Tashkent is often referred to as a "gateway city", the first stop for travellers before they move on to the more striking Uzbek cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, or Khiva. If you're travelling from abroad, you're almost definitely going to be landing in Tashkent, and rather than skipping the capital, let's...

One of the ancient cities of the Silk Road, Khiva is often the Uzbek city that most tourists miss. Because it's harder to reach, most travellers to Uzbekistan tend to focus on the "Golden Trio" of Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara. While Samarkand has the grand scale of the Registan and...

If you're in the middle of planning a trip to Uzbekistan right now and you're here to figure out the best way to spend two days in Bukhara, then just know that I am very jealous. And that you've come to the right place. Bukhara is one of the three...

Most visitors to Uzbekistan come for the impressive scale of Samarkand, or the beautiful old city of Khiva, and I get it. If you've read my Samarkand post, you'll know that it was a photo of Registan that ignited my interest in the country. When I was actually in Uzbekistan,...

For travellers to Uzbekistan, Samarkand is usually absolutely top of the list. However, it can be hard to plan your Samarkand itinerary because the city is absolutely heaving in historical sites, beautiful architecture, and incredible places to visit. Realistically, you're going to have to get okay with the fact that...

The moment I knew I'd visit Uzbekistan one day was when I first saw a photo of Samarkand. You know the old romance trope of eyes meeting across a crowded room and knowing that person is The One? That was me, except it wasn't a person, it was shimmering turquoise...

When you think of Uzbekistan, you probably think of turquoise domed mosques and madrasas, intricate mosaics, or even their famous non bread. Wine isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind, but Uzbekistan actually has a thriving viticulture industry. This is especially evident in the Bagizagan Winery, just outside...

For many visitors to Uzbekistan, the capital city of Tashkent is the first stop. It's often the transit hub: somewhere to land and spend a day or two before the real adventure begins. And sure, it might not be as striking as Registan in Samarkand, or as beautiful as the...

Let me start off by saying: I was an idiot when I visited Uzbekistan. I did minimal planning and took the very Irish approach of "it'll be grand" to exploring Uzbekistan as a vegan. It was not grand. It was how I ended up in my hotel room in Samarkand,...

Here's a fun fact for you: In Russian, a large train station is called a "vokzal" (вокзал), and it gets its name from London's Vauxhall. Vauxhall was my first local tube station when I moved to London in 2010, and a vokzal was where I found myself on a sunny...