Uzbekistan - Advice for a first timer

[germi]

We're hoping to visit Uzbekistan in the spring. Possibly for a week but not sure on which cities to visit. Please tell me anything you know if you've been. Where did you fly into and out of, which cities did you visit etc. Samarkand and Bukhara look lovely!

Is it an easy country to navigate and holiday in?

We are planning on going next Easter.
Im keeping an eye on government travel advice so haven't booked yet.
I have been saving reels from Instagram to help put together an itinerary.

Why government advice? There's no threat of anything there? Or do you mean in connection to the situation in the Arabian Gulf?

Highly recommended. If you only have a week, you can do Bukara, Samarkand and Tashkent. Longer time you can also go to Khiva and the Fergana valley. Very little English is spoken so it is easier to take a tour. I went with Jules Verne and was very happy with the tour.I

There was an episode on race across the world where they travelled here. Can’t remember the series but if looked fascinating.

My daughter loved it. They had a guide.

I was thinking the same. I think it was the most recent series.

I would have thought you'd need at least 2 and preferably 3 weeks. And a guide or an organized tour, unless you speak Russian or Uzbek. Nothing is in English.
I loved it and am happy to answer any questions. I was on an organized tour.

I used to live in Tashkent and travelled around the country a lot. It’s very safe, calm, and clean, with fantastic culture and historic buildings. There are also some nice spring festivals, depending on your dates. As someone else said, if you only have a week you’d probably want to focus on Tashkent (make sure to see the beautiful metro stations), Bukhara, and Samarkand (I personally prefer Khiva, but Samarkand is very famous and the Registan is amazing, and also Khiva is further away). If you’re going in the spring, the fast trains get booked up quickly. Advantour is an excellent local tour company if you want someone to arrange your transport, accommodation, and guides. I’d be happy to answer specific questions or recommend sights, hotels, etc.

My DD went to Uzbekistan with then boyfriend around 7 years ago now. Before Covid anyway!

Just a few things. You probably need a tour or a company organising the itinerary for you. They went with Steppes on a bespoke tour and they organised transport to hotels, guides and gave lots of advice. They have been operating in Uzbekistan longer than most.

Back then Uzbek airlines flew direct to Tashkent from Heathrow. Slow old plane on the way out but something better coming back. It’s a long haul flight and 1 week is therefore very rushed. They went for just over 2. They went to Khiva, a desert fortress (forget the name) and the Fergana Valley as well as Bukara, Samarkand and obviously Tashkent.

When they went, good hotels were at a premium. There aren’t that many and they had two hotels cancel the bookings made by Steppes and late substitutes had to be made. The Government just takes hotel rooms for their visitors apparently. The replacements were not that great.

The itinerary matters if you want to use high speed rail. It can be a challenge to knit it all together.

They loved discovering old buildings for themselves (eg old madrassas) but at times found food a bit boring. Not fans of plov. They found everyone there kind and helpful. They felt safe. Mostly guides were good and the Fergana Valley was a highlight. So go for longer and enjoy everything!

My husband and I went in 2009, we didn't do a tour, I organised it all independently. I did need to engage a local travel agent of sorts to provide letter of invitation for our visa, but things may have changed. We flew into and out of Tashkent, we took an overnight train from Tashkent to Khiva, from there to Bukhara, then Samarkand and back to Tashkent. We really enjoyed our trip. Khiva probably the least exciting of those 3 cities we stopped in.

Just been (in June). All self organised. Did Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, then onto to Almaty, before flying home. We did it on the cheap (i.e. flew via Aerbaijan and back through Georgia) Got loads of tips, pm me if you need help. x

It sounds amazing. Definitely on the list for next spring.

I’ve cycled across it in 2018. We didn’t have a guide. It was fine. People were very friendly even if we couldn’t speak English and I always felt safe.

We went years ago and travelled independently. The Registan in Samarkand was amazing.

I found that having a little bit of very basic German was useful a couple of times as a shared 2nd language when talking to people who didn't speak English. It helped me out when I needed to go to a pharmacy.

Uzbekistan is amazing! We went last autumn and it was so nice.
As others said Bukhara and Samarkand are a must - personally I wouldn’t recommend much time in Tashkent just a day or two, the other cities have much more to see and do.

It’s easy to travel across cities by train but they do book out quickly so book in advance. Otherwise it’s quite easy to get around yourself and safe, although I would highly recommend downloading Google translate app with Russian and Uzbek since English is hard to find. Even with the language barrier people were super friendly and helpful

Uzbekistan is wonderful and a very easy place to travel around and Spring would be a lovely time to visit. I've been twice. A week is a short time but you could squeeze in Bukhara and Samarkand. You don't need a guide. As a pp said, book your trains in advance through the Uzbek railways website (very easy to use). Everything we booked on Booking.com hotel wise was fine and very reasonable. In Tashkent, stay near a metro - it's a big city! Must see places are the Chorsu Bazar and Besh Qozon the Plov centre and of course the Metro stations themselves. People are incredibly helpful and kind and Google translate helps - but I noticed this year that most places have English menus and English is being much more widely spoken, even out in the Fergana Valley. Get a local SIM and download Yandex Go for super safe and cheap taxis.
Uzbekistan Airways now fly 3 times a week to Tashkent and fares are reasonable. I absolutely love Central Asia and have also been to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, they really are very underrated places for holidays. Happy to answer any specific questions