edit Kazakhstan Travel Guide

Kazakhstan is by far the largest of the states of Central Asia of the former USSR. It has borders with Russia, China, and the Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It is the world's ninth biggest country by size, and is more than twice the size of the other Central Asian states combined. Its lack of significant historical sites and endless featureless steppe have put many off Kazakhstan, but many are captivated by the emptiness and mystery of this goliath state. It will be many travellers' first port of call on their Central Asian adventure, and there is much for the intrepid traveller to enjoy.

edit Highlights

edit Getting Here

By plane

By train

By car

By bus

By boat

edit History

edit Government

edit Money

edit Geography

edit Weather And Climate

edit Culture

edit Food

edit Accommodations

edit Education

edit Work

Not impossible to find. English teaching schools are sprouting up all over. The English department at KIMEP might be a good place to start, depending on credentials and experience of course.

edit Communications

edit Health And Safety

Police

Fire Department

Hospitals

Crime

Smoking

edit Getting Around

Public transportation in big cities is rather popular. You can use buses, trolleys, trams and minibuses. One big minus of all of them is that they never come on schedule and very crowded on peak time. Use taxis as they are very cheap (1-4 euros within city). You don't have to use official taxis, basically you can stop almost any car on the street by raising your hand. Official taxis cost 3-5 times more.

You can travel within country using taxis, buses, trains and planes, it depends on your budget and demands. Renting a car is rather costly compared to other means of transport.

In Semipalatinsk (Semey) a minivan cost 30 tenge, and a large bus cost 15 tenge, common taxi fare was 150 tenge (at the time, June of 2005, USD1 was approximately 120-130 tenge).

A note of warning, getting to the Almaty airport can be expensive, a taxi to the Airport can cost USD50. Taxis to the airport vary greatly in price. Any foreigner will be quoted a fantastic rate but usually cabs will come down once they see they aren't going to be able to get that much. USD50 is outlandish. Do not accept the first price as it will result in your being overcharged. It should be less than USD10, although it can never be guaranteed that a foreigner will get that price. A better option are the minibuses and buses that go to the airport. The word "airport" is very similar in Russian and English.

A common way to get around is by unofficial taxis. Any time of day, just wave your hand and someone will stop. Locals do this all the time. Negotiate the price and destination before you agree to go. About $2-$4 is fair for a ride within the center of Almaty. To be safe though, do not get in a car if more than one person is driving. Also, do not take these kind of taxis for long distances or anywhere that goes through remote areas, as there are frequent robberies- especially of foreigners.

A fun and cheap way to get around is by taking a marshrutka. These are the dilapidated vans that cruise around town. They usually have a sign (in Russian) listing the destination, and the driver will usually call out where they are going.