Uzbekistan's Velvet Season: Sixty Days, No Visa, and Autumn on the Silk Road

There is a moment in late September in Bukhara, around five in the afternoon, when the heat lifts off the brickwork of the Kalon minaret and the whole square turns the colour of weak honey. Old men move their chairs out under the mulberry trees by Lyabi-Hauz. Someone is frying samsa. Nobody is in a hurry, and after about ten minutes neither are you.

Russians have a word for exactly this time of year — бархатный сезон, the velvet season: the weeks after the summer crowds leave, when the weather finally becomes kind. In Uzbekistan the velvet season runs from early September into November, and for travellers from Russia, Kazakhstan and the wider CIS it may be the least complicated good holiday left in the world.

Sixty days, no visa: the easiest border in the region

Russian citizens enter Uzbekistan visa-free for stays of up to 60 days — no consulate, no invitation letter, no fee. All you need is a passport valid for at least three months beyond your departure. Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tajik travellers cross just as easily. Registration at your hotel is handled at check-in and takes a minute. For a region where a holiday abroad now often begins with a queue and a form, that simplicity is worth more than any discount.

Direct flights from more than twenty Russian cities

Tashkent is one of the best-connected capitals in Central Asia for the Russian market: more than 200 direct flights a week arrive from over twenty Russian cities, with Moscow alone sending around a hundred. But the network runs far deeper than the capital — there are direct services from Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar, Sochi, Ufa, Perm, Samara, Mineralnye Vody and others into Bukhara, Namangan, Andijan and Fergana, flown by Uzbekistan Airways, Centrum Air, S7, Ural Airlines and Aeroflot. From Moscow it is under four hours in the air, and there is no jet lag worth the name.

No language barrier, and a country that reads you correctly

This is the quiet advantage nobody advertises. Russian is spoken in hotels, taxis, bazaars, museums and mountain guesthouses. You can ask a melon seller in Chorsu which one is sweeter and get an argument, a lecture and a free slice in reply. Menus, museum labels and train announcements come in Russian. Travellers from the CIS are not exotic guests here to be managed — they are simply guests, and the difference is felt on day one.

An autumn route: Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva by high-speed train

The Afrosiyob high-speed train moves at over 200 km/h and stitches Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara together in a few hours of flat, comfortable travel — no early transfers, no highway. A classic velvet-season week looks like this: two nights in Tashkent, three in Samarkand for the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and the Gur-e-Amir at sunset, three in Bukhara, and, for those who want the last quiet chapter, two in Khiva inside the walls of Ichan-Kala.

Autumn is also when the table is at its best. This is harvest season: pomegranates split open on the market stalls, black grapes from Samarkand, sweet Khorezm melons, the year's walnuts and dried apricots, and plov that is heavier, richer and better in cool weather than it ever is in July. After the summer peak, hotels are easier to book and quieter — the same rooms, half the queue.

Booking with a local operator, not a chain of intermediaries

GoUzbekistan is a licensed Uzbek tour operator — licence No. 662280 from the Committee for Tourism Development — based on Islam Karimov Street in Bukhara and operating since 2007 under Lochin Express Plyus LLC. We are on the ground where your holiday actually happens: our own guides, our own drivers, hotels we have inspected ourselves, and a phone number that answers in Bukhara rather than three time zones away.

The velvet season is short — September to early November, and Uzbekistan is no longer a secret. Create your own custom tour or explore our tours, and travel while the light is still gold.

Plan your Uzbekistan trip — in your language

Русский

Бархатный сезон — лучшее время для туров в Узбекистан: до 60 дней без визы, прямые рейсы более чем из двадцати городов России, скоростные поезда «Афросиаб» и осенние базары, полные гранатов и дынь. Самарканд, Бухара, Хива — весь Шёлковый путь за одну неделю. Составьте свой индивидуальный тур.

العربية

الخريف هو أجمل موسم لـ السياحة في أوزبكستان: طقس معتدل، وأسواق مليئة بالرمان والبطيخ، وقطارات سريعة تربط سمرقند وبخارى وخيوة على طريق الحرير. طعام حلال ومرشدون محليون من بخارى. اكتشف جولاتنا.

Deutsch

Der Herbst ist die beste Zeit für eine Usbekistan Reise: milde Temperaturen, goldenes Licht über Samarkand und Basare voller Granatäpfel. Unsere Seidenstraße Rundreise führt mit dem Schnellzug von Taschkent über Samarkand und Buchara nach Chiwa. Stellen Sie Ihre Reise selbst zusammen.

Español

El otoño es la mejor temporada para viajar a Uzbekistán: temperaturas suaves, luz dorada sobre Samarcanda y bazares llenos de granadas. Recorra la Ruta de la Seda desde Taskent hasta Bujará y Jiva en tren de alta velocidad. Vea nuestros circuitos.

Français

L'automne est la meilleure saison pour un voyage en Ouzbékistan : températures douces, lumière dorée sur Samarcande et bazars débordant de grenades. Suivez la Route de la Soie de Tachkent à Boukhara et Khiva en train à grande vitesse. Créez votre voyage sur mesure.

中文

秋天是乌兹别克斯坦旅游最舒适的季节：气候宜人，撒马尔罕的穹顶沐浴在金色阳光中，巴扎里满是石榴与甜瓜。乘高速列车沿丝绸之路游览塔什干、布哈拉与希瓦。浏览我们的旅游线路。