Travel guide
How to get from Samarkand to Bukhara
The second leg of the classic Silk Road route. The train is quick; the car stops at the places the train passes by.
Short answer: the Afrosiyob train takes around 1.5 to 2 hours between the stations, but Bukhara's station is in Kagan, about 15 km from the old town. A private car takes 3.5–4 hours hotel to hotel and costs $100 for a sedan, per vehicle ($33 each for three people).
By train
The Afrosiyob and slower trains run between Samarkand and Bukhara. The catch is at the Bukhara end: the station is in Kagan, about 15 km from the old town, so you need a 20–30 minute ride to your hotel. A ride-hailing app costs a few dollars if you have mobile data; or book a Bukhara railway station transfer with a driver waiting at the exit.
By private car
The road is about 270 km along the Zarafshan valley, 3.5–4 hours without stops. The car goes from your hotel in Samarkand to your hotel in Bukhara, so there are no station transfers at either end. See Samarkand to Bukhara private transfer.
What the car costs per person
| People | Vehicle | Per vehicle | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sedan | $100 | $100 |
| 2 | Sedan | $100 | $50 |
| 3 | Sedan | $100 | $34 |
| 4 | SUV | $130 | $33 |
| 5 | Minivan | $240 | $48 |
| 6 | Minivan | $240 | $40 |
| 7 | Minivan | $240 | $35 |
| 10 | Microbus | $275 | $28 |
| 16 | Microbus | $275 | $18 |
Stops worth making on the road
- Rabat-i-Malik: the gateway of an 11th-century Karakhanid caravanserai, right beside the road about 23 km from Navoi, with the domed Sardoba water cistern across the road. Both were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2023 as part of the Silk Roads: Zarafshan–Karakum Corridor. Allow 30–45 minutes.
- Gijduvan, a ceramics town about 45 km before Bukhara, known for its brown, green and ochre glazes. A family workshop visit takes about an hour. Combine it with a Bukhara countryside day trip if you have more time.
- A night at a yurt camp near Aydarkul Lake, with Nurata on the way, if you want the desert too.
Tell us which stops you want when you book; see stops on this route.
Shared taxis
Shared taxis run between the cities and are cheap per seat, but you wait for the car to fill, share it with strangers and have limited luggage space. They don't stop at Rabat-i-Malik.
Updated 4 October 2026. Sources: Megan Starr, getting to Bukhara (2026), UNESCO tentative list: Rabati Malik, uzbekistan.travel: Rabat-i-Malik.