4 guides, each rated 1 to 5 with the reason — and two lists per place, where you are comfortable and where to pay attention. Nowhere is called dangerous; the specific thing is what helps.
Extremely safe, with almost no street crime and a visible police presence. Registration used to be a bureaucratic trap; hotels handle it automatically now. The heat in July and August is the real hazard on a day of monuments with no shade.
Comfortable: Registan · Samarkand city centre · Siyob Bazaar · Shah-i-Zinda
The heat in July and August, over 36°C with no shade at any of the monuments
Unofficial taxis, which are simply any car that stops — agree the price first or use Yandex Go
Photographing anything at the airport, the railway station or the metro, which is still discouraged
Very comfortable, and the old town is walked late. The complaints are carpet dealers who do not take no, and heat. Dress modestly at the working mosques; the madrasas are shops now. The police register foreigners through the hotel, which is the hotel’s job.
Comfortable: the old town · Lyab-i Hauz
the carpet dealers — persistent rather than dishonest; the price is not the first price
the streets at noon in summer — 40°C; the city sleeps and so should you
Very comfortable, and small. The ticket touts at the gate sell a combined ticket that is real; the ones selling "guides" are less so. The walls have no railings and the minaret stairs are steep and dark. The desert heat is the hazard.
Comfortable: Ichan-Kala · the streets outside the walls
the walls and the minaret stairs — no railings, and dark
the gate touts — the combined ticket is real; the guides less so
Very comfortable, orderly and policed. The metro is the safest in the world and was photographed illegally until 2018 — it is allowed now. Pickpockets at Chorsu and the usual taxi overcharge; use the app. Registration is the hotel’s job.
Comfortable: the centre · Chorsu · the Broadway pedestrian street
Chorsu Bazaar — pickpockets in the crush
taxis off the app — overcharging
The ratings are this site's own, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in; they are not an index. Read the general advice in travel safety tips.
