Travel preparations and plan

It should be an exotic country that is not yet overrun by tourists and where Janina's friends or acquaintances have not yet vacationed, yet it should be sufficiently safe. Fortunately, there are statistics on which countries are most frequented by tourists. We turned the list around and looked at the least visited countries. If you immediately think of North Korea or, for example, the environmentally friendly country of Bhutan, you are well versed in the least developed tourist countries. But there is another country that actually has the lowest ranking behind North Korea: Turkmenistan! The country where unmarried couples are imprisoned for sharing a hotel room and where dark cars are not allowed to be imported... That was a bit too risky for us, especially the part with the dark cars... So we looked at other countries ending in '-istan'. Google and we immediately liked Uzbekistan! Wasn't there once the Silk Road? Cotton cultivation, decline of the Aral Sea...? And indeed, Uzbekistan was not completely unknown to us. It was one of those countries whose airplanes Jörg would never fly with (if he had seen them at airports). After a short internet search, it was decided in November 2018: Uzbekistan would be our next travel destination (actually the one after next, as the TMB hike came in between)!

Since we suspected that our friends would be just as enthusiastic about 'Vacation in Uzbekistan' as we were, we asked them shortly after our decision if they would be interested in joining us. At first, the reactions to our question were incredulous ('how did you come up with that?', 'where is that?', 'why not the North Sea?')... But at least we didn't have to spell the name of the country! First goal achieved, check! In February 2019, the final group size was determined, 9 adults (at least externally and in terms of age) and one toddler. Cool thing! We are very excited to experience the two-week adventure in Uzbekistan together with our friends!! By the way, after a long phase of discussion, we also found a suitable time frame, from August 31st to September 15th!

After that, we started booking accommodations, flights, and excursions! Timing wise, it was fine to start booking accommodations at the end of February, the selection was still very good. So we couldn't book a good (booking.com rating > 9) hotel in Khiva. Flights were absolutely no problem, neither were the excursions. Jörg had considered different travel routes, including a two-day trip to the somewhat remote Fergana Valley, which can be reached by train or plane from Tashkent. In the end, we opted for a more relaxed option. The final travel plan is listed below. We will (hopefully) report whether everything worked out and what tips we have for a trip to Uzbekistan in the last blog entry.

We both decided to extend the necessary stopover in Moscow via DUS to 5 days, as Janina had not been there before. So we flew out on August 27th.

Flight to Moscow, August 27th (Tue), 10:45 am from DUS. In Moscow: Pokrovka 6 Hotel.

Otherwise: Outbound flight, August 31st:

From Düsseldorf [DUS] via Moscow [SVO, 2h layover] to Tashkent [TAS] (2:35 pm - 2:45 am arrival on the 1st) with Aeroflot, then domestic flight with Uzbekistan Airways to Urgench from 7:25 am, arrival in Urgench before 9 am.

Alternatively, there is a direct flight from FRA to Tashkent via Urgench in the summer.

After arrival in Urgench, take taxis to Khiva for accommodation (stay in Khiva from the 1st to the 4th).

On the 3rd (Tue), at 7:30 am at Meros B&B, we will go from Khiva to Moynaq (formerly the city on the Aral Sea); return to Khiva in the evening.

Alternatively, you can also visit only Nukus (famous Savitsky Museum) or stay in Khiva and visit only the surrounding attractions (Chilpik, Toprak Qala, Mizdakhan Necropolis). The latter are on the way to/from Nukus/Khiva and can be visited on the 2nd (Tue).

After a relaxed start, we will change cities on Wednesday, the 4th, at 2:30 pm with the train from Khiva to Bukhara (train no. 56) through the Kyzylkum Desert (kum means sand); arrival in Bukhara at 10:30 pm.

We have 2 full days for Bukhara.

On Saturday, the 7th, in the morning, we will start our tour to Nurata and the Yurt Camp near the desert village of Dungalak on Aydarkul (kul means lake) with camel riding, swimming and campfire music, organized via Nuratau - Responsible Travel (https://www.nuratau.com/nurata-yurt-camp-tour-2days). We will finally arrive in Samarkand in the evening on the 8th (Sun).

We have Monday, the 9th, and Tuesday, the 10th, planned for Samarkand.

In the evening on the 11th (Wed), we will take the high-speed train to Tashkent.

Tashkent and possibly the surroundings (Charvak Reservoir and/or Chimgan/Beldersay) can be explored on the 12th, 13th, 14th.

Return flight, Sunday, September 15th, with Aeroflot:

From Tashkent via SVO (4h layover) to DUS at 4:45 am. Arrival in DUS at 1:40 pm.