Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, July 19. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
09.08.2023 - 16:05 / lonelyplanet.com
If you are contemplating traveling the Silk Road with kids, Uzbekistan should be the first destination on your list.
Not only does Uzbekistan have an exciting, eclectic combination of things to see and do, but it is very child friendly. Uzbekistanis like to travel with their extended families — often three generations together — so hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions cater for everyone, young and old.
Uzbekistan’s summer heat and long distances can be a challenge, but the country’s high-speed trains have AC and it’s easy to plan an itinerary based around shorter steps. Here's what you need to know about family travel in Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistanis love children and take their kids with them everywhere, whether it is to a festival, a historic site or a high-end restaurant. Visitors to the country will find it easy to do the same. People will go out of their way to accommodate your needs, including allowing you to skip the line or helping you find a quiet spot for a change or feed.
You’ll have no trouble pushing a stroller around most city centers: Uzbekistan’s streets and squares are well-paved, and as petty crime is almost non-existent, you can leave a buggy outside without worrying. At historic sites, a baby carrier will be more convenient, as you’ll usually have steps to climb or uneven slopes to scramble down.
The best places to see in Uzbekistan with children are the country’s Unesco-listed Silk Road cities, but the dramatic landscapes – from deserts to mountain ranges – offer stiff competition. In fact, it is this wide variety of sights and activities that makes Uzbekistan so child friendly.
Start in the capital, Tashkent, ride the high-speed train to Samarkand and Bukhara, then venture out into the Chimgan Mountains to ski. For extra adventure, visit the Kyzylkum Desert for a yurt stay, or head up onto the Ustyurt Plateau to see the Aral Sea.
Puppetry has a long history in Uzbekistan. The Republican Puppet Theatre in Tashkent was built to look like a fairy-tale castle, and Bukhara and Nukus both have professional puppet theaters. In Khiva, puppeteers roam the streets of the Ichon-Qala with almost life-size puppets. Puppeteers typically use a mixture of sock puppets and marionettes to tell popular stories, many of which will be familiar to international audiences.
For a country predominantly covered by desert, Uzbekistan is surprisingly green. Every city has well-kept parks where local families come to relax in the evenings and at weekends.
Storks, ducks, and peacocks wander free in the Japanese Garden in Tashkent and are always grateful to be fed. The Ak Serai, Timur’s palace in Shakhrisabz, is surrounded by graceful gardens, and Bukhara’s Samani Park offers a good balance of historic monuments
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, July 19. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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