Southern Uzbekistan/Tajikistan - worth sorting travel in advance?

[Jimmy1453]

Hi everyone,

I’m planning a rough itinerary in October of:

- Samarkand - Termez (maybe via Shakhrisabz?)
- Termez to Shahrtuz via the Gulbahor border crossing

Then onwards to Dushanbe.

I’ve travelled in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan before without much issue; however, a recent trip to Armenia ended up with me getting completely stranded when transport dried up which has made me wary of not booking in advance.

Can I count on a decent run of shared taxis along the route? Or should I look at trying to arrange travel in advance - or indeed, just going for private driver anyway so I can hit up more of the historical sites enroute?

Thanks!

[bender]

Im planning the same trip. In October.
From Samarkand there is taxi to Shakhrisabz. Or taxi to Kitab and then minivan to Shakhrisabz.
To Termez the best option is flight from Tashkent. Cheap tickets. TAS - TMJ. Tickets from 32USD, 38USD with 2 luggage. Uzbekistan Airways. https://book.uzairways.com/en/booking/booking/
And to Dushanbe from Samarkand by train -> https://pass.rw.by/en

[Jimmy1453]

Hi - wanted to update how this went!

Short version: extremely straightforward

Long version:
- Samarkand to Termez via Shakhrisabz - shared taxis the whole way. Slightly difficult getting one in Shakhrisabz; but I got a trip to Qarshi and then transferred. I was feeling a little flush and not in the mood so didn’t negotiate much, but think you could comfortably do the whole lot for under 200k som (6hrs Qarshi-Termez was only 100k for a seat).

- Termez to Gulbahor border - I took a private taxi to save on time, 100k som (metered)

The Gulbahor crossing was extremely easy. No issues with being a foreigner. After leaving Uzbekistan a small marshrutka takes you across the no-man’s land for 10k som. I then entered Tajikistan on my e-visa very smoothly. Whole thing took about half an hour, including crossing the no-man’s lane. I picked up a private taxi at a (I’d guess inflated) 180 somoni fee onwards for the 90 mins to Shahrtuz. Locals at the border were fine to change Uzbek som to Tajik somoni.

In Shahrtuz I very easily got an onwards shared taxi to Qorgonteppe (2hrs), 200 somoni for the whole car seems to be the standard asking rate. I also changed a couple of hundred dollars of Uzbek som at a little bank in Shahrtuz which also let me use their wifi (!)

Only slight hiccough was on arrival at Qorgonteppe/Bokhtar all the available accommodation was extremely grim - and I have fairly low standards. I ended up paying an extra 40 somoni for another shared taxi onwards to Dushanbe (90 mins) and abandoning my (fairly limited!) Khatlon plans.

(Also to add I did this with effectively zero Tajik/Russian, and no SIM/internet - so if I can do it, anyone can!)

[wfqfw]

Hi - wanted to update how this went!
[...]

Did you need a permit for the Khatlon Region?
Gov.uk mentions that one needs to obtain a permit for that region (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advic ... quirements):

If you plan to travel to areas in the Khatlon Region bordering Afghanistan (eg Panj, Kumsangir) you will need to apply for a permit from the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dushanbe prior to travel.

EDIT: no permit of any kind needed.

[wfqfw]

I took the same route about a week ago.
A random driver from Termez to the Gulbahor border: 140,000 uzs
At the border an uzbek border officer made me empty my backpack and we went through each item. He also checked my phone (I saw him browsing through my apps and photos). In total, 7 uzbek and 4 tajik border officials checked my passport (EU/Slovenia). Due to language similarities with Russian I understood most of the questions they asked me and responded to them. In hindsight, maybe the whole thing would have been faster if I pretended to only understand English.
The bus across the no man's land cost me 5000 uzs.
Once across the border, the tajik drivers will try to persuade you to take take the $100 ride to Dushanbe (if you're alone). Going to Shahrtuz first and then finding onward transport there is about 2x cheaper (I paid 450 somoni in total without much negotiation + lunch for the driver). The Tajik side of the border seems to open up in intervals as soon as enough people gather up to cross the border (?). Ask within your group where people are going and if you can find the driver together on the other side.
As a fun fact, an 18-yo tajik border official from Khujand was happy to be able to talk to me. Apparently tourists who speak at least some russian are very rare. He said about 1 tourist (i.e. not from Central Asia) per day comes through.

No covid test needed. No vaccination certificate needed. Didn't ask me for registration slips either.