Kazakhstan Visit Visa
While Kazakhstan has beautiful steppe and mountain scenery, there are no yurts like in Kyrgyzstan or Mongolia. Kazakhstan has interesting medieval Islamic architecture, but Uzbekistan has more.
Add to that the sheer size of Kazakhstan, few tourism companies and restrictive government policies (it’s getting better): more limiting factors in attracting tourists.
So why still visit Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan appeals to different people in different ways. Chinese travelers enjoy the fresh air (outside of the cities) and the lack of people, while Arabian visitors love how it is so green, and kind of Muslim, but not too much. Snow-white, ice-cold winters attract visitors from tropical countries.
For Westerners, the main selling point are Kazakhstan’s unique landscapes, dripping with freedom. On top of that, singular experiences include the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the Semipalatinsk Atomic Test Site, the landscapes of Mangystau, the balbal of the steppe, glitzy Astana and chaste Altai.
If history and politics are your main interests, Kazakhstan is fascinating as the country with the largest Soviet legacy, due to forced population transfers, massive industrialization and subsequent ghost towns, space launches and atomic bomb tests, gulags and banished Russian intellectuals like Dostoyevski, Solzhenitsyn, Eisenstein and Trotsky.
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Where to go?
We understand that many people want easy, bite-sized advice from a travel guide. Gimme 5 highlights and a 2-week itinerary and let me get on with my life. We get that. But Kazakhstan defies any attempt at pigeonholing; on top of that, most visits are part of an overland itinerary, so it all depends on where you’re coming from and heading towards.
Have a look at our list of 40 great things to do in Kazakhstan to get your creative trip-planning juices flowing.
For the majority of visitors, Almaty region and the southern area around Shymkent are the only things they will see of Kazakhstan. There is nothing wrong with that. Kazakhstan is a very big country: in area, these 2 regions put together are bigger than the whole of Italy or Japan.
Together, they provide a great sample of what Kazakhstan is all about, both culturally, historically and in terms of natural beauty. Since they border Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China, visiting the south and the Almaty region makes a lot of sense in many a overland itinerary.
If you only get to see 1 place: Almaty region has the most attractions and the best infrastructure. 5 national parks offer deserts, steppe, wildlife and high mountains, as well as history stretching back thousands of years, all surrounding Central Asia’s most buzzing city, Almaty.
Off the beaten track
Only those who like to go further off the beaten track (preferably with their own transport or a budget for tours) will want to venture into the other regions of Kazakhstan. If you have a specific interest like history, archaeology, botany or birding, you will also find much to enjoy here.
In the North, Kazakhstan’s brash new capital Astana stands in stark contrast to the modest Altai mountains. Semey surprises with its museums and history, and serves as the gateway to the Semipalatinsk Test Site. Other northern cities like Oskemen, Petropavl, Pavlodar, Ridder and Ekibastuz are trying to acquire a life of their own after being willed into existence by the Soviet state to build up its industrial base.
In the West, the oil towns of Atyrau and Aqtau border the Caspian Sea, but tourists come instead for its hinterland of stark desert landscapes like the Ustyurt plateau, which hides underground mosques like the sanctuary of Beket-Ata. Separated by an enormous expanse of steppeland dubbed by one traveler as “the most boring place on Earth”, in the northwest, visitors to historic Uralsk and boomtown Aqtobe are few and far between.
In the Center, the steppe gets even bigger and more desolate. Remote steppe oddities of niche interest are Kazakhstan’s spiritual heartland at Ulytau, Aralsk and the zombie Aral Sea and space port Baikonur. Main cities are progressive Karaganda and keeper of Kazakh traditions Kyzylorda.
Transport
Trains, planes & buses
Kazakhstan is developing its rail network, and several high-speed trains now connect the major cities. Other trains are still slow, their speed reflected by their low prices.
Flights are more expensive, although low-cost airlines now exist in Kazakhstan: FlyArystan, SCAT and Qazaq Air.
For travelers who have the time, the train is a comfortable and budget-friendly alternative to the airplane. For those who don’t, the airplane is the quickest way to get around Kazakhstan with airfields in all corners of the country.
Rolling through Kazakhstan…
Buses and shared taxis are usually the only way to get to smaller destinations. Less comfortable and more dangerous, we do not recommend taking them for long distances. Like train stations, city bus stations are a good place to store your luggage for the day if you are planning a stop-over.
Within cities, ride-hailing and taxi apps are available.
Self-driving & cycling
Driving Kazakhstan is perhaps the best way to experience this huge country, since many of its attractions are difficult to reach on public transport. It’s the perfect way to experience the freedom of Kazakhstan’s great outdoors. Car rentals have become more affordable in recent years, in case you did not bring your own wheels.
Eagles flying overhead at Lake Markakol, a 7-hour drive from Oskemen
Cycling Kazakstan – there are some nice routes available, especially in the eastern corners, in combination with Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. Cycling in the rest of the country is a real challenge.
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