🛫 T2 International

All international flights: Uzbekistan Airways’ long-haul + regional, plus the broader Asian/European/Gulf carrier set.

Walk time: 5-10 minutes check-in to gate.

⭐ T3 Domestic + Airside Hotel

T3 domestic: Uzbekistan Airways, Qanot Sharq, and other domestic operators flying to Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Andijan, Termez, Nukus.

Airside Hotel (2024): 24 rooms in the terminal complex — pay-by-hour or per-night for transit passengers; verify availability via the airport reservation desk.

90+ Visa-Free Countries — 30 Days

EU + UK + USA (since 1 Jan 2026) + Canada + Australia + NZ + Japan + South Korea + Singapore + GCC (UAE, Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain) + most Balkan countries + Israel + Mongolia + Ukraine + many others. 30 days standard.

e-Visa — 93 Eligible Countries

Apply via e-visa.gov.uz. Fee $20-50. Standard processing 2 business days; VIP option 1 hour. Eligible nationalities include US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, China, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, and many others — useful for longer stays or non-tourism categories.

UZS — Cash + Cards Both Work

Currency is the Uzbek sum (UZS / so’m). $1 ≈ UZS 12,000 (May 2026). Bank cards (Visa/Mastercard) work at Tashkent hotels, chain restaurants, and increasingly at bazaars and small shops post-liberalisation. Cash dominates outside Tashkent and for taxi fares + small purchases. ATMs at TAS accept foreign Visa/Mastercard.

🚌 Airport Express Bus

• Two scheduled bus operators run between TAS and central Tashkent every 15 minutes.
• Journey time: ~17 minutes end-to-end (very fast for an airport bus by international standards).
• Fare: typically UZS 2,000-3,500 (~$0.20-0.30) — by far the cheapest mode.
• Route serves principal central Tashkent stops; verify the routing on the day for your destination.

📱 Yandex Go / Uzum Taxi

• Yandex Go (the Russian-developed ride-hail dominant across the former Soviet space) operates at TAS; Uzum Taxi is the local Uzbek alternative.
• Fare to central Tashkent: UZS 50,000-90,000 (~$4-7.50) for the 12 km / 20-30 min journey.
• Payment via app — international cards work in both Yandex Go and Uzum.
• Install before arrival; verify your account with the airport Wi-Fi or hotel network.

🚇 Tashkent Metro — Reach via Bus/Taxi

• The Tashkent Metro — opened 1977 as Central Asia’s first metro — does not directly serve TAS. The nearest station is Sergeli (Yunusobod / O’zbekiston lines), reachable by short bus or taxi.
• Fare: UZS 1,700 (~$0.15) flat for any city-centre journey.
• Photography of metro stations is now permitted (restrictions lifted in 2018) — the Soviet-era stations (Kosmonavtlar, Alisher Navoiy, Pakhtakor, Tashkent) are among the world’s most architecturally celebrated.

🚕 Official Taxi Rank

• Taxi rank outside arrivals. Yandex Go is cheaper; the rank is the fallback if the app fails.
• Negotiate the fare before boarding if no meter — opening quotes are typically double the rate.
• Both Russian and Uzbek are spoken; English among younger drivers in central Tashkent.

🛋️ T2 Airside International

Uzbekistan Airways Business Class Lounge: the airline’s premium-cabin product for HY Business and Star Alliance arrangements where applicable.

Priority Pass: listings vary — verify in your card app before relying. Walk-in pricing not consistently published online.

🛋️ T3 Domestic Lounge

Domestic lounge for HY Business passengers + selected partners on Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva connections.

Plov is Uzbekistan’s national dish: long-grain rice slow-cooked with lamb (or beef), carrot, onion, cumin, barberry, garlic, and chickpeas in a wok-like kazan over open coals. Each region has a distinct version — Tashkent plov is moister and uses raisins; Samarkand plov is drier and layered; Fergana plov uses devzira rice and dark caramelised carrots. Plov Markazi (Tashkent Central Plov Center) on Tashkent’s Bibi Khanym Street serves authentic plov from giant kazans — UZS 30,000-60,000 (~$2.50-5) per portion. Visit before 13:00 — the kazans empty by mid-afternoon.

Shashlik — marinated lamb (or beef, chicken) grilled on skewers over coals — is the Central Asian staple. The Uzbek version uses tail-fat (kurdiuk) alternated with lean meat for the distinctive flavour and richness. Served with onion rings, fresh non bread, and chilled vodka. UZS 30,000-60,000 per skewer.

Lagman — hand-pulled Uyghur-tradition noodles in beef broth with vegetables and spices — is a Silk Road inheritance. Manti — large steamed dumplings stuffed with lamb and onion — are the Uzbek dumpling. Both at UZS 25,000-50,000 per portion at a chayhana.

Non (Uzbek round bread) — baked in tandoor-style clay ovens, stamped with traditional patterns — is the cultural centrepiece of every Uzbek table. Tashkent non is the most famous variant, prized for its texture and decorated surface. Samsa — flaky pastry pockets stuffed with lamb, onion, pumpkin, or potato, baked in the same tandoor — is the universal Uzbek snack. UZS 5,000-15,000 per piece.

🧵 Suzani Embroidery

Suzani — hand-embroidered cotton or silk panels with floral, celestial, and pomegranate motifs from Bukhara, Samarkand, and Fergana — is the country’s signature textile art. Small pieces UZS 200,000-500,000 (~$17-42); large wall hangings UZS 1,000,000+. Chorsu Bazaar and the artisan shops at Bukhara are the authoritative sources.

🧣 Adras & Ikat Silk

The Margilan (Fergana Valley) ikat and adras silk weaving tradition — silk and cotton mixed-weave with the distinctive vibrant blurred geometric patterns. Scarves UZS 200,000-800,000; full coats UZS 2,000,000+.

📿 Tashkent Metro Photography Books

Photography of the Tashkent Metro stations was illegal until 2018 — now coffee-table books showcasing the architectural beauty are widely sold. Christopher Herwig’s “Soviet Metro Stations” includes Tashkent. UZS 150,000-400,000.

🥄 Spices & Dried Fruits

Plov-spice mixes, dried apricots, almonds, walnuts, raisins from the Fergana Valley — the Chorsu Bazaar’s nut section is the place to assemble a transportable Silk Road-tradition food souvenir. UZS 30,000-200,000.

The Khast Imam Complex (Hazrati Imom) is Tashkent’s religious heart — a 16th-century ensemble of mosques, madrasahs, and mausoleums centred on the tomb of Kaffal Shashi, a 10th-century Islamic scholar. The Muyi Mubarak Library within the complex holds the Uthman Qur’an — one of the world’s oldest Qur’ans (mid-7th century CE, attributed to the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan; the codex is partial but is widely considered the oldest substantial Qur’an manuscript surviving). The complex’s Hazrat Imam Mosque (2007) is a modern addition in 16th-century style. Free entry to the complex; the library has small admission. Closes Mondays.

The Chorsu Bazaar is Tashkent’s largest market — built in 1980 to a design by Vladimir Azimov and Sabir Adylov as a late-Soviet-modernist concrete dome topped with a turquoise-tiled ceiling in Islamic motifs. The building is itself a UNESCO-tentative-list candidate. Inside: fresh fruit and vegetables, dried fruits and nuts (the Silk Road categories), spices, lamb and beef, household goods, and the surrounding bazaar streets. Best visited mornings before midday; the photogenic central dome is the architecture; the surrounding streets are the trade.

The Tashkent Metro opened in 1977 as Central Asia’s first metro and was, until 2018, photo-prohibited as a strategic asset. The Soviet-era stations are among the world’s most-celebrated underground design — Kosmonavtlar (cosmonaut-themed, with portraits of Yuri Gagarin and others on the walls), Alisher Navoiy (named for the 15th-century Chagatai poet, with extensive blue ceramic tilework), Pakhtakor (cotton-themed, the regional agricultural symbol), and Tashkent (the central interchange, with elaborate Uzbek-tradition stone-and-brass work). Fare UZS 1,700; ride 3-5 stations in a sequence for a 30-min architectural tour.

The Amir Temur (Tamerlane) Square in central Tashkent commemorates the 14th-century Timurid emperor — the equestrian statue is post-independence (1994). The surrounding plaza holds the State Museum of Temurids History, period architecture, and the Tashkent State Conservatory. Free to walk; a 1-2 hour orientation visit to the centre.

Central Tashkent: Hyatt Regency Tashkent, Hilton Tashkent City, Wyndham Tashkent, InterContinental Tashkent — UZS 1,500,000-3,500,000 (~$125-290) per night. Newer boutique: Lotte City Hotel Tashkent Palace, Ramada by Wyndham — comparable rates. Airport-area: the 24-room airside hotel (within the airport perimeter) opened 2024; outside the perimeter, several mid-range business hotels at UZS 400,000-1,000,000. For early flights, the airport hotel is genuinely convenient.

Beeline Uzbekistan, Ucell, UMS, Uzmobile are the four operators. SIMs at airport landside for UZS 30,000-100,000 (~$2.50-8) with passport registration; data bundles cheap. 4G is reliable in Tashkent and along the major intercity corridors; 5G has limited deployment. Most Western apps work — Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp all function. Yandex Go + Uzum Taxi are the practical apps to install.

4-hour layover: tight — round-trip Yandex Go alone is ~60 min plus visa-free immigration. Possible to do a quick Khast Imam visit + Chorsu Bazaar look on a tight schedule. Better to use the airside hotel or lounge.
8-hour layover: Khast Imam + Chorsu Bazaar + plov lunch at Plov Markazi + a short Tashkent Metro architecture ride. Round trip with city time ~5h. Comfortable.
12+ hour layover: add Amir Temur Square + the Tashkent State Museum of the Temurids. Allow 90 min return-buffer.