Safety in Uzbekistan

Overall: Uzbekistan is one of the calmer countries anywhere to travel in. There is a visible tourist police presence, and officers will genuinely help a foreigner find an address or flag a taxi.

Pickpockets: Thieves work the most crowded places, Chorsu bazaar in Tashkent above all. Wear your backpack on your front and keep nothing valuable in a back pocket.

Heat: The real health risk is the summer. In July shade temperatures reach forty degrees easily, so wear a hat, use sunscreen and plan your sightseeing around the middle of the day.

Document checks: Police may stop you to see your passport and your registration slips. Carry the originals or good copies at all times and the conversation stays short.

Haggling: At markets and with freelance drivers the first price for a foreigner is always inflated. This is not a scam, it is the culture, so bargain calmly and expect to halve it.

Stomach: Wash your hands before eating and avoid places with no running water. Upset stomachs are common here, mostly because the food is richer and oilier than most visitors are used to.

Uzbekistan has very low street crime and a strong tradition of hospitality. Organised deception of tourists barely exists, though a couple of patterns recur.

Taxis at Tashkent airport. The classic three- or four-fold overcharge. Yandex Go and MyTaxi work nationwide and cost realistic money. In Samarkand and Bukhara, flagging a car down is normal practice — the price is quoted upfront and is low.

Currency exchange. Since the 2017 liberalisation the black market has all but vanished and bank and bureau rates are market rates. Changing money privately achieves nothing except the risk of counterfeit notes.

Souvenirs and carpets. In Bukhara and Khiva haggling is part of the process and the first price is double. A separate theme is the "antique" carpet or suzani sold as old. Beyond overpaying, there is a second problem: genuinely old items need an export permit.

"Guides" at madrasas. They offer to show you the "closed part" not normally open. Sometimes it works; sometimes it ends with a demand for money at the exit. Agree the amount in advance.

Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara are calm at night, central districts and parks included.

Registration is the country's key formality. Foreigners must register their place of stay within three working days. Hotels and guesthouses do this automatically and issue a slip — keep every slip until departure, as they can be requested at the airport. If you stay with friends or in unregistered accommodation, you must register yourself through the E-Mehmon system. Failing to register means a fine, and repeated failure can mean an entry ban.

Medicines. A distinctive Uzbek trap. Codeine-containing products, tramadol and a number of strong painkillers are controlled substances, and importing them without a prescription and supporting letter is treated as drug smuggling. Foreigners have been detained on this basis. If you carry prescription medication, bring the prescription and a doctor's letter with a translation — and check the specific active ingredient in advance.

Exporting antiques. Carpets, coins, books, jewellery and artworks over fifty years old require a certificate from the Ministry of Culture. Airport customs scan luggage carefully, and this is one of the most common reasons tourists are delayed on departure.

Drugs. The law is very severe, sentences are long, and there is no leniency.

Drones are prohibited without a permit and are confiscated at the border.

Photography. Military installations and law enforcement buildings are off limits. The Tashkent metro, by contrast, has been open to photography since 2018 — that ban was lifted.

Vaccinations. None mandatory. Doctors advise hepatitis A and typhoid — a Silk Road route involves a great deal of street food and chaikhanas.

Water. Not from the tap, Tashkent included. Bottled water is cheap and everywhere. Ice in decent establishments is safe; in roadside chaikhanas, go without.

Heat. The main risk of a summer trip. Bukhara and Khiva sit consistently above 40°C in July and August, with no shade at all on the squares. Madrasas and mausoleums are seen before eleven and after five, with a siesta between — not a tourist affectation but a necessity. The best months are April, May, September and October.

Stomach. Plov, shashlik and samsa are cooked over high heat and are usually safe. Trouble more often comes from salads, unwashed fruit and market dairy.

Healthcare. Public provision is weak. Tashkent has acceptable private clinics; the regions are markedly worse. Anything serious means a trip to the capital or evacuation. Insurance is needed.

Russian is understood by almost everyone, doctors included, so communication is not a problem.

Uzbekistan has made visible progress against low-level corruption in recent years, and extortion now barely touches tourists.

Tourist police. Operating in Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Tashkent in uniforms marked Tourist Police. Officers are specifically oriented toward helping visitors and respond willingly.

Document checks. These occur on highways and at metro entrances. It is routine — keep your passport and registration slips with you. Bag searches at Tashkent metro entrances are standard.

Traffic police. There are many road cameras and fines arrive automatically. Settling matters on the spot has diminished substantially.

Reporting theft. Reports are taken and certificates for insurers issued. The process is unhurried but unobstructed, and conducted in Russian.

What actually matters. Foreigners' problems in Uzbekistan stem not from crime but from formalities: registration, importing medicines, exporting antiques. Those three things are what genuinely land people in trouble.

Emergency numbers: 102 for police, 103 for ambulance, 101 for fire. The unified 112 also works.