Travel in city Road

Sep 11, 2024 • 8 min read

Jul 14, 2024 • 11 min read

Lonely Planet editor Alex Butler traveled to Uzbekistan for a whirlwind trip to some of the country's highlights and what lies beyond the Silk Road cities. Here, she shares some tips and insights for anyone planning a similar trip. 

Once upon a time, Uzbekistan was a real hassle to visit. Travelers faced labyrinthine and opaque visa processes, expensive letters of invitation and complicated registration requirements. Luckily, those days are long gone. Uzbekistan now makes life as easy as it can for tourists, starting with a streamlined visa process. 

It hasn’t been long since the fantastic sights of Central Asia were hidden behind a barricade of expensive and convoluted visa-application procedures, compounded by a general perception that these were difficult and even dangerous countries in which to travel. In recent years, however, the local authorities have sought to open up to tourists, visas have been simplified – or even abolished – and word is spreading of the rewards of travelling to this relatively unexplored region.