Few things excite me more than visiting a new country and this trip would introduce me to two new exotic nations: Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
For years, I’ve toyed with booking a trip on Uzbekistan Airways, which until this summer operated between Tashkent and New York JFK with a stop in Riga, Latvia. It was an airline that no blogger had covered and to a country that I have wanted to visit since former Boarding Area blogger Gray Roberge (Wing and a Prayer) published his trip report in 2010.
Ben from One Mile at a Time and I share a similar desire to try out as many obscure airline products as possible, so we planned out a trip that centered on Uzbekistan Airway’s new 787-8 nonstop from New York to Tashkent.
I had originally hoped to include Turkmenistan on the trip, but it proved too difficult…that is going to be a hard country to reach.
Thus, our plan was to check out three capital cities in three nations with three Hyatt hotels: Tashkent, Dushanbe, and finally Bishkek. From Bishkek we’d take Turkish Airlines’ exotic Fifth Freedom route to Ulaanbaatar, then fly to Frankfurt on MIAT, the national airline of Mongolia (I’ve also never been to Mongolia).
Plans changed a bit and after entertaining a trip home on Turkish Airlines and Avianca, we ended up redeeming Korean Air miles for a trip home in Saudia first class.
> Read More: What I Loved Most About Saudia First Class
The Final Itinerary
Our air itinerary:
- New York (JFK) to Tashkent (TAS) in Uzbekistan Airways Business Class ($1950)
- Tashkent (TAS) to Dushanbe (DYU) in Uzbekistan Airways Business Class ($340)
- Dushanbe (DYU) to Dubai (DXB) in Somon Air Business Class ($485)
- Dubai (DXB) to Los Angeles (LAX) via Ryiadh (RUH) and Jeddah (JED) in Saudia First Class (80K Korean Air miles + ~$100 in taxes/fees)
This trip report will also include reviews of–
- Hyatt Regency Tashkent (4K points + $55/night)
- High Speed Train from Tashkent to Samarkand ($60 r/t)
- VIP Terminal at Tashkent (TAS)
- Hyatt Regency Dushanbe (4K points + $55/night)
- CIP Lounge at Dushanbe (DYU)
- Park Hyatt Dubai ($150/night)
- Skyteam Lounge Dubai (DXB)
- Saudia First Class Lounge Riyadh (RUH)
Stay tuned, the trip report starts soon!
visa requirement?
I will have posts outlining visas for both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
While the FRU – ULN routing is indeed bizarre, I took the flight in J in ’14 (on the 5th freedom segment) and it was nothing more than a typical regional 737 on TK departing super early in the morning. Less memorable than one would hope.
More details about what was difficult with Turkmenistan? Did you get to the point of applying for a visa?
I had planned to do a Turkmen/Uzbek trip this year, but read some online accounts somewhere of Americans being rejected for a Turkmen visa even after arranging everything through the local travel agency. I hadn’t allowed myself a ton of time for that process, so decided I’ll try for next year instead.
In another post. In the end, we did not apply due to flight availability.