Kazakhstan travel guide: entry, money and routes

How many days: Almaty, the lakes, Astana or Turkestan

Start with what you want to see. Almaty is the base for most trips: a daily night train and four airlines link it to Tashkent, and the mountains rise along the city's southern edge. Give the city and the mountains three days, and add two for Charyn Canyon and the Kolsai and Kaindy lakes, with a night in the village of Saty. Astana and Turkestan are separate trips that do not fit into the same three days.

Astana is the capital, a city of new architecture on the northern steppe, 1 h 40 min to 1 h 55 min from Almaty by air or about 16 h 40 min by the evening Talgo. One full day covers its monuments and the National Museum, and a second lets you slow down. There are no mountains nearby and January averages about −15 °C, so it suits a summer trip or a business visit more than a first look at Kazakhstan.

Turkestan continues the Timurid story of an Uzbekistan trip. The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi was built on Timur's orders between 1389 and 1405, and UNESCO calls it a prototype for later buildings in Samarkand. Direct night trains leave Tashkent Central at 00:32 three times a week and reach Turkestan at 09:05. On a Wednesday you can go and come back without a hotel: 10 h 42 min in the town, and back in Tashkent at 04:55 on Thursday.

Ten days joins the two countries in one direction: Tashkent, Bukhara and Samarkand by fast train, a night train to Turkestan, another to Almaty and a flight home. The day-by-day plan is in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in 10 days below.

For a first visit we suggest five days in September: three in Almaty and two for Charyn and the lakes, when Almaty has its driest month and the lifts and lakes are open. With only a long weekend in Tashkent, take the Talgo at 14:41 on Thursday, spend Friday to Sunday in Almaty, and ride the 19:05 back on Sunday, reaching Tashkent at 12:58 on Monday.

Entry: visa-free stays, QazETA and registration

Most travellers need only a passport. The foreign ministry's visa table, updated on 21 August 2026, gives US, UK, Canadian, Australian and all EU passports 30 days per entry and no more than 90 days in any 180. Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan's partners in the Eurasian Economic Union, get 90 days, as do Uzbek and Tajik passports. Indian citizens get 14 days.

The 90 days add up across visits. At every entry the border officer counts the days you spent in Kazakhstan in the previous 180 and refuses entry if the allowance is used up. A trip to Bishkek and back starts a new 30 days, not a new 90. On a loop from Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan and back through Kazakhstan, both Kazakh stays count, and so does a night on the Tashkent–Bishkek bus through Kazakhstan. Count the day you arrive and the day you leave as full days.

QazETA, the electronic travel authorisation for visa-free visitors, is not required yet. On 6 September 2026 the Interior Ministry called it a pilot: voluntary, free and no reason to refuse entry. Law No. 326-VIII provides for the permit and for a fee, but the government has not named the countries, the fee or a start date; on 16 September the foreign ministry's spokesman said the procedure would be set by the end of 2026 or early 2027. The dates quoted in the press, from 1 November for airports to 15 December for rail, came from a Serbian government notice that no longer lists them.

Adults on a visa-free passport should apply anyway. It is free during the pilot: you apply in the QazETA app at least 72 hours before travel, and the approval lasts 180 days. The official platform's own checker already answers 'Entry permit required' for adult UK and US passports, against what the ministries say, and an approval on your phone settles the question at check-in.

Registration is your host's job. Under paragraph 9 of Rules No. 148, whoever houses you notifies the police within 3 working days of your arrival: hotels do it through the state eQonaq system, and landlords and friends must do it too. The penalty for a late notice falls on the host, but you are the one without proof at a check, so in a rented flat agree in writing who files it and keep the confirmation until you leave.

Stays longer than 30 days need a visa arranged before you travel; the Kazakh embassy in London lists a 30-day tourist visa without an invitation for citizens of 48 countries, the UK among them. Overstaying up to 3 days brings a warning, 3 to 5 days a fine of 10 MRP (43,250 ₸, about $98), 5 to 10 days 15 MRP (64,875 ₸) and more than 10 days 25 MRP (108,125 ₸) or expulsion. If your passport is not visa-free, the e-visa needs an invitation registered by a host in Kazakhstan, works only for entry and exit through international airports and is not issued to foreigners travelling with children.

Plan on a passport valid for six months, as Germany's foreign office and the QazETA platform ask. A child travelling without their parents should carry a notarised consent translated into Russian or Kazakh, Germany's foreign office advises. Transit passengers who stay airside are exempt from QazETA.

From Uzbekistan you cross by train or on foot. The daily Talgo from Tashkent Central carries you through the border. On the road, use the Navoi (Uzbek) and Kaplanbek (Kazakh) posts: the old main crossing, Gisht Kuprik / Zhibek Zholy, has been closed for rebuilding since 5 February 2025, and on 27 September 2026 we found no report of its opening. In the west, the Tazhen road post has been closed to people since 1 February 2025, so from Karakalpakstan the way in is the train through Beyneu; see our Nukus guide. From Bishkek, the Korday post is open 24 hours.

Money and costs: the tenge, cards and typical prices

Kazakhstan pays in tenge (₸, KZT). The National Bank's official rate on 27 September 2026 was US$1 = 441.88 ₸ and €1 = 503.61 ₸; 100 Uzbek som were worth 3.74 ₸, so 1,000 ₸ is about 26,700 som. The dollar figures on this page use that rate; your card and the exchange booths apply their own.

Cards work in the cities. Visit Astana, the capital's tourist office, lists Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay, ATMs in every district and contactless payment, Apple Pay and Google Pay included, in many cafés and shops, and the Almaty metro's ticket offices take all three card systems. Russian Mir cards work only at the ATMs and cash desks of VTB (Kazakhstan) and at Mir terminals, the bank says. Carry tenge in cash for bazaars, guesthouses in Saty and national-park gates.

Change money only at banks or licensed exchange offices, which ask for your passport. They refuse damaged or marked notes and US dollars printed before 2013, the UK Foreign Office warns, so bring clean, recent notes and use ATMs inside banks where you can. At the border, cash above the equivalent of US$10,000 must be declared in writing, and above US$100,000 you also need papers showing where the money came from, according to the State Revenue Committee.

Hotels are the main cost; transport and sights are cheap. The Bureau of National Statistics recorded an average of 35,821 ₸ (about $81) for a day in an Almaty hotel in August 2026, the highest of 20 cities and about 70% above Astana's 20,982 ₸. The table does not say whether that is per room or per person, so use it to plan and replace it with a quote for your dates. Almaty charges foreigners no tourist fee: the city council set it at 0% of the cost of the stay.

State museums charge foreigners more: 5,000 ₸ at the National Central Museum, 3.3 times the resident price. Lifts and parks cost the same for everyone: the Shymbulak lifts from Medeu to 3,200 m and back cost 12,000 ₸, and the Charyn and Kolsai national parks charge 865 ₸ per person per day plus 3,027.5 ₸ per car.

Our worked week for one person, with three nights in Almaty, the night Talgo to Astana in a four-berth compartment and two nights in Astana, comes to about 256,000–277,000 ₸ ($579–626) at the August hotel averages, before international flights and tours: 36,500–39,500 ₸ a day. Two people sharing a room pay about 181,000–202,000 ₸ each. Hotels make up 58% of the solo total, so the room you choose moves the budget more than anything else.

When to go: September for the city and the mountains

September suits almost every plan. Almaty averages 17.3 °C with 28 mm of rain, its driest month in Kazhydromet's 1991–2020 norms; the Shymbulak lifts run until 18 October 2026, and the Kolsai and Kaindy lakes are still in season. In Uzbekistan the heat breaks in the second half of the month, when Uzhydromet gives 26–29 °C by day, so plan a two-country trip for the second half of September, or for May. Avoid July and August for it: Bukhara reached 46.9 °C and Samarkand 43.6 °C in July 2026.

June to August is the season for the Kolsai and Kaindy lakes and for walks from the top of the lifts. It is also mudflow season: Almaty's emergency department says it usually runs from mid-June to the end of September, and in July 2026 it advised against mountain trips after a mudflow threat. Keep one city day in reserve, so that a warning moves your lake day instead of cancelling it. The south is hot: Shymkent averages 26.5 °C in July and has reached 47.2 °C, and model averages put Turkestan's July afternoons at about 35 °C.

Spring suits Almaty, Shymkent and Charyn Canyon, whose floor is hot in summer. April and May are Almaty's wettest months, with 211 mm between them. Skiing at Shymbulak went on into April in 2026, with passes 30% cheaper from 2 April.

From mid-October the mountains close in stages. Shymbulak's open chairlift stops on 12 October, and the gondola and the two upper lifts close for maintenance from 19 October to 1 November 2026. The road from Medeu to Shymbulak is closed to private cars until 30 November 2026, so visitors ride the gondola or walk up the Student Trail. November falls between the seasons.

Winter is for skiing or an Almaty city break. Last season Shymbulak opened on 26 November 2025 and charged its highest prices from 25 December to 11 January; the 2026–27 dates and prices were not published on 24 September. The Medeu ice rink is closed for rebuilding until the fourth quarter of 2027. Astana averages about −15 °C in January, and Canada's travel advice warns of cold below −30 °C. From November to March, coal heating brings smog to Almaty and Astana.

Book trains and mountain rooms early for the public holidays: New Year on 1–2 January, Nauryz on 21–23 March, the 1, 7 and 9 May holidays, Capital Day on 6 July, Republic Day on 25 October and Independence Day on 16 December. From 2027, Constitution Day moves from 30 August to 15 March.

What to see: Almaty, Shymbulak, the lakes, Turkestan and Astana

Almaty is the base, with a walkable centre and the mountains along its southern edge. Give the city two or three days: Panfilov Park with the wooden Ascension Cathedral, the Green Bazaar, the National Central Museum (5,000 ₸ for foreigners, closed on Tuesdays) and the Kok-Tobe cable car (6,000 ₸ one way). The metro costs 120 ₸ a ride. Big Almaty Lake is now reached on foot only: private cars, motorbikes and e-scooters are banned on its road.

Shymbulak and Medeu are above the city. A gondola climbs from Medeu, at 1,691 m, to the Shymbulak resort, and two more lifts continue to 3,200 m; the return ticket costs 12,000 ₸. Buses 12 and 21 run to Medeu every 30 minutes from 07:00 to 20:00. In winter it is a ski resort: last season's full-day pass cost 15,500 ₸ in December and 26,000 ₸ at New Year.

Charyn Canyon and the Kolsai and Kaindy lakes lie 210–280 km east of Almaty. Take two days with a night in Saty: the Valley of Castles trail at Charyn on the way out, then Kaindy's drowned spruce forest and the lower Kolsai lake the next day. A one-day group tour exists, but it lasts about 15 hours. A new asphalt road to Kaindy was due in August 2026; no opening had been reported by 24 September, so plan on a local 4x4 for the last 8.5 km.

Turkestan and Shymkent are the south. The Yasawi mausoleum, inscribed by UNESCO in 2003, rises 38.7 m under the largest dome in Central Asia; the ticket for foreign visitors costs 2,000 ₸ and also covers the Kyluet underground mosque and the old bath house. Shymkent, on the Talgo line from Tashkent, works as a night stop between trains.

Astana is the capital, 1 h 40 min to 1 h 55 min from Almaty by air. The light rail runs from the airport to Nurly Zhol station in about 40 minutes for 200 ₸. Going up Baiterek costs 2,500 ₸, and the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation 2,000 ₸. Go between late May and mid-September: January highs average about −10 °C.

Getting around: trains, flights, buses and city transport

Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) runs Talgo trains between the main cities, and most long legs are overnight. Tickets go on sale 45 days ahead at 07:00 Astana time, the same clock as Tashkent, on bilet.railways.kz or at station ticket offices. The site takes Visa and Mastercard through Halyk Bank; its rules say nothing about cards issued abroad, so bring a second card. Print the e-ticket for the attendant. You can return it in your account up to 1 hour before the train leaves its first station, for a fee of about 430 ₸.

Check the station on your ticket. In Almaty every Talgo uses Almaty-2, because KTZ suspended boarding at Almaty-1 from 15 July 2026 for rebuilding. Astana has two stations: the daily Talgos from Almaty arrive at Nurly Zhol, the end of the airport light-rail line, and the other trains at Astana-1.

Between Almaty and Astana, fly unless you want a night on the train. Air Astana, SCAT, FlyArystan and Qazaq Air are scheduled at 1 h 40 min to 1 h 55 min, from 13,229 ₸ on an aggregator's board. The evening Talgos 003 and 009 leave Almaty-2 at 16:04 and 16:57 and arrive at 08:45 and 09:36; a berth in a four-berth compartment, from 21,554 ₸, replaces a hotel night.

To Bishkek there is no train. Bus 701 leaves Almaty's Sayran bus station at 08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 18:00 for 3,425 ₸ and takes about 4 hours for 236 km; you walk through the Korday and Ak-Zhol posts with your bags while the bus crosses empty. Bishkek is one hour ahead.

From Tashkent, the Talgo leaves daily at 14:41 and reaches Almaty-2 at 08:51, and flights take about 1 h 30 min on Air Astana, Uzbekistan Airways, Centrum Air and Qanot Sharq. From Moscow, Aeroflot and SCAT fly to Almaty in 4 h 10 min or more, and Aeroflot, SCAT and Red Wings to Astana in 3 h 10 min to 3 h 40 min.

In the cities, Almaty's metro has 11 stations and runs from 06:20 to 00:00, and its buses take the Onay card sold at the airport. Order taxis through Yandex Go or another app rather than flagging a car down, as the UK Foreign Office advises. Astana's light rail runs from 06:00 to 23:00.

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in 10 days: Tashkent to Almaty

Ten days is enough for Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand, Turkestan and Almaty if you travel one way and sleep on two trains. Fly into Tashkent and home from Almaty: you cross the border once, so a single-entry Uzbek e-visa is enough for travellers who need one. Five nights are in Uzbekistan, two on trains and two in Almaty.

Two trains set the calendar. The night train to Turkestan, No. 305 to Moscow or No. 315 to Kazan, leaves Tashkent Central at 00:32, and the ticket carries that date: Wednesday or Friday for 305, Saturday for 315. You board late on the evening before, at the end of day 6, so day 1 must be a Thursday, Saturday or Sunday. For 14 October 2026 KTZ sold open berths from 11,925 ₸ and compartment berths from 16,914 ₸. From Turkestan, Talgo 028 leaves at 20:11 every other day and reaches Almaty-2 at 11:09, from 15,084 ₸ in a compartment; on the other days train 078 leaves at 20:57 and arrives at 16:02, from 10,282 ₸.

In Turkestan you have the day from 09:05 until the evening train, with your luggage. The mausoleum is about 7 km from the station, so take a taxi, and plan the visit between 09:00 and 18:00, when every published schedule has it open. Bags go into lockers at the entrance and bulky luggage is not allowed near the museum; we found no left-luggage office at the station, so travel with a small bag or book a room for the day.

Skipping Turkestan is simpler. The daily Talgo leaves Tashkent Central at 14:41 and reaches Almaty-2 at 08:51, so day 7 becomes a day in Tashkent, any day of the week works and you spend one night on board instead of two. For 14 October 2026 KTZ sold seats from 10,225 ₸ and compartment berths from 21,247 ₸. Going the other way is harder to line up: Talgo 027 leaves Almaty-2 at 20:10 and reaches Turkestan at 10:28, and trains 306 and 316 continue to Tashkent at 19:47 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, so plan a night in Turkestan.

With a Kazakh e-visa, fly from Tashkent to Almaty instead, because e-visas are valid only at international airports. For the Uzbek half, see Bukhara, Samarkand and Afrosiyob tickets. With two more days, start in Khiva; with three weeks, continue from Almaty to Karakol and Bishkek as in Central Asia in 3 weeks. Oxusroad arranges the Uzbek half of this route, up to the night train at Tashkent Central, and advises on the Kazakh half.

1. 1

   Flights first

   Book an open-jaw ticket: into Tashkent, home from Almaty.

2. 2

   Uzbek trains at 60 days

   Sales open at 10:00 Tashkent time. On 24 September the Afrosiyob seats for a sample week in mid-October were already sold out.

3. 3

   Kazakh trains at 45 days

   The night train to Turkestan and the train to Almaty go on sale at 07:00.

4. 4

   Hotels last

   Book rooms around the train times once the tickets are in hand.

What catches travellers out

• QazETA mixed messages. The ministries call it voluntary, while the official platform's checker answers 'required' for adult UK and US passports. It is free during the pilot, so apply at least 72 hours before you fly or cross.
• The 90-in-180 count. Every Kazakh stay on a loop with Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan adds up, and the officer does the sum at the border, when it is too late to change plans.
• Closed crossings and e-visas. Gisht Kuprik / Zhibek Zholy is still closed, so cross at Navoi–Kaplanbek; Tazhen in the west is closed to people. A Kazakh e-visa is valid only at international airports.
• The wrong station. KTZ still sells some trains to Almaty-1, where boarding stopped on 15 July 2026; book to Almaty-2. In Astana, check whether the ticket says Nurly Zhol or Astana-1.
• Mountain closures. Mudflow season runs from mid-June to September, the Shymbulak lifts close from 19 October to 1 November 2026, the road above Medeu is shut to private cars until 30 November, and Big Almaty Lake is a walk, not a drive.
• Vapes and copies. Bringing in a vape, even one for your own use, has been banned since 20 June 2024 and can mean up to 2 years in prison. Carry your original passport: police do not accept copies.

Common questions