15. Almaty, Kazakhstan
Why
Almaty, Kazakhstan. Most people don’t know much about this part of the world except that most say its cold and it is. But the culture is worth exploring and so are its people. Who are just as curious about us as we are about them. I found a number of people who wanted to take photos with me. You can see some of those photos below. Although English is not widely spoken and most signs are in the local language, its still worthwhile to visit and explore.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Almaty 2 Station
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Young man handing out fliers
Where
Almaty, Kazakhstan is the second main city in a nation just north of the border with Kyrgyzstan and west of the border with China.
How To Get Here
By Train
There is train service within Kazakhstan. Also, there is train service from Moscow. And service from Europe with a combination of trains. Seat61.com gives great explanation about how to tackle train travel to/from this part of the world.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Almaty 2 Train
By Plane
Almaty has its own airport, the home of Air Astana. The airport is a few miles out of the city and accessible by taxi or pre-arranged transportation.
The following airlines has service to Almaty (ALA):
Aeroflot (SU), Air Arabia (G9), Air Astana (KC), air Baltic, Bek Air (Z9), Belavia Belarusian Airlines (B2), China Southern Airlines (CZ), Hainan Airlines (HU), FlyDubai (FZ), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL), SCAT (DV), Mahan Air (W5), S7 Airlines (S7), Somon Air (SZ), Tajik Air (7J), Turkmenistan Airlines (T5), Ukraine International (PS),Uzbekistan Airways (HY) and Vietnam Airlines (VN).
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Almaty Airport (ALA)
By Bus
There is a combination of trains and a once a week bus service from say London. Check Rome2rio.com for combinations.
By Car
If you are already in the region you can take the drive. Just use a service like Google Maps for directions.
Where To Stay
Many great places to stay in Almaty. Check below for a place to stay.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Almaty Hotel Interior
==>> You can find a list of hotels from TripAdvisor here.
==>> Try Airbnb.
Where To Eat
The main food to eat here is horse meat. It does take about 40 minutes to prepare so ensure you have a bit of extra time if you want to try it.
There are also street food all over the place. I had a good time having some corn on the cob.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Boiled Corn
Burger King is a big thing here.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Burger King
There are also many different kinds of beer as well, so if you are a beer drinker this will definitely work for you.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Russian Beer
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Local Food
==>> You can find a list of restaurants from TripAdvisor here.
What To Do
One great things to do is to ride the Metro and just admire them. They are very beautiful and grand!
Plus if you walk around you can enjoy the city’s architecture.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Architecture
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Meeting locals in the train station
Shopping is actually quite good in Almaty. Lots of malls and bazaars.
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Shopping
==>> Here is a list of things to do from Trip Advisor.
==>> Here is a list of Tours offered by Viator.
Additional Information
