The best tour season
Spring (from April till June) and autumn (from September till October) – are the best seasons to visit the country. Autumn is a harvest season; the markets are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. In June and August from the exceeding of the temperature we can see the low visiting of tourists. It is also possible to make a tour in March. In this month the peasants and shepherds celebrates Navruz (Muslims New Year) holiday.
Rules of Entrance and Stay in Uzbekistan
Entrance visa to the Republic of Uzbekistan can be obtained in the Uzbekistan Embassy in your country. It is possible to get a visa in the International Airport of Tashkent only for those, who are arriving from the countries where the Uzbekistan Republic has not the permanent diplomatic or consular missions.
The Republic of Uzbekistan has missions in following countries: Afghanistan, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium (Luxemburg), Great Britain, Germany, Egypt, Italy, India, Indonesia (Vietnam), Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, USA (Canada), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, France, Japan; and consular departments in following cities: Athens (Greece), Dubai (UAE), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), New-York (USA), Bangkok (Thailand), Istanbul (Turkey), Frankfurt-am-main (Germany), Mazari-Sharif (Afghanistan).
Due date of visa issue for persons wishing to visit Uzbekistan upon invitation by legal entities or permanent missions of foreign countries, international organizations accredited in the Republic of Uzbekistan and private persons is not to exceed 4 working days after application submission day.
Tourist visas are issued by consular departments of Uzbekistan abroad, due date for issuing such visas is also not to exceed 4 working days after application submission day.
Prior to obtaining business and tourist visas one should fill out appropriate visa application forms and present documents, the list of which is to be provided by diplomatic or consular missions of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
To obtain transit visa one should fill out visa application form and present passport with the visa of the destination country, and travel documents with the confirmation of departure date from Uzbekistan .
Foreign citizens visiting Uzbekistan can accommodate in hotels or take different housing at their option.
Foreign citizens are liable to get temporary residence permit upon arrival in Uzbekistan within 3 days except for holidays and weekends. Registration is made by internal affairs officials according to visa expiration date depending on the type of visit. Registration of foreign citizens is also made in hotels.
Heads of parliamentary and government delegations, members of their family, technical staff of the delegation, persons arrived in Uzbekistan with UNO passports and foreign citizens staying in Uzbekistan for less than 15 days and minors are exempted from getting temporary residence permit.
Consular duties for visa issue in Uzbekistan are as follows: :
Entrance - exit visa
Up to 30 days - 60 $
Up to 3 months - 80 $
Up to 1 year - 160 $
Transit visa - from 20 to 40 $
The issue tariff rates are increasing up to 10$ for making each multiplicity of visa;
Group visa:
Up to 15 days for each person - 15 $
(group consisting of not less than 10 persons, excluding children under age of 16)
Group visa for 30 and more days for a person - 25 $
There is a charge for visa prolongation:
Up to 24 hours - 15 $
Up to 30 days - 50 $
Besides those charges there are payments for actual expenditures.
Currently the Government of Uzbekistan undertakes efforts towards further liberalization of visa regime and creation of more favorable conditions for visiting the country by business people and tourists. In particular, for this type of persons - citizens of Austria , Belgium , Great Britain , Germany , Spain , France , Switzerland and Japan , simplified rules of visa obtaining have been established. They provide opportunity to apply for visa directly to diplomatic and consular departments of the Republic of Uzbekistan that issue a visa within 2 working days.
Foreign citizens entering the Republic of Uzbekistan to implement professional activity can work on the territory of Uzbekistan only in presence of activity implementation right confirmation given by the Ministry of Labor of the Republic of Uzbekistan , which is addressed to foreigner on the basis of permission obtained by the employer.
Permission to attract foreign labor force is given to Uzbek legal entities and enterprises with foreign capital working in the Republic of Uzbekistan and several Uzbek and foreign physical entities living on the territory of Uzbekistan that use hired labor in their activity.For the tourist, no vaccines are obligatory but it's better to be vaccinated against tetanus, hepatitis A and B, rage and DTP. There is no malaria in Uzbekistan . If you intend to eat in a family or in local restaurants, take with you treatments against diarrhea because the dishes are made from cotton oil and the tourists usually don't bear it.
Emergency phone number / Security
Fire: 01 ; Police : 02 ; Ambulances : 03.
Transports: The travel by train is not best used by travelers, but we can recommend some destinations to travel by train: Tashkent-Samarkand-Tashkent; Tashkent-Bukhara-Tashkent. Travel by bus is safe and the other passengers can easily become acquainted with the tourist. If some drunk will be unpleasant with you the other passengers exclude him. Cabs that you can take on way to bring you to the hotel or B&B are safe.
Circulating alone
Uzbekistan is safe for those who travel alone. The precautions concerning the pickpockets are usually enough. Regarding the population, the Uzbek population is very hospitable and friendly.
For a woman in the country is not dangerous. For the local transports, sit preferably near the women and try to talk with her. The men are polite but the occidental women are often considered as an light minded woman and in principle more approachable that she travels alone and she's not married. The night: Take the bus or cabs during the night is a practical means to have several stops during the travel. Security is complete, everyone sleeps. In town there is no light in certain areas. Try to avoid meeting with drunks or to fall in a hole. The night life is not really developed and except some quarters, some restaurants and some discos, the rest of the town is quiet at nightfall.
Money and valuable thingsTo make use of the card of payment or traveller cheques it will systematically be necessary to pass by the NBU (National Bank of Uzbekistan ) which exist in every big cities. We recommend to exchange your currency only in official places, because the currency between the official and black market are not significant. It is advised to carry neither jewels, nor apparent watch. The hotels have cases in the rooms or at the reception.
The international code of Uzbekistan is 998. Nowadays, the phone numbers of the capital of the republic include six or seven numbers. If the Tashkent phone number include six numbers you will use Tashkent code (71). If it include seven numbers, add number 2 to the Tashkent code (712).
To call to other cities of the republic:
Samarkand - 998 + 662 + subscriber's number,
Bukhara - 998 + 6522 + subscriber's number,
Khiva - 998 + 6222 + subscriber's number,
Andijan - 998 + 742 + subscriber's number,
Namangan - 998 + 6922 + subscriber's number,
Ferghana - 998 + 732 + subscriber's number.
Some rebels found refuge in the mountains of the border areas. These zones are well defined and, in any case, prohibited. If you lose yourselves there, it is in general with the police force or the army that you will have to explain you what can be also unpleasant.
Very light and loose clothing (preferably cotton or natural fibers) is recommended for daytime use, with a light jumper and/or casual jacket for the cooler evenings. Because of a large amount of sightseeing on foot in dry, dusty and sometimes rough areas (i.e. dirt, cobblestones, etc.), comfortable, solid walking shoes with strong soles and support are essential. You may be required to remove your shoes on entry to some religious sites. There are no special clothing requirements for visiting Islamic religious sites, except that you should take care to cover most parts of your body including arms and legs. Be discreet, respectful of local culture and traditions and carry the minimum of valuables.
At the airport you should fill two copy of cash traveler's cheque. Save you copy whiles your tour. At the departure you'll fill a new form. It'll give an opportunity to airport authorities to find out the less of your money amount from arrival then departure.
