Samarkand: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Samarkand is a city of 595,200 people in Uzbekistan (Samarqand Region), 703 m (2,306 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Samarkand International Airport (SKD), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre. It has 1 railway station on record, including Samarkand railway station. Our booking partner lists 534 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Samarkand runs from about 9 h 25 min a day in late December to 15 h 2 min in late June (computed for 39.65° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Samarkand is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Samarkand International Airport (SKD), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre, whose 10,187-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.
Flights to Samarkand: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Samarkand railway station. Trains to Samarkand
Buses to Samarkand · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 534 places to stay in Samarkand. Of the 239 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (175), and 5 are five-star. Across 145 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 9 out of 10. Guests have left 45,439 reviews in total.
Hotels in Samarkand: the full picture, and book
What people come for
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Samarkand – Crossroad of Cultures.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Samarkand
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Tashkent, 261 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Shymkent, 369 km (Kazakhstan) — flights
- Dushanbe, 200 km (Tajikistan)
- Mazār-e Sharīf, 328 km (Afghanistan)
- Bukhara, 217 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Qarshi, 134 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Isfara, 317 km (Tajikistan)
- Istaravshan, 177 km (Tajikistan)
- Qo‘qon, 352 km — buses · car rental
- Türkmenabat, 298 km (Turkmenistan)
Twin towns and sister cities: Florence, Balkh, Merv, Bukhara, Nishapur, Lahore, Lviv, Istanbul, Eskişehir, Cusco, Mary, Banda Aceh, Khujand, Antalya.
Common questions
Which airport serves Samarkand?
Samarkand International Airport (SKD), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre.
How big is Samarkand?
About 595,200 people live in Samarkand, across 108 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Samarkand in?
Asia/Samarkand, currently UTC+5.
What currency is used in Samarkand?
The Som (UZS). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Samarkand?
Our booking partner lists 534 places to stay in Samarkand, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Samarkand?
Tashkent (261 km), Shymkent (369 km), Dushanbe (200 km), Mazār-e Sharīf (328 km), Bukhara (217 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.