This was going to be a day of long drive through the Kizilkum desert, staring from Khiva and reaching Bukhara in about 8 hours. The roads are not in the best conditions taking that long time, which usually would be about 6 hours.
[Our route from Khiva to Bukhara. Tracked through PolarSteps app.]
Staring from Khiva, the only way to go to Bukhara is to first go north to Urgench and then take the highway to Bukhara. Within first one hour, the road goes right next to the border with Turkmenistan. We stopped at a place which was right next to Amu Darya – the river separating Uzbekistan with Turkmenistan.
[Amu Darya – the rive that separates Turkmenistan (on the other side) with Uzbekistan.]
[Amu Darya]
Next few hours were just driving to Bukhara, with a 40 minute stop somewhere in the middle for lunch. Do not expect a good sit-in restaurant or a cafe, but you’d be stopped at a very unhygienic road-side place that serves food! Some of the fellow tourists who were vegetarians were not happy with the food. Finding vegetarian meals in Uzbekistan is accessible in main cities only, and small towns or stop-areas like this hardly serve meatless food.
I tried to overlook the swarm of flies over the food and still enjoyed the naan and lamb chops!
We reached Bukhara around 6pm, checked in to our hotel – New Moon hotel – and headed out for a stroll. The hotel is located in the heart of the old city, making it easy to reach a lot of restaurants along the main street, where vendors are selling souvenirs and markets are buzzing with locals.
After a quick stroll, I stopped by Budreddin restaurant that had amazing food and a violinist played great songs!
[Sarrafon shopping mall]
[Sarrafon Mosque]
[The violinist in the restaurant I had dinner at.]
Walking back to the hotel, there was a small pond called Lyabi Hauz complex, where the locals were enjoying the evening, sitting around the banks lined up with cafes and restaurants. Right next to the pond is the gorgeous Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasah lit up in the dark hours of the night!
[Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasah in night]
[Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasah in night]
Costs
Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate of USD 1 = UZS 6,000 at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult.
| What | Cost | Notes |
| Lunch | $1.67 | On the road to Bukhara – UZS 10,000 |
| Dinner | $6.67 | At Budreddin restaurant in Bukhara – UZS 40,000 |
| Souvenirs | $1.67 | Fridge Magnets – UZS 10,000. |
| Water & snacks | $1.67 | From local store – UZS 10,000 |
| Total Costs | $11.68 | Per person |
| Overall Costs | $1,156.69 | Per person |
Day 3
Khiva to Bukhara
Traveling from Khiva to Bukhara.