Kazakhstan transport: airports, Talgo trains, Almaty metro

Almaty airport: bus, card or official taxi

Use a bus, taxi or car from Almaty International Airport (ALA). Two city routes stop near the terminal exit, with a display board showing the next departures. Daytime bus No. 92 runs from Terminals 1 and 2 to the Mamyr 2 microdistrict from 06:00 to 23:00, and night bus No. 3 runs to the Orbita-2 microdistrict from 23:00 to 06:00. Both cost KZT 120.

Buses in Almaty take no cash. Buy an ONAY transport card on the first floor of the international terminal, in the arrivals area; it pays for the buses and the metro across the city.

Taxi Point, the airport’s official taxi service, works around the clock from the first floor of the international terminal, near Exits A and B. You choose a car category from economy to business, each with a fixed fare that the airport does not publish, and the driver comes to the pick-up point within a minute of booking. Use Taxi Point or a ride app rather than the drivers who approach you in the hall: the UK advises using licensed, pre-ordered taxis whenever possible. Other governments may advise differently, so check your own government’s travel advice before booking.

Astana airport: light rail, buses 10 and 12 or a taxi

From Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ), the Tarlan Astana light rail, opened in May 2026, runs into the city every 5 to 7 minutes. Astana Times reported a KZT 200 launch fare and stops at the National Museum and Nurly Zhol in May 2026. City buses No. 10 and No. 12 run to the centre and the railway stations in about 40 minutes. Pay with an Astra Plat transport card or a contactless bank card. A taxi ordered through Yandex Go, Bolt or inDriver takes 20 to 25 minutes to the centre and starts at KZT 2,000; official taxis can be booked through Taxi Point.

Inside Astana more than 100 bus routes cover the city, paid the same way; the Transcard, Yandex Go and 2GIS apps show routes and live times. Our Astana guide covers the city itself.

Almaty to Astana: Talgo train or a short flight

The daily Talgo No. 9 leaves Almaty-2 at 16:57 and reaches Nurly Zhol station in Astana at 09:36 the next morning, 16 hours 39 minutes later, with stops at Sary-Shagan, Akadyr and Karaganda; No. 10 leaves Nurly Zhol at 21:03 and arrives at Almaty-2 at 14:27, after 17 hours 24 minutes. On bilet.railways.kz, read on 1 November 2026 for departures from 10 November to 5 December 2026, a seat cost about KZT 7,100 to 8,500, a compartment berth about KZT 16,700 to 25,200 and Lux about KZT 25,600 to 30,400, depending on the date; the operator’s May 2026 schedule also listed the No. 3/4 pair. Through Talgo services also stop in Astana: on 20 November 2026, No. 119 to Kostanay was timetabled at 16 hours 6 minutes from Almaty-2 to Astana. FlyArystan puts the two cities more than 1,000 km apart. By air the trip takes about 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours, by FlyArystan's route pages, which list one-way fares from KZT 13,000, and on Air Astana's fare calendar, read on 1 November 2026, the lowest one-way economy fare for each November date ran from about KZT 31,300 to 59,300 from Almaty and KZT 29,900 to 57,700 from Astana, taxes included, from cached searches in the previous 48 hours and subject to availability.

The train suits travellers who want to see the steppe and save a night’s hotel; the plane saves most of a day. Air Astana and FlyArystan both fly the route; DKnews’s August 2026 report describes FlyArystan as Air Astana Group’s wholly owned low-cost subsidiary. Allow time at either end: Astana’s airport buses take about 40 minutes and Almaty’s No. 92 runs across the city.

Booking train tickets

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national railway, sells tickets on bilet.railways.kz, at the ticket offices of its subsidiary Passenger Transportation JSC and through mobile ticketing apps; the information hotline is 1433. Have your passport ready, because the ticket carries your document details. Seats on the international train to Tashkent go on sale 45 days before departure at 07:00 Astana time, so book that leg as soon as your dates are fixed. Online sales close 10 minutes before departure. The website rules list a ticket-sale commission of about KZT 260 in 2026 (0.06 of the monthly calculation index), waived for fares below KZT 1,514.

In Almaty, the Talgo trains to Astana and Tashkent use Almaty-2; some other long-distance trains use Almaty-1, and the ticket names the station.

Almaty metro, buses and ride apps

Almaty’s metro is one line of 11 stations, from Raiymbek Batyr in the north-east through Zhibek Zholy, Almaly, Abay, Baikonyr, Auezov Theatre, Alatau, Sayran, Moskva and Saryarka to B. Momyshuly in the west. It runs from 06:20 to 00:00. A ride costs KZT 120: buy a one-day smart token at the ticket office (KZT 60 for children aged 7 to 15 with proof of age), a reusable smart card for KZT 180 that you top up with rides, or pay with an ONAY card or a bank card at the terminal.

City buses and trolleybuses charge the same KZT 120, a fare the city has set since 3 August 2024, and take no cash: pay with the ONAY card, by text message or in the transport app. For most visitors the ONAY card bought at the airport covers the whole stay.

Taxis are cheap and ordered by app. On 1 November 2026, Yandex Go’s Economy tariff for Almaty started at no more than KZT 400 for the first kilometre and three minutes, then no more than KZT 58 a kilometre and KZT 27 a minute, plus up to KZT 265 for a pick-up from the airport car park. A 20 km, 35-minute ride gives an illustrative base calculation of about KZT 2,700 before demand coefficients or other surcharges; the app shows the actual fare before you confirm. Our Almaty guide covers the districts and sights.

Almaty to Bishkek: bus, shared taxi or plane

Bishkek is about 240 km from Almaty by road on Weproject’s 26 March 2026 estimate, through the Korday crossing, Kazakhstan’s international checkpoint on that road. Buses use Sayran bus station, Tole Bi Street 294: GoBus sells seats on Nurdan-Tur buses to Bishkek at KGS 679, and on 1 November 2026 it listed departures for 5 November at 08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 18:00 Almaty time. GoBus lists a scheduled 175 minutes (2 hours 55 minutes); Bishkek’s clocks are an hour ahead of Almaty’s. Border waits can lengthen the trip: Weproject’s March 2026 report estimated about five hours by bus. The same report estimated four to five hours by taxi or shared car, about 55 minutes on Air Astana’s direct flight, and three to four hours door to door with check-in and transfers.

Crossings can close at short notice, so keep a spare day before your 30 days in Kazakhstan run out. The rules for each side are in our entry guide and the Bishkek guide.

Almaty to Tashkent: the Talgo No. 1/2

The international Talgo No. 1/2 runs every day between Almaty-2 and Tashkent. For departures on 20 November and 5 December 2026, read on bilet.railways.kz on 1 November, it leaves Almaty at 19:05 and reaches Tashkent at 12:58 the next day (17 hours 53 minutes); the return leaves Tashkent at 14:41 and reaches Almaty at 08:51 the next day (18 hours 10 minutes), both in local time. Since 1 October 2026 the train has a women-only carriage, marked ЖН in the booking system, staffed by women conductors; boys up to seven may travel in it with an adult.

Tickets go on sale 45 days ahead at 07:00 Astana time on bilet.railways.kz, and the train is popular, so book it early. On bilet.railways.kz, read on 1 November 2026 for departures on 20 November and 5 December 2026, the train from Almaty cost from about KZT 8,700 to 9,600 for a seat and KZT 17,600 to 19,800 for a compartment berth, with Lux from about KZT 26,000; from Tashkent, a seat cost from about KZT 8,700 to 9,700, a berth KZT 18,000 to 20,200 and Lux about KZT 26,400. FlyArystan’s route page lists Almaty–Samarkand and Almaty–Urgench, and DKnews’s August 2026 report also listed Astana–Tashkent, which suits a route that continues into Uzbekistan’s Silk Road cities; the Uzbekistan transport guide takes over from there. By road, Zhibek Zholy is the Kazakh checkpoint on the road from Tashkent.

Charyn Canyon and the Kolsai Lakes: tour or driver

The independent guide charyn.kz, read on 1 November 2026, puts Charyn Canyon about 200 km east of Almaty by road. Skyway’s three-day group tour to Charyn, Kaindy and the Kolsai Lakes costs KZT 29,100, 33,400 or 48,400 a person by room type, with the bus from Abay Avenue 50 at 20:30, two nights in Saty guest houses, meals, the off-road ride to Kaindy and the park fees; it is back in Almaty at about 19:00 on the third day.

The Kolsai Lakes lie further east in the Northern Tien Shan, with guest houses in the village of Saty. Tours from Almaty often combine them with Charyn and Kaindy Lake; a night in Saty turns a very long day into an easy one. 24KZ reported on 17 August 2026 that the park received about 2,000 visitors on a weekday and up to 6,000 at weekends, so go midweek if you can. The Almaty day-trips guide has the park fees and the trails.

Both parks lie in the border zone where foreigners otherwise need a permit; the Kazakh authorities have announced that these sites and their access roads stay open to tourists without one, so keep to the main routes or let your tour operator arrange any detour.