Cross from UZ -> TK, March 2024.
2 people, we travelled from Bukhara (Buxoro) to Alat (Olot) and crossed to Farap. I'll try to address in particular details in the
border crossing guide which were not accurate for us.
Travel to the Border
We travelled from Bukhara to Alat by taxi. The guide and previous persons have quoted a price of 100,000 UZS. In practice, this appears impossible to achieve now. We obtained a number of quotes for the benefit of the community, listed here in descending order with their provenance:
- 1.2 million USZ (Western hotel brand 1)
- 900,000 USZ (Western hotel brand 2)
- 700,000 USZ (Western hotel brad 2, better price from another driver)
- 600,000 USZ (first price from our hotel, in person)
- 400-500,000 USZ (second price from our hotel, via online request)
- 350,000 USZ (first price from a street taxi)
- 300,000 USZ (price from a driver friend of a helpful Uzbek lady)
- 250,000 USZ (negotiated price from street taxi)
As you can see, the range is extreme. Our two dispassionate points of reference for a "fair" price to hold out fo came from the aforementioned helpful Uzbek lady (who said 150-250,000 USZ), and from a helpful Uzbek ticket office operator (who said 180-250,000 USZ).
In the end we secured a ride using Yandex, which I highly recommend. The price was 180,000 USZ. This was possible even at around 6 AM, when we left our hotel.
This obviously comes with its risks, as if you want to cross early in the day but no one accepts your ride, you'll be stuck. But I recommend getting an extremely early start for the 1.5 hours drive so that if you cannot get a Yandex taxi, you have time to find an alternative.
Contrary to the guide, it was possible for the taxi to drive all the way to the gate where we disembarked and began the crossing on foot - it was simply a matter of ensuring we marked the correct location on Yandex.
In Bukhara, when we asked we were told that the border is open 24/7 rather than from 8:30 AM to 6 PM. This appeared to be correct, as we were already through the gate on foot at around 7:45 AM.
Process at the Border
On the Uzbek side, the process is very swift.
You show your passport (we also showed our letters of invitation) at the gate.
Inside the first building we scanned our luggage, went through immigration (passport check and stamping), a short walk to another building and gate where our passports were checked again, then onto the marshrutka.
The driver asked for 5,000 USZ per person. The pair in front of us (also tourists) paid 10,000 total. We only had 7,000 in small notes, which the driver shrugged and accepted without issue.
A short drive later and we were at the Turkmen border. Entering the gate to this stage took 40 minutes.
At the first stage of the Turkmen border, our passports we taken and briefly checked. We then had the PCR test (as noted in other threads, it's test-and-go, no wait for the results).
We then hopped in a second marshrutka, manned by a Turkmen soldier, who asked for the same price. We managed to break some large Uzbek notes with passengers going the other way and paid 10,000 this time.
Inside the building, the real bureaucracy began.
At border control, we first went to the payment counter to pay $45 each for: $10 migration tax; $29 PCR test; $6 receipts tax.
We then completed the customs declaration form, which is given to you inside a small room only after you've paid the above and shown your receipts. They sometimes have multiple languages available, but we only had Turkmen forms. There are translations on the wall, take a picture of your relevant language and fill it out by reference.
My advice here is
do not complete the section declaring how much currency you are bringing in. A Turkmen soldier indicated this to me as well, no one fills it in. If you declare, they will want to inspect it later on and will charge you for the pleasure of doing so.
We then waited at the migration services window to be assisted. They took our passports, but there was a delay as our driver did not know we had arrived - if you can get a message to your driver while you are still in Uzbekistan, do so! There is no phone signal near the border, my advice is to try to send a message or email when you are near Alat and have signal.
When our driver arrived, things got moving again. We now had to return to the cash desk to pay the visa fee. My friend paid $55, as a UK citizen I was charged $85 (which was news to me).
We paid an addition $4 each (which we were told was more receipts tax). After a scrum at this point, assisted by our driver, we finally received our receipts from the cash desk and got our passport stickers back at the migration desk.
After an uneventful x-ray scan of our bags, we rushed out before anyone else tried to apprehend us further. Total time from start to finish, 2 hours 45 minutes.
Any questions, please let me know.
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