Driving in Uzbekistan: licence, roads and tolls

Free roads, frequent checkpoints, and a high-speed train that beats the car on every main route.

• The Afrosiyob train links Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara in a couple of hours each; the same drive is a long day on a two-lane road.
• Police checkpoints between provinces are routine and passports are checked; keep documents to hand.
• The alcohol limit is zero.
• Roads are free and the main routes are reasonable; the desert road to Khiva is long, hot and monotonous.
• Fuel is often methane or propane rather than petrol, and petrol stations can be scarce outside the cities.