After spending two days exploring the vibrant and historic city of Samarkand at the start of our 2024 Central Asia journey, we decided to continue our adventure by heading to Bukhara. In this post, I’ll share helpful information and key details about the trip. If you prefer to avoid the hassle of public transport and arrange a private transfer with a hotel pickup, you can do it here.
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Our helpful host at the Optimist Guesthouse in Samarkand told us we could catch a bus for 50,000 som from this station located here. He also said that it’s common and easy to hitchhike, but well, I’m past that age and I wasn’t patient enough for it even when I was at the right age.
The taxi to the bus station charged us 20,000 som—slightly more than the standard 15,000 som fare within the city center. The station turned out to be a simple parking lot in front of a small mall. It was bustling with taxis and several small vans heading to nearby suburban destinations, but there was no sign of a big bus to Bukhara. We found a narrow strip of shade on the steps and settled in to wait.
Having waited for over an hour with no sign of the bus, I stood up and approached the taxi drivers for negotiations. I bargained a seat in a shared taxi down to 100,000 from the 150,000 he first quoted. We squeezed our bags into the trunk, next to the gas tank, and then settled into the car, waiting for the last two seats to be filled.
This was also taking longer than expected. Eventually, a big bus with a “Bukhara” sign appeared. I hurried over to confirm and learned that the ticket cost 80,000 som—higher than the 50,000 our host had mentioned—but it was departing soon. I returned to the taxi and opened the trunk to retrieve our bags. The driver, who was chilling with his mates some steps away, scurried to me in panic. He pleaded with us not to take the bus, insisting, “We are leaving now.”
“When?”
“Immediately!”
He marched over to another driver, shouted something, and seemingly poached two of his passengers. Practically dragging them back by the lapels, he ushered them into the car. Finally, we departed.
The ride in the air-conditioned car was both comfortable and fast, though a bit nerve-wracking. The driver overtook everything in his path, weaving through lanes like a winding river and skimming past other vehicles with mere inches to spare. Despite the time spent delivering several parcels along the way, we reached Bukhara in under four hours.
He dropped us off at Bukhara’s north bus station (location), 5 km from the city center. The taxi to our quaint hotel cost 30,000. We settled and set off exploring the splendid city right away.
Accommodation and activities in Uzbekistan
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