Uzbekistan tours from Brazil and South America: visa, flights and the best months

Turkish Airlines flight TK 16 leaves São Paulo at 04:10 and lands in Istanbul at 22:35 the same evening. Three hours later TK 368 takes off for Tashkent, and at 08:35 the next morning you are in Uzbekistan: about twenty and a half hours from gate to gate, across eight time zones. No nonstop flight links South America with Central Asia, but with the right connection the trip is simpler than it looks. We are a tour operator in Tashkent, and this is how a trip from Brazil and its neighbours works in 2026: entry, flights, seasons, money and the tours that fit.

Entry: visa-free for Brazil, Argentina and Chile

Citizens of Brazil, Argentina and Chile do not need a visa for Uzbekistan. An ordinary passport gives you up to 30 days in the country, more than even our longest Uzbekistan tour needs.

Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia are on the list for the electronic visa. You apply online at e-visa.gov.uz with your passport details, pay the fee by card, and the visa is processed in two working days, not counting the day you apply.

Whatever the passport, every foreign visitor is registered within 3 days of arrival, and hotels do it at check-in. More in our articles on registration and customs and visas for Uzbekistan.

Flights: one stop via Istanbul, Dubai, Doha or Europe

You change planes at least once. These are the connections that work, with times from the winter 2026/27 timetable.

• Via Istanbul. Turkish Airlines flies from São Paulo to Istanbul every day, in about 12 and a half hours, and from Istanbul to Tashkent at least twice a day, in 4 h 45 min. With TK 16 and TK 368 the whole trip takes about 20 and a half hours. Its flights from Buenos Aires and Santiago call at São Paulo on the way to Istanbul, and the flight from Bogotá stops in Panama City.
• Via Dubai. Emirates flies from São Paulo to Dubai every day, in about 14 hours, and also from Rio de Janeiro on a flight that starts in Buenos Aires. From Dubai, flydubai flies to Tashkent twice a day and Uzbekistan Airways several times a week, in 3 h 10 min to 3 h 30 min. On the winter timetable the São Paulo flight lands in Dubai late in the evening and the next flight to Tashkent leaves in the morning, so plan a night in Dubai and about 30 hours in total.
• Via Doha. Qatar Airways flies from São Paulo to Doha two or three times a day, in 13 h 30 min to 14 h 20 min, and from Doha to Tashkent on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, in 3 h 30 min. On those days the evening departure from São Paulo connects in Doha within a few hours.
• Via Europe. Uzbekistan Airways flies nonstop to Tashkent from Frankfurt and Paris twice a week and from London three times a week. Lufthansa flies to Frankfurt from São Paulo, Rio, Buenos Aires and Bogotá; Air France to Paris from São Paulo, Rio, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Bogotá and Lima; British Airways to London from São Paulo, Rio, Buenos Aires and Santiago. This works well when your dates match the Tashkent flight days.

Turkish Airlines also flies from Istanbul to Samarkand, Bukhara and Urgench, the airport for Khiva. That lets you start the tour in one city and fly home from another without doubling back. More on airports and arrival in our guide to flights to Uzbekistan.

Eight hours ahead, and the seasons the other way round

Tashkent is on UTC+5 all year. That is 8 hours ahead of São Paulo, Rio and Buenos Aires; 8 hours ahead of Santiago in the southern summer and 9 in the southern winter; and 10 hours ahead of Bogotá and Lima. Flying east, you lose most of a day, so we keep the first afternoon light: a walk, dinner, an early night.

The seasons are reversed. The season in our cities runs from March to June and from September to November. Our spring falls in your autumn: Samarkand is around 15 °C in the afternoon in March and 27 °C in May, and on 21 March the whole country celebrates Navruz. Our autumn falls in your spring: around 30 °C in September, the low twenties in October, 14 °C in November.

A trip in your summer, from December to February, lands in our winter: daytime highs of 7–10 °C in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, nights around zero and quiet squares. A trip in July, your winter, lands in our hottest month, with afternoons of 35–37 °C; then we sightsee early and late or head for the mountains. More in when to go.

Money, phone and language

A Visa or Mastercard from a Brazilian or any other South American bank works here like any foreign card: almost every terminal in hotels, restaurants, shops and railway stations takes it. Cash is for the bazaar, street vendors and some taxis. Ask your bank about fees abroad before you leave; how we split card and cash is in cards, cash and tipping.

For cash, bring US dollars or euros. Banks and exchange offices change them against your passport, and ATMs at airports, banks and large hotels give out so'm. Large sums of foreign cash are declared on arrival, so keep the declaration until you fly home. Details in where to exchange currency.

A local SIM is sold against your passport. Foreign visitors have 60 days from its first connection before the phone needs IMEI registration, so a two-week tour needs nothing; see bringing a phone to Uzbekistan.

Uzbek is the state language, and in Tashkent you will also hear a lot of Russian. Our website is in Portuguese and Spanish, and when you write to us, tell us which language your group needs on the trip.

Which tour fits, and for how long

After 20 hours or more each way, a week on the ground feels short. For a first trip from South America we advise 10 days or more. You buy the flight; we arrange hotels, trains, guides and transfers around your arrival and departure times.

The full classic route. Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva at an easy pace is our 11-day classic tour. If you have seen the classics in photos and want more, the 10-day off-the-beaten-path tour covers the same cities from a different angle. Photographers join the 12-day photo tour.

A shorter trip. With a week, take the 8-day classic tour or the 8-day group tour of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. In March, Navruz in Bukhara fits the same eight days.

Several countries in one trip. If you are crossing the world, it makes sense to see the neighbours too: the 23-day Silk Road tour covers five Central Asian countries, and the 12-day Tajikistan and Silk Road tour adds the Fann Mountains. More ideas in Central Asia tours.

Not sure which route fits your dates? Our tour finder will narrow it down.

In short

• Brazil, Argentina and Chile: no visa, up to 30 days. Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia: e-visa at e-visa.gov.uz, processed in two working days.
• The fastest route from São Paulo is via Istanbul, about 20 and a half hours; Doha and Dubai also work, Dubai usually with a night stop.
• Tashkent is 8 hours ahead of São Paulo and Buenos Aires and 10 hours ahead of Bogotá and Lima.
• Best months: March to June and September to November, which is your autumn and spring.
• Bring a Visa or Mastercard plus dollars or euros in cash, and plan 10 days or more on the ground.