Travel from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan: how to get from Bishkek to Tashkent by bus? Read on to find out where to buy your bus ticket, where the bus from Bishkek to Tashkent leaves from, and how long the journey will take.
The countries in Central Asia are all very different from each other and they offer unique sights to travelers and adventurers.
While Kyrgyzstan is known for its pristine mountain hikes, Uzbekistan is the country where relics, cities, and remains of the Silk Road were mostly left untouched and can still be visited today. You’ll find stunning Islamic architecture in the cities of Khiva, Samarkand, and Bukhara.
These two countries are so different and yet complementary that it’s almost impossible to visit one without wanting to see the other.
Traveling in Central Asia used to be complicated as it was hard to get a tourist visa for the different stan-countries and there was a lack of proper public transport connecting the main cities of the countries. This has all changed now!
There is now a bus line connecting Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek to Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan. Traveling between the two cities by bus takes about 8 to 13 hours depending on how long it takes to cross the borders and this bus runs at night.
In this article, I’ll tell you where to buy your bus ticket, where the bus leaves from, and details about the two border crossings that you’ll have to go through.
Tip: See my Uzbekistan Travel Page and my Kyrgyzstan Travel Page for a complete overview of all my travel guides and blog posts about both countries!
Disclaimer: This posts might contain affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase through these links, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thank you for helping to support this website!
Plan your trip to Tashkent
Where to stay
- Best budget pick: Light Hostel
- Best mid-range hotel choice: Hotel Suzuk-Ota
- Top premium hotel: Ichan Qala
Top experiences in Tashkent
Plan your trip to Uzbekistan
Entry Requirements for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
During this journey, you’ll cross the Kazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan border at Talas, a few hours from Bishkek and the Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan border at Zhibek-Zholu.
Kazakhstan visa Requirements
As you’ll be transiting through Kazakhstan, you need a visa to enter the country.
Citizens from the European Union, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Mongolia don’t need to apply for a visa to enter Kazakhstan as they’re eligible for a free tourist visa upon arrival.
Citizens from non-visa-exempt countries need to apply for an e-Visa – even though you’re only transiting through Kazakhstan – or a transit visa.
Uzbekistan visa Requirements
Citizens of the European Union, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and many more countries can travel to Uzbekistan visa-free for a period of 30 days.
Citizens of 75 countries, including China and India, can apply for an e-visa, allowing them up to 30 days in the country.
Where can you buy a bus ticket to go from Bishkek to Tashkent?
Update 2026: The long-distance buses connecting Bishkek to Tashkent should either leave from the temporary bus terminal, 16 km from the city center or from the New Bus Station in Bishkek.
-> if you have any recent updates on this, please let us know in the comments below!
You can only buy your ticket at the bus terminal itself. There are no options yet to buy the tickets online. If you’re spending a few days in Bishkek, you could always go to the bus terminal a day or couple of days before to buy your ticket.
Bus prices tend to change quite regularly depending on the day of the week and the month of the year but they generally cost around 2200 Kyrgyz Som.
You can reach the bus terminal from the center of Bishkek by taxi for 400 KGS or by taking bus #13.
What is the Bishkek – Tashkent bus schedule?
The buses going from Bishkek to Tashkent only run at night. According to the latest updates I received, they leave from the bus terminal at 19:00 in the evening and they arrive in Tashkent the next day in the morning. However, these timetables often change so I would recommend going at least a day in advance to confirm the time schedule. Let us know in the comments below if there are any changes or updates!
Because the time of the journey varies according to how long it takes to cross the border, it’s hard to predict when the bus will arrive in Tashkent.
The bus makes a few stops during the night at small roadside restaurants where you can eat and go to the bathroom.
The bus will also stop a few times for money exchangers to come on board and offer to exchange your Kygyz soms for Uzbek soms.
The rate they offer is not extremely good but better than most banks in the city centers of Tashkent or Bishkek. Make sure you know what the rate is before exchanging any money.
Things you need to bring on the bus from Bishkek to Tashkent
The aircon in the bus tends to become a bit cold during the night so I would suggest bringing a warm sweater with you.
It’s also important to keep your passport on the bus instead of leaving it in the luggage compartment underneath the vehicle.
If you want to buy food along the way, make sure that you have local currency with you. The road restaurants where this bus stopped were mainly in Kazakhstan so you’ll need to have some Kazakh Tenges. It might be easier to bring your own snacks.
Plan your perfect Central Asia journey
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How long does it take to travel from Bishkek to Tashkent and where are the border crossings?
On the journey from Bishkek to Tashkent, you’re going to cross two borders.
First, you’ll cross the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border at Taraz-Talaz, a couple of hours west of Bishkek. Once the bus arrives at the Taraz-Talaz on the Kyrgyz side of the border, everyone must get out of the bus, pass their bags through security and get their passport stamped.
Once the passports are stamped, everyone gets back on the bus, and the whole process starts again at the Kazakh border.
You’ll need to check beforehand which visa you need for Kazakhstan. If you’re eligible for a free tourist visa on arrival, you don’t have to worry about anything (see entry requirements at the beginning of this post).
The second border crossing is between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at the Zhibek-Zholu border, one hour north of Tashkent.
The bus will arrive there in the early morning and it’s usually not busy at all at that time of the day so this border crossing should take around an hour.
Arriving in Tashkent
The bus will arrive in Tashkent at the Avtovagzal station near the Olmazor Metro.
The best option is to take the metro directly from the bus station to your hostel. The metro station next to the bus station is called metro Olmazor. You can take the metro to almost any part of the city for only 14000 Som so this is definitely the cheapest option.
Where to stay in Tashkent?
Best hostel in Tashkent
Light Hostel is conveniently located in Tashkent. It’s about 40-minutes walking from the train station and a 20-minute walk from Oybek metro station, from where you can easily travel to Tashkent’s city center. See the rates and availability for “Light Hostel”
Best mid-range hotel in Tashkent
Hotel Suzuk-Ota is a highly-rated hotel in the center of Tashkent. It offers clean and nice rooms, a shared lounge and a garden and is located in a park next to the Suzuk Ota Mosque, at walking distance from a mall and many restaurants. The closest metro stations are Chorsu and Bunyodkor. Click to check out rates and availability for “Hotel Suzuk-Ota”
Best high-end hotel in Tashkent
The Ichan Qal’a Hotel doesn’t only offer beautifully decorated rooms but also an indoor fitness center and swimming pool. See rates and availability for “Ichan Qal’a Hotel”
That’s it! I hope this post was useful and I wish you a pleasant journey from Bishkek to Tashkent! In case you’d have more questions or if you made the journey and have info that is different than mentioned in this guide, let me and other readers know in the comments below!
| 👉Tashkent City Guide | 👉Samarkand City Guide |
| 👉Bukhara City Guide | 👉Khiva City Guide |
| 👉Shahrisabz City Guide | 👉 Karakalpakstan Guide |
| 👉Fergana Valley Guide |
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Very great post and useful comments. Does anyone know what/how many are the departure timings and station location from bishkek to tashkent route this year. I will be taking this bus in 1st week of June on a monday. Thanks
Hello,
Took the bus last night. Can confirm as of October 2025, bus departs from here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Fxtz4M5WJrmTKM5m8?g_st=ipc
We purchased our tickets at 3:30pm, for the 9pm bus on a Saturday – we may have been lucky. We had ventured to the new bus station first but told we were in the wrong place so note, the TEMPORARY station WEST of the city is the correct location.
You purchase your ticket from behind the bus’ at a small ticket window. CASH ONLY – 2200 Som per person. We were short 300 Som, thankfully there is a money exchange in the bus terminal area.
We waited in KFC (warm, power outlets, fried chicken – such a westerner choice), and boarded at 830pm, bus departed at 9pm.
If you’re looking for comfort, take a flight.
Chairs recline, but if you’re tall, your knees will be pressed against the seat in front. In saying that, we dozed and have both been on worse bus experiences; this was a reasonably new bus. The bus didn’t stop at any rest stops, only boarder crossings – 1.25hrs in at Khazakstan, and about 7hrs in at Uzbekistan. At border 1, smooth sailing, we were first off the bus and straight through. Bus arrived shortly after we got through, loaded up and departed.
TAKE NOTE OF THE NUMBER PLATE and don’t muck around as it will leave when it wants too. We had plenty of time and everyone appeared to make the bus.
Uzbekistan border was a bit more chaotic. Pulled up around 3:50am (reminder you go back 1hr when crossing the borders from Kyrgyzstan) and it was already busy as. We went through Khazakstan crossing, which appeared busier than Uzbekistan. We had to leave luggage in the hallway and line up in a single room. There was a delay with my passport as I don’t think they get a lot of New Zealanders cross the borders.
Uzbekistan border was super smooth. Gentleman behind the counter was way too chipper for my sleepless night but was excited to see foreigners entering his country. Next was XRay for the bags and another gentleman asking everyone “Drone?”. NOTE, drones are not allowed in Uzbekistan so leave that at home.
We were told we’d usually have to wait 2-3hrs on the other side. Our bus rolled through just after 5am (under 2hrs), and promptly left! There are taxis waiting so if you miss the bus you will be fine to get into Tashkent.
Before long I started to drift off to sleep, and we arrived at the station at 5:45am, 3hrs ahead of schedule. The terminal is open, there is wiFi and hot food so not a bad spot to park up if you need.
Thank you so much MJ to share your experiences, this will be very useful to other travelers!
Hi all, just wanted to add my experience. Thank you for the write-up, it did help us with planning.
We went as a group of 5 friends and travelled the other way, from Tashkent to Bishkek, on a Friday night (18. April). We bought the tickets the day before, for the 20:00 bus.
When we got to the bus 15min ahead of time, we were already being loudly screamed at in russian/ uzbek (I speak some russian but didn’t understand a word) by the bus driver. The border crossing into Kazakhstan was one of the worst experiences of my life. Hundreds of men are caged into the left side of the entry of the border control, with no movement for about 2 hours. Our two accompanying girls were seperated from us to take a different entry, apparently the one for Kazakh citizens. Every hour or so, a group of people broke through the barrier to run into the border controls, which was the only way we moved forward for a long time. Inside, there is absolutely no order, with everybody shoving their way to the border agents while waving their passports. One of our friends got separated and moved to a queue next to a container outside. When he got there, the agent forgot to stamp his passport, and he had to push his way back through the masses.
When we, the last two of our group, finally made it through, the bus had already left. Or at least the driver tried to – had it not been for our girls who started to fight for us and stand in front of the bus, we would have been stuck at the Kazakh border.
I like adventures, otherwise i wouldn’t have planned this trip in the first place, but this trip surely was the worst thing i experienced while traveling in a very long time.
Just a heads up for everyone eyeing to to do the same!
We took the plane back from Bishkek to Tashkent.
Hi Daniel,
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience! The border control can be a bit chaotic but what you describe here, I never experienced this before (and I have crossed this border multiple times). I hope the rest of your journey will go smoothly! Best wishes, Cynthia
The new Bus station is not for Bishkek-Tashkent buses anymore. We went there today and they told us to go to city center to buy tickets. From City center we asked from a hotel near by. Receptionist said that the Bus station is 16km from the center to different direction. Bus 13 goes there and taxi 400som. It is not even a house or a office, more like shack. But ticket office personel spoke english and the bus leaves 19.00 and the price was 2200som. Bishkek – Tashkent station is next to A3C PCK gas station far away from center. Maps also says temporary Bus terminal for Tashkent.
Hello Korppu, this is a very useful update! Thank you for sharing!
Do you have by any chance the GPS coordinates?
Bus 13 goes to 2 differents bus station.
The bus Bishkek to Tashkent départ from the “temporary” station, in west of Bishkek. NOT North!
There is several bus, I saw 19h and 21h. You have to buy your ticket in the “station” the same day or one day prior to departure
Hi, I’ve heard that you no longer catch the bus from the Western bus station in Bishkek and it has now changed to a bus station further out of town. Can anyone confirm this and know the name and location of the new station?
Would love to know before I go later this year!
Hi Ben, indeed, the Western Bus station has recently moved to a temporary new location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/R3uMsv411LxYUnR79, due to renovations.
I’ll be updating the guides soon with this news and new location.
Hey, thanks for the nice blog!
I am new to the region and plan to travel there in October. Hope the weather will be ok Kyrgistan and not too cold. Any experiences?
I would like to know what kind of buses to expect? Are these marshrutka, standard sized buses/coaches or even sleeper buses, as you travel overnight?
Thanks and happy travels 🙂
Hi Joe, it will already be cold in the mountains and you should be prepared for snow. If you travel from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan, you’ll be on a standard coach. In Kyrgyzstan, you’ll only have buses that travel between Bishkek and Karakol, all other buses are marshrutkas. Have a great trip!
Hello Cynthia,
I am now in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan, and I realize I should have bought the ticket to Tashkent this morning while I still was at the western bus station in Bishkek.
Do you think it’s okay to buy the ticket the same day? Is the bus often getting full?
Since you wrote there are 3 busses departing at different times each evening, I think I should be fine. Besides, there are less tourists now than in Summer.
I will try to arrive to Bishkek in the early afternoon.
Hi Stéphane, it really depends on how many people there are. As I’m just seeing your comment, were you able to get the bus to Tashkent on the same day?
I went and bought a ticket today at the western bus station in Bishkek and the schedule right now is one bus at 19:00 and another one at 21:00. The ticket was around 2250 som and the bus leaves on platform 6 and takes around 12h to arrive in Tashkent. Hope this helps for anyone interested!
I would like to add that the bus that leaves at 19:00 is actually a sleeper bus with beds and it costs a bit more (2650 som). I’m not sure if the sleeper bus runs everyday though or just on Fridays. You need to pay in cash and have your passport with you when buying the ticket.
Hi,
have you got any information about the departure times from Tashkent to Bishkek? What are the opening hours of the Ticket Office in Tashkent? Is it enough if I buy the ticket the previous day ?
Thank you !
Hello Fatime, you’ll find the answers in my guide How to travel from Tashkent to Bishkek. You can nowadays buy the ticket online when leaving from Tashkent. Have a great trip!
Dear Cynthia, thank you – and thanks for your many other hints too.
I just purchased a ticket, the cashier said Bishkek- Tashkent daily trip at 19:00PM, Bus Fare: 2050 SOM. Hope this helps! Thanks for the info too Cynthia.
Thank you for the update Jap!
Anyone has idea of latest schedules? This official site https://avtovokzal.kg/ only lists one bus at 19:00.
Thanks for this guide Cynthia, it’s very useful and interesting.
I did the journey late Sept 2023. Just to add a couple points…
The Western Bus Station in Bishkek has free and open wifi (no sign-on/codes) – quite rare in these parts. My journey was similar to that which you describe but the second border crossing into Uzbekistan was lengthy – about 45 minutes for passengers to walk through both border controls but then outside on the street was a bit chaotic – a lot of people (even though it was pre-dawn) and we had to wait for nearly 2.5 hours for our bus to appear. In the meantime most of the passengers gave up waiting and caught taxis or buses into Tashkent which is only about 30-40 minutes away. Other than that the journey was ok and great value for money but don’t expect to get any sleep on the overnight bus )
Hi Alan, thank you for the update! Yes, it can happen sometimes that the bus is delayed when crossing the border, depending on the number of people, how long the custom control takes,…
Hi Alan,
You said it was very difficult to sleep on the bus. What is the capacity of the buses (big or small bus) ? I’ve another question: Does the bus operate on weekends? For example, can we get on Sunday evening in Bishkek and be in Taskent on Monday?
Hi Thank you for the information it was helpful.
I think the times is different for every day.
I went to buy a ticket and they had only for 19:00.
Price was 2000 which is around 22 usd
Thank you for the update!
18-09-2023
Had two options to choose from: 19:00 and 21:00. Paid 2000 kgs.
Don’t know if the 16:30 option was sold out or not available.
Thank you for your update Ruben!
Hi Ruben, I am going to Uzbekistan next month and also plan to go by bus from Tashkent to Bishkek. If i take the bus at 19.00. When will i arrive in Tashkent?. And next, i want to take the train to other city at 09.00. Is it possible for me if i take the train from those schedule?
And also thank you Cynthia, your blog very helpful.
Hi Ulum,
The bus ride takes an average of 10 hours but it really depends on the road conditions and time at the border crossings. It seems to me that you would be able to catch the 9am train but remember that you need to be at the train station about 45 minutes in advance. I’d book a train no earlier than 11am to play it safe. Hope this helps.
Thank you Cynthia for your answer. I have another questions that i hope you wouldn’t mind answering. I plan to cross the border Almaty to Bishkek in the night around 9pm. From the informations i have that the last bus would leave Almaty at 6pm. And because of that, i want to take shared taxi. Can i have one? And if there is, where i can find them? and if there is not, how about the oher possibility? Perhaps you know and have the answers. Thank you!
Hi Ulum, you should be able to find shared taxis near the bus station in Almaty. They’ll drive you to the border with Kyrgyzstan. Once you cross the border, you need to take another (shared) taxi to the city center of Bishkek. Hope this helps.
Sorry, i mean bus from Bishkek to Tashkent.
The current bus schedule Bishkek – Tashkent is twice daily at 16:30 and 19:00 for 2025 kyrgyz soms although I bought the ticket a day before departure so the price could be reflective of that too. Happy travels everyone ☺️
Thanks for the update Maryum!
Hello travelers!
Just got ticket to Tashkent, latest bus departs at 19. So there is a change.
Safe travels
Hi Anna, can you confirm that there were no later buses on other days?
I have seen bus at 2100 on the schedule inside bus station, but not sure which days is departing.
Thank you for the update Anna!
Hi Cynthia,
thanks for sharing all your tips – super helpful.
I am going to Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara) and Kirgisistan next month. We also plan to go by bus from Tashkent to Bishkek. Do you know if it’s possible to exit in Shymkent and go by bus one or two days later to Bishkek?
Hi Julian, you could take a bus (or the train) from Tashkent to Shymkent. You won’t be able to board the Tashkent-Bishkek bus in Shymkent tho. You can check if there are buses going from Shymkent to Bishkek or take the train from Shymkent to Almaty and from there the bus to Bishkek. Hope this helps. Best wishes, Cynthia
Hi!
This is a really useful blog! Many thanks for sharing the info.
I am travelling to Uzbekistan in a couple of weeks, and would simply like to double -check is it is possible to buy the tickets online from Tashkent to Bishkek. If not, would it be a problem to buy it at the station one day in advance? I am worried that all tickets fully booked and I get no seat.
Thanks!
Hi Marta, so far as I know, it’s not possible yet to buy the bus tickets online.
Hi.
Thank you so much for a good description of the transport from Bisjkek-Tashkent. I have two questions, that i hope you can helt with.
1) Is it possible to buy the tickets for the bus in advance. Maybe online, or do you just show up at the bus station?
I am a bit afraid the bus might be sold out.
2) I can understand that the bus drives through Kazakhstan on the way to Tashkent. Do you know if it’s a problem that i just left Kazakhstan 4 days earlier, and now already re-enters?
My itinerary is Almaty-Bisjkek-Tashkent.
I look forward to hear from you, and again thanks for this blog!
Best regards. Johannes.
Hi Johannes,
1) You can’t buy the tickets online yet. Best would be to go to the bus station a few days in advance (if possible) to book your seat.
2) You can stay a total of 90 days within a 180-day time frame so it shouldn’t be a problem to re-enter
Have a great trip!
I love reading your blogs about Central Asia as it is very informative. I’ll be heading to Almaty on the 1st of May then Bishkek and around Kyrgyzstan and end my trip in Uzbekistan – planning to visit Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara.
Thank you Willa! And how exciting!! I wish you a fantastic trip and please let me know how your travels went, would love to hear your impressions of Central Asia!
Hey, I will visit Kyrgyzstan in August and I wanna go to Tashkent afterward.
Because the train passes through Kasachstan do you need an extra PCR test?
If anyone knows something please answer
Hi Mads,
I’m not sure if you will already be able to travel overland from Kyrgyzstan to Tashkent by train in August. Kazakhstan’s land borders are currently still closed.
The best way would be to travel to Osh (Kyrgyzstan) and cross the border into Uzbekistan there. You’ll need a PCR test to depart Kyrgyzstan and enter Uzbekistan.
Hi, just to confirm you that is impossible to cross the border and to enter the country via train because in Kazahstan everything is closed for the foreigners.
Also I wanna to thank you for all the information about the bus. This is very helpful.
Hi Danijela, yes, at the moment the land borders between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are currently still closed. There are some rumours that Kazakhstan might open up the borders for vaccinated travelers on August 1st, but I can’t confirm this information yet.
Just took a trip up to Almaty from Bishkek. They never checked PCR tests. Fairly certain this requirement was dropped regardless of whether the internet says it still is.
So they never checked at the Kazakh border?
about the bishkek – tashkent bus ticket , can i buy the ticket several days in advance? Say, i plan to buy the ticket directly at the bus station two days before departure.
Thanks before.
By the way, it’s really nice blog with superbly beautiful pictures you have here.
Hi Geraldo, I know for a fact that it’s totally possible to buy the ticket a couple of days ahead in Tashkent doing the Tashkent to Bishkek route but I’m not entirely sure if the other way around is possible as well. I would assume it should be possible to buy it up to 4-5 days ahead of time.