Aral sea Uzbekistan
 

Has anyone gone to the Aral sea from Nukus - everything I've read says its not wise to go with out a guide but from what I can see tourist companies just want to take you in their 4x4 at extortionate prices - is it really that difficult to find??
So if anyone has done it or knows of a blog where someone has been would be great to know
Thanks

We were there last summer. No problem, about two hours ride from Nukus to Moynaq, former fishermen port. Decent road for Central Asian standards. If you think you're on the wrong road, ask locals. Everyone's friendly and helpful. Go see the boats, Museum of the Aral sea in Moynaq, old fish canning plant. Great experience.

The only real annoyance is the lack of fuel. No petrol at the petrol stations, just LPG. We had no problem getting petrol at the reception of our hotel. In a day or two you get used to carry extra fuel in mineral water bottles ;-)

No problem at all
 

There's no problem in getting to the Aral Sea if you have your own transport. We camped near some of wrecks. We where in a 2WD lada, and with a 2WD you'll have to whatch out where you drive because of soft sand. That's about it.

Thanks guys. One other question if you want to camp (which we do) what do you do about not having "checked in" at a hotel and therefore not having the required piece of paper to prove where you have been?

I collect and keep them when I stay in a hotel, and have gap when I camp out. I've never been asked to show them, and if they ask, I don't speak Uzbek or Russian or whatever language I guess (I can be quite selective in when I understand what... .)

We collected religiously every confirmation paper from every hotel or any other place where we stayed. Had a bunch of colourfull notes in our passports. No one was ever interested in them. Not border police, nor customs officers. But I believe it is better to have them than not.

However, it is very important that you completely fill in your immigration forms when entering Uzbekistan, especially the part where you declare the amount of foreign currency that you have with you. It is probably safest to declare every dime, which we did not do, as we had quite a lot of cash. Yet, I did not get the impression that we were going to be checked by custom officers for the money. Anyway, do declare a reasonable amount, according to the length of your stay. That part of the declaration was really the only thing that was interesting to the authorities when we were leaving the country.

Speaking of money, Uzbekistan is one of those countries where you don't change money in the bank, but on the street, or hotel receptions, or wherever. It is not actually black market, as these "black market" rates are calculated everywhere, nobody takes the official exchange rate seriously. Be prepared to get a kilo or two of banknotes for a single 100 Euro bill. By the way, that part of the world likes USD, Euros are ok, but GBP or CHF might rise an eyebrow or two, or even be difficult to change.

Uzbek customs are also very interested in any medicine that you might have with you, so there will be silly questions.

They also completely checked my laptop, every file and every program. Who knows what terrible secrets a motorcyclist might carry with him!

Thanks Guys, your answers are really, really helpful. Because we are on a big trip we are taking a number of meds mostly ABs and painkillers from Nomad pharmacy but I have a prescription so hopefully that will be ok.
Thanks also for the heads up on the money front and which currency to take - we are planning to take US dollars with us but do you know if credit cards are used at all?

I do not recall seeing any ATMs in Uzbekistan. Maybe in Tashkent.
If there are any it would be unwise to use them, as in that case you will get the oficiall exchange rate, and get 30-40% less for your hard currency.

Cash rules.

For your medical supplies info google the Uzbek Embassy or Goverment site to check the current rules and regulations. We were allowed to take all of our pills and other stuff with us. And that was quite a lot, including antibiotics, painkillers, and all the usuall stuff that an mid-aged European couple takes for a two month motorcycle trip in Central Asia.

Still, have no worries, Central Asia is beautifull.