Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan — Full Cost Breakdown, Chronological

₹106,081Itemized spend, corrected

27Days, first stint

71%Paid by card

1.18%Forex markup rate

This is not the total trip cost. It's the sum of every line item below — and it still excludes the Caravan Sarai stay (confirmed 3 of the 7 nights; the rest still TBC), confidential cash spend, and likely additional unconfirmed Samarkand nights. The real number is higher. (Note: top-line "27 days, first stint" figure now needs review -- the ledger spans well past that stint.)

Cash paid in cash · Card paid by card

Chronological, not grouped by city — a location change is marked with a red top border and bold red text on the location cell, so a shift is visible at a glance even scrolling through one long list. Figures are a mix of exact receipts and reasonable ranges where the exact number isn't tracked yet. Caravan Sarai (XV Century Mextar Ambar) is now confirmed for the first 3 nights (10–13 June) — and a review written afterward explains the rest: arrived planning a short stay and ended up extending, which accounts for at least part of the remaining nights in this window.

From a review written after the stay: "I came to Bukhara as a solo traveler from India planning a short stay — and ended up extending by two more days, which says everything about this place... a beautiful traditional caravanserai ambience that makes you feel you're staying inside Bukhara's history rather than just visiting it... Ulug'bek, Aziz, and Sevinch made me feel at home from day one."

Location	Date	What	Charged	≈ INR	Type
Pre-trip	Early June	E-visa, original entry (EvisaGov.uz)	USD 37.63	₹3,628	Card
Pre-trip	Early June	Flight (Centrumair)	USD 67.67	₹6,483	Card
Tashkent	Early June	Hotel, MiCasa Family Guesthouse (1 night)	94,022 UZS	₹750	Cash
Tashkent	Early June	Groceries	141,541.75 UZS	₹1,134	Card
Tashkent	Early June	Local transit top-ups (3x)	~1,725.50 UZS each	₹42 total	Card
Tashkent	Early June	Food	32,480 UZS	₹259	Card
Tashkent	Mid June	Misc	203,101.50 UZS	₹1,611	Card
Bukhara	Mid June	Hotel, 3 nights	USD 23.82	₹1,983	Cash
Bukhara	Mid June	Local taxis (5 rides)	~73,500 UZS	₹586	Card
Bukhara	Mid June	Evening Out	1,184,505 UZS	₹9,448	Card
Khiva	Mid June	Hotel, 4 nights	669,900 UZS	₹5,341	Card
Khiva	Mid June	Food	173,000 UZS	₹1,366	Card
Khiva	Mid June	Itchan Kala (UNESCO), monument tickets	253,750 + 101,500 UZS	₹2,806	Card
Khiva	Mid June	Laundry	100,000 UZS	₹797	Cash
Urgench	Late June	Groceries	111,180 UZS	₹886	Card
En route	Late June	Train, Tashkent → Shymkent	GBP 14.66	₹1,833	Card
En route	Late June	Train, Urgench → Tashkent South	GBP 15.47	₹1,934	Card
Urgench	Late June	Shopping	791,700 UZS	₹6,313	Card
Nukus	Late June	Hotel, Хостел18A (1 night, pre-marathon)	64,187 UZS	₹512	Cash
Nukus	Late June	Local taxis (2 rides)	~38,000 UZS	₹303	Card
Nukus	Late June	Food	123,728.50 UZS	₹987	Card
Nukus	Late June	Groceries	28,420 UZS	₹227	Card
Nukus	Marathon night	Food	67,000 UZS	₹534	Cash
Nukus	Late June	Marathon registration	800,000 UZS	₹0	Free
Nukus	Late June	Return to Urgench	$0	₹0	Free
Nukus	Late June	Monument tickets	203,000 UZS	₹1,619	Card
En route	Early July	Train, Shymkent → Almaty	GBP 30.07	₹3,840	Card
Tashkent	Early July	Food	207,060 UZS	₹1,651	Card
Tashkent	Early July	Local transport	195,000 UZS	₹1,555	Card
Tashkent	Early July	Food	38,000 UZS	₹303	Card
En route	Mid July	Train, Almaty → Tashkent	GBP 27.58	₹3,547	Card
En route	Mid July	Train, Bukhara → Urgench	GBP 9.70	₹1,255	Card
Tashkent	Mid July	Bus, Tashkent → Bukhara	197,925 UZS	₹1,578	Card
Tashkent	Mid July	Food	38,570 UZS	₹308	Card
Urgench	Mid July	Local transport	125,000 UZS	₹997	Card
Urgench	across trip	Local taxis (~10 rides)	~94,000 UZS	₹750	Card
En route	Late July	Train, Urgench → Nukus	120,710 UZS	~₹959	Card
En route	Late July	Train, Nukus → Samarkand	202,920 UZS	~₹1,613	Card
Urgench	Late July	Groceries	91,700 UZS	~₹729	Card
Urgench	Late July	Groceries	34,680 UZS	~₹276	Card
Urgench	Late July	Groceries	42,630 UZS	~₹339	Card
Urgench	Late July	Food	53,000 UZS	~₹421	Card
Urgench	Late July	Hosted Meal	98,560 UZS	~₹783	Card
Urgench	Late July	Medicine + food (illness)	~100,000 UZS	~₹797	Cash
Urgench	Late July	Electricity (3-4 payments)	~50,000 UZS	~₹399	Cash
Urgench	Late July	Water	~50,000 UZS	~₹399	Cash
Urgench	Late July	Gas	~10,000 UZS	~₹80	Cash
Nukus	Late July	Hotel, Hostel Danexan Apa (2 nights)	213,720 UZS	₹1,705	Cash
Nukus	Late July	Food	131,040 UZS	~₹1,042	Card
Nukus	Late July	Hosted Meal	99,000 UZS	~₹787	Card
Nukus	Late July	Food	39,200 UZS	~₹312	Card
Nukus	Late July	Shopping	~500,000 UZS	~₹3,974	Cash
Nukus	Late July	Food	16,000 UZS	~₹127	Cash
Nukus	Late July	Restaurant meal	~60,000 UZS	~₹479	Cash
En route	Late July	Food	70,000 UZS	~₹556	Cash
En route	Late July	Food	20,000 UZS	~₹159	Cash
En route	Late July	Food	16,000 UZS	~₹127	Cash
Samarkand	Late July	Hotel, Azaliya Hostel (1 night)	106,979 UZS	₹853	Cash
Samarkand	Late July	Bibi-Khanym Mausoleum/Mosque, entry	80,000 UZS	₹638	Cash
Samarkand	Late July	Registan Square, tip for the guard	25,000 UZS	₹199	Cash
Samarkand	Late July	Breakfast (2 days)	~40,000 UZS	~₹319	Cash
Samarkand	Late July	Food	10,000 UZS	₹80	Cash
Samarkand	Late July	Food	10,000 UZS	₹80	Cash
Samarkand	Late July	Haircut + beard trim	60,000 UZS	₹479	Cash
Samarkand	Late July	Food	50,000 UZS	₹399	Card
Samarkand	Late July	Jewelry — lapis lazuli & turquoise earring (gift)	360,000 UZS	₹2,871	Card
Samarkand	Late July	Shopping, Siyob Bazaar	700,000 UZS	₹5,582	Cash
En route	Early August	Train, Samarkand → Margilon	202,920 UZS	₹1,618	Card
Margilon	Early August	Hotel, Evergreen Margilan Guesthouse (per person share)	191,234 UZS	₹1,525	Cash
Margilon	Early August	Yodgorlik silk scarf (gift)	50,000 UZS	₹399	Cash
Margilon	Early August	Yodgorlik Silk Factory, entry	35,000 UZS	₹279	Cash
Margilon	Early August	Minibus, Margilon → Andijan	10,000 UZS	₹80	Cash
Andijan	Early August	City bus #7	5,000 UZS	₹40	Cash
Andijan	Early August	Taxi back	10,000 UZS	₹80	Cash
Andijan	Early August	Grapes + apple	10,000 UZS	₹80	Cash
Andijan	Early August	Shared taxi, Andijan → Namangan	50,000 UZS	₹399	Cash
Namangan	Early August	Leora Hotel (1 night)	225,000 UZS	₹1,794	Cash
Namangan	Early August	Dinner (shawarma, mojito, wings)	93,000 UZS	₹742	Cash
Namangan	Early August	Sharbat	2,000 UZS	₹16	Cash
Namangan	Early August	Shared taxi, Namangan → Kokand	60,000 UZS	₹478	Cash
Kokand	Early August	Grocery	61,000 UZS	₹486	Card
Kokand	Early August	Khudayar Khan Palace, entry	50,000 UZS	₹399	Cash
Kokand	Early August	Shared taxi, Kokand → Fergana	50,000 UZS	₹399	Cash
Fergana	Early August	Joy Guesthouse (1 night)	~USD 13	~₹1,222	Cash
Margilon	Early August	Evergreen Guesthouse, night 2 (return leg)	~USD 14	~₹1,316	Cash
Total	Sum of every row above			₹106,081

Total by Category, Across the Whole Country

Category	Total
Shopping	₹18,740
Transit (inter-city trains/bus)	₹18,177
Hotel	₹12,668
Pre-trip (visa + flight)	₹10,111
Evening Out	₹9,448
Food	₹8,666
ATM Withdrawal	₹6,652
Monument Tickets	₹5,063
Local Transport	₹4,233
Groceries	₹3,591
Misc	₹3,085
Hosted Meals (cost reflects more than one person)	₹1,570
Utilities (new)	₹878
Food (while transiting)	₹842
Medicine (new)	₹797

The marathon registration fee was supposed to be 800,000 UZS, and it was never actually paid.

Not a bureaucratic obstacle, just procrastination on my part.
A card-payment option I didn't fully understand until race day was nearly on top of me.
Rather than turning me away, the organizers let me run anyway.

That kind of grace doesn't show up in any official document, but it's the actual story behind this race.

A genuine "advertised vs. actual" story on the Tashkent→Bukhara bus:

Printed on the ticket: 125,000 UZS
Quoted at booking: 195,000 UZS (already ~56% higher)
Actually charged to the card: 197,925 UZS (~1.5% card markup on top)

Worth knowing before you assume the printed number is what you'll pay.

Where the Money Actually Went

En route

₹17,441

Urgench

₹13,169

Nukus

₹12,608

Bukhara

₹12,017

Samarkand

₹11,500

Khiva

₹10,310

Pre-trip

₹10,111

Tashkent

₹9,191

Margilon

₹3,599

Namangan

₹3,030

Kokand

₹1,284

Fergana

₹1,222

Andijan

₹599

Based on the itemized total above (₹106,081) — excludes 4 still-unconfirmed nights at Caravan Sarai, confidential cash, and likely unconfirmed extra Samarkand nights. Nukus includes what was previously mislabeled as "Kuva", plus its second visit (Hostel Danexan Apa). Samarkand and Margilon are newly added.

Per-Day Spend, Where the Nights Are Actually Known

Khiva

₹2,378/day

Bukhara

~₹1,717/day

Only shown where nights are genuinely known: Bukhara (7), Khiva (4). Nukus now spans two separate stints (a 3-day window in June, plus a few more days in late July) rather than one simple stay, so a single per-day figure for it would be misleading — left out rather than forced. Trains and Tashkent's pass-through stops aren't overnight stays either.

Cash vs Card, Honestly

71%
Card

Card ₹75,225 (71%)

Cash ₹30,856 (29%)

Confirmed from the actual statement, for this specific card (IDFC FIRST credit):

~1% "Forex Markup Fee Retail" on every foreign-currency charge.
Plus 18% IGST on that markup.
Roughly 1.18% effective cost per foreign transaction, verified across UZS, KZT, and GBP.

Whether Niyo Global genuinely comes in at zero, and whether the "flat-fee" card mentioned elsewhere is a separate card, is still worth confirming, but at least one side of the comparison now has a real number instead of a guess.

Forex & Hidden Charges — The Real Total

What	Amount
Confirmed card spend on this page (UZS + GBP charges, converted)	₹75,225
Effective forex markup rate on this card (IDFC FIRST: ~1% fee + 18% IGST on the fee)	~1.18% per charge
Extra paid in forex markup alone, on the spend above	~₹888

What this means for you:

The figure above only counts the transactions confirmed here.
Across a full multi-week trip, every meal, taxi, and hotel, the real number is several times that.
The fix costs nothing: a zero-forex-fee card (Niyo Global is the commonly cited option for Indian travellers) takes this line to about ₹0, with no change in what you actually buy.

Need a second pair of eyes?

Travel Plan Review

If you are planning a trip and already have a rough route, I can review your itinerary, transport choices, budget assumptions, and practical risks before you book everything. Uzbekistan is where I can currently help most, because I travelled across the country and documented the details closely.

/travel-review

Uzbekistan — Full Cost Breakdown, Chronological

Total by Category, Across the Whole Country

Where the Money Actually Went

Per-Day Spend, Where the Nights Are Actually Known

Cash vs Card, Honestly

Forex & Hidden Charges — The Real Total

Travel Plan Review

Related places and notes