How to Get from Dushanbe to Penjikent

You’ve got a few options:

1. The Asian Express bus.
2. A train to Samarkand (runs once a week).
3. Shared taxis.

If you’re starting from Dushanbe and heading to Samarkand, go to the Marom station. This is where shared taxis depart for the border. Pick a car that already has passengers—this way, it’ll fill up faster and leave sooner.

The drive to the border takes about four hours and costs between 200-250 somoni. Once you reach the border, you’ll need to cross it on foot. On the Uzbek side, there’s a currency exchange office immediately after you get your passport stamped. They have good rates and exchange both rubles and dollars, but not Tajik somoni, so make sure to spend those in Dushanbe.

As soon as you’re through, drivers will offer rides to Samarkand. You might have to wait for other passengers since this border isn’t very busy. The trip to Samarkand costs 50,000-60,000 Uzbek sum. They’ll drop you off near Registan, where you can also pick up a local SIM card.

The return journey follows a similar process.

Posted by: @vasigor

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how to get from Dushanbe to Penjikent

You’ve got two main options: taxis and buses.

• Buses: Operate from mid-April to around October. They leave daily at 8 AM from the Asian Express bus terminal and cost 70 somoni per person. Tickets aren’t available online, so you’ll need to arrive at the terminal about an hour early to get in line. However, the bus only departs on time if it’s full, which means you could end up waiting for hours.
• Shared taxis: These cost between 120-150 somoni per person, depending on the type of car. If you want to book the whole car, multiply this rate by the number of seats (usually 6-8 in minivans). Renting a full vehicle will cost 800-1,000 somoni. You can also negotiate with the driver to make photo stops along the way. Taxis can be found at the old bus station on the outskirts of the city.

Can anyone share the schedule for Asian Express buses from Penjikent to Dushanbe?

There’s one daily trip at 8 AM.

I traveled from Penjikent to Dushanbe recently. While checking into my hostel, I noticed an Asian Express bus parked in the courtyard, and the driver was inside. I decided to ask him for updated information. He explained that the bus leaves from the terminal, which is a bit far from the city center. Departure time varies between 6 and 7 AM, depending on how quickly the bus fills up. This was concerning since I’d been told that the local No. 1 minibus, which goes to the terminal, doesn’t start running until 7 AM.

I ended up taking a taxi from the center to the terminal at 6:30 AM for 10 somoni. By the time I arrived, half the seats were already taken (the bus has 21 seats, plus the driver adds extra wooden planks in the aisle for more passengers). We waited another hour for the bus to fill completely.

The shared taxi drivers at the terminal were aggressive, grabbing passengers’ bags and trying to convince them to ride with them instead. One even offered me a ride for 80 somoni—just 10 more than the bus fare. But I’d already decided on the bus, so I stuck with it.

We finally left at 7:40 AM. If you’re planning to travel this route, aim to arrive at the terminal by 7 AM to avoid delays. I later saw that the No. 1 minibus does run before 7 AM, but it’s often overcrowded, so it’s not ideal if you’re carrying luggage.

We made one major stop at a roadside café near Sarvoda for a 30-minute meal break. The driver also needed to rest. Around this time, I noticed another Asian Express bus traveling in the opposite direction, from Dushanbe to Penjikent.

We arrived in Dushanbe in just over five hours. The driver makes stops upon request, so it’s a good idea to track your location on a map and let the driver know where you’d like to get off. The bus doesn’t go through the city center but skirts around it, so plan your exit accordingly.

I traveled from Penjikent to Dushanbe this past August.

I arrived at the terminal around 6:50 AM. By then, the bus was already 90% full. Plenty of taxi drivers were aggressively trying to recruit passengers, but I ignored them and headed straight for the bus. The driver quoted me 65 somoni for the ride, likely because of competition with the taxi drivers, who were offering rides for 70 somoni.

The bus departed at 7:10 AM. The journey took about five hours, with one significant stop at a roadside café. The food there wasn’t great, so I wouldn’t recommend eating.

The bus itself was fairly comfortable, and the scenery along the way was stunning. The road conditions were decent too.

Wishing everyone smooth travels!

我想问一下大家，如果从杜尚别去彭吉肯特坐大巴的话，需要在杜尚别汽车站排队购票是吗？那请问如果回程的话 如何从彭吉肯特到杜尚别呢？在哪里买票回杜尚别呀？然后巴士回程不到杜尚别中心区，那选择哪里下车呢？谢谢！！

You don’t to buy bus tickets. People usually take a shared taxi from bus station. It takes around 3.5-4 hours of driving between city and the cost is 150 somoni per person. Taxis leave as soon as the fill up with passengers.

您无需提前购买公交车票——大多数旅客选择从汽车站出发的拼车出租车。两个城市之间的车程大约为3.5到4小时，每人车费为150索莫尼。出租车在座位坐满后立即发车，因此出发时间灵活，取决于乘客数量。