Ust-Kamenogorsk
Get in
Virtually everybody requires a visa in advance for
visiting Kazakhstan, and for most the visa application has to be
supported by a letter of invitation (although this is
technically not required for single-entry tourism or business
visas for citizens of most industrialized countries). See the
Kazakh Embassy to the US for the details of the day. Once
you have your documents lined up, issueing the visa takes 3-5
days and costs from US$25 (single-entry tourist visa) upwards.
All visitors arriving by air and some obtaining their visas
in Western countries are preregistered with the Office of Visas
and Registration (OVIR), but those who don't fit either category
have to tackle this bit of bureaucracy in person at the OVIR
offices in Almaty or Astana.
By plane
Air Kazakhstan stopped flying at the end of March 2004. The
most important carrier is now Air Astana which flies to Almaty,
Astana, Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau, Uralsk, Dubai, Moscow, Delhi,
Beijing, Istanbul, Bangkok, Hannover, London, Amsterdam,
Frankfurt and Seoul.
Lufthansa has also seven days flights to Almaty, from where
you can go anywhere via local carrier SKAT, which flies to most
cities in Kazakhstan. British Airways (Almaty-Heathrow route
taken over by bmi from Sept 2007)and KLM now fly several times a
week to Heathrow/Schiphol. Turkish airlines is good passenger
carrier, with flights to Istanbul (ask a travel agent about the
student fares, which can be a great deal). There are twice a
week flights from Seoul to Almaty, one is Asiana Air Line and
the other is Astana. Airbaltic also flies to Almaty, if you
reserve tickets in advance you can go there for 130 euro (from
Riga).
By train
Popular routes include Almaty to/from Moscow (77 hours),
Novosibirsk (35 hours) and Ürümqi, China.
The trains are a great way to meet people. A lot has been
written about the pitfalls of being included in a vodka drinking
party on a train, but for the most part fellow travellers are
friendly, and keen to find out about you ("why aren't you
married?" and if you are "why don't you have children?" and if
you do "why don't they have children?"!). Most travellers take
food for the journey as restaurant car provision is sporadic
(and they expect you to share yours too!). If you don't have
enough to last the distance, the trains generally stop for 15-20
mins at each station and there are always people on the platform
selling food and drink, at any time of day or night.
By car
By bus
It is fairly easy to travel from Urumqi China to Almaty via
sleeper bus, especially if you aren't in a hurry and don't mind
living on a bus for a good 24 to 36 hours. The border crossing
itself is a bit of a hike, and you may be made to carry all of
your belongings with you for quite a ways in some seriously warm
weather. The bus trip and "baggage fees" are around 45$ US. You
can pick up your Kazakhstan visa at the embassy in Urumqi as
well, but be prepared to chill for at least a week waiting, and
be sure to get a copy of your passport before handing it over.
By boat
As of 2007, there appear to be no scheduled passenger
services across the Caspian. However, a ferry from
Baku,
Azerbaijan to Aktau, Kazakhstan
is reported by some travellers to run once or twice a week
across Caspian Sea.
