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Travel guide
Samarkand
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to May, and September to October
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Welcome
Samarkand, in a few days
Tamerlane's capital at the end of the 14th century, Samarkand has the Registan, three madrasas faced in turquoise tiles with portals over 30 metres high. Within about 3 km lie the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Tamerlane's tomb and a 15th-century observatory.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Registan · about 1 h 30Three facing madrasas: Ulugh Beg's of 1420, the Sher-Dor of 1636 with its big cats and human-faced sun, and the gilded Tilya-Kori of 1660.
- Afternoon · Bibi-Khanym Mosque · about 45 minBuilt between 1399 and 1404 with Indian plunder and meant to be the Islamic world's largest mosque, it cracked within Tamerlane's lifetime.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Bibikhanum Hotel€70 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Siab Bazaar free · about 1 hThe city's historic market beside Bibi-Khanym, selling stamped round Samarkand bread, dried apricots, raisins and almonds, spices by weight and kurut, salted dried yoghurt balls.
- Afternoon · Shah-i-Zinda necropolis · about 1 hA stepped lane of some forty mausoleums, many for Tamerlane's family and court, leading to the tomb of Qusam ibn Abbas, the Prophet's cousin.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Grand Samarkand Superior A€65 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Afrasiab archaeological site · about 1 h 30The bare hills north of town are ancient Samarkand, inhabited from the 7th century BC until Genghis Khan destroyed it in 1220.
- Afternoon · Khoja Daniyar Mausoleum · about 30 minA long white building with five domes above the Siab river, holding an 18-metre cenotaph that local tradition links to the prophet Daniel.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Asia Samarkand€65 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Ulugh Beg Observatory · about 45 minTamerlane's astronomer grandson built it around 1424; the surviving trench holds part of a giant sextant with a 40-metre radius.
- Afternoon · Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum · about 30 minBuilt in 1404 for Tamerlane's grandson, it received the conqueror himself a year later; its 32-metre ribbed dome prefigures the Mughal tombs of India.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Arba Hotel€55 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Plov: rice cooked with mutton, carrots and onions in a great iron pot. The national dish, eaten at lunchtime.
- Shashlik: skewers of lamb or beef, grilled over charcoal in the bazaars.
- Manti: large steamed dumplings filled with meat and onion.
- Lagman: hand-pulled noodles, in a soup or stir-fried.
- Non and green tea: the round bread baked on the wall of a clay oven, and the tea served with every meal.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Keep the registration slips your hotels give you: border guards can check them when you leave.
- Carry some cash in US dollars or euros. Cards work in city hotels, less so in bazaars and small towns.
- Cover shoulders and knees in mosques and madrasas.
- Summer heat regularly passes 40 °C in Bukhara and Khiva: sightsee early and late.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Uzbek
| English | Uzbek |
|---|---|
| Hello | Salom |
| Thank you | Rahmat |
| Please | Iltimos |
| Yes | Ha |
| No | Yo'q |
| Excuse me | Kechirasiz |
| Goodbye | Xayr |
| Do you speak English? | Inglizcha gapirasizmi? |
| I don't understand | Tushunmadim |
| How much is it? | Bu qancha turadi? |
| Where are the toilets? | Hojatxona qayerda? |
| The bill, please | Hisob, iltimos |
| Help! | Yordam bering! |
| Cheers! | Sog'ligingiz uchun! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUzbek som (UZS)
BudgetAbout €65 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to May, and September to October
PlugC/I · 220V
Tap waterBottled only
TippingService is often on the bill, otherwise round up
Emergency112 / 103
EntryVisa-free for up to 30 days for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports (US citizens since 1 January 2026). You must be registered within three days of arrival: hotels do it for you, and private stays are registered online.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. Uzbekistan has been certified malaria-free by the WHO since 2018, so no prophylaxis is needed.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/samarkand
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.