Oybek - Buston (UZ-TAJ) border crossing

[duffajfka]

I can confirm the rule, I met a Russian driver with a car imported from Japan in Kyrgyzstan who also complained that they didn't let him into Tajikistan because of right hand drive.

It may be good if the admins add this into the self-drive guide of Caravanistan.

[Kalpazan]

It is forbidden since 2018. Check this document, 5.23.2 (in Russian):

https://tajtrade.tj/media/1533.pdf

2. Запрещается движение на автомобильных дорогах транспортных средств с правосторонним
рулевым управлением.

Why it wasn't enforced until now is a different story.

[EdC]

Quick and relatively painless crossing with UK passports + two kids aged 2+5 UZ-TAJ last Tuesday around 11am. Took about 25-30 minutes from leaving the car from Tashkent to getting in the one to Khujand, and that included a toilet stop before the border (averagely smelly, had soap and water).

Paid our hotel $40 to organize the trip from Tashkent to the border, which is definitely on the high side but at least meant we could demand the seatbelts be made to work.

To Khujand, drivers in the no-mans land wanted $30 but went down to $25 as we walked away. Told us lots of stories about how Tajik customs would be slow and inspect our bags if we walked (Tajik customs were nowhere to be seen, and we walked straight through the car shed). We wound up getting a whole car for $20 for the four of us from the other side of the border, which is possibly on the high side.

Foolishly paid $1 (in Uzbek Som) for a golf buggy trip about 200m for one of the walking sections from the Uzbek passport control to the border itself. Probably not worth it, even in the midday sun.

No-one asked for hotel slips, but we'd only been in Uzbekistan for one night so maybe they couldn't be bothered.

[Inom]

December 5th 2022.

Called Asia Express the morning of departure asking if the bus to Tashkent will be operating. All I got was a "if there are enough people, by fate it will go".

Arrived at the station which is at the location Caroline linked above. It is however, labled as bus to Tashkent on Google Maps and a picture has been uploaded so you will know if you are in the correct place.

I got there for 7.30AM, nobody was there but me. No other single living soul, the cash desks were closed.

After five minutes a lady approaches me and we manage to communicate through Google translate, she tells me the bus will only go if there are enough people, she indicated 8 people mininum, she told me to wait and see if more people arrive, otherwise she said she will call a taxi for me in the event the bus does not go.

One more person arrives going to Tashkent but it isn't enough.

…

Scammed? I don't know. The AsiaExpress direct from Khujand to Tashkent was listed as 100 Somoni, so a 50somoni ride shared with 5 other paying passengers just to the border seems not right. 14 x 6 would have been 84 somoni which I thought seemed right considering it was a one hour ride just to border and not direct to Tashkent. I doubt he got 50 x 6 which is 300 somoni just taking us to the border. Then again, 14 somoni does seem ridiculously low, so maybe I'm just crazy.

We discovered that the Asia Express bus leaves now from Staryi Avtovokzal (40°16.54553'N, 69°36.62944'E) at 8:00, costs 100somoni p.P.

We went to taksopark as said in the forum before, but the reception guy called the bus driver of Asia Express and they waited for us while taxi got us there. We arrived in Tashkent 14:00, the ride was comfortable.

[FRT15]

Would anyone know a good location in Tashkent to hire a driver to go to the oybek border? I will ask the hotel but wondering if there is a taxi stand or something that would be better. Thanks

[Inom]

Would anyone know a good location in Tashkent to hire a driver to go to the oybek border? I will ask the hotel but wondering if there is a taxi stand or something that would be better. Thanks

The bus Asia Express should go every day. Call them:
(+992) 926401616 or (+992) 927674200 or (+992) 931740635. These are the numbers on my ticket.
It leaves from Tashkent Avtovokzal: 41°15.46017'N, 69°11.58272'E, not sure what time.

[FRT15]

Thanks Inom.

[HugoL]

Made the crossing today from Khujand to Tashkent using shared taxis only. The trip was smoother than expected.

Share taxis depart from Abreshim Bus Station in the northwest of the city. The taxis for Obeyk are on the bridge southwest of the bus station (40.310856, 69.650297). Paid 50TJS

Side story: I initially went to the Автовокзали кухна around 15 minutes of walk from the town centre, but no taxis go to Obeyk except for a ridiculous offer of 250TJS. The very sweet lady in the Kassa instructed me to take Minibus 33 to the other side of the city. However, it's still a 40-minute walk from the bus stop to where the taxi departs. I did see rout 8a stopping at Abreshim, so perhaps take that if you can see it roaming the street.

At the border, it's a bit chaotic on the Tajik side but overall went smoothly. The border guards are friendly and finish all the border procedures in under 30 minutes.

Taxi drivers on the Uzbek side asked for 100000UZS for a seat, and finally agreed on 80000 but could probably push it lower if you are more skilled than I am as I know someone travelled from Tashkent on the same route for 50000.

Not sure of the final destination but the driver dropped me off at Qo'yliq, a busy junction with a bazaar, shopping mall and most importantly a metro station. From this point, it's an easy, 1700UZS, 30-minute metro ride to the city centre.

The whole trip from the bus station in Khujand including procedures took around 3h30.

[FRT15]

This week I did this in the opposite direction. Paid 200000 through yandex app from Tashkent to Oybek. Then $10 for taxi on Tajik side to Khujand. About 3.5 hours overall, also smoother than I had anticipated.

[Peregrinations]

Report: Tashkent to Khujand via Oybek crossing, male and female pair, age 27, United States of America, November 22, 2023

I first messaged +992 92 640 1616 on WhatsApp to ask about the Asian Express bus that I read here goes direct from the Tashkent Avtovokzal to Khujand (in Russian). I received a written answer very quickly, telling me there was no bus that day.

Following the advice on the Oybek crossing page on Caravanistan, took local marshrutka bus to Kuyluk Bazaar (3000 som per person). The site says there is a marshrutka to Bekobod, but we could not locate one anywhere. Bus drivers (and certainly taxi drivers) we asked said it did not exist. Maybe they were lying, but we could not find a bus. At the taxi bank, we were swarmed with aggressive drivers. The lowest price we got was 100,000 som per person in a shared car. Took about 1.5 hours to drive to the border.

No issues on the Uzbek side. Exchanged $30 USD for 300 TJS from one of the money changers hawking outside the entrance. Decent toilets available for 2000 som. Customs agent did not ask to see any registration slips. Most of our lodgings said as it is all online, slips are not necessary, but most printed them or send me a copy on WhatsApp if I asked. My parents departed from Tashkent airport a few days early and were also not asked about any registration slips.

Tajik side a bit chaotic, but no issues. After waiting in the crowd a while, people indicated we should skip to the front of the line. The officer at the front had us step in front of the line of locals. Everyone was extremely friendly to us.

Took up two seats in a shared taxi for 50 TJS (~$5) a person. We did not try to haggle, maybe you could do better. Taxi took us to the Khujand bus station. Asked for an extra 20 TJS total to bring us directly to the hotel.

Overall, needing to rely on taxis was annoying for us, but overall smooth crossing and the border itself was perfectly pleasant on both sides. Asking through your lodging or just Yandex, might be worth avoiding the trouble and getting a ride straight to Oybek without dealing with the scrum at Kuyluk...unless you enjoy that kind of thing, in which case it was the most "local" feeling bazaar we visited in Tashkent.

Good luck to all!