Hello! I’m planning to visit Osh with my family and spend a few days in Fergana – Rishtan, Kokand, Margilan, Chust. Could someone advise on the best way to travel from Osh to Fergana without using tour agencies? Is it possible to find guesthouses or private accommodations in Osh and Fergana? Any tips or contacts would be much appreciated. Thank you!
Take a taxi or minibus #138 from Osh city center to the Dostuk border crossing (only 5 km away). Cross the border on foot, and you’ll find plenty of taxis to Andijan (Oshsky Pyatak). From Andijan, it’s easy to get to Fergana.
Minibuses run from 6 a.m. to 8–9 p.m. After 9 p.m., you’ll mostly see pedestrians and taxi drivers in the city. Average taxi fares (a couple of years ago, converted to USD):
A taxi ride to the airport costs $8–10 at night and less during the day. Or take minibus #107. Minibus #138 goes to the border through the entire city.
If you find a taxi with Uzbek license plates, you can arrange a direct ride to Andijan from the airport, bypassing the border transfer.
Hello! Could you advise whether it’s worth visiting Fergana in January? We’re still debating. What’s the weather and general mood like at that time?
What’s the purpose of your visit to Fergana? If it’s historical, there are better options like Samarkand, Khiva, and Bukhara.
Weather-wise, it depends on your luck. In recent years, it has been very cold by local standards. In smaller towns and villages, electricity is often turned off, and gas isn’t always available. Be prepared for not all homes being warm enough.
Fergana is a very cozy city and probably the most beautiful of the four cities in the valley. I stayed at the Ziyarat Hotel. Across the road, there’s a market and the Kokand Pyatak. I paid $35 for a two-person room (around 45 square meters) with all new furnishings. Behind the hotel, there’s a café with a pool and bowling.
In Andijan, there are several good hotels on the main street. You won’t end up on the street – there are plenty of cafés and markets within walking distance.
Crossing the land border from Osh to Andijan can sometimes take time. On the way to Osh, we got through in an hour, but coming back, it took four hours as we waited for families with children to pass.
The cheapest way to get from Fergana to Osh:
Can you clarify the second point? Is the 30,000 UZS fare for one person or the entire “Damas”? If I understand correctly, it’s a shared minibus (even if private). It’s about 35–40 km to the border, so the price for one person seems a bit high.
A “Damas” is essentially a shared taxi. 30,000 UZS is less than $3. Is that too much for 40 km?
Does anyone know how likely it is to get on a bus in Margilan with backpacks? Or do buses to Fergana usually leave full and depart straight away? My accommodation will be in Margilan, and I’d prefer not to travel to Fergana first and then back to Margilan.
Buses from Margilan don’t go through Fergana. However, they take a long time to fill up with passengers. It’s better to take a local minibus to Fergana and board there. Fergana also has more organized buses with fixed schedules.
While exploring Fergana from Margilan, I checked out the road options and also visited Margilan’s bus station.
A direct taxi to the border via Yandex is expensive and not interesting.
Minibuses to Andijan cost the same from Fergana and Margilan – 10,000 UZS. In Fergana, they use Mercedes Sprinters or similar vehicles, but drivers add extra seats in the aisles. Departures are every 20 minutes, and they fill up quickly.
Margilan uses vehicles similar to GAZelles, less comfortable and slower to fill up.
From Margilan, a taxi to the bus station cost me 9,000 UZS, while a taxi to Fergana’s bus station was 16,000 UZS. I decided to travel to Fergana and depart for Andijan from there.
From Andijan, I took a bus to the border, still 5,000 UZS. However, the bus doesn’t go directly from point A to B. It works like a city route, picking up and dropping off passengers in smaller towns along the way. This meant 45 km took nearly 1.5 hours, as we spent the first 20 minutes looping around Andijan. Then, we stopped at a small market and picked up more passengers along the road. Only in the last third of the journey did we leave populated areas and start driving at 60 km ссылка удалена
Despite the time, it’s still an interesting adventure for the price, compared to a shared taxi!
Could you please tell me if the pottery workshops in Rishtan and the silk factory in Margilan are open on Sundays?
