INFORMATION FOR TRAVELING IN UZBEKISTAN

Here you can find all the information you need to travel to Uzbekistan and trip to Uzbekistan with tour operator Uzbek tour in Uzbekistan Samarkand.

Prepare for the trip to Uzbekistan

To be sure of the availability of the hotels and tours that you have selected, we suggest you make a preliminary reservation, especially during the tourist season, which lasts from May to October. Before leaving for Uzbekistan, you can make online reservations using our online booking system. To ensure that our guests receive good impressions by traveling to Uzbekistan, we try to organize small groups, usually no more than 6-10 participants for a guide.

How to get to Uzbekistan

The trip by plane or train to Uzbekistan

The most convenient way to get to Uzbekistan is to fly to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, from the main international airports of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Uzbekistan Airways National Company offers regular flights to Rome, Milan, London, Frankfurt am Main, Paris, Beijing, Bangkok, Delhi, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Seoul and Tel Aviv. In addition, Uzbekistan Airways offers flights to many CIS countries as well as within Uzbekistan. Sometimes it is more convenient to travel to Uzbekistan by train.

Arrival in Uzbekistan

Customs declaration in Uzbekistan

From 1 January 2018, all the international airports in the country start to operate double (“green” and “red”) corridor system at checkpoints across the customs border of the Republic of Uzbekistan. If you arrive in Uzbekistan for less than $ 2000 (or equivalent in another currency) and do not bring prescription medicines (containing drugs, psychotropic substances and others) with you, then you do not need to complete the customs declaration, and you can go through customs control from the green corridor.

Travelers who import more than $ 2,000 (or equivalent in another currency) to Uzbekistan and / or who have prescription drugs must go through the “red corridor” and fill in a customs declaration in two copies, indicating all the money and medicines. A copy of the declaration remains with the customs department, it is necessary to keep the second copy with the stamp of the customs officer until the end of the trip to Uzbekistan. This is important, because if you lose it, you will not be able to withdraw more than $ 2,000 from Uzbekistan.

Registration in Uzbekistan

Every foreigner upon arrival in Uzbekistan must be registered within 72 hours of entering the country. If you are staying in a hotel, you will be automatically registered at the time of check-in at the hotel (although some budget hotels may not offer this service). Your hotel will provide you with a registration form, which you must keep in your passport for the entire travel period, which, if necessary, must be presented to representatives of state services. We do not recommend staying in a private home, because in this case you will not be able to obtain the necessary registration at the local OVIR (Department of Visa and Registration) and then you may have problems when you leave the country. When you leave Uzbekistan under passport control, your passport and visa validity will be checked.

Hotels in Uzbekistan

Alberghi in Uzbekistan

Tourism in Uzbekistan is developing actively, because every year the trip to Uzbekistan becomes more comfortable. In Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and other important cities of Uzbekistan, excellent hotels have been built that meet modern requirements. Furthermore, private hotels and guest houses offer comfortable rooms at affordable prices.

Money in cash and travelers checks in Uzbekistan

At banks and exchange offices in hotels, you can exchange US dollars, euros, British pounds and Japanese yen in sum Uzbek. Exchange offices and banks do not accept banknotes if they are old, worn, torn, crumpled or have written on them by hand. Such banknotes are accepted only in a branch of the National Bank of Uzbekistan in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara or other important cities of Uzbekistan for 10% of the amount. Changing sum  in dollars at reasonable exchange rates is problematic, so it is advisable to spend all the sums you have before leaving the country. When traveling to Uzbekistan, the use of American Express travelers’ checks is not recommended, as they incur significant costs and can not be changed on favorable terms.

The credit card at ATMs in Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan, credit cards are not common outside Tashkent’s high-end restaurants and hotels. In the shops, restaurants and local transport it is better to pay the uzbek sums in cash. Some first class hotels in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara accept Visa cards. Master Card is less common. ATMs are not common in Uzbekistan. International hotels in Tashkent usually have separate ATMs for MasterCard and Visa cards, which issue US dollars, but they are not very convenient to use. A number of banks in Uzbekistan accept Visa cards (KDB Bank Uzbekistan, the National Bank of Uzbekistan), while only Asaka Bank can give a cash advance on Mastercard. The banks charge for this service from 2 to 4% of the amount.

Internet in Uzbekistan

Internet access in Uzbekistan can be obtained in places where Wi-Fi points are found: hotels, cafes, restaurants, shopping centers. At the same time, the quality of the Internet will vary depending on the city and the level of the institution. Internet providers in Uzbekistan using ADSL and FTTB technologies do not provide their services to foreign citizens and do not offer Internet packages for tourists. For that, the only alternative is the mobile Internet of Uzbekistan’s mobile phones. Rates often include a certain amount of Internet traffic included, but it is very popular to buy individual Internet packages with the necessary amount of traffic. In addition, some mobile operators offer special rates for tourists. You can buy a SIM card and purchase Internet packages at the headquarters of the telephone operators and at the airports of Uzbekistan.

List of goods prohibited for import into Uzbekistan

  1. a) drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors (also prohibited for export);
  2. b) printing works, manuscripts, clichés, drawings, photographs, photographic films, negatives, cinema, video and audio production, records, audio materials aimed at undermining the state and the social system, violating territorial integrity, political independence and the sovereignty of the state, propagating war, terrorism, violence, national exclusiveness and religious hatred, racism and variety (anti-Semitism, fascism), pornographic material;
  3. c) portable laser emitters;
  4. d) explosive and pyrotechnic means;
  5. e) unmanned aerial vehicles.

Travel insurance in Uzbekistan

Travel insurance is mandatory for all tourists. When booking a tour, every traveler must take an insurance policy from a reputable insurance company, which, if necessary, will cover the costs associated with injuries, medical assistance, repatriation, loss of baggage and cancellation or reduction of the tour schedule. If you get sick, all costs for treatment and return home are yours and the travel company will not be responsible for the cost of the tour.

Departure from Uzbekistan

Prepare for departure from Uzbekistan

The departure procedure at the airport is simple: you need to check in for the flight, pass customs checks and passports, go through the security service and get on the plane. For international flights, travelers are invited to arrive at the airport 2-3 hours before departure. Before leaving the hotel for the airport, check the availability of the following documents: a passport, a registration form provided by the hotel or OVIR, a customs declaration at the entrance, an air ticket and the visa validity in Uzbekistan on passport. If the Uzbekistan visa has expired before the day of departure, it may be applied to the airport upon exiting penalties of up to $ 3,000.

Departure from Uzbekistan

If you are about to leave Uzbekistan with more than $ 2,000 (or equivalent in another currency), you must submit a second copy of the customs declaration you left when you enter Uzbekistan. Please note that it is not possible to withdraw more money than indicated in the declaration completed at the time of registration. Or you will need to provide a supporting document indicating the source of the excess amount (bank transfer documents, etc.). Otherwise, the cash will leave you in Uzbekistan, which can be transferred to friends or a travel agency. In the extreme case, if there is nobody to transfer this money, they will be confiscated. If you lose your copy of the statement, you will not be able to take away more than 2000 US dollars.

Crafts and souvenirs

At the checkpoint, the customs officer can ask you to show him the handmade items and souvenirs you bought to make sure you are not involved in the illegal export of cultural or antiques items. If you export these items out of the country, you must have the appropriate documentation with you. For other souvenirs, it is possible to have a receipt or certificate from the shop, which confirms that it is the subject of mass production. If you do not have a certificate, an expert from the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan is in charge of checking these items at the airport. The duty of the state for the examination must be paid on the spot. The amount of the duty depends on the nature and value of the object examined. We recommend that you keep your receipts and ask for certificates of articles that may have cultural significance and / or look antiques:

– Objects of cultural value and souvenirs from Uzbekistan

– Ancient objects (carpets, pottery, suzane, musical instruments, paintings, etc.). That 50 (fifty) years have been created and more years ago they can not be exported from Uzbekistan.

– Objects of cultural value created in the last 50 (fifty) years (including crafts, exclusive crafts, works of art containing precious metals and stones, objects or fragments of objects found during archaeological sites, ancient books, musical instruments and various types of weapons that have historical or cultural value) require a special certificate from the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan to take away from Uzbekistan. Follow the advice of your guide.

Mass production items – ordinary souvenirs, factory souvenirs, carpets, embroidery products, made in the last 50 (fifty) years – do not require a special certificate. However, in order to demonstrate that these are actually mass-produced items, a receipt or certificate must be obtained from the shops where these items were purchased.

If the customs official has doubts about the possible cultural value of the objects being transported, but it is not possible to provide the necessary documentation, the customs officer will ask the expert of the Ministry of Culture to conduct an examination of the article. The exam fee must be paid on the spot by the owner of the item cash. The amount of the service depends on the size and the value of the item. The minimum amount is around 25,000 sum Uzbeks.

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