Hello everyone!
Could someone who has recently travelled from Almaty to Tashkent by bus or train advise how long the queues at the border are at the moment?
Which is better to take? According to the schedule, the bus takes 12 hours and the train takes 17 hours. How realistic are these travel times when you take the border crossing into account?
I travelled by bus from Bishkek and crossed two borders - we arrived in 10–11 hours. Of that, we spent about 1.5 hours crossing the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border and around 40 minutes at the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border.
So I think the scheduled travel time is quite realistic. Also, you don't have to wait for the bus at the border - you can take a taxi instead. In any case, you cross the border on foot with all your luggage.
The train is convenient. You get on in the evening and arrive in Tashkent at 1:00 PM the following day. At the border, they walk around and check everything while you stay sitting in a cool carriage. There's a toilet, food, water - very convenient. The trains are half-empty, and you arrive right in the city centre.