Uzbekistan opened to tourism pretty recently, after 2016, when President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power following the death of long-time leader Islam Karimov.
Before 2016, tourism existed (mainly group tours along the Silk Road), but the country was relatively closed, with strict bureaucracy, limited independent travel, and difficult visa procedures.
Starting from 2017–2018, Uzbekistan launched major reforms to attract visitors. They simplified visa rules, introduced e-visas (2018), and relaxed restrictions on photography and movement around historical cities. In 2019, Visa-free entry was introduced for many countries, making travel much easier. This caused a big jump in international tourist arrivals.
In April 2025, when we were there, for the first time one million tourists visited the country in a single month.
At the heart of this massive touristic inflow, I would mention three main factors
- the stunning beauty of the Silk Road Cities, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, where history and legend intertwine
- the kindness of the Uzbek people, for whom tourists are still a kind of pleasant curiosity, as well as the country’s remarkable safety
- travel costs which are refreshingly low, especially when measured against the majority of other destinations
However, not all that glitters is gold and a big success in terms of visitors does not come without consequences: tourists can be concentrated in just a few months per year and just in a few places, so enjoying the different places can become hard and taking that nice picture that you would like a lot, practically impossible.
The best times to visit Uzbekistan are spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October), when the climate is pleasantly mild and perfect for exploring the country’s Silk Road treasures. In spring, the landscapes burst into bloom and the air is filled with the spirit of Navruz, the traditional New Year celebration. Autumn, on the other hand, offers golden light, comfortable temperatures after the scorching summer, and vibrant markets overflowing with grapes, pomegranates, and melons. Both seasons combine ideal weather with rich cultural experiences, making them the most rewarding moments to discover Uzbekistan There are certainly also tourists in summer and winter, but far less than in the other periods of the year.
Moreover, each and every tourist visiting Uzbekistan will certainly go to Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Being the main attractions pretty concentrated, overcrowding is definitely a problem.
Having said that, Uzbekistan is definitely a very nice destination, suitable for a short break (9 full days are definitely enough to visit the main attractions, while more time would allow to go a bit off the beaten track.
In our case, we were time limited, so we stuck to the main three Silk Road Cities, plus a couple of excursions, that I would highly recommend also to leave a bit the crowd.
In summary, we flew to Samarkand, via Istanbul, where we spent basically 3 days plus one for a day trip to Urgut, Shahrisabz and a quick stop at Chorchinor.
From Samarkand, we took the night train to Khiva, where we spent half a day at the arrival, plus one full day and we took a day trip to Nukus.
And finally, from Khiva we went to Bukhara, by car, before heading back to Samarkand for our return flight.
