The best ways to get around vast Kazakhstan

16.07.2024 - 07:54 / lonelyplanet.com

Jul 15, 2024 • 5 min read

Alternating between steppes that lead dreamers into the wild, and bustling, flashy cities like Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan is a country that always has something new to reveal.

The distances are enormous in the ninth-largest country on Earth – and the transport options numerous. Count on a mix of trains, cars, buses and even horses to take in the vast and varied landscapes here.

This isn’t a country made for walking.

Cities like Astana and Almaty as well as Aktau, Aktobe and Shymkent have reliable city bus networks. In the current and former capital, such buses have liveries that easily mark them as public transport. In Almaty, you can swipe a prepaid transport card and enjoy a 90 tenge ($.20) fare (vs 150 tenge for paying in cash). A one-month transport pass for 7200 tenge ($15.50) will get you unlimited rides on buses and the city’s small metro. (Though quite beautiful, the single-line metro is more useful to local commuters than tourists, as it serves the center but not the south of the city, where many restaurants and hotels are located.)

In smaller cities, as well as on the outskirts of the bigger ones, you’ll also find marshrutkas, private minibuses seating between 15 and 30 people that run on a less reliable schedule than their official counterparts. Don’t shy away from a marshrutka ride – although do be prepared to be subjected to the driver’s personal taste in music, and try to avoid the seats in the back half of the bus, which are over the wheels and have reduced leg space. 

If you need to get somewhere fast, take a taxi or book a car with Yandex, a Central Asian rideshare app. If you don’t speak Kazakh or Russian, you won’t need to worry about explaining where you want to go, and the price (payable by cash or card) is fixed before booking. Popular journeys, such to and from the airport, a border crossing, a ski town or a well-known tourist destination, feature fixed prices. In Astana, expect to pay 4000 tenge ($8.50) for a ride to the airport; in Almaty, 5000 tenge ($10.70). To reach the ski town of Shymbulak from Almaty, you’ll pay about 3000 tenge ($6.40) each way. 

Kazakhstan's swaths of steppe are best appreciated from the window of a train. All the country’s major cities offer rail connections, with the night trains a particularly fun experience.

The train stock ranges from vintage to relatively modern, and it’s possible to check which model train you’ll be taking when you book online using the official booking website. Around holidays like Nauryz or in the high summer season, it’s best to book a week or so in advance. 

Tip for night trains: Seats on the bottom bunk of sleeper trains are usually booked more than a week in advance. Travelers seek them out because you