UZBEKISTAN AS A SOLO FEMALE TRAVELLER

Tailoreditineraries
Apr 15
4 min read

A place that takes you back in time. Cities like Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Tashkent is filled with Timurid architecture which is the main reason I went to Uzbekistan. I went solo travelling and found it to be safe. Of course, I was also cautious and dressed moderately which is highly recommended. I did not see anyone including tourists with short skirt/shorts or open shoulders. I also used taxi after dark and did not wander through quiet streets.

ITINERARY

DAY 1 - Landed at 01:50 in Tashkent from Istanbul and after no sleep explored Tashkent.

DAY 2 - Morning train (3.5hrs) to Samarkand. Explored Samarkand

DAY 3 - Tour to Tajikistan Fann mountains

DAY 4 - Midday train (3h) to Bukhara

DAY 5 - Explored Bukhara

DAY 6 - Morning train (7h) to Khiva. Explored Khiva

DAY 7 - Fly Khiva-Istanbul

TASHKENT

In my opinion, I would not spend more than a day in Tashkent. It has very little Timurid architecture, but if you want to see soviet style buildings - this is the city to visit.

Things to see:

Hazrati Imam square
Chorsu market
Hotel Uzbekistan

SAMARKAND

The most grand and spectacular Timurid archetecture. Samarkand is a little bit spread out but all the main sights can be seen in a day or two. It was jaw dropping to see some of the buildings and I found Bibi Khanym Mosque the most impressive.

Things to see:

Registan square
Gur-Emir mousuleum
Shah-i-zinda
Bibi Kanym Mosque
Siyob bazaar

BUKHARA

My favourite of the three cities. I loved the vibe of Bukhara. Definitely much smaller and intimate than Samarkand. I highly recommend staying inside Old Town - it will feel like you are living 2000 years ago. I absolutely loved Bukhara. You can see main sights in a day but for me the highlight was just enjoying the atmosphere.

Things to see:

Khalon masjid
Feruza Ikat
Abdulla Khan Trading dome
Ark of Bukhara
Bukhara tower
Kalon mosque
Bath houses

KHIVA

I found Khiva similar to Bukhara and even though I also liked the vibe and atmosphere I felt like a day is enough there. The train took 7 hours and it was a long way. I still do recommend seeing Khiva - it is quiet, has beautiful architecture on every corned and I highly recommend staying in the old town.

Things to see:

Ichan Qala

TRANSPORTATION

You will most likely land at Tashkent airport. My flight landed at 01:50 and I was slightly worried whether there will be taxis or anything, but the airport is buzzing and busy.

The best way to travel between cities is train. There is fast train ‘Afrosiyob’ that is modern and has various travel classes or semi-fast local train ‘Sharq’ that is cheaper. I ended up using Sharq as I booked tickets last minute and could not secure them on ‘Afrosiyob’ but I felt like ‘Sharq’ was also great. It had comfortable seats, toilets, staff selling food

and drinks.

To get from Bukhara to Khiva I used a sleeper train called “Skori”. As I was by myself and did not want to book 2 sleeper private cabin as I would find it more awkward, I travelled in “placzkart” - meaning about 50 beds in a carriage. This was also the cheapest option. I recommend bottom bed as it has more space. You get given fresh sheets as you board and I used one sheet to make a ‘wall’ for the privacy. It did get hot and lack of air though. There is no a/c nor you can open the windows. I was on the left side of the train facing moving direction and sun was shining in, so maybe a bed on the right side of the train is better. Something to note, all three train journeys I took arrived an hour later than scheduled. Great way to experience local and authentic travel through Uzbekistan though.

Here is the website to book train tickets: https://railway.uz/en/

Tickets between cities are around €10.

To get around the cities, I used local taxis. Their local app is called “Yandex” - similar to Uber/Bolt. Rides are very affordable, approx £2 per 20min ride.

LOCAL SIM

I ended up buying local SIM card at the airport for £10 for 50GB as I could not connect to the airport wifi and activate Airalo. The internet worked everywhere though so I recommend to buy local SIM.

FOOD

Uzbekistani traditional kitchen is very meat heavy. And I am sure it is great. As a vegetarian I was more limited. I would not say I struggled - every place will have small selection of vegetarian food but I would mostly visit places based on their vegetarian selection vs overall reviews.