Samarkand itself inexpensive city itself. The trouble lies in the fact that for tourists in this beautiful place, as, however, in many other cities of Uzbekistan, prices for visits to attractions, food and souvenir shopping is wagely in comparison with the prices for locals. But this should not be an obstacle to travel to the mysterious Samarkand. I can say one thing - even having inspected all the legendary monuments, visiting the best restaurants, and having committed a full-scale race on souvenir and crafts, you will be pleasantly surprised by the overall cost of expenses. Not so he will be great in dollars or rubles.
Cash and where to change them
As for the currency that you need to take with you on the trip, there will be the best option dollars . And the point is not at all that they are easier to exchange to the local sum (the official currency of Uzbekistan). Rather, it is more profitable for tourists themselves with respect to the ultimate sum in the Uzbek currency. In official exchangers, the Uzbek sum can be bought and for Russian rubles . True, the ruble state rate to the Suma may be far from winning.
Change currency in Samarkand will be at the airport, in hotels, in the market and in bank branches. At the airport, the currency exchange point is worth searching in the zone of waiting room. Directly in the city, you can find banks in the Register Street (Hulk Bank) and on Mirzo Ulugbek Street (Turon Bank has been working in the house No. 62, and the Tadbirkore Bank branch is located on the street). Banks work on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00 with a lunch break from 13:00 to 14:00. When buying a local currency, you will be given a certificate. Keep in mind that it must be kept until the end of the journey through Uzbekistan.
The fact is that this certificate can be useful in the case of the reverse exchange of the remaining sum in another currency. Also, during the reverse operation of the exchange, it will be necessary to present a passport, which is not needed when buying a sum at all.
I will give another little advice. Going to the exchange point, tourists should be except the wallet grab a spacious bag. Since even a dollar bill of a small nominal value when exchanging will turn into a bundle of the Uzbek sum. And all due to the fact that the country's most running bank is 1 thousand soums, and one dollar stands a little more than 2 thousand soums. Well, if you give thousands of bills in the exchanger, and not walking in circulation 50, 100, 200 or 500 sum. There are still banknotes worth 5 thousand soums, but they are rarely found. So, Samarkand is capable of not only impressing tourists attractions, but also to turn them into almost in millionaires.
It is worth knowing travelers yet: the unofficial exchange of currency in Uzbekistan is prohibited and punishable by a fine. Moreover, the size of the fine is established by the court individually, and the exchange currency is removed. From the words of local residents, checking raids in the markets of Samarkand and the points of illegal exchange are quite common. Therefore, currency exchange, even despite the losing course, I decided to produce in a bank.
Bank cards
The fact that during the rest in Samarkand can not do without cash, is already understandable. Now I will clarify about bank cards. In world-class hotels and in all good restaurants in the city take to pay MasterCard and Visa. Only here, tourists may encounter the fact that the commission and course, according to which the amount recalculate, slightly grieves the owner of the map. So I would pay the card or advised. However, it is also not worth particularly relying on ATMs serving plastic cards either. First, finding such ATMs in Samarkand is quite difficult. Secondly, to make money from the international payment system maps most of the ATMs simply will simply be able. In third, the ATMs you found most likely will be empty or de-energized.
Going to Uzbekistan, be prepared for trying to walk on Samarkand, will be weighted with a spacious wallet or rather bulky handbag. But, I think it will not hurt you to enjoy the rest in ancient city.