Travel and transport agencies Kazakhstan

The premises of Tsar Voyages in Moscow are very central and very pleasant. In this friendly little beehive, whatever your request, you will find a French-speaking, competent and available interlocutor. You can organize an à la carte tour with your advisor, register for a group excursion, buy your train tickets or book your tickets for shows. Note that the Tsar Voyages team is also the one that proposes the excursions on the website www.tsarvisit.com

Specialists in customized, cultural and thematic trips to Russia, Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia... Alain and Loussine and their team will make you forget the usual paperwork to prepare your trips. Their tours are tailor-made to meet everyone's cultural wishes and to adapt to the budget you wish to plan for your trip. A guide and a private driver will also facilitate your travels.

The agency designs its own tours throughout Uzbekistan and Central Asia. Marakanda has a strong offering of thematic tours, including botanical tours, birding trips and agrotourism. Another area of expertise is ecotourism and active travel, ranging from easy hiking to long-distance trekking, from bicycle and horseback riding to motorcycle, 4x4 and Aral Sea tours.

Marakanda wishes to promote sustainable tourism and solidarity by staying in authentic villages.

Samsara Voyages wants to return to a smaller structure, closer to its customers. Specialist in small group and tailor-made tours, Denis and the whole team offer a range of tours: camp safaris, comfort or luxury safaris in charming lodges, with solutions adapted to all budgets, whether in Africa (Southern, East or North Africa), Asia (Central and South-East Asia), the Middle East (Turkey, Uzbekistan, Iran, Yemen, Kyrgyzstan) or Latin America (Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Panamá).

By choosing Clio, you are opting for an original and enriching travel concept. The success of Clio trips is based on three principles. We propose an itinerary to help you discover the different facets of a country, a town or a region. We provide you with the information you need to better appreciate its history and heritage during a trip to an exhibition or a music festival. And we put you in a small group of people united by their common taste for cultural discovery.

Two railway stations serve Almaty. Most long distance trains, including international ones (to China or Russia), stop at Almaty I, 9 km north of the city centre, at the end of Seyfullin Street. But the majority of trains have for terminus and departure point Almaty II station, closer to the city centre, at the north end of Abilay Khan Street.

International trains make it possible to travel to Moscow (a train every two days, 3 days driving time) and Urumqi (two to three «Genghis Khan» trains per week, counting 28 hours of journey, 10 hours at the border for the change of wheel trains). It is also here that trains go to Tashkent.

National trains serve virtually every city in the country, but the journey times are always extremely long and often make the bus more convenient. Take 36 hours to reach Oskemen (Kamenogorsk-Kamenogorsk), 15 hours for Tchymkent, 22 hours for Kyzyl-Orda, 16 hours for Turkestan and 20 hours for Astana. The compartments are divided into first and second class, with the last category of spaces in six sleeping areas.

The fast train Talgo linking Almaty to Astana covers the distance not at the speed of the TGV but with 7 hours less than the usual trains and offers a much superior comfort (restaurant and bar, air conditioning, different compartments of compartments). Talgo trains make the connection five times a week, with only one stop (but not always) in Karaganda. Departures from Almaty in the evening.

Tickets for the Almaty II train station are open 24 hours a day for the purchase of tickets.

This company includes a hotel (the Caravan Saray, near the Bibi Khanum Mosque) and a travel agency. Note: Ravshan Turakulov (who speaks French), the manager of this company, is also the representative of the WTO, the World Tourism Organisation, on this part of the Silk Road. Every year, he welcomes French trainees from tourism schools who have the opportunity to immerse themselves for several months in Uzbek culture and the Russian language.

This tour operator organizes immersion trips in small groups of 4 to 8 participants. Nature, Culture and Encounters are the keywords of the trips offered in 80 destinations far away from our western culture. In collaboration with local partners, Explorator offers several formulas (Discovery, Family, Tailor-made...). As culture passersby, the best guides will share with you their immersion in local life, encouraging spontaneous encounters with the locals. Trips that adapt to all desires.

Specializing in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Amslav offers packages (hotel, apartment rental) and beach holidays to several countries in these geographical zones. You can discover the Silk Road in Uzbekistan on an exceptional train, explore the vastness of Georgia or Kazakhstan, discover the treasures of Armenia or explore the countries of the former Yugoslavia via Serbia, Albania and a combination with Montenegro and Slovenia.

This association helps fishermen who are gradually returning to work on the Aral Sea. It also has a network of young English-speaking people who act as guides in the region in summer. The organization is efficient, even at a moment's notice, and offers 4x4 vehicles with drivers for venturing into the territory of the former Aral Sea, right up to the most remote corners, and even as far as the Zhamanshin crater. The drivers are reliable, but a quick inspection of the vehicle won't go amiss.

Located close to the city center, the railway station offers trains to Kyzyl-Orda (then Turkestan and Almaty, with a change at Kyzyl-Orda) to the east, and to towns on the Caspian Sea and in the north-west of the country. To save time, you can also fly to Kyzyl-Orda before taking an overnight train. It's best to buy your tickets in advance.

The bus station is just opposite the railway station. Regular buses to Turkestan (15h drive).

A large agency specialized in climbing and hiking. Héliski, snowboard, mountain bike, altitude trekking, on foot or on horseback… Numerous à la carte expeditions: Khan Tengri features (24 days) but also the peak of Victory (29 days) as well as other summits in Central Asia. All programmes for Kazakhstan can be accompanied by a programme in Uzbekistan, where the tour operator has many contacts.

This is the local branch of the UNDP-supported ecotourism association. Homestays, trekking, horse rental, guides... It was the first to open its doors in Central Asia, and has acquired considerable experience in the field. Its services ensure a trip that is relaxing in its organization, attractive and lively in its discovery. The association can organize many things in the country, but often at rather high prices.

Terre Voyages is a benchmark tour operator for off-the-beaten-track tours. Dedicated to tailor-made tours, this tour operator invites you to experience adventure and wonder, while respecting the environment, local people and their culture.

This agency started out in tourism by offering guided tours in Almaty. It now has a second branch in Astana and has expanded its activities to cover the whole country. Almaty City tour and will be able to offer you great discoveries on classic tours as well as trekking or biking escapades. Particularly useful if you're planning some of the more difficult-to-organize stages, such as Baikonur or the Altai Mountains. A fleet of vehicles is available to meet the needs of individuals and groups of all sizes.

A local agency that organizes a wide range of trips, including themed tours such as birdwatching, culture, trekking... We can help you get to the Altai Mountains or more remote parts of the country, either as part of a tailor-made tour, or by following our two classic 8- or 13-day tours offering a complete panorama of Kazakhstan. Tour Asie also operates in the other four Central Asian republics, where it has numerous partners, notably in the Pamir mountains and around Lenin Peak.

Semey station is located just north of the city center. Semey is served by at least two daily departures to Almaty (usually in the morning). Connections to Astana are less frequent, but a train runs at least every 2 or 3 days. Please note that it is possible to take the train to Ust-Kamenogorsk (Öskemen), but the line passes through Russia and you'll need a Russian visa and a Kazakh double-entry card to make the journey.

Semey is linked mainly to Astana via Pavlodar to the west and Ust-Kamegogork (Öskemen) to the east. Even buses to Karaganda, to the south-west, avoid Kurchatov and pass through Pavlodar before heading back down.

Connections to Astana every day: several buses between 8am and 6pm. Cost 6,000 KZT and 15 hours' travel time.

Connections to Ust-Kamenogorsk (Öskemen) 5 to 6 buses/day. (2,500 KZT, 4 to 5 hours' travel time).

Connections to Karaganda: 2 busses/d. (4,500 KZT, 15 hours).

From Aktau, ferries run daily to Atyrau on the northern Caspian Sea, as well as Baku in Azerbaijan and Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan. For these last two routes, you'll need to ask locally for departure dates, which are highly irregular and often depend on load factors. It takes around twenty hours to cross the Caspian to Baku, and the plane is clearly preferable in terms of price, comfort and speed.

The railway station is located 12 km east of the city center, in Mangyshlak. The best way to get there quickly is by cab from the city center. Aktau can be reached by train from Beyneu, a railway junction where the tracks divide towards Atyrau to the north or Nukus and Uzbekistan to the south. This station is often crowded, and you'll have to elbow your way to buy tickets if you haven't had the foresight to do so in advance. It takes almost two days to reach Almaty.