I was in Uzbekistan between the 17th of November and the 4th of December 2022. The currency in Uzbekistan is Som and prices are very cheap.
You need 20-40 euro per day as a backpacker in Uzbekistan.
This report goes hand-in-hand with my tourist guide to money in Uzbekistan.
Accommodation
Accommodation in hostels varies between 7 euro and 9 euro. I paid for 14 nights in hostels, spent 2 nights in an overnight train/bus, and 2 I Couchsurfed.
Police registration is imperative in Uzbekistan and failure to be registered by a hotel might result in a hefty penalty at the border, which is why I didn’t Couchsurf more in the country.
Total accommodation cost came to around 125 euro making the average 6.94 euro per night in total or 8.93 if you only count the nights I paid for.
Food
Food in Uzbekistan is very cheap. Street food like hamburgers, hotdogs, and shawarmas cost between 1 and 2 euros.
You can easily get a tasty kebab inside naan for 1 euro in most places. Even more upscale places won’t break the bank with a dinner in Tashkent costing you between 5 and 15 euros.
In total, I spent 117.5 euro making the average 6.53 euro per day.
Transportation
Transportation is quite good in Uzbekistan. Their extensive train network means you can get pretty much anywhere in a comfortable manner.
Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara are connected by a high-speed train and the journey is quick and smooth.
If you, like me, decide to go as far as Karakalpakstan, Muynaq, and the Aral Sea and don’t want to fly to get back, note that you’re looking at a 20-hour train journey. It’s a pretty large country after all…
In total, I paid 74 euro for transport. The average daily cost came out to 4.11 euro.
Travel Insurance
For travel insurance, I use a company called Safety Wings, which provides a subscription model insurance, best suited for young people (as the price is understandably lower).
It costs 42 dollars for 4 weeks, so 18 days are ~27 euro or 1.5 euro per day.
Culture and Entertainment
Uzbekistan tourism authorities have put an entrance fee on pretty much every beautiful madrasah, mausoleum, and museum.
They are still relatively cheap – for example, entrance to the Registan in Samarkand is 4.2 euros. However, the costs can quickly stack up.
On the flip side, after the first 5, the madrasahs start to be quite repetitive and you can easily skip the paid ones for the less explored free ones.
In total, I paid 26.5 euro for entrance fees. The average cost per day comes to 1.47 euro.
Other
Everything else not covered above I consider other expenses.
All credit/debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals are hit with a 1-1.5% fee – that’s just how it is in Uzbekistan (still, I managed to find free-to-use ATMs, but it’s a hassle. Read all about money in Uzbekistan here).
I also bought a sim card with internet, and a small bag as a souvenir (doubling as coin storage). In total, I paid 12.50 euro or average per day: 0.69 euro.
Breakdown of expenses
| Accommodation | 125 euro |
| Food | 117.5 euro |
| Transport | 74 euro |
| Travel Insurance | 27 euro |
| Culture | 26.5 euro |
| Other | 12.5 euro |
| TOTAL | 382.5 euro |
In total, I spent 382.5 euro for 18 days, which makes the average 21.25 euro per day.