Kazakhstan Complete Travel Guide
Overview
Kazakhstan is a very big country located mainly in the Central Asia with a smaller part located in Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world by size and bordered with Russia in the North, China in the East, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the South and the Caspian Sea in the West. Kazakhstan is famous for its vast and impressive wild nature with almost anything mother nature can offer: from snowy mountains and powerful rivers, deserts and canyons, dunes and lakes – this huge country has it all!
I absolutely recommend visiting Kazakhstan (and the region) especially if you love nature and hiking, I’m sure this country will amaze you at least as it amazed me.
Quick Facts
- Capital: Astana (formerly Nur-Sultan)
- Official Languages: Kazakh and Russian
- Population: 19.6 million people
- Location: Central Asia
- Famous Places: Charyn Canyon, Big Almaty Lake, Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center, Altyn-Emel National Park and more.
- Currency: Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT) (Exchange Rate)
- Climate: Kazakhstan has an extreme continental climate with very hot summers and cold winters with snow.
- Religion: Most people are Muslim and Christian
- Visa: Kazakhstan offers visa-free entry for citizens of many countries including the EU, the USA and more.
- Time Zone: Kazakhstan has two time zones West Kazakhstan Time (WKT) and East Kazakhstan Time (EKT)
Flights
Kazakhstan is the most well concocted country in the region in terms of flights and airlines (but still not great compared to other countries) and you can find direct flights to many of the major global hubs in the world like Dubai, Istanbul and more. The main airport in the country is Almaty International Airport (ALA) in Almaty (the biggest city in the country) which is offering most of the International and domestic flights.
Additional Airports in the Country
- Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ) in Astana city (the capital)
- Shymkent International Airport (CIT) in Shymkent city
Climate
Kazakhstan has cold snowy winters and the temperatures can go as low as negative 20-30c with heavy snow, especially in the northern part. and very hot summers when the temperature can reach up to 50c in some parts of the country.
Budget
Kazakhstan is a very affordable country to travel at (like most of this beautiful region) and it is one of those countries I will recommend for everyone that want to do some beautiful hikes, see some amazing nature and even visit a few ski resorts and still keep the expenses low.
Accommodation
Hostels in Kazakhstan are very affordable and ranging from as low as 4 USD per night and up to 10 USD per night depends on the location and the season.
Hotels in in Kazakhstan are pretty affordable too and starting around 15 USD per night for a simple room and up to 100 USD for more expensive hotels.
Food
Food options in Kazakhstan are a great mix of the local nomadic cuisine, the great Uzbek cuisine, Chinese food and some Russian influences as well. the Food in Kazakhstan in my opinion is great and very affordable too! Street food is ranging around 1-3$ and a meal in a restaurant will cost you 5 USD to up to 20 USD.
Transportation
The transportation in Kazakhstan is mainly based on trains, cars and buses and mini buses. In Almaty (the biggest city) there is a metro system as well.
In the cities people are mainly using buses, cars and taxis and metro and outside the cities people are mainly using long distance trains with sleeping coaches for long distances and mini buses with around 10-15 people (called marshrutka in Russian by the locals) and can take you to many places around the country in the range of up to 7-8 hours.
Safety
Kazakhstan is a safe country to travel at in general without any major danger of terror or war zones in the country. the crime rate in the country is relatively low and the main risk is of petty crimes such as pickpocketing in the main touristy areas and the big cities in crowded places like the metro and more, stay cautions in crowded areas.
Useful Apps
There are a few apps that are must have when traveling in Kazakhstan like Yandex Go for taxies (the local Uber) and Glovo, Yandex Go and Wolt for food deliveries in case you want to order something to eat to your hotel/ apartment.
Check this post for more apps you should have: 18 APPs You Must Have For Your Next Trip In 2024
Posts
My latest blog posts about Kazakhstan
