Moscow - Tashkent: an unforgettable trip

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Russia has traditionally strong and in most cases friendly relations with Central Asia. The huge passenger flow, which exists due to strong economic ties, provides a large number of different ways to get to any of the states in the center of Asia.

It can be long and expensive

Several trains run between Moscow and Tashkent, none of which are operated by Russian railway workers. All trains are owned by carriers and the final destination is either in Tashkent or Andijan. Most often, when going to Central Asia, the train is chosen by passengers with large luggage, for which they would have to pay a lot of money on the plane. When traveling by rail, there are different regulations that allow those who wish to carry large household appliances or large bags with gifts.

European backpackers on route

The second group of railway travelers, and a considerable one at the same time, are tourists and lovers of exotic ways of traveling, because the Moscow-Tashkent train travels sixty-eight hours and passes on its ownthe way the most different regions of Russia and Kazakhstan, and this allows you to get acquainted with a variety of landscapes, albeit through the window of the car.

At the same time, a trip by train, even in the cheapest reserved seat car, costs more than flying by plane. Great competition among air carriers allows passengers to use their services at reasonable prices.

Moscow - Tashkent. The plane will take you in four hours

Direct flight to Tashkent, subject to advance booking and depending on seasonal fluctuations, costs about 20% cheaper than traveling in the same direction by train.

There is a wide range of opportunities to fly to Uzbekistan, and travelers do not always choose the direct and fastest flights, because flights with transfers, which are often cheaper than direct flights, allow you to see another city along the way.

Direct flight to choose or with a transfer?

For example, Kazakh air carriers offer flights with long and often daytime transfers in Alma-Ata. In this case, you should stock up on a guide to the southern capital and the largest city of Kazakhstan, rebuilt in recent years with European taste and the latest architectural fashion.

Turkish Airlines offer an extremely tempting opportunity in one trip not only to visit the capital of Uzbekistan, but also to drop in for a day in Istanbul, a city that deserves a separate and very detailed story and about which many guidebooks for every taste have been written.

On close examinationsearch results in airfare aggregators, you can even find two transfers in Turkey - one in Istanbul and the second in Ankara, the capital of the country. But it is worth noting that this is a rather tedious undertaking, requiring some effort from the traveler and, above all, a strong desire to see these cities.

How to get from Moscow to Tashkent by car?

Motorists on their way from Moscow to Tashkent will have to pass through the territory of three countries: Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. All countries are members of the CIS and provide citizens of other countries - members of this association with the right to visa-free entry into their territory, however, it is important to remember that border crossing is possible only at specially designated places - checkpoints on the borders of two countries.

There are two main and popular routes among motorists across the territory of Russia in the direction of Kazakhstan. On the route Moscow - Tashkent it will be necessary to cross the Volga. Departing from Moscow to the east and passing through Nizhny Novgorod, the traveler will pass the great Russian river in Samara. Going south through Tambov, the Volga will have to pass in Saratov. The city of Orenburg is on the eastern route, and you will need to cross the border with Kazakhstan in its vicinity.

In the area of the Kazakh city of Aktobe, the routes merge and switch to the M-32 highway, which winds its way through the endless great steppes up to the checkpoint on the Kazakh-Uzbek border near the town of Zhibek Zholy. There is a possibility herespend some time in line, as border guards and customs officers are overly attentive to the luggage of people crossing the border.

How long is the car route Moscow - Tashkent? The distance is approximately 3400 km, depending on the option chosen.

Hospitable and warm city

The glory of Tashkent as the historical and cultural capital of the region has long not only bypassed the countries of the former USSR, but also penetrated the environment of Western tourists. A huge number of foreigners come to Uzbekistan to taste oriental sweets, taste authentic plov and stroll through the narrow medieval streets of the ancient city.

Ancient mausoleums of Muslim saints are also popular with tourists and pilgrims from other Islamic countries.

And art lovers can get what they want in the city's art galleries and art museum, which features an extensive collection of not only Western but also little-known local art. It is worth paying special attention to the work of local artists who painted during the Soviet era, because on the outskirts of the Soviet Union, censorship was not so severe, and painters could afford a little more freedom in choosing a theme and visual media.

No matter how the traveler gets to Tashkent, the city will meet him with a smile and the sun, generously feed and warm.