Uzbekistan trip cost: a 7-day budget at 2026 prices

A week per person: budget, mid-range and comfort

The table prices seven days and six nights on the classic route: Tashkent on nights 1 and 6, Samarkand on nights 2–3 and Bukhara on nights 4–5, with three train legs. Two adults share a room and every taxi; each pays for their own tickets, meals and SIM card. Every figure comes from a published price in the fact sheet and the sections below, read in September 2026; dollars are at the Central Bank rate of 11,825.40 som.

Budget means a dorm bed, Sharq and Nasaf seats, plov-centre lunches, the airport bus and the metro. Mid-range means a 3-star double at US$72, the Afrosiyob in economy, a restaurant dinner and one app taxi a day. Comfort means a US$140 double, Afrosiyob business class, two restaurant meals with a 15% service charge, two taxis a day and the Center of Islamic Civilization.

Travelling alone, you pay the whole room and every taxi yourself: add 2,766,500 som (US$234) mid-range or 5,267,000 som (US$445) in comfort. On a budget the dorm bed costs the same, and only the station taxis double, adding 75,000 som.

Where the money goes: rooms take 27% of the budget column, 43% of mid-range and 50% of comfort. Food is the largest budget line at 32%, and trains take 14–20% at every level, so a cheaper room saves more than a cheaper train.

Outside the table: international flights, a visa where your passport needs one, travel insurance, shopping and tips. The route itself, day by day: 7, 10 or 14 days.

Rooms: US$12 for a dorm bed, US$52–122 for a double

Rooms are the largest line in the mid-range and comfort columns. In Samarkand, the 3-star doubles in most demand for 29–30 September cost US$52–92 a night, and those at 4-star hotels and above US$67–122; the lowest 3-star offers were US$29–33. A dorm bed at BeShic in Tashkent costs US$12, and Poykent in Bukhara’s old city starts at US$140 for a Standard Double and US$160 for a twin.

For the same night, named rates ran from US$23 at Mir Abdullo to US$57 at Samarkand Travel Hotel, US$97 at Ideal Hotel, US$120 at Grand Samarkand Superior and US$312 at Mövenpick.

The mid-range column uses US$72, the middle of the 3-star range, for all six nights; the comfort column uses Poykent’s US$140. Prices are per room unless a listing says per bed, so divide by two only a room price that covers both of you.

The tourist tax usually comes on top of the room price: BeShic collects 44,000 som per non-resident per night at check-in, in som. The hotel’s invoice has to show the room and the tax separately, which makes a double count easy to spot.

Trains: 646,690 to 1,410,500 som for the three legs

The three legs are Tashkent–Samarkand, Samarkand–Bukhara and Bukhara–Tashkent. The Afrosiyob covers them in 2 h 13 min to 2 h 30 min, 1 h 37 min to 1 h 46 min and about 4 h 05 min; Sharq and Nasaf seats take 3 h 09 min, 2 h 35 min and 6 h 11 min or more, for 38% less.

On Samarkand–Bukhara, business class was cheaper than economy on the dates searched: 195,500 against 225,000 som. Tickets go on sale 60 days before departure at 10:00 Tashkent time, and the site takes foreign cards; how to buy: Afrosiyob and tickets.

Book the train before the hotel. In the search of 27 September, the 08:30 Afrosiyob from Tashkent on 10 November had 1 business and 11 economy seats left, while the 07:30 still had 9 and 94.

Plans change: returning an online ticket more than 24 hours before departure costs 55,000 som, a 40,000-som agency fee plus a 15,000-som refund fee; between 24 and 6 hours before, half the seat part of the fare is kept as well.

Food: plov at 53,000 som, a restaurant dinner at 126,500

A full plate of plov or lagman costs 51,000–53,000 som in Tashkent. Kamolon Osh sells a 515-gram plate of wedding plov for 53,000 som, salads for 17,500 and a minced-meat kebab for 20,000, and it is open from 09:30 to 06:00. At Tarnov, a family restaurant with four branches in Tashkent, lagman costs 51,000 som, soups 43,000, a lamb kebab 25,000, bread 4,500 and half a litre of water 5,000. Half a litre of cola costs 10,000 som and a fresh apricot juice 16,000.

The worksheet counts 143,000 som a day on a budget: samsa for breakfast, plov with salad for lunch, lagman, bread and water for dinner. Mid-range is 209,000: the same breakfast and lunch, then a restaurant dinner of lagman, two lamb kebabs, salad, bread and water at 126,500. Comfort is 293,175: lunch and dinner at a restaurant, with juice, a dessert and a 15% service charge.

Many restaurants and cafés add 10–15% for service, sometimes 20%. The charge has to be announced in advance, so look for the percentage on the menu before you order; tipping on top is covered in travel tips.

Tickets: 100,000 som for the Registan, 60,000 for the Ark

Foreign adults pay 100,000 som at the Registan, children aged 7–18 pay 50,000, and the Gur-e-Amir charges 75,000 (65,000 for children). In Bukhara, the museum-reserve’s price list, in force since 1 January 2025, charges foreign visitors 60,000 som for the Ark and for Sitorai Mohi-Xosa and 20,000 for smaller museums such as Chashma-Ayub. The Center of Islamic Civilization in Tashkent charges 425,000 som with an English or Russian audio guide.

The Registan sells tickets on its official site and opens 07:00–24:00 from 20 February to 20 November, 08:00–20:00 in winter. In Bukhara, a guided visit of the Ark and Sitorai Mohi-Xosa in a foreign language costs 120,000 som, and a guided city walk from 700,000 som.

The worksheet counts the Registan, the Gur-e-Amir and the Ark on a budget (235,000 som), adds Sitorai Mohi-Xosa mid-range (295,000) and the Center of Islamic Civilization in comfort (720,000). Shah-i-Zinda, Bibi-Khanym and Bukhara’s other sights come on top.

Taxis, buses and a local SIM card

Yandex Go works in all three cities. In Tashkent, its Start tariff charges at most 4,600 som as a minimum, then up to 1,050 som per kilometre and 500 som per minute, so a 10-km, 20-minute ride comes to about 25,000 som before peak-hour pricing. In Samarkand and Bukhara, Yandex Go lists city rides from 4,100 and 3,700 som. Licensed airport taxis into Tashkent start at 50,000 som, with 20 minutes of free waiting.

The Tashkent metro and city buses cost 1,700 som a ride paid electronically and 3,000 som with a QR ticket; a city draft of September 2026 would raise the electronic fare to 2,500 som from 1 October. The worksheet prices station taxis at 25,000 som a car and airport taxis at 50,000: the budget column takes the airport bus and ten metro or bus rides, mid-range adds one app ride a day, comfort two.

A local SIM with an Uzbek number lets you order taxis and receive bank codes. Ucell’s Bor 70 costs 70,000 som a month for 70 GB and unlimited local calls; Beeline’s Hello 2 costs 100,000 som for 50 GB and 2,000 minutes. A data-only Airalo eSIM costs US$13 for 5 GB and 30 days. A local line is sold against your passport.

Tourist tax: 22,000 to 66,000 som a night

Foreign guests aged 16 and over pay a tourist tax for each night, set as a share of the base amount of 440,000 som in force since 1 September 2026. The rate depends on the hotel’s room count, not its stars: 5% (22,000 som) up to 10 rooms, 10% (44,000) for 11–40 rooms and 15% (66,000) above 40. Hostels and private rentals with up to 5 rooms pay 5%; family guesthouses with up to 20 places pay 2% (8,800 som).

A part day counts as a full day. Since 2026 the tax does not apply outside regional capitals, Tashkent, Nukus and the districts, towns and tourist zones on the resolution’s list; Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva all charge it. Uzbek citizens pay 1,760 som a night. The invoice must show the room price and the tax separately.

For six nights a foreign adult pays 52,800 som at 2%, 132,000 at 5%, 264,000 at 10% and 396,000 at 15%. The worksheet uses 44,000 som a night in the budget and mid-range columns and 66,000 in comfort. Registration is a separate duty: visa and registration.

Watch out

• Listed room prices are starting rates: your dates, the tourist tax and breakfast decide the final bill.
• The tourist tax is often collected at check-in, in som, on top of what you booked: 44,000 som a night at BeShic.
• App taxis cost more at busy times: Yandex Go applies a peak-hour coefficient on top of its tariff.
• Afrosiyob seats go first: one November morning train had a single business seat left 44 days ahead.
• Check the Tashkent metro and bus fare after 1 October: a city draft raises the electronic fare from 1,700 to 2,500 som.

Common questions