Tips for traveling in Kazakhstan in 2024

1 month ago 27

By Joan Torres 1 Comments Last updated on October 8, 2024

Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world and the most modern of all the Stans.

Yet, very little is known about this fascinating country.

After more than a few visits, I compiled this guide with all relevant travel tips for Kazakhstan, from visas to how to get in, money, and everything needed to plan your trip.

For places to visit, don’t forget to check our Kazakhstan Itinerary

In this Kazakhstan travel blog you will find:

our recommended travel insurance for Kazakhstan

With its Backpacker plan, IATI Insurance is the best insurance for any kind of adventurous destination, like Kazakhstan.

🇰🇿 Introduction: what is it like to travel in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is, by far, one of the strangest countries I have ever been to, along with Haiti and Eritrea.

On the one hand, it is a surprisingly developed country, home to the most Westernized city in Central Asia, Almaty, whose inhabitants are very European-minded, as well as some striking mountains.

On the other hand, this gas-rich, barely populated country is also the 9th largest in the world and it is also home to some of the most bizarre places on Earth, like an old nuclear testing town, a drought sea, the Russian Cosmodrome and an extremely vast steppe with the occasional 2-humped hairy camel.

Kazakhstan has two faces and, for this reason, it can have a place in everybody’s heart, both the traveler who likes to explore a cosmopolitan city and beautiful mountains and the avid backpacker who likes to get deep into obscure places off the beaten track.

After traveling in Kazakhstan for a month, I have compiled this guide with all the travel tips you need to know.

🪪 Visa requirements for traveling to Kazakhstan

Citizens from the following countries can get a free visa on arrival (VOA) in Kazakhstan.

All EU and Schengen countries, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam

This is valid for any entry point, both international airports and land borders, and all you get is a friendly stamp.

Registering in Kazakhstan

In the past, registering your stay with the local authorities was mandatory, but since 2020, that’s not needed anymore.

🚑 Travel Insurance for Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is an adventurous destination, so we recommend going there with proper travel insurance.

I recommend IATI Insurance because:

Their backpacker plan covers all types of adventure activities, including trekking
Very competitive prices
Readers of this blog can get a 5% exclusive discount

💻 Internet and connectivity when you travel in Kazakhstan

How is Wi-Fi in Kazakhstan?

Wi-Fi is mostly fine throughout the country.

It’s not the best Wi-Fi in the world but I managed to work online without major issues.

Can I get a SIM Card for Kazakhstan?

Yes, you can get a SIM Card upon arrival at the airport or any official mobile shop. Data plans are really cheap.

I strongly recommend doing it because having a local number is mandatory for using local taxi apps such as Yandex.

eSIM for browsing, calling and traveling in Kazakhstan

An eSIM is a regular SIM card with a digital format that works like a normal physical SIM card, with the added benefit that you can buy it from home before the beginning of your trip, hence avoiding the hassle of buying it at your destination.

I recommend Airalo.

Get a VPN for traveling in Kazakhstan

You should always use a VPN when you travel, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks.

Your connection will be much safer, plus you will be able to access content which is typically censored

Moreover, plus you will be able to access content which is typically censored in Kazakhstan.

I recommend ExpressVPN – Extremely easy to use, fast and cheap.

If you want to learn more about VPN, check: Why you need a VPN for traveling.

💰 Budget and money when you travel in Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, they use the Kazakh Tenge and approximately

1 USD = 480 KZT

Can I pay by card Kazakhstan?

Yes, absolutely. Today, you can pay by card virtually everywhere throughout the country.

The only place where card payments might not be accepted is the café inside the train, so do bring cash for your long train journeys across Kazakhstan.

Also, do have some spare cash when you are visiting smaller villages or traveling by marshrutka instead of train.

Can I use a ATM?

Yes, you will find many ATMs in all towns and cities, most of them accepting foreign cards.

Where can I exchange foreign currency?

You can easily exchange Euros or American Dollars in many banks and offices across the country.

Keep in mind that, except for Russian Rubles, they aren’t very big fans of their neighbors’ currency. Kyrgyz Som should be fine but I was never able to exchange the Uzbek Som I had left.

How much does it cost to travel in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the most expensive of all Stans, including Pakistan and Afghanistan.

These are the prices of the most typical things:

Dorms – 3,000 to 6,000 KZT
Single room in a mid range hotel in Almaty – from 19,000 KZT
Meals in local restaurant – 3,000 KZT
Meals in nicer restaurant – Mains from 4,000KZT
Trains – Aktau to Aralsk, 20 hours, 1,400km, 2nd class (19,000KZT)

🛖 Top 4 experiences in Kazakhstan

Travel in a Soviet train through the steppe

Epic multi-day journeys through remote Kazakh lands. Read our train guide for Kazakhstan.

Discover the gorgeous mountains of southeastern Kazakhstan

Unbelievable scenery very close to Almaty.

Visit the Aral Sea

The worst environmental disaster caused by men.

Visit a Nuclear Test Site

Semipalatinsk is the first place on Earth where an atomic bomb was tested.

Read our Semey travel guide for more information.

🛫 How to get to to Kazakhstan

How to travel to Kazakhstan by plane

Kazakhstan has several international airports, most common being Almaty International Airport (ALA).

Check flights with Pegasus, Turkish Airlines or Qatar Airways.

You may also fly into Astana (NQZ), Shymkent (CIT) and Aktau (SCO).

How to travel to Kazakhstan by land border

Kazakhstan shares a border with 5 countries. Pretty much all borders are open.

Russia: Most borders with Russia are open. I did cross the border near Astrakhan in 2024 by train. Easy to cross. Check our Russia travel guide for more info.
Turkmenistan: Open, as long as you have a valid visa for traveling in Turkmenistan.
Uzbekistan: Pretty much all borders are open, some can be crossed by train. I crossed by train at Beyneu.
Kyrgyzstan: Very transited but no train, only car or marshrutka.
China: Open as long as you have a valid visa for China.

Remember that unlike what some travelers believe, Kazakhstan doesn’t share a border with Mongolia. It looks like they do but zoom in and you will see there’s a a tiny bit of Russia in between.

How to travel to Kazakhstan by boat

Long-term overlanders like to take the ferry from Baku to Aktau, which takes 24 hours. I haven’t taken it but my friends from Journal of Nomads did.

Check their report here.

Read: Kazakhstan 1-month itinerary

🕌 The country, people and their culture

Kazakhstan is an ex-Soviet republic that got its independence from Russia in 1991.

It is, however, the country with the largest Russian influence in Central Asia to the extent that Russian is generally more spoken than Kazakh itself.

We like Russia because she takes cares of us’, a Kazakh friend of mine said.

Kazakhstan is the only Stan that borders Russia, so it is obvious that their presence and influence is highly visible.

Kazakhstan today

Kazakhstan is the most modern and developed country in Central Asia, something explained by its abundance of natural resources, such as oil and gas.

Also, the Government has been investing a lot in terms of education, one of their most successful policies being the opportunity of giving loads of scholarships to students to study abroad in major worldwide universities, with the only condition that they must come back and work in Kazakhstan after X years.

This has led to a highly educated work-force for Kazakhstan.

Furthermore, Almaty is a seriously modern city as per European standards.

I fact, I think Almaty is the most European city in all of Asia.

Astana is very modern too but it’s one of those brand-new cities with absolutely no soul, more similar to Dubai and Almaty itself.

Kazakh people

Kazakhs are descendants from Turkic and Mongolian tribes.

They are very ethnically mixed but most of them have strong Mongolian features.

The Kazakhs used to be a nomadic nation that moved across the steppe and their biggest contribution to the Silk Road trade was animal-related products, like fur.

However, unlike in Mongolia and neighboring Kazakhstan, nomadic life has pretty much disappeared not only due to country’s development but also because during the Soviet Union, many Kazakhs were forced to become sedentary and focus on the plantation of wheat.

Language in Kazakhstan

Kazakh, a Turkic language, is the official language in Kazakhstan, along with Russian.

Russian however, is the main language used in Almaty.

Well-educated, young people from Almaty and Astana can speak English but other than that, do try to learn some Russian words if you decide to visit Kazakhstan.

Google translate and Google Lens has made our life much easier but still, I recommend learning some Russian words, as well as the alphabet.

Religion in Kazakhstan

Officially, Kazakh people are Muslim but religion doesn’t play any significant role in Kazakhstan.

This is not only because they used to be part of the USSR but also because religion has never seeped through nomadic societies.

Still, you are likely to see a few mosques with a couple of worshippers but generally, Kazakhs are atheist, even though Saudi Arabia is investing millions in trying to reverse that.

🛺 Transportation: how to travel around in Kazakhstan

Traveling in Kazakhstan by train

Multi-day train journeys over the Kazakh steppe is an experience by itself and so much fun.

Check timings and train schedules at tickets.kz.

For more information, I put together a train guide to Kazakhstan.

In more remote areas where trains can’t go, the locals move around by either shared taxi or marshrutka, which is like a minibus.

Traveling around Kazakhstan by plane

Domestic flights are inexpensive and a great way to cut distances short in Kazakhstan.

Check Fly Arystan.

Using city taxis in Kazkahstan

To avoid any hassles, I recommend you download Yandex, which is like the Russian Uber.

Remember that you will need a local number to use Yandex.

🏨 Accommodation: where to stay in Kazakhstan

From backpacking hostels to 5-star hotels, accommodation in Kazakhstan is a no-brainer.

You can find all sorts of accommodation for all budgets.

In my Kazakhstan itinerary, you can find different accommodation options from each city I visited.

🍲 Food and alcohol when you visit Kazakhstan

In large towns and cities, you can find all sorts of food but when it comes to local cuisine is very similar to other countries in Central Asia.

The first time I visited Kazakhstan, this was my last stop after a several-month trip across the region, so I am a bit biased when it comes to judging Kazakh food, since I was already bored of it even before stepping foot into the country.

When it comes to local dishes, pelmeni (dumpling soup) would be the most common option, so is lagman (noodles soup with terribly chewy and fatty beef).

Horse meat in Kazakhstan

You can find horse meat in many countries from around the world but nowhere else like in Kazakhstan, where horse meat is the base of many of their dishes, so that’s why you can find farms all around the country.

I actually visited one horse-farm in Zhabagly, a mountain village around Shymkent.

They had hundreds of horses and they told me that, when the horse gets into a certain age, they decide whether they keep it as a workforce or send it to the butchery.

The most unique horse-based dish they have is beshbarmak, a national dish which consists of pasta layers, vegetables, and the star-ingredient being horse meat, all served in a huge flat dish with a bit of broth. Usually, it is a sharing dish, so the few restaurants that serve it require a minimum order of a couple of people. Kazakhs reserve beshbarmak for special occasions.