ALMATY TRAVEL TIPS

 Congratulations if this is your first time planning a trip 🎒without hefty tour package fees! 💵 Here, I’m sharing our budget travel experiences in Almaty.🇰🇿 

The great news is that Kazakhstan is a visa-free country for Indians,🇮🇳 so you can easily travel from India ✈️ or anywhere else. If you're renewing your loved ones' UAE 🇦🇪 visa, consider a refreshing trip to Almaty—it won’t cost much!💰 As for safety, there are more iPhone 📱 users here than in Dubai (most bought on credit card 💳 EMIs), so valuables are generally safe.

I’ve mentioned two highly-rated group tour operators👮🏻‍♀️ in the description; You can pay them one day before while reaching Almaty also. They have different payment options. We have choosed Banana Tours. You will get the Itinerary of different packages in their whatsapp catalog, the link is in their Instagram bio. feel free to message✉️ me for more recommendations!

To simplify the itinerary, I’ve divided it into sections. Let’s go!

1. PLANNING YOUR JOURNEY. 📈 

  The first step is to find the best deal on flight ticket. WIZZ air ✈️is the best option for UAE residents. (From Ibn Battutta mall, you will get direct bus 🚌 to AUH airport or you can keep your car 🚗 with any of your friend👬 in Abu Dhabi as we did). Or you can opt for Air Arabia. From India, Indigo and Air India is the affordable ones. You have two options on planning the Local Tour Package also: 

 Option 1: Reaching Almaty 🛬 on Thursday. The tour operators in Almaty offer their tour starting on Friday early morning 🌅 and ending on Sunday evening. 🌇 So plan as you will reach Almaty on Thursday so you can explore the city a little.

The Three Day tour is called Almaty Vibe😎 and costs you 40000KZT/ 300AED/ 6900INR.

Option 2: Reaching Almaty on Friday. Don’t worry if you can reach Friday only, You can go to the Day 1 places by your own (Shymbulak Ski ⛷️ Resort, Medeu, Almaty🐒Zoo, Kok tobe) using the easy public transport🚌 and later in the Friday evening you can join them. (The two day tour is called Boom tour💥 and costs you 26000KZT/ 200AED/ 4500INR. Atleast Friday morning you should reach almaty so you have enough time to explore🗺️these places by your own and join the tour by evening 9pm. How to explore the Day1 places? That I will explain soon. 

Don’t forget to keep Monday for City tour. If you need to Join back to work💻on Monday, Plan to come on Wednesday as you will not miss wandering through the city. 🏙️ Keep in mind the tour will end by Sunday evening only. So you can catch the Sunday late night flights back to UAE or India.

2. FINDING THE ACCOMODATION:🏩

During the tour Friday and Saturday night you will be staying at a Homestay🏡 running by local Kazakh people. It is decent and a sharing room, 🛌but you have option for separate room at an extra cost if you are a couple 👩‍❤️‍👨.

About Thursday and sunday nights if you are coming early or going back on Monday after the city tour, opt for a hostel stay if your are comfortable. You can opt for pay at the property. 

https://www.hostelz.com/hostels/Kazakhstan/Almaty

If you are couple or looking for a Hotel stay, we were staying ar 224 Hotel 🏨 in the city which was budget friendly and near to Sairan metro 🚈 station which was closer to the Tour Collection point:

https://www.booking.com/Share-BU9Uequ

3. CURRENCY, SIM CARD: 

  It is advisable to convert your currency to USD 💵 and come to Almaty for best exchange rates. Even AED is also accepted in the exchange houses inside the Almaty airport.🛃 Either you can convert the entire money into KZT or half you can convert from city for better rates. 

There is small counters for Currency exchange and Sim cards inside the Almaty airport itself after the baggage collection better to buy SIM card of such mobile network giants as Kcell or Beeline. 🛜Kcell is Cheaper, bt Beeline has more coverage. Keep in mind you may not find mobile network in some remote areas with Kcell, bt we also opted for Kcell only. 

4. APPS

The Top 4 Applications you should install is:

📲 2GIS: Which is best than Google maps in Kazakhstan. Easy to find bus routes and Bus timings also. You can download the city offline.

📲 Google Translate / Apple Translate: Luckily 90% of the people you meet in Almaty wont speak English. So you need a translator app. Dont worry about the Language. We were communicating through sign language also! 

📲 Yandex Go: The best alternative of Uber. You will get taxis at cheaper rates from anywhere. Best to travel from Airport to your hotel (3000-3500KZT) and even for city rides(1000-1500KZT) if you are not comfortable with public transport(100-200KZT).

No need to worry about getting lost outside the airport, Do your currency conversion, you can take a simcard from Airport, register on Yandex, book a taxi, identify the taxi with the plate number on the app. It wont be difficult as the Airport puckup area is not so busy.

📲 Glove: If you are starving and lazy to go out, order food through this app. Bt eating out is cheaper

5. FOOD:🥘 

  There are alot of food stalls across the city which mostly serves burgers 🍔 and sandwiches. 🥪 Its affordable too. The food giants like 🍗KFC or Pizza Hut🍕are also available in the City. Make sure to try their local foods also. Here is a list of cheap eateries in Almaty city which you can save on 2GIS app also:

https://wanderlog.com/list/geoCategory/20487/best-cheap-eats-in-almaty

During the tour package, Saturday Breakfast- Lunch-Dinner, Sunday breakfast is included at the homestay in Saty Village. Keep in mind you cannot eat outside during this time as there is no restaurants available in the village.

6. EXPLORING THE CITY:

🚌Buses are Highly recommended and cheap! Purchase an Onay Card for cashless travel on buses and the metro 🚈 . If you dont have the card, dont worry. Get on the bus and give 200KZT per person to the driver. No matter how far is the distance. If you can walk🚶🏻‍➡️, plan and mark the city places on map for a walking tour of Almaty city.

📲Use apps like 2GIS or Bus for route planning.

Make sure to keep one full day to explore these places: https://traveltriangle.com/blog/things-to-do-in-almaty/

7. EXPLORING DAY1 PLACES YOUR OWN:

Don’t worry if you cannot join them. Its our own experience as we missed the Bus on Day 1 Friday morning and was advised by the Tour operators to join them in the evening. So first we took the public transport bus to Medeu. (check the bus stop and timings on 2GIS app)

From Medeu, take the 25 mins long cable car🚠 to Shymbulak ski resort🎿. The ride was just Wow! Experience the breathtaking views and come back to Medeu. From there take the bus back to city to Visit the Almaty🐼 zoo. From there, another bus to Kok tobe. Climbing up the Kok🗼tobe hill, you need to take the Cable car again bt its another experience to have the city view. Keep in mind to leave back early to be at the pickup point by 9pm. 

8. BONUS:

If you have extra to pay and an extra day to stay, Get yourself lost in the nature at the tree 🌲 houses of Oi Qaragai mountain resort. It will be your best memory in almaty for sure:

https://www.booking.com/Share-aVjwBC

Hope I have share the best tips here, Bt feel free to ask if you have any other quiries. I will try to answer ASAP. Please share the reel with your loved ones. Happy travelling! 😊