Budget travel in Central Asia — specifically Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan — has become more accessible in the last 5 years and the value is extraordinary.

Uzbekistan: e-visa for most nationalities, $20, easily obtained online. Tashkent as an entry city has inexpensive accommodation ($12-20/night guesthouses), extraordinary food (plov, samsa, lagman), and one of the great bazaars on earth at Chorsu. The Silk Road cities — Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva — are genuinely spectacular and surprisingly undervisited by Western tourists.

Cost in Uzbekistan: $25-35/day is comfortable. Accommodation is cheap, food is very cheap ($2-4 per meal at local restaurants), transport by shared taxi between cities costs $5-15. The Registan in Samarkand ($8 entry) is worth every cent and is one of the most beautiful architectural complexes in Asia.

Kyrgyzstan: 30-day visa-free for most Western passports. Bishkek is the affordable base ($15-25/night accommodation). The countryside (Issyk-Kul Lake, Son-Kul, Karakol area) is extraordinary and accessible via shared taxis or rented vehicles. Home stays in yurts cost $15-25/night including dinner and breakfast.

The combination route: Tashkent → Samarkand → Bukhara → cross to Kyrgyzstan via Osh → Bishkek works overland and covers the best of both countries in 3-4 weeks for $800-1,000 all-in excluding flights.