Kazakhstan 2019 – practical tips

This post is part of a series called Kazachstan 2019

Kazakhstan is a huge and amazing country, but unfortunately not perfectly organized when it comes to transportation, which is key in travelling.

Flights: Warsaw has direct flights to Nur Sultan (Astana) via LOT (Polish Airlines). Ordering tickets mid June, we paid 1900 PLN (c.a. 450 EUR) per ticket. The flight takes around 5 hours and one needs to remember about 4 hours time change. Jet lag is unavoidable.

Trains: we have chosen this option to travel from Astana to Almaty as this is over 1300 km distance. Night train was preferable. It leaves from Nur Sultan Old Railway Station (Nurly Zhol) at 21.13 and arrives in Almaty 2 (city center) at around 11.00. One hour delay on such a distance is really nothing. Cabins are four people, very clean and provide pillows and blankets. Cost of the seat depends on the chosen class and time when tickets are ordered. 2-class sleeping seats is approx. 220 PLN (c.a. 50 EUR) both ways. Useful website: tickets.kz

Local transfers: there are buses and trolley buses, however, we have not used them neither in Astana or in Almaty. Choosing hotels in central locations we either walked or used Yandex Taxi app which is similar to Uber. Not even one bad experience and we did not have to provide credit card details upfront. The most expensive transfer was 1,400 tenge = 14 PLN (c.a. 3 EUR). Once we used metro in Almaty. Single transfer is 200 tenge = 2 PLN (c.a. 0,5 EUR).

Visa to Kazakhstan: it is obtainable at the airport. One needs to fill in the immigration form, which is approved by the border control officer and needs to be returned at the departure. Free of charge in case of 30 day tourist visit. I do not know what happens if the form is lost, however, expecting the bureaucracy in the post-soviet country, I believe this would be an issue.

Money: the local currency is tenge. 100 tenge = c.a. 1 PLN (0,25 EUR). Many money exchange points. USD are more frequent than EUR or GBP. ATMs widely available, though not all of them service Revolut cards. In few cases we had to pay the withdrawal fee which is from 500 to 1000 tenge.

Accommodation: we have slept in all variety of places, hotels, hostels, village BB, tents. All the hotels were ordered via booking.com.

* Hampton by Hilton (Astana) – close to airport and therefore convenient location. Price per room for 3 is 275 PLN (c.a. 65 EUR). For additional 50% you can have an early check-in with breakfast included.

* Mildom Premium Hotel in Almaty – very good location which allows to visit the city on foot. Deluxe room for 3 people was 280 PLN (c.a. 66 EUR) per night. Breakfast included.

* Ambassador Hotel in Almaty – again, good location. Old style hotel which must have been an important point on the city map during soviet times 🙂 With the promotion we managed to get the deluxe room for 145 PLN (c.a. 35 EUR) per night, breakfast included.

* Dana Gostinnyj Hostel in Karambulak – absolutely amazing place while exploring Kolsay and Charyn Canyon area. 25 PLN (c.a. 6 EUR) per person per night in the HB option (breakfast and dinner). Tea and sweets available all the time. Bania, which is a combination of sauna and shower, at the request and it costs 700 tenge per person.

* Omir Su Resort – hot springs resort offering good swimming pool amenities. 40 PLN (c.a. 9,5 EUR) per person per night. Breakfast paid separately at the cost of 7,5 PLN (c.a. 1,8 EUR) per person. Be aware that definition of scramble eggs is different than the one we use in Poland and the rest of Europe.

* Tent: the only option to sleep when exploring the mountains. For free but one needs to remember to locate the tent close to the drinking water source. The tent is also the best solution when you want to see a full sunset in Aktau.

* Last night in Astana we spent in Hilton Garden Inn, located closely to the Opera building and Chan Szatyr shopping center. The night was 46 USD with breakfast included, but only thanks to Asia’s discount for LOT. Very decent quality and much better location than Hampton by Hilton as it realny allows visiting the city on foot.

Internet: Beeline provider rather than Tele2. We have purchased 30GB card from Tele2 and we experienced issues with the signal, however mostly in the mountain side. Our guide for a change, uses Beeline and he had internet access most of the time. The price of 30GB card was 2600 tenge = 26 PLN (6EUR). All the hotels in big cities provide internet access, however its quality differs. Villages outside big cities rather struggle in this matter.

Language: Good English is rarely spoken, and when it is, it mostly in hotels at the or airport. Even basic Russian is better than English.

Guide: following the recommedations found on one the blogs about Kazakhstan, we approached Anatoliy to organize a mountain trekking in North Tien Szan. We spent with him altogether 12 days exploring variety of attractions in the area and I can say he is a professional guide with an impressive mountain experience, helpful man and a very nice person. As for the cost, one needs to encounter 100 USD per day when organizing mountain hike and 150 USD per day when visiting touristic attractions of Kazakhstan. Contact details to Anatoly are as follows: e-mail: Anatoliy.kz@mail.ru or Mobile: +7 777 517 9393.

Excursions: as our friends came along for the last part of our trip and therefore we needed a minibus, we organized a trip via indyguide.com. 2 days trip [link] around Charyn Canyon, Kaindy and Kolsay Lakes was 150 USD per person. Accommodation, entrance fees and food were included in the price. So was an English speaking guide, although the initial briefing excluded this service from the price. Transportation was a major issue. 8 people in 7,5 people mini bus with A/C not working at the back of a vehicle was a real struggle in this heat.

Attractions: My TOP3 are:

1) hike in the Tien Szan mountains plus trekking to Big Almaty Peak,

2) sunset from Aktau in Alton Emel

3) Charyn Canyon (the Castle Valleys from the top).

The next one would be the Nazrat Sultan Mosque in Astana. Spectacular development surrounded by huge block of flats which is a typical Soviet design. Definitely I do not recommend the trekking between the Kolsay Lakes. It takes 6-7 hours (subject to the pace), it always rains from 1-2 p.m. and the views are only ok. Nothing spectacular. A lot of people do the horse riding between the lakes, which is 16 000 tenge (c.a. 35 EUR) both ways, but one needs to remember there are narrow traverses and very steep slopes on the way. Good horse riding skills are then very much required. As for Astana, as it raises mixed feelings among tourists, it is a must-see city. Designed by the greatest architects (i.e. Norman Foster), build from scratch on the steppe, it is to show the power of those who rule. Pos-Soviet approach is very much visible as everything seems to overwhelm you with its magnitude. No one leaves the city being indifferent. Either you love it or hate it.

Other prices or entrance fees for Kazakhstan attractions:

Baiterek – 650 tenge per person
Kok-Tobe gondola – 2000 tenge per person
Szymbulak gondola – 4000 tenge per person (one way, three stations)
Charyn Canyon (The Castle Valleys) – 1000 tenge per person
Charyn Canyon (Timerlik) – 550 tenge per person
Kolsay lake – 1000 tenge per person
Altyn Emel – 1000 tenge per person
Mosques – free of charge

Touristic items: from this perspective Kazakhstan still needs to learn a lot. Post cards for my Dad I only found in one place in Almaty and nowhere in Astana. 4 I could buy at the airport, but unfortunately needed 10 🙁 There are few souvenir shops located along the Nurzahol Blvd (between Baiterek and Chan Szatyr) in Astana and a few ones in front of the Zeleny Bazar in Almaty. And that is all.

Budget: Total spendings amounted to 21 000 PLN (c.a. 5 000 EUR). Transportation including flights, trains and local transfers by Yandex taxi was 33% of it. Guide & excursions another 33%. Accommodation was 16%, Food 13 %, entrance fees 2% and other the rest.

Sample food prices: