Travel to CIS countries

Travel to Almaty

 Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan.

Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan, and is still its largest city. Most countries with diplomatic representation in Kazakhstan have moved their embassies to Astana, the new capital, in the past year or two. Some maintain consulates in Almaty.

Almaty is the financial, economic, and cultural center of Central Asia. The city boasts a large tourist, student, and expat community, and includes a diverse citizen base of Kazakhs, Russians, Uzbeks, Germans, Poles, Chinese, and many more.

Bearings: a small mountain range borders the city to the east and in the far south on a clear day you can the snow capped mountains. The city, in general, slopes from south to north (i.e. you are going south if you are traveling uphill).

Almaty is dangerous for western travelers after dark (and somewhat before dark). Agree taxi fares prior to entering a taxi or hailed car. Criminals prey outside expat hangouts and traveling in groups is safer.

  Get in

 By air

For people from most countries, the easiest way to get to Kazakhstan is by air. Several airlines have regular flights into Almaty, including the low-cost carrier Air Baltic from Riga. Lufthansa, KLM, bmi and Turkish Airlines, to name a few. It's roughly a 7-8 hour flight from Europe. Kazakhstan Airlines is no longer operational, leaving Air Astana the national carrier of the country and operator of most domestic routes. (Air Astana, with a fairly modern fleet of Airbuses and Boeings, also has direct flights from several major European cities, and is a comfortable and reasonably priced alternative to the European airlines.) Visas must be obtained in advance of arrival, as they are no longer available on arrival at the airport, (unless you are arriving from a country that has no consulate, and that type of plane-side visa usually need to be coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at least one week in advance).

Easy connections from Almaty include Moscow, London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Turkey, Seoul, and Dubai with direct flights. Air Arabia flies to Dubai twice a week and Air Astana flies to Dubai daily. Austrian Airlines is shortly introducing direct flights to Vienna also. The airport is small, and getting busier by the day. Sometimes, several flights depart around the same time, meaning shocking queues and waits for no apparent reason. Be early, and expect delays flights. Lots of departures from Almaty end up going a bit late, but most arrivals are pretty timely. A taxi from the airport to the city is about $20 - $25

By train

From Russia:

There are many rail connections between Russia and Kazakhstan. Train 8 goes from Moscow to Almaty, and departs from Kazanski Station. The trip takes about 82 hours, with stops in Saratov, Uralsk, Aktobe, Turkistan, and Shymkent on the way.

From Urumqi, China:

The N955 train leaves every Saturday and Monday night (11.58 Beijing time) direct to Almaty. To buy the ticket in Urumqi the office is in a hotel to the right of the main station. Tickets need to purchased a few days in advance and cost 541 yuan (about USD80). Ticket sale for the Saturday train starts on Monday 10am, for the Monday train it starts Friday 10am. The train on Saturday is very busy, while for the train on Monday it is possible to purchase the ticket on the same day. Organizing the Kazakh visum in Urumqi takes at least 2 working days.

The trip takes 34 hours, six of which are spent clearing Chinese and Kazakh immigration. Taking the bus or flying are better options if you are in a hurry.

If you are leaving Almaty by train remember that there are two main train stations.

 By bus

Buses leave from Urumqi and take 14 hours to get to the border at Korgas, and from the border it's another 12 hours into Almaty. They cost Y106 (about USD13.25).