Khiva to Bukhara shared taxi

Uzbekistan is one of my country on the list for my trip in November....
I wonder I can get shared taxi between Khiva-Bukhara just on the day I want to leave for Bukhara...
Is it easy to find sharemate in Khiva? Does anyone recommend the B&B where I could see many backpackers in Khiva?

yes, it is easy. Cars going all the time of the day. But it might be easier from Urgench. Ask around at the guesthouse. Sometimes they can get you in touch with a driver and give you a good deal. Or find other travellers to share a taxi. 3 people paying for 4 seats makes it a lot more comfortable.

Try the Meros B & B in Khiva. www.meroskhiva.com

Great location, very friendly family, and could assist with arranging transport to Bukhara.

I recently travelled that road twice...in a sedan it took 9.5 hours and in a bus 13 hours. The road is dreadful. Agree with earlier comment to opt for comfort and have fewer in the taxi.

The road is dreadful, but the old town of Khiva is a small place, so you should be able to find people. if i had to do it again, i'd probably get the train from urgench.

I was there for 3 weeks a few years ago. I would not say the road is dreadful between Samarkand and Khiva, via Bukhara. The way the shared taxis work, you turn up (not too late in the morning, say), and you basically haggle a bit and find a taxi that is about to leave. They wait until they are full. From Khiva, I booked it through my hotel. They picked me up at the hotel. I do not remember how long it took by I seem to remember it was fast -- half a day at most.

Two issues to watch out for: 1 They drive like complete, utter lunatics, i.e. 90 to 100 kmph is the road is poor, and 120 to 140 kmph if the road is remotely good. But there is nothing you can do about that. Join the ritual prayers before setting off and hope for the best. 2 In my experience, about 70% of drivers will try to rip you off. You need to agree on the price before you set off and reconfirm it, and prepare your money (in local currency), so that, when you pay them, you have the exact amount since change may be hard to get. I had a few rows with a few of them, when essential, and walked away having stuck to the agreed price. But it can get a bit hairy and they get agitated. Or they will dump you short of the final destination and refuse to go further if you don't pay them extra. If you are firm in your dealings with them, it will help. Some are far more reasonable and quite charming too. :-)

Edited by: Mountolive

Mountolive, the issue is they built a new road from Khiva to Bukhara, the old one was damaged a bit but because of contract disputes you can't use the new road. It was one of the worst roads i've been on and that was only a month ago. Of course the bright spot is they may actually solve the dispute stopping people from using the new road! I suspect that requires paying the bill and someone swallowing their ego/pride/stubborness.

Fair enough. When I was there (autumn 2009), they were building the new bridge that was going to replace that metal pontoon leading up to Urgench, as I remember, crossing the river -- priceless, that pontoon was. So, I suppose it would be the new road connecting to the bridge. The old road (as you call it) was not good, but not bad, overall. I've seen much worse. But the driving was somewhat disconnected from the condition of the said road.

how do the prices of a share taxi , a train and flight from Bukhara to Urgench compare?.

I cannot answer this question since I travelled by taxi and it was a few years ago. Other people may have recent info. Taxis are fast and not that expensive -- they are a good way to travel around. The only prob I found was the haggling (not with all drivers, but many of them) and the fact they drive very fast as a rule -- rather well in fact, but there is a danger factor that can mean you don't relax 100%, all the more so since they smoke, make phone calls, chat, drink mineral water, etc while driving at 140 kmph.