UzbekistanTashkent / Samarkand / Bukhara

July 2026

*Pictures not in order below

Arriving in Uzbekistan was an experience in itself.

The flight from Dushanbe was actually beautiful. Looking out the window at the landscape was one of those moments where you remember why you travel in the first place. Unfortunately, the rest of the journey was somewhat less idyllic. We were over three hours delayed on Uzbekistan Airways because the aircraft simply hadn’t arrived. It was coming in from Tashkent and was incredibly late, which was frustrating because we could have stayed at the hotel much longer rather than sitting around waiting.

The communication was also pretty poor, which didn’t exactly help.

Dushanbe Airport itself is tiny. The departure area has almost nothing in it, and the few things that are there are bizarrely overpriced in euros rather than the local currency. Why? I have absolutely no idea.

Eventually, we got on the plane and headed to Uzbekistan, where we were immediately confronted with another logistical challenge.

After landing, we had what felt like a thirty-minute bus ride through the terminal in roughly 40-degree heat. Then came immigration.

We waited for over an hour and twenty minutes just to get through immigration. By the time we finally made it through, our bags were already sitting off to the side of the carousel because they had been waiting for us for so long.

It was pretty clear that Uzbekistan is not entirely equipped for the level of tourism it is expecting—or increasingly receiving.

The good news was that immigration itself was completely painless once we actually got to the front. No questions, no problems, nothing strange.

Our driver was also waiting for us. It took him about fifteen minutes to arrive, but considering the delays and chaos, the fact that they still had our name displayed and were waiting for us was fantastic.

Then we finally made it to the hotel.

Tashkent

We stayed at the Grand Dior Hotel, and overall, it was a pretty good hotel.

The first room we were given was practically spotless. The hotel had recently been renovated, and it showed. Everything from the shower onwards was in really good condition.

Our second room, however, had a few small bathroom issues. Nothing catastrophic, but noticeable enough if you stay in hotels regularly and know what you're looking for. There were some minor cleanliness and maintenance things that probably wouldn't bother everyone, but definitely bothered me.

Still, the hotel itself was comfortable. We had a small balcony, a nice view, and pretty much everything we needed. The staff were fantastic, and ordering food was incredibly easy.

And there was a lot of food.

Uzbekistan is actually surprisingly good for food variety. You can get Uzbek food, obviously, but there are also loads of Western options and international chains. Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Cinnabon—you name it, and you could probably find some version of it. It was nice to have that breadth of choice after being somewhere like Tajikistan, where the commercial and food landscape is much more limited.

Our first proper day in Tashkent was spent with a local guide, Ms Irolda, who was fantastic.  You can book with her tour company here and request her Ms Irolda

She took us around the city, including the famous Tashkent Metro, Chorsu Market, various monuments, and some of the major historical sites. She gave us loads of information about Uzbekistan and its history, and she was also incredibly attentive about making sure we got back safely.

We also had some very strange interactions with random people while we were out.

Nothing particularly threatening or dodgy, but there were a few people who kept trying to engage with us in ways that felt very unusual to us. It was almost as if there was a complete lack of understanding of Western social boundaries. Even our guide seemed somewhat freaked out by some of the interactions.

That said, we had a fantastic time with her, and I felt genuinely lucky that we ended up having her as our guide.

Exploring Tashkent

On our second day, we explored more of Tashkent ourselves.

We visited a few more markets and souvenir shops, but a lot of the day actually consisted of simply wandering around and seeing what we could find. That's one of my favourite ways to experience a city anyway, and in Tashkent it worked particularly well.

Unfortunately, several of the museums we wanted to visit were closed.

Apparently, it wasn't really considered tourist season, despite there being plenty of tourists around. So we ended up looking at the gardens and exterior areas around some of the places instead.

This became a bit of a theme throughout Uzbekistan.

We repeatedly encountered museums and attractions that were closed, which was frustrating because you could clearly see that there were tourists around who wanted to visit them. Eventually, we just learned to roll with it.

We also had a few interesting experiences with Yandex.

A couple of drivers claimed that they had arrived when they absolutely had not, and then attempted to charge us anyway. So that was fun.

There were also a few electricity outages around our hotel. The hotel had a generator, which obviously helped, but a generator can only do so much. You still end up with issues involving water pressure, hot water, and other things that depend on a functioning infrastructure.

It was inconvenient, but honestly, these random occurrences almost became part of the trip.

Which brings me to one of my most important travel recommendations:

Bring shower wipes.

I swear by these things now.

I always travel with shower wipes, some Dettol spray, my own soap, various wet wipes, and a bottle of water. You don't necessarily need all of them every time, but when you suddenly can't shower properly and desperately need to feel like a human being again, they are invaluable.

You can get surprisingly close to the equivalent of a shower with a few of these things.

And on this trip, unfortunately, we had several occasions where that came in handy.

Samarkand

Our second full day—or technically our third day—was when we headed to Samarkand.

Samarkand is one of the great historic and cultural centres of Central Asia, with its incredibly famous Islamic architecture, and it was definitely worth visiting.

We saw the main buildings and major sights, many of which had entrance fees of roughly $15–20. The architecture is genuinely impressive, and you can easily spend a day walking around and taking it all in.

The only problem is that some of these historic complexes have become incredibly tourist-oriented.

You go into these magnificent old buildings, and then many of the surrounding side areas have effectively been turned into tourist shops. So instead of experiencing the buildings entirely as historic sites, you're constantly encountering souvenir sellers and commercial spaces.

This leads me to one of my biggest Uzbekistan tips:

Don't buy from the people who are aggressively trying to sell you something.

If someone is standing outside shouting at you, grabbing your attention, trying to pull you into a shop, or aggressively insisting that you come inside, just keep walking.

The best shops we found were almost always the opposite.

They were the places where someone was sitting outside doing absolutely nothing, or sitting quietly inside their shop, waiting for customers rather than chasing them down.

Those were the shops where we found some of our favourite things.

I'll include some of the specific places we liked in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara below, because there were definitely some gems.

Samarkand itself is also a very pleasant place to wander around. Get a drink, walk around the old areas, have a pomegranate juice, look at the buildings, and just take it in.

Again, though, the museums were often closed, which was frustrating.

We did manage to pick up a few postcards from the more generic tourist shops, but if you're looking for genuinely interesting artwork, I'd save your money for Bukhara.

That is where we found the good stuff.

The Hilton in Samarkand

We stayed at the Hilton in Samarkand, at what I believe was the Hilton Samarkand Afrosiyob.

And honestly, it was fine—but I expected more.

There were some issues with the shower, particularly around the sealant, as well as a few cleanliness issues that we weren't particularly happy with.

It was just surprising to encounter those things at a Hilton, particularly at a relatively new and well-developed property.

It wasn't a disaster by any means, but it wasn't quite what I expected from the brand.

Bukhara

Then we went to Bukhara.

And, in my opinion, Bukhara was where it was at.

If you're going to Uzbekistan specifically for artwork, souvenirs, old-world atmosphere, and the more interesting tourist stuff, Bukhara was by far my favourite.

It felt more authentic, more interesting, and generally more affordable than some of the other places we'd visited.

Our first day was spent around the Ark of Bukhara, largely because we had some issues with the trains and our timing.

Speaking of trains: book them in advance.

We did, thankfully, but I'd recommend arriving around 20–25 minutes before departure. You don't really need to arrive hours early because there isn't much of a waiting area, and there's not exactly somewhere comfortable to sit around for ages.

I'd also recommend booking Business or VIP class if you can.

We booked Business because that was the only option above Economy, and it was absolutely worth it. The extra comfort made a difference.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/c2f77b_1efe2a6023e7475aa9c40b138e9b46ed/720p/mp4/file.mp4

There was one particularly bizarre feature, though.

They gave you free coffee with milk and sugar.

But if you wanted black coffee with no milk and sugar, they charged you.

I have no idea why.

The Wi-Fi was surprisingly good, though, so I'll give them that.

Bukhara's Old Town

Bukhara itself was incredibly enjoyable.

There were loads of old buildings to see and a really atmospheric old town, although, once again, many of the museums and interior attractions were closed.

By this point, we'd almost stopped being surprised.

There was much more of a tourist centre in Bukhara, though, and that was where we found some of our favourite artwork.

If you go to the Ark of Bukhara, look around.

We found a really cool piece of art from a guy running what was essentially his uncle's shop. The next day, we found another great little shop in the old town run by two younger guys selling things from their father and uncle.

These were exactly the kind of shops I mean when I say to avoid the aggressive sellers.

They weren't grabbing us, shouting at us, or trying to convince us to buy things. They were just there.

And we ended up buying some genuinely cool stuff.

We also found some really nice T-shirts from an older woman near the entrance to the old town, along one of the main roads.

There are definitely things in Bukhara that will catch your attention as a tourist.

There are ATMs everywhere, so getting cash wasn't particularly difficult either.

We also went to a really nice restaurant, JOY Gastro Restaurant, which was a good experience overall. The food was decent, and it was a nice place to sit and break up the sightseeing.

But there was one experience that really annoyed me.

Don't Buy "Silver"

My friend bought what was supposedly silver jewellery from a shop in the old town.

Before buying it, I specifically asked the sellers directly, on camera:

“Is this pure silver?”

They said yes.

Of course it was silver.

Absolutely, definitely silver.

So we bought it.

Then we came back later and, suddenly, they denied that they had ever said it was silver.

At that point, I had a feeling this wasn't going to go particularly well, so we went back with the tourist police.

In the end, my friend got some of her money back and was allowed to keep the piece.

But honestly?

It was bullshit.

So here's my advice:

Don't buy anything in Bukhara believing that it is silver just because the seller tells you it is.

Even if they swear it's silver.

Even if they say it on camera.

Just don't.

Buy the artwork. Buy the clothes. Buy the random souvenirs. Buy something interesting that you actually like.

But unless you know exactly what you're doing, I'd stay away from anything being sold to you as silver—particularly in the old town.

Our Bukhara Hotel

We stayed at the Ramada Encore by Wyndham, and this hotel was fantastic. Don’t be fooled by its three-star rating. Expect five star service and really, four star+ value for a very affordable price and fantastic amenities and hospitality.

It had been recently renovated and was genuinely comfortable. We had good hot water, reliable electricity, and a decent room.

The air conditioning could have been stronger, particularly because it was absolutely roasting outside, but as long as you kept the curtains shut during the day, it was fine.

Room service was good and affordable, the staff were incredibly helpful, and the facilities were solid.

Breakfast was also pretty good. They made omelettes and various other things fresh, and while it wasn't exactly a breakfast I'd write home about, it was included and perfectly respectable.

There were also plenty of free facilities and lots of assistance available from the staff.

Honestly, I'd give the hotel a 10/10 for the stay.

I would absolutely stay there again.

They were just great.

Back to Tashkent

Eventually, we had to make our way back to Tashkent.

Because we had an overnight train, we didn't really do much on our final day. We essentially chilled at the hotel, ordered food, slept, showered, and got ourselves ready for the next part of the trip.

And honestly, after everything we'd done, it was probably exactly what we needed.

I did try Osh. Albeit, ordering in from what was apparently a very good place (see pictures below). I was not a big fan due to the oiliness but was grateful for the experience nonetheless!

So, Is Uzbekistan Worth It?

Absolutely.

Uzbekistan was incredibly enjoyable.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend going without a plan, though.

We only missed Khiva, which was one of the other major destinations we'd originally considered. But we managed to see Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, and between those three cities, we saw almost everything we wanted to see.

I think that's particularly important when you're travelling through countries that are still somewhat off the beaten track.

Have a goal.

Know what you want to see.

Book your trains.

Book your major tours.

Give yourself enough time to account for closures, delays, heat, electricity issues, and the general unpredictability that comes with travelling somewhere that isn't operating entirely around international tourism.

And then leave some time to just wander.

Because some of the best moments weren't necessarily the major monuments. They were the random shops, the conversations, the strange interactions, the pomegranate juice, the little pieces of art, the old buildings, and the moments where we simply ended up somewhere because we'd decided to walk in a particular direction.

Uzbekistan is much more developed and commercially accessible than Tajikistan, but it still has that sense of being somewhere that hasn't completely been swallowed by mass tourism.

There are frustrations.

There are things that don't work.

There are museums that inexplicably aren't open.

There are Yandex drivers who will absolutely try their luck.

There are electricity cuts.

There are people who will tell you something is silver when it very much isn't.

But there are also incredible buildings, fascinating history, beautiful cities, good food, surprisingly comfortable trains, genuinely lovely people, and some fantastic opportunities to find things that you simply aren't going to find in a generic souvenir shop back home.

And, for me, that's what made Uzbekistan so enjoyable.

It isn't perfect.

But it's interesting.

And I'd take interesting over perfect any day.

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