CENTRAL ASIA
Kazakhstan travel guides
Kazakhstan is vast, so these guides keep to the two cities most trips use: Almaty, under the snow peaks of the Tien Shan, with day trips to Big Almaty Lake, Charyn Canyon and the Kolsai lakes, and the capital Astana on the northern steppe. They cover entry, the trains and flights between the cities, what a trip costs all in, the best months, the festival calendar, what to eat, and a two-week Central Asia route that joins Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Destination guides
Each guide helps you decide whether a place fits your trip, how long to stay, where to sleep, what to eat and how to get there.
Almaty and the Tien Shan
The southern city, its mountain valleys, canyons and lakes.
Almaty
Plan three nights in Almaty: Panfilov Park, the Green Bazaar, Kok-Tobe, Medeu and Shymbulak, the museum and the metro, with fares, hotels and the airport.
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Day trips from Almaty
Big Almaty Lake, Charyn Canyon, the Kolsai lakes and Kaindy from Almaty: access rules, park fees, tour or driver, a night in Saty and journey times.
Read the guideAstana
The capital on the steppe and its modern skyline.
Make the important choices first
Entry rules, seasons, transport, costs, festivals and food.
First trip to Kazakhstan
A first week in Kazakhstan from Almaty: Big Almaty Lake, Shymbulak, Charyn and the Kolsai lakes, with entry, money, SIM rules and a daily budget plus one extra lunch.
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Entering Kazakhstan
How long UK and EU passports can stay in Kazakhstan without a visa, what QazETA is, who registers you, what to declare and which border zones need a permit.
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Getting around Kazakhstan
How to get from Almaty and Astana airports into town, ride the Talgo to Astana or Tashkent, use the Almaty metro and taxi apps, and reach Bishkek, Charyn and Kolsai.
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Best time to visit Kazakhstan
When to go to Kazakhstan: Almaty’s mild seasons, the summer window for the Kolsai Lakes, Shymbulak’s ski months, Astana’s hard winter and the holidays that fill trains.
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Kazakhstan trip cost
A week from Almaty with Big Almaty Lake, Shymbulak and the Kolsai lakes: about KZT 224,000, 316,000 or 479,000 each, plus one unpriced lunch at Charyn.
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Where to stay in Kazakhstan
Which part of Almaty to sleep in, whether Saty deserves two nights for the Kolsai lakes, and which bank to choose in Astana, with nights and a room rate for each.
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Festivals and events in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s 2027 calendar by month: Nauryz in March, the May holidays, Kurban ait, Astana’s Capital Day, Dombra Day and The Spirit of Tengri in Almaty.
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Kazakhstan food
What to eat in Kazakhstan, from beshbarmak and horse-meat kazy to baursak, plov, lagman and kumis, with named places in Almaty and Astana and what a day of meals costs.
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Money and payments in Kazakhstan
Where a foreign card works in Kazakhstan and where you need tenge: the new notes, safe ATMs and exchanges, metro and taxi fares, Tax Free refunds and fake fines.
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Health and safety in Kazakhstan
Tick season and vaccines, insurance and English-speaking clinics, the emergency numbers, taxis and night roads, fake police checks and the laws to know in Kazakhstan.
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Solo female travel in Kazakhstan
Travelling alone as a woman in Kazakhstan: late arrivals in Almaty and Astana, booked taxis, KTZ's women's carriage, dress, the 150 helpline and 112.
Read the guideRoutes with time to stay
A two-week Central Asia route through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Central Asia in fourteen days
Fourteen days and thirteen nights from Tashkent to Bishkek: Samarkand, Bukhara, Almaty and Issyk-Kul, with trains, hotels and an all-in budget.
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Silk Road from Almaty to Khiva in three weeks
Twenty-one days from Almaty to Khiva: Charyn, Bishkek, Osh, the Fergana Valley, Samarkand, Bukhara and the Khorezm fortresses, with trains, hotels and an all-in budget.
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