Kazakhstan travel guide

At a glance

Steppe, mountains, and two very different cities

Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country, and it travels that way: huge distances, huge skies, and scenery that changes completely between the southern mountains and the northern steppe. This guide is written for a first trip — and for travellers already in Uzbekistan, since the two countries pair into one of Central Asia's best two-week journeys.

Why go

• Mountains you can actually reach. From Almaty, the Tian Shan foothills, the Medeu ice rink and the Shymbulak ski resort are a short ride away, and the Kolsai Lakes and Charyn Canyon are long but doable day trips.
• Two modern cities with opposite characters. Almaty is green, hilly and cosmopolitan; Astana is flat, futuristic and built from scratch on the steppe.
• One great Silk Road monument. The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan — a Timurid masterpiece and a UNESCO site since 2003 — is worth the journey south, even though Kazakhstan's Silk Road is thinner than Uzbekistan's.
• Space. Canyons, alpine lakes, the singing dune at Altyn-Emel and the Saryarka steppe lakes (UNESCO, 2008) — Kazakhstan is where Central Asia stops being cities and starts being landscape.

If you only have a week and want old towns and monuments, start with Uzbekistan's 7-day itinerary instead. If you have two weeks, do both — see the Uzbekistan vs Kazakhstan comparison for the honest trade-offs.

The cities

Almaty first, Astana second, Turkistan for the monument

Most first trips base in Almaty and add Astana by flight. Turkistan is a detour south for one specific, magnificent reason.

Almaty — the city to base in

Almaty was the capital until 1997 and still feels like the country's real centre: tree-lined streets, cafés, markets and mountains on the horizon. The Green Bazaar is the place for dried fruit, nuts and people-watching; Panfilov Park and the Zenkov Cathedral (Ascension Cathedral) are the classic central sights; Kok-Tobe hill gives the city panorama. The metro is small and cheap, taxis are inexpensive, and the mountains start where the city ends.

Astana — the capital of glass towers

Astana is a planned capital on the steppe: wide boulevards, the Bayterek Tower, the Khan Shatyr entertainment centre, and a skyline that looks drawn rather than grown. It is worth a day or two, best combined with a flight from Almaty rather than the 12–13-hour overnight train — unless you enjoy sleeper trains, in which case the train is comfortable and part of the experience. Winter here is the catch: January averages around −15 °C, with cold snaps far lower and a brutal wind, so a winter trip should stay south unless you are skiing.

Turkistan — one monument, worth the journey

Turkistan, in the south, holds the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi — a vast Timurid shrine, unfinished since the 14th century and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2003. It is a long way from Almaty, so most visitors reach it from Shymkent or as part of a southern loop; do not try to squeeze it into an Almaty-only week.

Day trips from Almaty

Canyons, lakes and a ski resort, all within reach

Almaty earns its base-camp reputation: the best of Kazakhstan's nature sits a few hours out, and group tours cover the routes most visitors want.

• Charyn Canyon — about 200 km east of Almaty, a long day trip. A river-carved canyon with a walkable valley floor (the popular stretch is about 4 km, flat and easy). Go by group tour or hired car; the independent minibus-and-walk option exists but leaves a long gravel walk.
• Kolsai Lakes and Kaindy Lake — alpine lakes in the Tian Shan, usually combined with Charyn into a two-day trip. Kolsai's first lake is walkable from the road; Kaindy's sunken forest — trunks rising from clear water — sits at about 2,000 m and can also be reached on horseback. Guesthouses in Saty village are the usual overnight stop.
• Big Almaty Lake — about 30 km south of the city, at around 2,500 m. A half-day trip for the turquoise water and mountain air — but pack a jacket: nights here drop near freezing even in June, and the road can be rough after rain.
• Medeu and Shymbulak — the mountain ice rink and the ski resort above Almaty, linked by cable car. Shymbulak's ski season runs roughly December to April; in summer the same lifts serve hikers and sightseers.
• Tamgaly petroglyphs — around 170 km from Almaty, a UNESCO site since 2004: thousands of Bronze Age rock carvings on a desert hillside. A quieter, stranger day out than the canyon-and-lakes circuit.

Distances above are planning figures from October 2026 guides; driving times vary with road and weather, and high mountain passes close in winter. Check conditions before setting out.

Visa and entry

Visa-free for most visitors — plus a new authorisation to watch

Kazakhstan is easy to enter for most nationalities, but two rules need attention: the rolling 90-day cap, and the QazETA electronic authorisation that phases in from November 2026.

Visa-free entry

Citizens of around 85 countries — including the United States, the United Kingdom, EU member states, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea — enter visa-free for 30 days per entry. The standard stay is 30 days for most of those countries; a few (EAEU citizens among them) get 90 days, and a handful get 14 or 60 days, so check your own passport's row in the Foreign Ministry table before booking. The headline limit is cumulative: no more than 90 days in any 180-day period for visa-free visitors, and leaving and re-entering does not reset it — Kazakhstan has abolished the old "visa run" practice. If your trip is longer, apply for a visa or an extension through the migration authorities before your permitted stay expires.

Registration within 3 working days

After entering, your arrival must be notified to the migration authorities within 3 working days — by your receiving party: your hotel or host files it, so ask for confirmation at check-in. A short stay does not exempt you, and the notification does not extend your permitted stay.

QazETA — the new electronic travel authorisation

Kazakhstan is introducing an electronic travel authorisation, QazETA, for visa-free visitors, in phases (announced October 2026):

• From 1 November 2026: Aktau airport and four road checkpoints join first; entry is not refused for lacking an authorisation in this phase.
• From 1 January 2027: Astana and Almaty airports join the pilot.
• From 1 March 2027: registration opens at all remaining border checkpoints.
• From 1 July 2027: QazETA becomes mandatory — entry can be refused without it.

Travellers are advised to allow at least three days before travel to obtain it, and to apply with the exact passport they will present at the border. Exemptions include children under 16, travellers over 65, holders of valid Kazakh visas and residence permit holders. For a trip in late 2026, QazETA is worth checking but not yet a barrier; for 2027 travel, treat it as part of booking. Rules change — re-check the government platform before you travel.

Sources, checked 28 October 2026: Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry visa table (April 2026) via the MFA and eGov guidance summaries; Serbian Foreign Ministry Kazakhstan entry page (30 days per entry, 90 in 180, QazETA phases, October 2026 amendments); QazETA rollout reporting (17 October 2026); UK guidance via Caravanistan and TravelerCenter. Passport validity of six months beyond departure is the usual requirement — confirm for your passport.

What it costs

Pricier than Uzbekistan — hotels and tours are the gap

Kazakhstan is not expensive by European standards, but it costs more than Uzbekistan, day to day. All figures below are planning estimates, not quotes.

	Typical cost (October 2026 guides)
Café meal	About $5.60–10 (beshbarmak or plov, 2,500–4,500 tenge)
Mid-range dinner, per person	About $16–33 (7,000–15,000 tenge)
Mid-range hotel, double, per night	About $67–134 (30,000–60,000 tenge)
Mid-range day, all in	About $100–167 per person sharing a double room (45,000–75,000 tenge); backpackers using hostels and public transport can manage on about $40–63
Group day tour, Charyn / Kolsai	About $120–200 for fuller group tours (August 2026 guide figure); basic day-trip listings start lower and private tours cost several times more — check what is included
Taxi across Almaty	About $3.30–7.80 by ride-hailing (1,500–3,500 tenge)
Overnight train, Almaty–Astana sleeper	About $33–90 (15,000–40,000 tenge)

Sources: TravelerCenter Kazakhstan guide, October 2026 (meals, hotel, daily totals, taxi, train, converted at about 448 tenge per US dollar); Atlas Guide, August 2026 (group tour range). Exchange rates move — re-check the tenge rate for your dates, and confirm tour prices for what they include (transport, guide, meals, entry fees) before booking. For the Uzbekistan side of a combined trip, see this site's trip cost calculator and the comparison page.

Getting there from Uzbekistan

A short flight links the two trips

This is the practical reason the two countries pair so well: the connection is a short hop, not a journey in itself.

• Fly Tashkent → Almaty: direct flights take about 1 hour 30–45 minutes, several times daily, with Air Astana, Uzbekistan Airways and Centrum Air (plus Qanot Sharq and SCAT on the route, per October 2026 schedules on KAYAK). The reverse direction runs the same way.
• Fly into one, out of the other: if fares suit you, arrive in Almaty and leave from Tashkent — or the reverse — and skip a return leg entirely.
• Overland crossings exist in the south, around Shymkent–Tashkent, but crossing rules and onward transport change — check before planning an overland leg, and allow extra time at the border.
• Two visa regimes, not one. No single visa covers both countries. Check each country's rules for your passport separately — both are visa-free for 30 days for US, UK and EU passports, but Kazakhstan's 90-in-180 cap and the QazETA phases are its own rules.
• Two currencies, two SIMs. Uzbekistan uses the som (cash-heavy outside big hotels); Kazakhstan uses the tenge, and cards plus the Kaspi Pay QR system work almost everywhere in Almaty — though markets and mountain guesthouses still want cash. Buy a local SIM or eSIM in each country.

A combined 14-day plan — one week in Uzbekistan's Silk Road cities, one week in Almaty and its mountains — is set out on the comparison page.

Practical tips

Money, language, safety and getting around

The details that save a first-timer a day of confusion.

Money

The tenge (KZT) is the only currency. Cards work in Almaty's hotels, restaurants and malls, and Kaspi Pay QR payments are common in the city; carry cash for bazaars, small cafés, mountain guesthouses and rural transport. ATMs are easy in both big cities. About 448 tenge per US dollar in October 2026 (TravelerCenter) — check the current rate before you change money.

Language

Kazakh is the state language and Russian the practical lingua franca: signs, menus and tour information in Russian will carry you further than English outside Almaty's main tourist spots. A few Russian phrases — and the Cyrillic alphabet — go a long way. Young city Kazakhs increasingly speak English, but do not count on it in markets or on buses.

Safety

The US State Department rates Kazakhstan Level 1 — Exercise Normal Precautions (advisory issued 18 August 2026, describing the country as "generally a safe destination for travelers"). Normal city precautions apply: pickpocketing in markets, on buses and around transport hubs, unlicensed taxi overcharging at airports (use ride-hailing or official taxis), and care on winter roads. Mountain weather changes fast — check conditions and carry layers before heading above the city.

Getting around

Within Almaty, the metro and ride-hailing taxis are cheap and easy. Between cities, domestic flights save days: Almaty–Astana is about 12–13 hours by the fastest overnight train, so fly unless you want the sleeper experience. Buy train tickets on the railway's official site or app, or at stations, with your passport. For Charyn, Kolsai and the mountains, group tours are the simplest option for a first trip; independent travel needs a hired car and some Russian.

A first-timer's 7 days in Kazakhstan

Day	Where	What to do
Days 1–2	Almaty	Green Bazaar, Panfilov Park and Zenkov Cathedral, Kok-Tobe for the panorama, and the city's café streets. Sleep in the centre.
Day 3	Almaty mountains	Medeu and Shymbulak by cable car — skiing in season, hiking and views in summer. Evening back in the city.
Day 4	Charyn Canyon	Full-day group tour: the canyon floor walk, then back to Almaty for the night.
Days 5–6	Kolsai & Kaindy	Overnight tour: Kolsai's first lake, Saty village guesthouse, then Kaindy's sunken forest in the morning before returning to Almaty.
Day 7	Astana (or a second Almaty day)	Fly to Astana for Bayterek Tower and Khan Shatyr, then fly home — or, if the north does not tempt you, spend the day at Big Almaty Lake instead and leave Astana for a longer trip.

All facts on this page were checked on 28 October 2026. Prices, visa rules (including QazETA), timetables and safety advice change — re-check the Kazakh government platforms, your government's travel advisory, and current hotel and tour prices before booking. Banner photo: Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan — Wikimedia Commons, CC0, photo by Bgag. Uzbekistan guides: Tashkent · Samarkand · Bukhara · Khiva · Visa guide · 7-day itinerary · Uzbekistan vs Kazakhstan · Hotels · Cost calculator.