Wondering what to wear in Uzbekistan for your upcoming trip or how to dress in Uzbekistan to ensure you’ll respect the local culture?? This is what I’m going to cover in this Uzbekistan clothing guide!
I spent an amazing week in Uzbekistan with Halal Travel Guide on a 1 week tour visiting Tashkent, Bukhara and Samarkand. Uzbekistan is a wonderful country and I’m so excited that you are going.. or thinking about going!
Uzbekistan isn’t a country where you need to worry too much about how to dress in terms of being conservative but there are still some things you need to keep in mind like covering when going into attractions, and you also need to keep in mind the weather in Uzbekistan as they have extremely hot summers and cold winters!
What to Wear in Uzbekistan
In this Uzbekistan travel guide, I’m going to share some tips and ideas of what to wear in Uzbekistan to help you dress in the correct way for the culture and attractions in Uzbekistan, for both men and women!
Uzbekistan Dress Code
The main thing to note about the Uzbekistan dress code is that the religion of Uzbekistan is 80% Muslim so like many other Muslim and Muslim Majority countries such as Turkey, Qatar, UAE, Pakistan dressing modesty and dressing conservatively is something to keep in mind,
However, there are no rules around how to dress in Uzbekistan (aside from inside attractions) and this is important to note too! Like in Turkey, you can’t get in trouble for wearing the wrong thing, however it is nice to dress according to the local custom, culture and religion.
Related post: Halal Travel Guide to Uzbekistan and Tour Review!
How to Dress in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is all about visiting the blue and green ancient and ornate mosques, islamic schools and mausoleums, but many of these attractions do come with a dress code.
As you can see from the photos below, you’ll see these signs before entering mosques and mosque complex’s asking for men and women to have their arms and legs covered and for women to have their hair covered.
It is worth noting that not every beautiful building front you see is a mosque and therefore requires a dress code, the one above leads into a market place and therefore you can continue to wear what you were wearing outside.
Outside of the attractions, whether you’re on the streets of modern Tashkent or in the old city of Bukhara, tourists can wear what they want and in April, I saw women in shorts and tank tops and plenty of men in shorts and t-shirts.
The Reality of how to dress in Uzbekistan tourist attractions
I do want to add that in reality based on the tourists I saw in Uzbekistan and even what our male guide wore…
- Men can wear t-shirts inside the mosques and all of the attractions and are ok wearing shorts in most places, as long as they are not too short.
- Women can have their arms on show without any issues and have their hair uncovered in many of the attractions. The covering mainly comes into play when you enter inside a prayer area of a mosque.. or if a member of staff asks you as covering is technically the rule..
Tips on how to cover in Uzbekistan
To help with covering in the correct way for the attractions, many of them have head scarfs available to borrow at the entrance and kimono type garments to wear over clothes so that women’s arms, shoulders and most of your legs are covered which you can see in the photos below.
I would recommend all ladies travelling to Uzbekistan to always carry a shawl or scarf in your bag. This means you can easily cover your hair and shoulders inside complex’s but can wear t-shirts or tank tops when not visiting them, and ideally have most of your legs covered so you don’t need to worry about this.
In terms of the correct footwear to wear and pack in Uzbekistan, most of your trip will involve sightseeing and walking around so ensure you pack comfy shoes for walking and travelling!
Uzbekistan Clothing
When visiting Uzbekistan you’ll quickly notice that many tourists are wearing colourful kimono’s and these are plentiful to buy in all the markets, particularly in Bukhara and Samarkand which are great for female tourists to buy so they can dress like a local but also have them to be covered.
I saw many ladies in shorts and a tank top as it was hot in Uzbekistan in the day time when I visited in April but they had a local kimono over the top adding a lovely pop of colour to their outfit whilst keeping them looking modest, and as the temperature dropped in the evening, kept the chill away!
As you can see from the photo above, they are many available. They range in terms of price depending on the material you choose from but prices can start from as little as £8.00. I would avoid the silk material if travelling to Uzbekistan in summer though!
Not only are they great to wear in Uzbekistan but a great souvenir to take home!
The best type of clothing to pack for Uzbekistan is clothing that is light in material as it’s likely you’ll visit in the Spring, Summer or Autumn months when it’s hot (more on the Uzbekistan weather below!) like long or 3/4 linen trousers, or skirts, and light t-shirts.
Maxi or Midi dresses are perfect for women to wear so that your legs are covered but you can have your arms out and then cover them with a shawl if needed and they give a nice breeze when it’s hot.
For women, I recommend always carrying a scarf or shawl (and there are plenty to buy in the markets) so if you need to cover your hair, arms or shoulders more you can do so.
As I said, most attractions cover cover-ups for women but it’s best not to rely on them being there or being plentiful if you’re visiting in peak season.
Men can wear t-shirts fine in Uzbekistan, our local guide who is Muslim wore a t-shirt the whole trip inside all of the mosques and other attraction sites.
Despite the signs saying men cannot wear shorts, I do think men will also be ok in shorts in Uzbekistan as long as they are not too short and around the knee.
Uzbekistan Weather
I visited Uzbekistan in April which is the high tourist season because the days are warm, verging on hot, but the nights are comfortable and cool.
The best time to visit Uzbekistan is March to May/June and September and October because of the nice warm days and cooler nights and this is the high season in Uzbekistan.
Related post: Uzbekistan isn’t a great place to visit in August but these countries are: 26+ Ideas of Where to go on Holiday in August!
The summer brings extremely hot temperatures, our guide said it gets to 50c in Bukhara in July but in the winter months, Tashkent gets snow!
So these temperatures of course also impact what to wear in Uzbekistan, it’s not all about dressing for the culture but for the right type of weather so be sure to research what the weather is like.
I recommend packing a small waterproof jacket, especially when visiting in Spring and Autumn as you never know when it might rain.
It’s also worth noting that the temperature between cities changes. Bukhara and Khiva have desert climates and are a lot hotter than Samarkand and Tashkent.
During the summer, you’ll want extremely light layers like linen and cotton, not materials that stick to your skin like silk and nylon.
In the winter in Uzbekistan, you’ll need to pack your coat, jumpers and trainers or boots to help keep your warm!
In Spring, I was fine with light linen trousers and shirts or in long flowy dresses. Especially at night when it cooled down a bit. This will be the same in Autumn too.
I hope this post helps you on what to wear in Uzbekistan
- For more of my blog posts see:
- Halal Travel Guide to Uzbekistan
- What to Wear in Turkey in Different Places and Seasons! Turkey Dress Code for Tourists.
- 36 BEST Things To Do In Istanbul With Insider Tips!
- Your PERFECT 5 Day Dubai Itinerary. Detailed Guide for 5 Days in Dubai!
- A Full and Detailed Tbilisi Travel Guide & Tbilisi City Guide!
- 27 DIFFERENT & BEST Places to Visit in Europe in July & August!