Common tourist scams in Uzbekistan and how to avoid them

Uzbekistan is a low-crime country for visitors, and most trips pass without incident. The problems that do come up are commercial: someone quotes a price for a service that has no fixed rate, and the visitor pays more than a local would. Because the soʻm runs at roughly 12,000–13,000 to the US dollar in 2026 (check), a small overcharge in local notes can look trivial in dollars and go unchallenged.

Taxis are the single biggest source of complaints. At Tashkent airport, the main rail stations and the entrances to the Silk Road sites, drivers approach arriving passengers rather than waiting for a hail. The quoted fare is often several times what the same trip costs on a metered app. The fix is simple: book through a ride app before you leave the terminal, or if you take a street taxi, agree the total fare in soʻm and confirm the destination before the doors close.

The second pattern is the helpful stranger. Someone at a station or bazaar gate offers to show you the way, carries a bag, or introduces you to a 'friend' with a car or a shop. Sometimes this is genuine hospitality; sometimes it ends with a commission added to your bill or a stop at a carpet or ceramics shop you did not ask for. You are never obliged to accept, and a polite no is enough.

Bazaar pricing is a negotiation, not a scam, but the opening number for a visitor can be high. Souvenir stalls near the Registan in Samarkand and around Lyabi-Hauz in Bukhara are the most quoted. Ask two or three sellers for the same item before you buy, and treat the first price as an opening offer.

Money handling deserves attention because of the note sizes. Change for a large note can come back short, or a seller may claim they have no change and keep the difference. Count your change before you leave the counter, and keep small notes for taxis and bazaar purchases. Card and app payments are increasingly common in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, which removes the change problem entirely.

Pickpocketing is the realistic street risk: crowded bazaars, the Tashkent metro and the tourist strips in the evening. Keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket or a zipped bag, and do not leave a bag hanging on a chair back at a café. Violent crime against tourists is rare, and the bigger practical hazards are traffic and unlit pavements after dark.

Decide how you will pay for transport before you land. A ride app installed and working on arrival removes the airport taxi negotiation completely, and the same app works in Samarkand and Bukhara.

For intercity travel, buy train tickets yourself through the official rail site or app rather than through a station fixer. The fast train between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara is the route most targeted by touts, and seats sell out in peak season.

Carry a mix of note sizes. Small soʻm notes make bazaar and taxi transactions quick and reduce the chance of a change dispute. Keep the day's spending money separate from your backup cash and cards.

Treat unsolicited help at stations as a sales pitch until proven otherwise. If you do want a guide, arrange it through your hotel or a licensed operator, and agree the price and duration in writing or on a message before you start.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you are scammed, report it to the police on 102 and keep any receipts, messages and photos; your embassy or consulate can advise on next steps but cannot recover money for you.