I love Kazakhstan. Plain and simple. It’s easy to get to, easy to get around, and most importantly, it’s easy to do it yourself. Seriously, in my trip around Kazakhstan with my mom, I had to use my Kazakh and Russian language only a few times, and we could have been fine without it even. Kazakhstan may be huge, but it’s definitely the easiest country in Central Asia for the novice visitor. Let’s take a look.
The Easy Way: Organized Tours
Like the rest of the world, there are many companies in Kazakhstan that do organized tours. In fact, after our amazing time in Uzbekistan (where being on an organized tour really streamlines so much of the experience), we almost went this route for Kazakhstan. If you want to see the Baikonur Cosmodrome (where Russia launches the Soyuz rockets to space), then this is the only way to do that (but it’ll cost you). If you want a turnkey solution, this is also the way to go. But, if you’re willing to put in the work to get your hotels and transportation yourself (which, let’s face it, is pretty darn easy to do), then you can save at least 50%.
Getting There
Kazakhstan is SUPER easy to get to. Aeroflot, Air China, Asiana, China Southern, Etihad, Finnair, Flydubai, KLM, LOT, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, and even Wizz Air fly to Astana, while Almaty has service from Aeroflot, Asiana, China Southern, Czech Airlines, flydubai, Hainan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Pegasus, and Turkish. A few of these airlines operate “triangle” routes that go to both Almaty and Astana, in alternating directions on alternating days, so even if the non-stop isn’t available one day, you can usually continue on.
I’ll also promote the option of flying Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s national airline. It’s one of the top airlines in the world, and you can even arrange a few days’ layover in Astana or Almaty or both without additional airfare in some cases. They fly from Astana to many points in Europe and Almaty to many points in Asia. They also operate a few random flights from rural Kazakhstan to Europe to service the oil sector, so if you live in Amsterdam, it’s easy to get to Atyrau (holla, Royal Dutch Shell!), while Hamburg residents have a direct flight to Kostanay.
Kazakhstan is easy to enter by land from Kyrgyzstan via the Korday border crossing – take the 285 marshrutka from Tsum in Bishkek to the Korday border crossing, then its 1400 tenge for a marshrutka or 1500-2000 tenge for a seat in a share taxi to Almaty. There are also trains from Moscow to points across Kazakhstan. From Tashkent, it’s easy to cross the land border to Shymkent. Entering from China is possible via the train from Urumqi, but driving may require special permits, etc, and the Chinese have stopped issuing visas at all of their Central Asian consulates, so plan to get your Chinese visas in your home countries!
Visas
Easier than Uzbekistan, harder than Kyrgyzstan. Each year, Kazakhstan expands the countries that are a part of its visa-free program. The rules are complicated but they are evenly enforced (thankfully), so just make sure you’ve checked before going. US and EU citizens are visa free for 30 days (newly increased from 14 days!), and some people can visit Almaty province with a valid Kyrgyzstani visa, apparently. Canada was FINALLY added to the visa-free regime a few months ago. As I mentioned, it changes fast, so be sure to confirm ahead of your trip.
If you do need a visa, get it at the consulate in your country. If your country doesn’t have a consulate, there is visa on arrival available with advance notice and a letter of invitation. If you need different visa terms, you can get them through your consulate (for example, I have a special long-term multiple entry, registration-free type of Kazakhstani visa because of how often I go back and forth).
Important Customs Information
Don’t worry, it’s not anything as intense as Uzbekistan! When you arrive in Kazakhstan, you have to fill out a migration card that you will either get at the land border or will be distributed by your airline prior to landing. The card is a simple piece of paper, and will be stamped when you enter the country. Keep this card with you at all times! I recommend bringing paperclips in your passport and using them to clip it in. You will be required to show this card alongside your visa if you get stopped by the police, and you will be required to return the card when you leave Kazakhstan. I’ve never been stopped in Kazakhstan to have my documents checked, but I do know people who have.
Regarding registration: most visitors no longer need to register, but again, this is constantly changing. Luckily, most hotels can handle this for you. If your migration card has 2 STAMPS on it, then you don’t need registration (again, double check this). If your migration card has only 1 stamp, then you definitely need registration with the police.
Where To Stay
Kazakhstan has great hotel options in the big cities, while smaller cities have fewer options. Almaty and Astana have international five-star chains, while small towns may have but one hostel. Luckily, in our experience most accept online advance reservations, and the quality is good. We had a very nice homestay in Almaty as well. Some of the hotels even arrange ground excursions and tours if you want them, which was very nice. Hotels and lodging will not be a problem for most.
Money
Kazakhstan uses a currency called the Tenge, which at time of writing is about 320 tenge to the dollar, but it fluctuates in both directions WILDLY. The largest bills are over 10,000 tenge, so you don’t need a duffel bag to buy dinner like in Uzbekistan. ATM’s are everywhere, and cards are widely accepted in the larger cities and in some of the smaller ones. NOTE that you should still carry cash, as things like taxis don’t accept cards, and some establishments that supposedly accept cards will only work with Kazakh-issued cards. It should be obvious, but the bazaar is cash-only.
A NOTE ON KAZAKH CASH: We almost learned this lesson the hard way. In October 2016, all banknotes of the 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 KZT denominations produced from the 2006 series lost their status as legal tender. They can be exchanged at banks without commission for the new bills until 3 October 2017, but banks outside of Kazakhstan will not exchange them, and after 3 October, they will be worthless (which is bad, because this series of bill is still widely circulated both inside and outside of Kazakhstan).
Here’s the old bills that you should try to refuse before October and DEFINITELY REFUSE after October. An easy way to remember this: these bills have a giant hand on the front that means “STOP DON’T TAKE ME!”
Here are the new bills that are AOK. These have cute animal holograms on the front that mean “I’m cute and safe,” and the Kazakh language text on the front is intended to be viewed in vertical, not horizontal orientation. These also have the woven hologram strip on the front side, not present on the old bills:
Remember, the hand says stop, cute animal says go. If I remember well, the ATM’s gave out the correct, new bills.
My mom and I wound up with about 35,000 tenge of the old bills (over $100), which I had thought it would be fine to exchange in Kyrgyzstan since I had done it before. But, the banks in other countries now won’t accept the older bills (but they’re happy to give them to you when you change money…). At the time of writing, the street money changers in Kyrgyzstan still were accepting the older bills, but don’t count on it. If you do end up with a lot of extra cash, you should do your best to change it before you leave Kazakhstan. The exchange rates for dollars and Euros seem fair at most all changers in Kazakhstan.
Another note regarding tenge – the exchange rates for Kyrgyz Som are HORRIBLE in Kazakhstan, while the exchange rates in Kyrgyzstan for Kazakh Tenge are decent/market rate. So, if you are going from Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan, change your som to tenge BEFORE you go to Kazakstan, and if you’re going from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan, make sure your bills are the new ones, then you should have no problem exchanging your 1000KZT and up bills in Kyrgyzstan. Unfortunately, almost nobody will exchange 500KZT bills and smaller or coins outside of Kazakhstan, so spend your small change on snacks before you leave. Note that Almaty and Astana airport are LUDICROUSLY expensive, but luckily they also accept cards.
Mobile Phone
You can get a local sim card super easily. A one month plan with a ton of data, minutes, and texts costs less than 1500KZT from Beeline, although KCell has better coverage. Beeline has shops in all the airports.
Intercity Transportation
Getting around Kazakhstan is easy, but takes a long time. As the 9th largest country in the world, it’s twice the size of the state of Alaska. In other words, halfway across the country is still a 2-hour flight. Think of this country on the same scale as the US. Luckily, Kazakhstan’s domestic aviation infrastructure AND its train infrastructure are extremely well-developed.
Air Astana has an extensive domestic network through its hubs in Almaty and Astana, while other companies (such as SCAT Airlines and Qazaq Air) operate domestically to other airports and on other routes not via Almaty/Astana. When booking Air Astana domestic, try to book it through their Kazakhstan website or a Kazakhstani VPN; booking Air Astana through the international webpage returns flights that are several times as expensive as the local website. For some reason, this phenomenon only applies to their domestic flights. Shop around for the best deals.
Kazakhstan is also extremely easy to get around by train, as just about everywhere you might want to visit is attached to the rail network (including Turkestan). Kazakh Temir Zholy is the railway company, and they have a mixture of Soviet-style cars and new Spanish Talgo trains (both sleeper and day trains). While they talk a big talk about the “high speed lines,” in reality they don’t really save that much time. Supposedly by Expo 2017 in Astana there will be a 5h train from Almaty to Astana. Meanwhile, the train from Shymkent to Almaty is overnight and takes 10-15h. Almaty to Aktobe meanwhile takes 3 days. There are 3 classes of service: platzkart (open sleeper), kupé (4-person sleeper), and luxe (2-person sleeper), all sold by advance reserved seat, and you can also purchase the extra seats in your compartment if you prefer to be alone. We found the trains clean, comfortable, and on time to the second, and the prices to be really good value. For some reason, the high-speed train was both cheaper and faster than the slow train on our trip (although “high-speed” is a nice way of saying “we’re going to go 70kmh instead of 55kmh.” This ain’t no Afrosiyab).
Train tickets can be purchased at railway offices, at the train station, or at “terminals” used to recharge mobile phones across Kazakhstan. However, as some trains fill up days in advance, on some routes it’s really best to buy online before your trip. I haven’t quite figured out the secret of purchasing these tickets outside of Kazakhstan at a reasonable price, though – many of the sites reject international cards, so I had a friend in Kazakhstan buy the tickets for me and I paid him back in cash. If you aren’t able to buy the tickets in advance, it’s not too big a deal, just make a plan on your first day to head over to the railway office to take care of it. Also, when buying tickets to and from Almaty, try to buy them to and from Almaty-2 Station in the centre, as Almaty-1 is 4km north in the industrial area.
Getting Around Cities
Navigating cities in Kazakhstan is both delightful and frustrating. Thanks to plentiful open space, the cities sprawl out widely into the steppe. We found the best way to get around to be taxis, although buses and marshrutkas exist along with a 9-station metro in Almaty.
If you want to ride the bus or metro in Almaty, each ride costs 80KZT, except the number 12 bus to Medeo which is 120KZT. In Astana, buses cost 90KZT. To find the routes, use the 2GIS app in Almaty, Astana, and Shymkent, which gives an excellent map of the city and sites, and also allows you to look up ATM’s, grocery stores, restaurants, etc, and also shows bus directions.
Uber operates in both Almaty and Astana, and if you have limited local language skills, is a great way to get around since it uses fair meter practices and costs the same or less than a traditional negotiated gypsy cab. If you do use Uber, some drivers will want you to have a local sim card so they can call you, but this is not necessary. Just be sure you put your pins EXACTLY on the map where you want them to pick you up. Uber charges your card just like back home, so no need to find small change. Surge pricing is also not as dramatic as elsewhere. Expect an Uber to cost between 250 and 1500KZT depending on distance etc. DO NOT use Uber to go to the airports – the Uber airport flat rate is stupid expensive.
Taxis in Kazakhstan are an adventure. Your hotel can call you dispatch taxis, which is one way to get around. Or, if you feel brave and have some local language, you can travel like a full-on local and use the gypsy cabs. See, in the former Soviet Union, there is a widespread belief that every car is a taxi. So, you go to the road, hold out your arm, and within a minute a car will stop. Say where you’re going, offer a price, agree on a price, and off you go. In Astana, most trips in the new city will be 500KZT. Going across the river will take things north of 1000KZT. In Almaty, it all depends on distance, but expect to pay 400-700KZT for most trips within the city. If you don’t know a good price to offer, you can ask any local what they think a good price is. If the car isn’t going where you need, no problem, because another will stop within a minute usually.
If you’re using taxis, be sure to know not only your hotel’s address, but one or two nearby landmarks. This is because some drivers will not know specific hotels (this is another reason to get the 2GIS offline maps – you can load the pin and let the GPS guide the driver).
For airports, your hotels can arrange transfers for you, or if you feel comfortable, you can street hail a taxi to the airport and negotiate with the drivers who wait near arrivals. I find that the taxi drivers in Kazakhstan’s airports are very calm and reasonable, and there is not the piranha-like feeding frenzy as in Kyrgyzstan. Also, all the airports in Kazakhstan are on city bus lines from what I understand. Be aware that some of the quoted taxi prices are a bit ridiculous (including Uber). I asked a lady at baggage claim how much I should expect to pay and she said probably 2000-2500KZT negotiating with the drivers. Sure enough, we paid 2000 and had no problems. In Almaty, apparently you can have information order you a dispatch taxi for even cheaper. But, as with all taxis in Central Asia, be sure you agree on a price BEFORE you get in the car. There is a well-known scam at Almaty Airport where taxi drivers try and charge foreigners over $100 for taxis. You know what the price should be, and don’t go above 2500. There’s ALWAYS another driver. And, if you’re arriving internationally, most of those flights arrive in the middle of the night, meaning more drivers who just want to go home to their families. In fact, if you’re one of the last people out of customs, they drop the prices even further. You offer them a fair price that gets them home? Jackpot, everyone wins.
Budgeting
Kazakhstan, in the rural areas, is as cheap as Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan, in the cities, can be more expensive than the US. While a comfortable lunch in a local cafe in Shymkent might run you $1 per person, just a Starbucks in Almaty is well over $5, and a nice dinner (i.e. my horse steak frites) might run over $20 per person. A cafeteria lunch of Russian food that is $1 in Sairam will be $4 in Almaty. But, not everything follows this rule. Hotels certainly do, but not all food does. In all, our trip wound up being under budget, but it’s reasonable to expect meals to be $10 each in Almaty/Astana, $5 in Shymkent and other major cities, and $3 each in smaller areas than that. Kazakhstan has the infrastructure to cater to many different price levels, luckily.
Safety and Security
Kazakhstan is safe and clean, and in general you won’t ever have to worry about safety and security while traveling here. My quick tips about safety and security mostly revolve around avoiding petty crime; keep your wits about you, lock your train compartment, lock your room, etc. There are also a few safety situations I will bring up specifically, because they have been mentioned to me by a few people.
The first: If you see 3 policemen or more on the side of the road ahead of you, cross the street and don’t walk directly past them. It’s a racket and could lead to a shakedown. Along the same lines, if you smoke, be very careful about where you do it in public. As in other countries in the region, it’s technically illegal to smoke on the street, and sometimes cops decide it’s time for them to personally collect fines from violators. Unfortunately, as in many places, it is possible to pay a “fee” to make crimes and problems go away, so the best thing is to avoid becoming a victim of a crime and avoid police.
The second: Almaty and Astana are SUPER fun places to go out and have a good time. If you do, keep your wits about you and watch your drinks (as you would anywhere in the world). And, when it comes time to go home, you should check with locals if the taxis outside are safe (outside Chukotka, they are. In other places, I don’t know). I have heard stories of people being robbed by taxi drivers who wait outside some of the seedier clubs in town. If in doubt, walk a few blocks from the club before attempting to hail a taxi or order an Uber. It’s usually best to not use gypsy cabs at night because of this.
Recommended Sights
I’m still building out my Kazakhstan guides, but here’s my current list of recommended spots:
- Almaty
- Ice skate at the Medeo ice rink, the world’s largest and highest outdoor rink
- Ski Shymbulak, one of the world’s only ski resorts accessible by city bus
- Shop for produce and snacks at the Green Bazaar, one of the most orderly in Central Asia
- Climb Kok-Tobe, the hill above the city and explore the amusement park
- Go on a walking tour with Walking Almaty and learn about the fabric of society in both Soviet and modern Almaty
- Discover spectacular Russian Orthodox iconography at Zenkov’s Cathedral
- Astana
- Sip Starbucks in the world’s largest tent, the Khan Shatyr, and visit the surreal water park on the top level
- See the unique Khazret Sultan Mosque, combining many different styles into the most ornate mosque in Kazakhstan
- See the government buildings of Kazakhstan, including the Presidential Palace, the ministries, and parliament
- Climb the spectacular Bayterek Monument to modern Kazakhstan
- Explore the National Museum
- Take a photo with the “I Love Astana” sign
- Shymkent
- Explore the parks and bazaar of Kazakhstan’s third-largest city
- Visit the Museum of Political Repression and learn about Stalin’s purges as experienced in Kazakhstan
- Day trip to Sairam, a nearby town with plenty of Silk Road history
- Visit the stunning Aksu-Zhabagyly Nature Reserve, one of the easiest natural wonders of Kazakhstan to access
- Day trip to Turkestan, if your itinerary doesn’t have the time for overnighting there
- If you don’t need a visa, you can even day trip to Tashkent, Uzbekistan for plov!
- Turkistan
- See the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi mausoleum, the prototype for the Timurid architectural style and the second-holiest site in all of Islam
- Visit the restored underground mosque in the Mausoleum complex
- Day trip to the spectacular Sauran ruins, some of the best-preserved along the entire Silk Road
- Visit the ancient site of Otrar, which Chinghiz Khan destroyed in retaliation for the slaughter of two of his envoys there, and stop by the Arstan-Bap mausoleum.
- Caspian Sea
- Explore the shores of the largest salt lake in the world
- Learn about the history of Aktau and the Caspian region, which supplied plutonium for the Soviet Union and now whose oil wells and mines are funding the future of Kazakhstan
- Descend into the Beket-Ata underground mosque, a spectacularly-set site of pilgrimage in the desert outside Aktau
- Drive into the Mangistau necropolises, one of the most undiscovered parts of Kazakhstan
- Mountains
- Trek in the Altay Mountains near Oskemen
- Explore the Altyn-Emel National Park
- Camp in the Aksu-Zhabagyly Nature Reserve
- Climb Peak Khan Tengri in the Tien Shan
- Russian History
- Visit the revitalized North Aral Sea via Aralsk, as well as some ship graveyards
- See a launch at Baikonur Cosmodrome
- Learn about the Polygon nuclear test site near Semey
- Understand the scale of the Gulag in Karaganda
- A LOT of other places are worth visiting! Read up on the country and see what strikes your fancy.
If you have ideas for how else I can improve this incredibly non-exhaustive list of information, please let me know!