Uzbekistan for solo travellers, including women travelling alone

Tashkent metro trains run from five in the morning until midnight, a Yandex Go car shows its price before you press the button, and the hotel registers your passport while you are still at the desk. For someone travelling alone, that is most of the hard work already done. We live in Tashkent and plan trips for people travelling on their own. Here is what we tell them before they fly, including the questions women travelling alone usually ask us.

Is Uzbekistan easy for solo travellers?

Yes, and the reason is infrastructure rather than luck. The main route, Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, is joined by railway.

Trains. Tickets go on sale on eticket.railway.uz and in the Uzrailway tickets app 60 days before departure. Afrosiyob takes you from Tashkent to Samarkand in 2 hours 30 minutes and to Bukhara in about 4 hours. You show your ticket and passport at the station entrance, bags are screened, and you sit in an assigned seat. Afrosiyob and the Khiva train sell out in high season, so book as soon as your dates are fixed. Classes and stations are in our guide to trains.

Taxis. Yandex Go works in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Fergana, Nukus, Termez and other cities, and since 2024 in Urgench and Khiva too. You see the fare before the ride and can pay in cash or with a card linked to the app.

Where to sleep. Hostels with dormitories exist in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, and family guesthouses fill the old towns. Both register foreign guests just like hotels. Options by city are in where to stay.

Language is the one thing to prepare. Uzbek is the state language and Russian is widely used. Outside hotels and the old towns, a translation app with offline Uzbek and Russian saves a lot of pointing.

Safety in practical terms

Government travel advisories put Uzbekistan in the “normal precautions” category; the only exception is a strip along the Afghan border, far from any tourist route. In Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara you walk the old quarters in the evening the way you would in a European city.

The common problem is petty theft in crowds: bazaars such as Chorsu, the metro and buses. Carry a zipped bag in front of you and keep your phone in a front pocket. When you are alone, nobody watches your bag while you take a photo, so keep it on you.

• Order taxis in an app rather than stopping a car in the street. Unlicensed taxis sometimes pick up other passengers along the way; in an app car you know the driver, the plate and the price.
• Check the plate in the app before you get in, and send the trip details to someone at home.
• Keep your passport with you: police do check documents.
• Save 112, the single emergency number for police, ambulance and fire.

Water, heat, pharmacies and insurance are covered in safety and health in Uzbekistan.

Women travelling alone

Uzbekistan is a comfortable country for a woman on her own, and a few practical habits make the trip smoother.

Clothes. In Tashkent, dress as you would at home. In mosques and mausoleums, cover shoulders and knees and put a scarf over your hair before entering a mosque. In villages and in the mahallas, the traditional residential quarters behind the main streets, longer clothes simply make everyone more comfortable. A light scarf in your bag covers almost every situation. More in what to wear and etiquette.

Attention. Official travel advice notes that women travelling alone may meet some harassment and verbal comments. In practice that usually means being looked at and spoken to. A short, firm “no” and walking on works; if someone persists, step into a shop, a café or your hotel lobby. As everywhere, avoid empty, badly lit streets late at night.

Greetings. Men here wait for a woman to offer her hand. If you prefer not to, a hand on the heart and a nod is a perfectly polite greeting.

Taxis. Use Yandex Go or MyTaxi, check the plate, and if a driver suggests another passenger or a different price, simply cancel and order again. Many older cars have no rear seatbelts; you can ask for a car that has them.

Meeting people: group tours and day tours

Travelling alone does not mean eating alone every evening. A tour with fixed dates puts you with other travellers for a few days and leaves the rest of the trip to you.

• Our 8-day Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva group tour starts every Friday.
• The 4-day Samarkand group tour also starts on Fridays: a long weekend with a free day.
• Bukhara in 2 days by night train runs on fixed monthly dates.
• The 12-day photo tour is a group trip planned around light.

If you would rather travel independently and add a guide for a day, a private full-day tour gives you local company where it matters most: in Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva or Tashkent, or Samarkand in a day from Tashkent.

The single supplement

Tour and hotel prices are usually quoted per person sharing a double room. When you travel alone and want a room to yourself, the room is not cheaper for the hotel, so tours add a single supplement. On our group tours it is shown on the tour page. On a private tour, everything is built for you, so the price is already for one.

Hostels and guesthouses are the way to keep costs down on your own. For a daily figure, see the one-week budget.

Money, SIM and registration

Money. Visa and Mastercard work at almost every card terminal. Cash in so'm is for bazaars, street vendors and some taxis. Keep two cards in different places: on your own, a backup matters more. Details in cards, cash and tipping.

SIM. Roaming and travel eSIMs need no IMEI registration. A local SIM bought with your passport gives you 60 days before registration is required, so a two-week trip needs nothing. See IMEI registration. A working phone is your map, your taxi and your translator, so sort it out on day one.

Registration. Every visitor is registered within 3 days of arrival. Hotels, hostels and guesthouses do it at check-in. Keep the confirmations until you leave; the rules for private stays are in registration and customs.

Evenings on your own

Evenings are when the old towns are at their best: the heat drops and the monuments are lit. In Tashkent the metro takes you home until midnight, and a Yandex Go car is the simple answer after that.

Drinking alcohol in the street or in a park is not allowed; restaurants are the place for a glass of wine. If you want company at dinner, a plov evening or a cooking class on a group tour is the easiest way to sit at a full table.

Ready-made routes for a trip on your own are in Uzbekistan in 7 days, and what is easy without a tour operator is in on your own or with a local operator.

In short

• Trains, Yandex Go and hostels make Uzbekistan easy to travel alone; book Afrosiyob and the Khiva train early.
• Normal precautions are enough: watch your bag in crowds, order taxis in an app, carry your passport, save 112.
• Women: a scarf for mosques, longer clothes outside the big cities, a firm “no” to unwanted attention, app taxis at night.
• For company, join a group tour with Friday departures or add a private day tour.
• Visa and Mastercard almost everywhere; a local SIM is fine for 60 days; hotels register you within 3 days.