Uzbekistan: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Uzbekistan feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 40 written places.
Hospitality is a duty and a pleasure; expect tea, bread and friendly questions from strangers.
✓ Considered polite
- Greet with your right hand over your heart and a slight nod - it warms any hello
- Accept tea when offered - it is poured in small amounts and refilled often as a sign of care
- Cover shoulders and knees at mosques and mausoleums; women need a headscarf inside working mosques
- Haggle good-naturedly at bazaars - it is expected and sociable
✗ Better avoided
- Place non, the round flatbread, upside down or on the ground - bread is treated with real respect
- Refuse hospitality outright - accept at least a sip or a bite
- Show the soles of your feet when sitting on a tapchan platform
- Blow your nose at the table
Worth knowing
- Cards work in city hotels and bigger restaurants, but bazaars and taxis want cash som
- Fast Afrosiyob trains link Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara - book seats a few days ahead
- Plov is a lunch dish - the famous plov centres often sell out by early afternoon
- Alcohol is widely sold in shops and restaurants
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.