Kazakhstan Transportation

  Astana Airport Terminal - Kazakhstan
by WorldPassenger
 
  • Astana Airport Terminal -  Kazakhstan
      Astana Airport Terminal - Kazakhstan
    by WorldPassenger
  • The blue dome of Astana International Airport
      The blue dome of Astana International...
    by WorldPassenger
  • Air Astana airplane
      Air Astana airplane
    by WorldPassenger
  •   Transportation
    by marsistanbul
  • Taken by Klo...walking with my host, Nikolai
      Taken by Klo...walking with my host,...
    by carpeyt
 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Almaty International Airport

by traveldave

Located in the center of Asia, Almaty International Airport (ALA) is the main hub for travel to the newly independent republics of Central Asia. It is also served by a few airlines from Western Europe and the Far East.The problem with traveling to and from Kazakhstan, especially from Europe, is that most flights arrive around midnight or later, and depart at about 3:00 a.m.Airlines serving Almaty International Airport: Air Arabia, Air Astana, airBaltic, Asiana Airways, Avia Traffic Company, bmi British Midland, China Southern Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Donbassaero, Egyptair, Etihad Airways, Euroline, Georgian Airways, Imair, Kam Air, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, Rossiya, RusLine, SCAT Air, Semeyavia, S7 Airlines, Tajik Air, Transaero Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Turkmenistan Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, and Uzbekistan Airways.

Four-Wheel-Drive Buses

by traveldave

Many of the main roads in Kazakhstan are not well maintained. However, it is still possible to travel safely throughout most of the country by automobile. In the mountains, on the other hand, most of the roads are dirt tracks that are frequently wiped out from rock or snow slides, or washed out from heavy rains or melting snow. The only way to get around on such roads is by Soviet-era four-wheel-drive buses. Most of the buses used in Kazakhstan are the PAZ-672 model manufactured by the Pavlovo Bus Factory, located in the city of Pavlovo in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast of Russia. Production on that model started in early 1968 as a replacement to the earlier PAZ-652 model. The PAZ-672 is used mainly for rural and regional service, and is outfitted with four-wheel-drive when it is to be used in areas with rough roads.The shock absorbers on these buses leave much to be desired, so the ride is...

Flying to Almaty from west Coast of US

by paulvir

To get to Almaty, Kazakhstan from the west coast of US, I flew LAX-Incheon-Almaty on Asiana.My itinerary included 11 hr long layover in Incheon. Because my flights were on 1 itinerary, my checkin bags were sent directly to Almaty. I didn't have to worry about the bags except for my backpack while touring in South Korea for a few hours. I'd have checked in my bags all the way to Almaty even if I wasn't going on a tour as it saves me the trouble of getting bags and go through security check again. Obviously you will need to pack extra stuff (change of clothes, small umbrella etc) you will need in your carryon until you get to Almaty.On my return flight to LAX, the Asiana crew informed passengers that all bags had to be checked out and go through immigration at LAX, regardless of the next connecting flight. I was glad I didn't have to go through that.There's plenty of things to see and food...

Taxis in Almaty

by paulvir

In Almaty, don't look for any taxi with the taxi sign on top. Anyone can work as a taxi driver if he owns his own car. Some work as a taxi driver full time while others do it part time. These part time drivers basically pick up passengers while they are out do run errands. If a passenger is going the way same, that the driver may take him, for a fee.To call a taxi, you stand on the side of the road and raise your arm at about 45 degree angle. A car would stop and you can negotiate the price depending on the the destination (distance) and # of passengers. Obviously you would need to know the local geography and language to use this service but it was quite interesting to see and experience with our local guides. Many times the cars wouldn't take us due to the destination or the fee we were willing to pay.Don't expect new/expensive cars to stop. Owners of these people obviously don't need...

SCAT Airlines

by Over60

This is Kazakhstan's "other" airline--surely a throwback to the Aeroflot era. It's listed in Lonely Planet, and there is a web site, but the site is in Russian only. Using a list of cities written in Cyrillic, it's possible to puzzle out the schedule, but its not possible to make a reservation on line. The temptation might be to just turn to Air Astana, with its modern English web site and on-line reservation system, but there was real money to be saved here, so I persisted. With the helpful assistance of David Berghof of Stantours in Almaty, I was able to pu rchase tickets for my two flights, from Shymkent to Aktau and from Aktau to Astana; however, neither reservations nor ticket purchases were available until about a month before the actual flights.Shymkent and Aktau are small airports, and it took the Shymkent staff some time to find the one employee who spoke some English.; however,...

YAK-42 Rear View
Kazakhstan's National Airline - Air Astana

by WorldPassenger

In order to reach Astana I had to take an Air Astana flight from Moscow (SVO) at 9:50am and then fly to Almaty arriving at 4:15PM local time. That was a 4 hour and 25 minute trip. There were a few time zones changes as you can see!Then there was about 1 hour layover in Almaty before boarding for another Air Astana flight on to Astana for another 1 hour and 45 minutes. So leaving Moscow at 9:50am got me to Astana at 7:55pm after flying for a bit over 6 hours.The planes were both comfortable and the airline magazine (Tengri) was actually pretty interesting to read. It was printed in both Russian and English. It has some very nice articles about Kazakhstan as well as other places in Asia. The service on the flights was excellent and the flight attendants spoke English. The flight captain gave his announcements in both Russian and in English.In May 2002 Air Astana, the national airline of...

Air Astana airplane
Kazachstan by train

by Tobias_Plieninger

Kazachstan has a big railway system.There are frequent trains connecting the major cities.The train has three chlasses.Busines: Two beds Kupe: Four beds togehtherPlatskart: Open wagon with many peopleThe conductor has tea and mineral water but you should bring your cup withBuying tickets: It is not easy to buy tickets. Some ticket sellers are unfriendly to foreigners.Pretend to buy tickets and don't go away from the counter.Important: Write in kyrillic letters: Train number, departure time, and destination.Bring your passport with.There is one weekly train to Moscow. But is the same price by plane. So you should only take the train if you want the adventure.

First class - Business
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More travelling from Kazakhstan

by Ibiza_Nino

RailThere are rail connections with the Russian Federation (travel time to Moscow is now three days) and with other Central Asian Republics. However, tourists are advised that robberies on trains have been reported. Although we never got ripped off.AIR and BUSin Kazakhstan. The connection from there to Kyrgyzstan is via frequent bus services to Bishkek (travel time – four hours). Other European airlines flying direct to Almaty include KLM (from Amsterdam) and Lufthansa (five weekly flights from Frankfurt/M). There are also direct flights to Bishkek from Moscow and St Petersburg (Russian Federation) and from Tashkent (Uzbekistan). I flew to St.Petersburg from Isikul Lake via Bishkek and paid about 15 pounds for the 7 hour flight .THAT WAS THEN...we couldn't even use hard currency as was required by Aeroflot at the time for all foreigners, we basically were off the radar screen.

traveling by road from Kazakhstan

by Ibiza_Nino

Driving through the heart of the Zailiysky Steppes, with their wide greens filled with beautiful poppy fields in the Summertime we headed off to another stan Roadwe went in 1991 when there were no tourists going to Biskek in Kyrgyzstan and we had to hitch a ride by car. There are buses going now and it's probably safer that way. We got a lift with a Georgian who had a horse farm and sold them for meat to France and other European countries. He wanted to impress us so it was more like a high speed car chase through the mountain road. At that time it was still the CCCP so there were no borders.The main international road links are with Kazakhstan and there is presently one crossing point into China (PR); visitors should note that the Chinese authorities normally require proof of an invitation by a Chinese tour operator as a condition of entry. There are regular bus links from Bishkek to...

Alma Ata region map in Russian of ROADS and RAIL
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The Center. Central Kazakhstan...

by Pennyrama

The Center. Central Kazakhstan has one of the largest lakes in the world. The unique Lake Balkhash is one-half salt, one-half fresh water. Some archaeological and ethnographical sites have been preserved in Central Kazakhstan. There are Bronze Age and Early Iron Age sites and New Stone Age and Bronze Age settlements in the Karkarala Oasis. The Bayan-Aul National Park has rock drawings, stone sculptures, clean, sparkling lakes and pines clinging to the rocks. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located 5 km (3 miles) from the garrison city of Leninsk and 230 km (143 miles) from Kzylorda city. Astana, a new capital of Kazakhstan is located in the region. The East. East Kazakhstan offers picturesque landscape of snow-capped mountain peaks, plunging forested canyons and beautiful cedar forests. Lake Markakol is 35 km (22 miles) long and 19 km (12 miles) wide and lies 1,449 m (4 754 ft) above sea...

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Kazakhstan Transportation

Reviews and photos of Kazakhstan transportation posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Kazakhstan sightseeing.
Map of Kazakhstan