From the airport to the city centre Uzbekistan
The country has three international airports: Tashkent, Urgench and Samarkand. However, the latter two only handle international flights during the peak tourist season, between April and October.
There are two airports in Tashkent: one for domestic flights and one for international flights. Both are around ten km from the city center. Allow around twenty minutes by cab.
If you need to switch from an international to a domestic flight, the situation is more complicated, as the terminal for local flights is on the other side of the runways (but 5 km apart). Your baggage won't be automatically transferred; you'll have to collect it, transport it to the other terminal and check in again. This procedure applies equally to transfers from international to domestic flights and vice versa.
On arrival in Uzbekistan, expect queues of around 20 to 40 minutes for passport control at customs. To get from one terminal to the other, a free airport bus marked "UzPort" runs once an hour, between 5:00 and 23:00. The journey takes around 25 minutes.
At the airport, you can buy a SIM card (approx. 150,000 soums), and exchange or withdraw money in the arrivals hall (baggage reclaim).
Many hotels offer an airport shuttle service: the fare is around 15-20 USD. Your driver will be waiting for you with a name tag in the arrivals hall.
To get to your accommodation on your own: the best and easiest way is to book a cab using the Yandex Taxi app, which is fairly cheap and convenient. Fares range from 20,000 to 40,000 soums (2 to 4 USD). If you don't manage to book a cab with the app, you'll find one just outside the airport, near the parking lot. That's where the negotiating begins. It's up to you! If you don't have any Uzbek soums or small one-dollar bills to pay for the cab, you can always ask your hotel reception to pay, and you can pay back later!
Please note that most cab drivers in Uzbekistan do not always know all the names of streets and hotels. You should therefore indicate the names of all places near your hotel: for example, "Novza metro station", "turn right after passing the Qamish restaurant". Better still, have your hostess call you - he'll guide your cab!
Arrival by train Uzbekistan
Go with Rail CC: https://rail.cc/fr. A 5149 KM journey!
Departure from Paris or Nice to Moscow (some 40 hours and extremely long checkpoints since the start of military operations in Ukraine). You'll spend two nights on the comfortable Russian night train. A dining car is available for most of the journey. Then you'll travel from Moscow to Tashkent by night train with sleeper berths: 1st class in 2-bed compartments, "Kupé": 2nd class with 4-bed compartments and "Platskartny": 3rd class with open-plan sleeping cars.
The train remains an economical and romantic way to travel, with guaranteed encounters and an often warm atmosphere. All you need is time, lots of it, and a visa to cross Russia. Train tickets start at EUR 180 per journey.
In Tashkent, arriving from South Station or North Station: the price of a cab transfer is around 25,000 to 40,000 soums (2 to 4 USD) with Yandex. If not, negotiate again!
Travelling by train in Uzbekistan is much more convenient than by car. The Afrosiyob (Afrasyab) high-speed train and the Charq (Sharq) are the main types of train running.
They run regularly between the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent, as well as from Tashkent to Termez and from Tashkent to Ferghana. An overnight train links Bukhara to Khiva. You can find out the train timetable and book your tickets one month in advance at https://railway.uz/en/.
Public transport Uzbekistan
The best way to travel at very low cost (here as in the whole of Central Asia) is by shared cab. The hardest part is finding one! You'll find them along the main routes, near bus stations and in large numbers at border crossings with neighboring countries. They leave only when fully booked. Rates are often variable, and it's customary to negotiate. You're in a country of traders!
A significant advantage is that they can drop you off directly at your hotel. To travel more comfortably, or if you're in a hurry, don't hesitate to buy several seats, or even all the seats in the cab. This is much cheaper than hiring a chauffeur-driven car through a travel agency.
The Tashkent metro is a museum of architecture on a par with that of Moscow. It offers 4 lines and 48 stations. Tickets cost around 2,000 soums (€0.14). You can buy individual tickets at each station. For further information: https://tashmetro.uz/en/home-page/.
Accessibility Uzbekistan
It will be very difficult for disabled people to get around in Uzbekistan. There are virtually no adapted structures or information services for people with disabilities. However, some local tour operators are beginning to take this into account and, with sufficient notice, are able to find vehicles adapted to certain physical handicaps.
If you have a physical or mental disability, or are going on vacation with someone in this situation, various organizations and associations will be helpful, such asAPF (Association des paralysés de France, 17 boulevard Auguste-Blanqui, 75013 Paris. Telephone: 01 40 78 69 00) can provide useful information on accessible travel. See also https://tourisme.handicap.fr/
Tourist traps Uzbekistan
Don't change money with cab drivers or in street markets. Because they cheat a bit with the rate. And you can get lost with all those soums! You'll be a millionaire during your stay. You can exchange money inside the airport or withdraw it from a bank machine, of which there are many everywhere.
