Should I visit Samarkand or Bukhara? [2024]

Registan, Samarkand

Samarkand and Bukhara are two of Uzbekistan’s most famous destinations. On one hand, you have the grand Registan in Samarkand. On the other hand, Bukhara is home to some of Uzbekistan’s most intricate and important ancient buildings. While both are gorgeous, which should you visit? Read on to find out in this short guide.

Mir-i-Arab Madrasa, Bukhara

Where to stay in Samarkand and Bukhara?

Uzbekistan’s tourism industry is still rising step by step, but there are already a lot of quality accommodation options in both Samarkand and Bukhara. Luckily, hotels are incredibly cheap in both cities - so you’ll get a lot of value for money. Here are our top recommendations.

Where to stay in Samarkand

Budget: Hotel Marokand

Hotel Marokand is quaint hotel, decorated in traditional Uzbek style. Guests especially love the spacious rooms, friendly staff and location - which is really central and close to all the major sightseeing spots.

Hotel Marokand

Hotel Marokand

Hotel Marokand

You can take a closer look at Hotel Marokand by clicking here.

Low-Range: Registon Saroy Hotel

We stayed at the Registon Saroy Hotel and we absolutely loved it!! The staff here were always willing to help out with whatever we needed, even at 4am in the morning. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and the location is pretty unbeatable - just a 5-minute walk to the Registan. Breakfast was delicious, and the prices here are affordable as well. We would highly recommend this place!

Registon Saroy Hotel

Registon Saroy Hotel

Registon Saroy Hotel

You can take a closer look at Registon Saroy Hotel by clicking here.

Mid-Range: Ideal Hotel

True to its name, Ideal Hotel is a mid-range hotel in Samarkand known for its extremely comfortable rooms and tasty breakfast. Even though this is a mid-range hotel, the rooms here are still very reasonably priced.

Ideal Hotel

Ideal Hotel

Ideal Hotel

You can take a closer look at Ideal Hotel by clicking here.

Luxury: Shohjahon Palace

Shohjahon Palace is hands down one of the best-looking hotels in all of Samarkand, and its not hard to see why. Featuring wide, spacious rooms and pool facilities, this is a common favourite for guests to stay at.

Shohjahon Palace

Shohjahon Palace

Shohjahon Palace

You can take a closer look at Shohjahon Palace by clicking here.

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Where to stay in Bukhara

Budget: Naqshband

Naqshband is a quaint hotel that looks gorgeous! It pretty much has a perfect rating from guests across all platforms, so you can’t go wrong with this budget option.

Naqshband

Naqshband

Naqshband

You can take a closer look at Naqshband by clicking here.

Mid-Range: Kavsar Boutique Hotel

The hotels in Bukhara are truly something special, and Kavsar Boutique Hotel is a real highlight. Just look at those rooms and the detail that’s gone into them! The best part is that staying here will come in at a fraction of the cost you would usually expect.

Kavsar Boutique Hotel

Kavsar Boutique Hotel

Kavsar Boutique Hotel

You can take a closer look at Kavsar Boutique Hotel by clicking here.

Luxury: Sahid Zarafshon

Sahid Zarafshon is hands down the best luxury hotel in Bukhara. With a velvet and gold trimming design style, Sahid Zarafshon impresses guests with its central location, swimming pool facilities and comfortable, lux rooms.

Sahid Zarafshon

Sahid Zarafshon

Sahid Zarafshon

You can take a closer look at Sahid Zarafshon by clicking here.

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How to Explore Samarkand and Bukhara

Much of Samarkand and Bukhara can be explored on foot - although some sites may require a short car ride.

Joining a tour can also be the best way to learn about the storied history of these two ancient cities, ensuring both an entertaining and educational experience. While seeing these amazing buildings is impressive, learning the context behind them just gives you that extra perspective. We’ve handpicked the best tours for you in each city:

Handpicked Samarkand Tours

Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand

1. Samarkand city history, architecture and the culture tour - this highly rated tour takes you through the highlights of Samarkand - Gur Emir Mausoleum, Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Bibi Khanym Mosque. An all-round comprehensive tour.

2. Samarkand Full Day Private Tour from Tashkent with Bullet Train - this tour is best for those who are coming from the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

Handpicked Bukhara Tours

Chor-Minor Madrasa, Bukhara

1. Bukhara Full Day Old City Private Tour - most complete tour of Bukhara. You will visit Bukhara’s most iconic sights such as the Kalon Minaret, Mir-i-Arab Madrasa, Chor-Minor, Ark of Bukhara, Poi Kalyan Mosque, Lyab-i-Hauz, Bolo-Khauz and more.

2. Bukhara Private Tour to Emirs Summer Palace and Bahauddin Naqshband Sufi Complex - journey to the most unique sights of Bukhara on this guided private tour.

3. Full-Day Private Guided Tour to Islamic 7 Saints of Bukhara - something a little different for the history buffs.

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Is Samarkand Worth Visiting?

Is Samarkand Worth Visiting?

Although Uzbekistan is an underrated travel destination, its popularity is quickly growing thanks to a recent visa-free regime change which has made entering the country exponentially easier than before.

Bibi Khanym Mosque, Samarkand

Uzbekistan’s most famous destination is likely to be Samarkand, an important, majestic city that’s home to just over half a million people. Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the Central Asia region, with a history dating back to 7th century BC. During its time, it’s come into the hands of Iranian, Persian and Turkish rule until Genghis Khan of Mongolia took the city in 1220.

Sher-Dor Madrasa, Samarkand

Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand

Samarkand’s crown jewel is the Registan. If you’ve ever seen images of Uzbekistan before, there’s a high chance that you’ve seen the Registan. The intricately blue-tiled buildings are unmissable and beautiful enough to take your breath away.

Sher-Dor Madrasa, Samarkand

In fact, when I first stood in front of the Registan, I almost shed a tear from the sheer beauty and epic-ness! The Registan is a public square, and serves as a collection of Samarkand’s most famous madrasas. These madrasas were used in the medieval times as Muslim educational institutions, and was a frequent pit stop along the ancient Silk Road.

Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand

Within the Registan, you’ll find three madrasas – Tilya-Kori, Ulugh Beg and Sher-Dor. Out of these three, I’d say Sher-Dor was the most impressive visually, Ulugh Beg had the most appealing interior, and Tilya-Kori had one of the most gorgeous tiled roofs I’ve ever seen in my life – so you can’t go wrong with exploring the Registan!

Tilya Kori Madrasa, Samarkand

Sher-Dor Madrasa, Samarkand

Other places you should visit include Gur-i-Amir Mausoleum, Bibi Khanym Mosque and Shah-i-Zinda, with the latter being my favourite place out of all the tiled buildings in Samarkand.

Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand

Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand

Bibi Khanym Mosque, Samarkand

Bibi Khanym Mosque, Samarkand

So is Samarkand worth visiting? This one’s easy – absolutely!

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Is Bukhara Worth Visiting?

Kalan Mosque (Poi Kalyan Mosque), Bukhara

Bukhara is perhaps Uzbekistan’s second most well-known travel destination, and is almost as old as Samarkand, with its history tracing back to 6th century BC. Bukhara is another Uzbekistan city that will give you the quintessential Uzbek experience, as it doesn’t suffer any shortage of stunning attractions.

Chor-Minor Madrasa, Bukhara

Although Bukhara is smaller and more compact than Samarkand, by no means does it fail to measure up in its sights. This ancient city is home to world-class attractions such as Chor-Minor Madrasa, Mir-i-Arab Madrasa, Minorai Kalon, Kalan Mosque, Ark of Bukhara, Samanid Mausoleum, Bolo Hauz Majid and Lyab-i-Hauz.

Kalan Mosque (Poi Kalyan Mosque), Bukhara

Ark of Bukhara

Samanid Mausoleum, Bukhara

Lyab-i-Hauz, Bukhara

The old part of Bukhara is really easy to navigate, and you can see all of these sights by walking. My personal favourites were Chor-Minor, Minorai Kalan, Mir-i-Arab Madrasa and Kalan Mosque.

Kalan Mosque (Poi Kalyan Mosque), Bukhara

Kalan Mosque (Poi Kalyan Mosque), Bukhara

Great Minaret of the Kalon (Minorai Kalon)

I definitely thought Bukhara was worth visiting, even after visiting the majestic Samarkand.

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Which One Should I Visit – Samarkand or Bukhara?

Great Minaret of the Kalon (Minorai Kalon)

This is a tough question! It all depends on what you’re looking for, but let’s break it down.

Case for Samarkand

Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand

Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand

You should visit Samarkand if this is your first time visiting Uzbekistan and you only have time to visit one place in the country. The Registan and Shah-i-Zinda are simply unmissable, and you have to witness it with your own eyes for yourself. As a whole, I’d say the sights in Samarkand have more of a ‘wow’ appeal on first impressions – they have the ability to impress you right off the bat.

Tilya Kori Madrasa, Samarkand

Samarkand is also a bigger city than Bukhara, with approximately 250,000 more people than the latter. This can be a good thing as the city offers more ‘big city’ perks – more malls, taxi drivers, food options, accommodation choices. Samarkand also has its own international airport, which allows you to fly in from other countries.

Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand

The downside of this is that the city is more spread out and can get busier. In general, Samarkand is more touristy than Bukhara, and although Uzbekistan as a whole can’t be described as oversaturated by tourists in any way, it’s likely that you won’t have Samarkand’s top sights to yourself.

Case for Bukhara

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

You should visit Bukhara if you’re looking for a slightly more intimate, less touristic experience in Uzbekistan. Although I barely saw any tourists in Samarkand, I saw even less in Bukhara – if that can be believed! When I was visiting the Kalan Mosque, I was the only visitor there. Same with the Samanid Mausoleum and Ark of Bukhara.

Inside of Kalan Mosque (Poi Kalyan Mosque), Bukhara

Bukhara is much easier to walk around as all the sights are clumped closely to each other, while going between attractions in Samarkand might require a taxi ride – especially when you’re visiting during summer. I found that although many claim that Samarkand has more things to do as it’s a bigger city, somehow, Bukhara has a more varied list of attractions. There’s just more little things to do after you intricately explore the city.

Final Verdict – Should I Visit Samarkand or Bukhara?

Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand

Samarkand was this magnificent, glorious, out-of-this-world ancient city, while visiting Bukhara was an intriguing, intimate, authentic affair. If I had to pick one, I would pick Samarkand, but it’s an extremely difficult choice to make, and Bukhara would come in as a very close second.

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Visiting Both Samarkand and Bukhara

Sher-Dor Madrasa, Samarkand

Lyab-i-Hauz, Bukhara

If you have at least 2-3 days in Uzbekistan, then I would highly recommend you visit both Samarkand and Bukhara, as they are only a 2.5-hour high-speed train ride away from each other. When booking tickets, you should book well in advance as trains in Uzbekistan actually sell out quite fast.

Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand

My recommendation is to base yourself out of Samarkand and to do a day trip to Bukhara while you’re there.

Getting from Samarkand and Bukhara Train Stations Into The City

One thing to note, though - is that cab drivers can get rather aggressive outside of Samarkand and Bukhara station, as they insist on giving you the ‘best fair’. The vibe can get kind of dodgy, so the most secure way to ensure you get to your destinations is with a pre-booked transfer.

To get from Bukhara Station (or Airport) to Bukhara City, you can book this well-rated private transfer.

To get from Samarkand Station to Samarkand City, you can book this private transfer.

If you’re arriving going to or from Tashkent to Samarkand, you can book this private driver.

Bolo Hauz Masjid, Bukhara

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Other Places to Visit in Uzbekistan

While I only visited Samarkand and Bukhara on this trip, I would love to go back and visit Khiva, Shahrisabz, Nukus and the Nurota Mountains. I visited Tashkent briefly, but didn’t have the best experience there (more on that when I write another blog post!).

Have you visited Uzbekistan? Which city did you enjoy more? Let me know in the comments below!

Check out my photos of my Uzbekistan trip on Instagram!