One Ticket, Eight Uzbek Cities: A New Abu Dhabi Route Opens the Silk Road

For most of the last decade, the hardest part of visiting Uzbekistan was not Uzbekistan. It was the getting there: a connection through a hub that only ran three times a week, a nine-hour layover, a separate ticket for the domestic leg, and the quiet fear that a delay in one airline's system would strand your bag somewhere over the Caspian. Then you landed, and the Registan at dusk made you forget all of it.

As of today, that first part changes. On 9 August 2026, Etihad Airways began flying a daily non-stop service between Abu Dhabi and Tashkent — and, on the same day, switched on a codeshare with Uzbekistan Airways that puts eight Uzbek cities on a single ticket. For anyone plotting a Silk Road trip from Europe, the Americas, Australia, India or the Gulf, the map just got considerably simpler.

Eight Cities, One Booking: What the New Codeshare Actually Unlocks

Under the agreement, travellers can book Abu Dhabi through to Samarkand, Bukhara, Urgench, Nukus, Termez, Fergana, Namangan and Andizhan on one itinerary, with baggage checked through and the connection protected. The two airlines are also working on linking their loyalty programmes, Etihad Guest and UzAirPlus. Uzbekistan Airways passengers, for their part, gain a direct route into Abu Dhabi alongside the airline's existing daily Dubai service.

Read that list of cities again, because it is not an airline's list — it is an itinerary. Urgench is the airport for Khiva, the walled desert city that looks less like a museum than a stage set someone forgot to strike. Nukus holds the Savitsky Museum, the world's second-largest collection of Russian avant-garde art, saved in the desert precisely because nobody in Moscow was looking. Termez, on the Afghan border, holds Buddhist stupas from a time before minarets existed here. Fergana, Namangan and Andizhan open the valley where silk is still tied and dyed by hand and Rishtan potters still fire that impossible blue.

Until now, most of those places required a domestic add-on booked separately, and most first-time visitors simply skipped them. They will skip them less often from here.

Why Uzbekistan Is on Every 2026 Travel List

The connectivity news lands on top of a country that had already become unusually easy to visit. Uzbekistan is visa-free for citizens of more than 90 countries, including the EU, the UK, the Gulf states and many more; for most travellers the entry process is now simply a passport and a smile at the desk. Internally, the Afrosiyob high-speed train covers Tashkent to Samarkand in a little over two hours, and continues on toward Bukhara — meaning you can be photographing 15th-century tilework the afternoon you land.

The country has also become a byword for a certain kind of unforced hospitality. Solo travellers, and solo women in particular, consistently report feeling safe here in a way that surprises them. Nobody hustles you in Bukhara. Somebody will, however, insist you sit down for tea, and it is very difficult to argue.

The Trip This New Route Makes Possible

Here is the shape we would build for a first visit now that the eight-city ticket exists. Fly into Tashkent, sleep off the flight, and take the morning Afrosiyob to Samarkand — two nights, because the Registan deserves both a sunrise and a night visit, and Shah-i-Zinda deserves an unhurried hour. Road or rail west to Bukhara for two nights among the trading domes, the Ark fortress and a courtyard dinner under mulberry trees. Then push on to Khiva, and — this is the part the new routing makes painless — fly home out of Urgench, or add Nukus and the Savitsky for a day that most travellers never get to have.

Add the Kyzylkum desert, a yurt night by Lake Aydarkul, or the Fergana Valley's craft towns, and you have two weeks that do not repeat themselves once.

Plan It With People Who Live Here

GoUzbekistan is the brand of Lochin Express Plyus LLC, a licensed Uzbek tour operator (licence No. 662280, Committee for Tourism Development) working in inbound tourism since 2007 and headquartered in Bukhara. We build private and small-group itineraries, handle domestic flights and rail, guides, drivers and hotels, and also operate as a white-label ground partner for foreign tour operators and agencies.

Tell us when you can travel and what you actually want out of it — we will build the rest. Create your own custom tour, or explore our tours.

Plan your Uzbekistan trip — in your language

العربية — السياحة في أوزبكستان

من أبوظبي إلى طشقند مباشرة، ثم سمرقند وبخارى وخيوة على طريق الحرير: قباب فيروزية، ضيافة دافئة، ومطاعم حلال في كل مدينة. دخول بدون تأشيرة لمواطني دول الخليج. صمّم رحلتك الخاصة إلى أوزبكستان أو تصفّح جولاتنا.

Deutsch — Usbekistan Reise & Seidenstraße Rundreise

Neue Umsteigeverbindungen über Abu Dhabi machen die Anreise nach Taschkent, Samarkand und Buchara noch einfacher. Usbekistan ist visafrei für deutsche, österreichische und Schweizer Gäste. Reise individuell zusammenstellen oder unsere Rundreisen ansehen.

Español — Viajes a Uzbekistán y la Ruta de la Seda

Llegar a Samarcanda, Bujará y Jiva es ahora más sencillo gracias a las nuevas conexiones vía Abu Dabi. Entrada sin visado para españoles y latinoamericanos, y trenes de alta velocidad entre ciudades. Diseña tu viaje a medida o descubre nuestros circuitos.

Français — Voyage en Ouzbékistan sur la Route de la Soie

Samarcande, Boukhara et Khiva se rejoignent désormais en un seul billet via Abou Dabi. Entrée sans visa pour les voyageurs français, belges et suisses, trains rapides et accueil chaleureux. Créez votre voyage sur mesure ou explorez nos circuits.

中文 — 乌兹别克斯坦旅游 · 丝绸之路

经阿布扎比中转，前往塔什干、撒马尔罕和布哈拉更加便捷。中国公民免签入境，高铁两小时直达撒马尔罕的蓝色穹顶。定制您的专属行程，或浏览我们的线路。

Русский — Туры в Узбекистан по Шёлковому пути

Новые стыковки через Абу-Даби делают дорогу в Ташкент, Самарканд и Бухару ещё короче. Безвизовый въезд, скоростные поезда «Афросиёб», гид на русском языке. Составьте свой тур или посмотрите готовые маршруты.