicker - but if you don't go to Nur Sultan, you'd cut out one longish flight.

Both vegan and teetotal?!

You're going to really struggle. I honestly can't think of anything we ate or that was on offer, that was vegan. Meat stews, yoghurt, and plov almost certainly fried in animal fats, are the staples. Apart from dried fruits, nuts and bread, I really don't know what you'll eat!

I'm not vegan but I have vivid memories of the salad we asked for which had huge lumps of horse meat in.

I loved the food but it was very meaty.

@Daliahh I’m vegan and had a mixed experience on that side of things - I did get to try vegan plov, samsa and manti and of course the delicious bread (not to mention the cherries and sugared peanuts which I ate my body weight in) but I did also have a few ‘side of grilled vegetables with side of chips’ type meals and didn’t get much protein. I did also end up with D&V which is actually the only time I’ve ever been unwell when travelling, so I’d advise caution with salads. We did a tour so I was able to ask the guide for help with food and I also learnt a bit of Russian.

Being teetotal is fine, they do drink but most people are Muslim so I doubt anyone would blink an eye if you don’t.

We did 10 days just in Uzbekistan so I think 3 stans in 2 weeks would be a bit rushed. Although we enjoyed the desert I’d say Uzbekistan is better on the cultural side more so than nature, for nature I’d go for Kyrgyzstan.

We're not vegan, but we are veggie. In tourist areas we had no trouble, the menus were in English and often had vegetarian sections, and waitstaff spoke some English. One day we walked the wrong way and went to a non-tourist street, where it was a different matter - no one spoke English, and with a translation app we established that everything contained meat.

Another day we stopped off at a random roadside cafe for lunch with our driver (we were doing a tour) and when he asked what was vegetarian we didn't need Uzbek to understand the cafe owner's response. However, because the driver spoke Uzbek he could negotiate some food for us and we got grilled veggies and breads.

Very similar to @SanMarzano above. And our D&V was also likely due to salads, as we were religious about using bottled water, even for teeth brushing.