GETTING IN AND OUT

Air
The national airline "Uzbekistan Airways" (HY) currently flies from Frankfurt on Main, Amsterdam, London, Birmingham, New York, Moscow, Athens, Tel Aviv, Beijing, Bahrain, Delhi, Dhaka, Istanbul, Seoul, Jeddah, Rome, Kuala Lumpur, Sharjah and Bangkok. It also flies to most destinations within the CIS. Tashkent is also served by a number international carriers: Lufthansa flies to Frankfurt on Main and Almaty, Pakistan International Airways flies to Islamabad, Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, and Xinjiang Airlines flies to Urumchi in China. There are no flights to Tajikistan since the beginning of Tajik civil war at the end of 1992. For additional information please contact Uzbekistan Airways in Tashkent.

International airport
  There is only one international airport in Uzbekistan -Tashkent International Airport (TAS) located in the south of Tashkent, about 11km from the downtown. Facilities here open 24 hours and include left luggage office, exchange office, duty-free shops, restaurants and bars. Airport is served by buses, which run every 10-20 minutes. It takes 30-60 minutes to reach the destination. Trains connect the airport with the centre, it takes10-20 minutes and taxis are readily available, travel time is 15-20 minutes.

Note! Departure tax: US$10.

Rail
  Uzbekistan railroad network linking Tashkent with all neighboring countries. Lines lead east to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan and Almaty in Kazakhstan, west to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, north to Moscow in Russia and south to Samarkand and to Dushanbe in Tajikistan. There is also a spur line to Fergana Valley in the east of the country, which leads to ancient town of Osh in Kyrgyzstan.

  It is possible to connect to China through Almaty in Kazakhstan; and to Iran and the Middle East via Turkmenistan. Foreigners have to pay for rail tickets in US Dollars. Railroad services are cheap comparing to Western standards and generally reliable.

Road
  Uzbekistan has road connections to all its neighbours. The border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan is closed to all except Uzbek and Afghan nationals. If you are going to travel with your own car, please contact your local Embassy first to get further information and additional details you might need to know crossing the borders in Central Asia.

Bus
  There are coach services to all of the neighbouring countries. Crossing Uzbek-Tadjik border might occur the occasional border closures which make this route unreliable. Long-distance buses leave from the Tashkent bus station. Foreigners have to pay for tickets in US Dollars. The coaches to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan leave from Chernyaevka village (Kazakh side), which is 25 km north from Tashkent. It is pretty complicated for bus drivers (non-residents of Uzbekistan) to cross the Uzbek border, so the founded "bus station" in a short distance from the border. It is impossible to book or buy the tickets for this buses some there, except the bus drivers So pay directly to them.

Car hire
  It is possible to hire the car with driver for long journeys; they normally ask to be paid in US Dollars. The best place to look for these is at the long-distance bus and train stations.

Duty Free
The following goods may be imported into Uzbekistan by passengers aged 18 and older without incurring customs duty:
1000 cigarettes or 1kg of tobacco products; 1.5l of alcoholic beverages and 2l of wine; a reasonable quantity of perfume use for personal use; other goods for personal use up to a value of US$10,000.

Note: All valuable items such as jewellery, cameras and computers should be declared on arrival.

Prohibited imports: Firearms, ammunition, drugs, photographs and printed matter directed against the country, live animals, fruits and vegetables.

Prohibited exports: Items more than 100 years old and those of special cultural importance require special permission for export. When buying items that may be more than 100 years old, ask for a certificate stating the age of the item(s). Precious metals, stones, furs, arms and ammunition are also prohibited.