Q: When to Visit Kazakhstan?

The best time to visit Kazakhstan is between May to September when the weather is nice and warm, great for doing outdoor activities, with a high chance of beautiful clear sky. The summer between June and August is a great time to visit if you want to experience summer events like the Spirit of Tengri in Almay but it can get pretty hot sometimes. If you prefer a cooler climate, April to May and September to October is also a great period as well. It can still be quite cold in places like Astana even in the summer months, thanks to its geography, so be sure to pack jackets for your trip. I was in Astana in June and one day it was 30°C and the next, it went down to 10°C which caught me completely off guard, so be sure to pack layers for your trip no matter which period you choose to visit just in case. If you want to join a group tour to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai, and Kaindy Lakes , make sure you align the day you want to visit with Mondays as they only run once a week. Also, be sure to book at least a week in advance as it gets booked out pretty quickly. You can book the tour from here .

Q: How to Get to Kazakhstan?

From the US , you can fly to Almaty, the largest travel hub in Kazakhstan via airlines like Qatar and Emirates that often leave from big cities like New York, LA, or San Francisco, taking about 18 - 20 hours including the transiting time in the country of airline's origin. From Europe , you can fly to Almaty via Air Astana which is a local airline and they are surprisingly great or you can fly via Qatar and Turkish Airlines which can take about 9 hours or more including transiting time. From Asia , there are 2 direct flights per week from Bangkok directly to Almaty via Air Astana which take about 7 hours or you can rely on Emirates, Qatar, or Turkish Airlines to travel to Almaty. To find a cheap flight to Kazakhstan, I would recommend you use Skyscanner or Expedia to look for the cheapest route and schedule so you can compare and pick the best one.

Question 1

When to Visit Kazakhstan?

Accepted Answer

The best time to visit Kazakhstan is between May to September when the weather is nice and warm, great for doing outdoor activities, with a high chance of beautiful clear sky.

The summer between June and August is a great time to visit if you want to experience summer events like the Spirit of Tengri in Almay but it can get pretty hot sometimes.

If you prefer a cooler climate, April to May and September to October is also a great period as well. It can still be quite cold in places like Astana even in the summer months, thanks to its geography, so be sure to pack jackets for your trip.

I was in Astana in June and one day it was 30°C and the next, it went down to 10°C which caught me completely off guard, so be sure to pack layers for your trip no matter which period you choose to visit just in case.

If you want to join a group tour to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai, and Kaindy Lakes, make sure you align the day you want to visit with Mondays as they only run once a week. Also, be sure to book at least a week in advance as it gets booked out pretty quickly. You can book the tour from here.

Question 2

How to Get to Kazakhstan?

Accepted Answer

From the US, you can fly to Almaty, the largest travel hub in Kazakhstan via airlines like Qatar and Emirates that often leave from big cities like New York, LA, or San Francisco, taking about 18 - 20 hours including the transiting time in the country of airline's origin.

From Europe, you can fly to Almaty via Air Astana which is a local airline and they are surprisingly great or you can fly via Qatar and Turkish Airlines which can take about 9 hours or more including transiting time.

From Asia, there are 2 direct flights per week from Bangkok directly to Almaty via Air Astana which take about 7 hours or you can rely on Emirates, Qatar, or Turkish Airlines to travel to Almaty.

To find a cheap flight to Kazakhstan, I would recommend you use Skyscanner or Expedia to look for the cheapest route and schedule so you can compare and pick the best one.

Question 3

How to Get Around Kazakhstan?

Accepted Answer

By Trains: Trains are the cheapest way to travel long distances in Kazakhstan. There are several night trains you can take between big cities like Almaty, Shymkent, and Astana, all at a very affordable price of around 15,000 KZT for first class and below for other classes.

The train can take between 10 - 20 hours depending on which type of train you choose. They are as comfortable as night trains can be and it is a great way to see the countryside as you travel from one place to another. You can find the train schedule and book one online from Tickets.kz.

By Planes: You can also fly domestically between Astana, Shymkent, and Almaty via local airlines like FlyArystan and SCAT if you are looking for a fast and convenient way to get around the country.

There are several flights per day running between these 3 big cities costing between 50 to 100 USD and it should take no more than 1.5 hours to travel between each city. You can find cheap flights around Kazakhstan here.

By YandexGo Taxis: Once you get to the city, you can rely on YandexGo or Uber to get around wherever you want within the city limit at a very affordable price. I prefer YandexGo as it is cheaper and it is popular among the locals here. Plus, you can pay for everything via credit cards which is great for when you arrive at the airport and you want to get to your accommodation.

By Tours: Certain places like Kaidy Lake are best done with a tour group as the road to get there is not paved and you will have to drive across a river which is impossible to do without renting your own 4WD. There are several tours available you can choose from here.

By Rental Cars: You can also rent a car at the airports and drive around Kazakhstan but keep in mind that the road here is not the safest as I found local drivers to be rather aggressive and some roads are not the best to drive on. Although for this itinerary, you do not need to rent a car. If you insist on doing so, hit the link below to rent a car in Kazakhstan:

Rent a Car in Kazakhstan

Question 4

How Much Money Do I Need for 10 days in Kazakhstan?

Accepted Answer

From this 10 days itinerary, we can calculate approximately how much money you will be spending here as follows:

Accommodation: For 10 nights in Kazakhstan, you can expect to pay around 54,186 KZT (120 USD) for accommodation considering you are staying in budget guesthouses or hostels.

Food: For 10 days, 3 meals a day in Kazakhstan, you can expect to pay around 63,000 KZT (139 USD) for food considering you eat out every day. It will be significantly cheaper if you buy your own groceries and cook yourself instead.

Transportation: For this itinerary, you can expect to pay around 98,000 KZT (217 USD) for trains, planes, and taxis across the country.

Activities: Depending on how much you want to do in Kazakhstan, you can expect to pay approximately 81,200 KZT (177 USD) for tours as well as entrance fees to tourist attractions around the country.

Total Budget for 10 days in Kazakhstan: 296,386 KZT (653 USD)

Question 5

Is it Safe in Kazakhstan?

Accepted Answer

I found Kazakhstan to be very safe for solo travelers as the country doesn't get as many tourists which in turn resulted in little to no tourist scams happening around the country. I spent about 2 weeks traveling around the country independently and I found the people here to be extremely friendly despite them not speaking much English and I didn't experience anything out of the ordinary.

I found bus and marshrutka drivers to be trustworthy as they have never overcharged me for the bus ticket despite me not speaking the language and you can always rely on YandexGo to hail a taxi in most cities in Kazakhstan which eliminate the need to negotiate with overpriced and terrible local taxis at places like train stations and airports.

That said, it is always a good idea to exercise precautions by not leaving your belongings unattended, especially when in crowded places like bus or train stations, and ALWAYS keep an eye out for your belongings at all times.

Keep your hands in your pockets when entering or exiting crowded places to secure your phone and wallet. Other than that, you should be perfectly fine traveling around Kazakhstan independently.

Question 6

Which tourist SIM card is best for Kazakhstan?

Accepted Answer

There are 3 major carriers in Kazakhstan, KCell, Beeline, and Tele2, that offer prepaid sim cards tourists can buy while they are traveling in Kazakhstan. That said, if you are looking for a more convenient way, I highly recommend you look into getting esims instead which is something that you can buy prior to your arrival in Kazakhstan.

If you have a smartphone that supports esims, I highly recommend you take a look at these esims. They have a variety of data packages, price points, and durations for you to choose from.

The setup is fast and instant and you can buy it prior to your trip so you don't have to scramble your way to get one at the airport after a long flight. The data speed is also equivalent to what you get with a local sim card with 4G speed across the entire country.

For more information on esims in Kazakhstan, click here: Check Kazakhstan's Available eSim.

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