Places in this article: Samarkand · Bukhara · Khiva
Where to stay in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva: areas and types of hotels
In Khiva you can sleep inside a walled town of 26 hectares that people still live in, and cross it on foot in twenty minutes. In Samarkand the walk from your room to the Did you know? The Registan's sun-carrying lion went on a banknote The Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636) is named for the big cats with the sun on their backs on its portal. The image appeared on the reverse of Uzbekistan's 200-som note of 1997. Read more → can take two minutes or need a taxi, depending on the district you chose. Where to stay in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva matters more than the number of stars: it decides how much you walk, how quiet your nights are and whether the car can reach your door.
Here is how we, a local operator in Tashkent, choose the area and the type of hotel in the three A network of caravan routes between China and the Mediterranean. Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva grew rich as stops along it. cities. For the country as a whole, from hostels to international chains, see our guide to accommodation in Uzbekistan.
Where to stay in Samarkand: four areas
Samarkand is the largest of the three cities and the most spread out. Its sights are not inside one wall: the Registan, ,Did you know? Legend says the architect asked the queen for a kiss Legend says the architect of Bibi-Khanym would finish on time only for a kiss from Timur's wife, and Timur punished him. In fact the mosque was Timur's own project; his wife Saray Mulk Khanum built her madrasah across the road. Read more → Did you know? Why Shah-i-Zinda means 'the Living King' The necropolis grew around the shrine of Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Legend says he did not die in battle but went down a deep well to a garden of paradise, where he lives on. Read more → and Did you know? Timur's tombstone went to Persia and came back The dark-green jade slab on Timur's grave in Gur-e-Amir was carried off by Nader Shah in 1740. It broke, and on his advisers' urging he sent it back to Samarkand. Read more → are a walk apart, while Did you know? A 7th-century mural shows envoys from Korea Uncovered by road builders in 1965, the Ambassadors' Painting at Afrasiyab shows delegations bearing gifts, Chinese with silk among them, and two men in feathered hats thought to be envoys from Korea's Goguryeo. Read more → and the Did you know? Ulugh Beg measured the year to within 25 seconds Working at his Samarkand observatory, Ulugh Beg put the tropical year at 365 days 5 h 49 min 15 s, about 25 seconds too long, closer than Copernicus a century later. Read more → are a short drive. So the district you choose shapes your days.
By the Registan
Stay here and the square is on your doorstep in the evening, when it is lit up (see Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva at night). Bibi-Khanym and the Samarkand's main bazaar, right next to Bibi-Khanym: Samarkand bread, dried fruit, nuts and halva. Read more → are a walk away. The trade-off: this is the busiest part of town, so ask for a room away from the street and check how close a car can get with your luggage.
The old town and its mahallas
Behind the Registan and around Bibi-Khanym lie the mahallas, the old residential quarters of low houses around inner courtyards. Small family guesthouses here keep the main sights within walking distance and give you a quiet lane at night. The lanes are narrow, so a taxi may drop you at the corner rather than at the gate.
The new town and University Boulevard
West of the old city lies the town that the Russian administration began building after 1868 and that grew further in Soviet times: wide straight streets, offices, universities and parks. Through it runs University Boulevard, shaded by old trees. Larger hotels with lifts, parking and restaurants are easier to find here, Gur-e-Amir is close, and the Registan is about twenty minutes on foot or a short taxi ride.
Silk Road Samarkand
Silk Road Samarkand is a tourist complex that opened in August 2022, about 20 minutes from the city centre. It has eight hotels with about 1,200 rooms, a congress hall, a rowing canal, spa and wellness, and the Eternal City, a quarter of craft workshops, teahouses and restaurants built in the old style. It suits families, groups and anyone who wants everything on site; for the old town you take a taxi. If you plan to explore Samarkand on foot in the evenings, choose the centre instead.
Wherever you stay, a walking tour of Samarkand with a guide ties the city together. How to split your days is in Samarkand in 1, 2 or 3 days.
Where to stay in Bukhara: inside the old town or outside it
Bukhara is the easiest of the three. Its historic centre, on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993, is compact, and most small hotels and guesthouses are inside it.
By Lyabi-Hauz
The pond dug in about 1620 is where Bukhara spends its evenings (more in Lyabi-Hauz and Chor Minor). From here you walk to the ,Did you know? Under Bukhara's domes merchants changed money and gold Four 16th-century trading domes still stand over old crossroads. Toki Sarrafon was the money changers' dome, where merchants from India and China swapped coins; Toki Zargaron held jewellers' workshops, Toki Telpak Furushon sold caps. Read more → the Did you know? Legend: the minaret's foundation was laid with camel milk Legend says master Bako laid the foundations of the Kalyan minaret with ganch plaster mixed with camel milk, then vanished for two years to let them harden, and only then built the tower. Locals still show a grave they say is his. Read more → and .The fortress-residence of the rulers of Bukhara on a high artificial hill: the oldest structure in the city. Read more → The square is busy until late, so a room facing the courtyard sleeps better than one facing the street.
Guesthouses in old houses
Many guesthouses in the old town occupy traditional houses from the 19th century, built around an inner courtyard, often with an aivan, a covered terrace on wooden columns. Some newer buildings copy the same style, so if the age of the house matters to you, ask. Old houses have their own character: steep stairs, thick walls and rooms of different sizes, so two rooms in the same guesthouse can feel quite different.
The new town
Outside the old town, the newer districts have larger hotels with lifts and parking, and a pool is easier to find there. A taxi to Did you know? Bukhara's ponds were once its water supply Pools like Lyabi-Hauz, dug around 1620 and 46 × 36 m, were the city's main source of water. Most were filled in during the 1920s–30s because they spread disease; Lyabi-Hauz survived. Read more → takes a few minutes, and Yandex Go works in Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva (see useful apps for Uzbekistan). This option suits you if you travel by car, with a group or with a lot of luggage. Our plan for the city is in Bukhara in 1, 2 or 3 days.
Where to stay in Khiva: inside Itchan Kala or outside the walls
,Did you know? People still live inside Khiva's museum city Itchan Kala packs more than 50 historic monuments and about 250 old houses inside clay walls 8–10 m high and 5–6 m thick, and families still live and work in its lanes. Read more → the walled inner town of Khiva and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, measures about 650 by 400 metres. Inside are more than 50 historic monuments and about 250 old houses, and people still live there. Some of those houses take guests, and one 19th-century An Islamic college: student cells and classrooms around a courtyard behind a grand portal. In the old towns many now house museums and craft workshops. has been turned into a hotel. Our guide to Itchan Kala walks you through it.
Inside the walls
You wake up among the minarets, go out at dawn while the streets are empty and come back for a rest in the afternoon heat. The price of that: fewer rooms, which are often smaller, steep stairs in many buildings and narrow streets. Ask whether the car can reach the door or whether your luggage goes the last stretch on foot.
Outside the walls
In ,Did you know? Legend: Khiva's 6-km outer wall went up in 30 days Legend says Allakuli Khan raised the outer wall of Dishan Kala in 1842, more than 6 km long with ten gates, in just 30 days. The court historian Agahi, however, wrote of about three years of work. Read more → the outer town around Itchan Kala, and in the newer streets beyond it, hotels are larger, with lifts and parking, and the gates are a short walk or drive away. A good choice for groups and for anyone who finds stairs hard.
Arda Khiva
A new tourist complex on the shore of Lake Govuk, a short drive from Itchan Kala, opened in May 2025: 17 hotels and guest houses, a 3,000-seat amphitheatre, restaurants, a bazaar under domes and a canal with gondolas. Read more → opened in May 2025 on the shore of Lake Govuk, a short drive from Itchan Kala. It is a tourist complex with four hotels and four guest houses, about 780 places in all, with restaurants, a bazaar and an amphitheatre in one compound you can cross on foot. You spend the day in the old town and come back for the evening by the water. More in our guide to Arda Khiva.
Flying into Urgench, about 30 km from Khiva? We meet you at the airport and drive you to your hotel. Our plan for the city is in Khiva in 1 or 2 days.
Boutique guesthouse, chain hotel or tourist complex
In all three cities you choose between three kinds of places, and each suits a different traveller.
- Boutique guesthouses in old houses. A handful of rooms around a courtyard, breakfast served by the family that runs the house, and the old town outside the gate. Best for couples and independent travellers. Less suited if stairs are hard for you.
- Chain and large city hotels. Predictable rooms, a lift, parking, a restaurant and often a pool, usually in the newer districts. Good for groups, business travellers and anyone with a lot of luggage or limited mobility.
- Tourist complexes. Silk Road Samarkand and Arda Khiva put several hotels, restaurants and evening entertainment in one compound. Good for families, groups and events; the old town is a drive away.
Travelling with parents or children? See Uzbekistan for seniors and Uzbekistan with kids.
Registration and breakfast: what the hotel does for you
Every foreign visitor must be registered at the place of stay within 3 days of arrival, weekends included. In a hotel or guesthouse you do nothing yourself: the reception registers you in E-mehmon, the national electronic system, at check-in, and the tourist tax is already in the bill. Keep every confirmation until passport control on departure. The details are in registration and customs in Uzbekistan.
Ask whether breakfast is included and what time it starts. If you leave on an early train, ask the evening before whether the kitchen can pack something for the road.
Summer heat, winter cold: what to ask before you book
In July the average afternoon high is about 34 °C in Samarkand and 37 °C in Bukhara; in January the average night in both cities is below freezing. Thick walls keep an old house cool for a while, but it is the air conditioning and the heating that decide how you sleep. Before you book, ask:
- Is there air conditioning in the room itself, not only in the lobby?
- How is the room heated in winter, and is the bathroom heated too?
- Is there hot water around the clock?
- Which floor is the room on, and is there a lift?
- Does the window face the street or the courtyard?
- Can a car reach the door, and where can the driver park?
What to expect month by month is in Uzbekistan weather by month.
How we choose hotels for our tours
In our tours the hotels are part of the programme, and we choose them city by city, location first: within walking distance of the old town wherever the city allows it, a quiet room, air conditioning that works in July and heating that works in January. We do not choose by stars alone: a well-run guesthouse can serve you better than a large hotel in the wrong district.
Tell us what matters to you, whether it is a guesthouse with character, a lift and a pool, a ground-floor room or a night at Arda Khiva or Silk Road Samarkand, and we take it into account when we plan your route. Which hotels are available depends on your dates and the category you choose. During the trip we are in touch 24/7, so if something in the room does not work, call us. Browse the tour catalogue or let the tour finder suggest a route.
In short
- Samarkand: stay by the Registan or in the old-town mahallas to walk everywhere, in the new town for larger hotels, at Silk Road Samarkand for a resort 20 minutes from the centre.
- Bukhara: stay inside the old town near Lyabi-Hauz and ask for a room facing the courtyard.
- Khiva: inside Itchan Kala for the atmosphere, outside the walls or at Arda Khiva for space, lifts and parking.
- Registration is done by the hotel at check-in; keep the confirmations until you fly home.
- Before you book, ask about air conditioning, heating, stairs and how close the car can get.
