Kazakhstan backpacking itinerary choices with a child

Hi there,

I’m planning a backpacking trip to Kazakhstan with my 8-year-old daughter this summer. She’s used to backpacking trips. I’m brainstorming the sights to see and could really use some advice.

Ideally, I’d like to visit:

8 days in the Almaty region (Charyn, Kolsai, Kaindy, Altyn Emel, etc.) 1 day in Turkestan (mausoleum, caravanserai) (overnight train from Almaty, 16 hours) 1 day in Aktau (overnight train from Turkestan, 35 hours!!) 1 day in Mangystau 1 day in Astana (flight from Aktau) 1 day in Burabay (by train)

The distances are huge, especially between Almaty and Aktau, and Aktau to Astana.

Is the Aktau stop essential, given that the Mangystau desert looks stunning (but the excursion is expensive—300 € for three people), while Aktau itself seems pretty dull (a run-down Soviet city)?

Are Astana and Burabay (which also looks amazing) must-sees?

Is Turkestan worth it if we’ve already seen Uzbekistan and its wonders?

I’m torn between four scenarios:

1. Almaty + train to Astana and return to France from Astana: simple and not too expensive 2. Almaty-Turkestan-Aktau-Astana (train + flight = very expensive!!) 3. Almaty-Aktau-Astana (flights—very, very expensive but fast) 4. Almaty-Turkestan-Aktau and return to France from Aktau, but that means combining two different airlines with two one-way tickets and all the risks that entails...

Right now, only Flyarystan has released tickets for this summer, and the Almaty-Aktau-Astana flights cost nearly 1000 € for three people with luggage (200 € per person round-trip).

For the Almaty region, I could even spend two weeks there—there’s so much to do and see. That’d be a fifth scenario, but I’d really like to take the overnight train and see the capital and the Mangystau desert too.

International flights are operated by Turkish Airlines to Astana and Almaty, but they don’t serve Aktau. Pegasus flies to Aktau but not to Almaty or Astana on the days I’d want.

So, I’m looking for feedback from people who’ve visited Mangystau and Burabay—is it worth investing the time and money in those excursions, or is the Almaty region alone enough for the trip?

Thanks to all the great travel journals I’ve read—they’ve already given me plenty of ideas!

Hello,

It's great to hear that an 8-year-old is used to backpacking trips! :-)

My wife and I spent three weeks in Kazakhstan two years ago.

I can't tell you anything about Aktau and Mangystau since we didn't go there.

I really liked Astana and its modern buildings. We rented a car to go to Burabay. It's very touristy—not uninteresting, but very touristy. And we were unlucky with the weather (late June to early July)—it was very humid.

We enjoyed Turkestan, but you must have been to Khiva and Samarkand—those places are truly grand.

Almaty is a very pleasant city. We took a private tour with just a driver for the canyon and the lakes. It was great, but tourism is growing fast in Kazakhstan.

We flew between Astana and Shymkent, then took taxis and trains to Turkestan and Almaty.

Hello, I'm planning a backpacking trip to Kazakhstan with my 8-year-old daughter this summer. She's used to backpacking trips. I'm brainstorming what to visit and need some advice.

Ideally, I'd like to visit:

8 days in the Almaty region (Charyn, Kolsai, Kaindy, Altyn Emel, etc.) 1 day in Turkestan (mausoleum, caravanserai) (overnight train from Almaty, 16 hours) 1 day in Aktau (overnight train from Turkestan, 35 hours!!) 1 day in Mangystau 1 day in Astana (flight from Aktau) 1 day in Burabay (by train)

The distances are enormous, especially between Almaty and Aktau, and Aktau to Astana.

Is the Aktau stop essential, given that the Mangystau desert looks stunning (but the excursion is expensive—300 € for three people) but Aktau itself seems dull (a run-down Soviet city)?

Are Astana and Burabay (which also looks amazing) must-sees?

Is Turkestan worth it if you've already seen Uzbekistan and its wonders?

I'm torn between four scenarios:

1. Almaty + train to Astana and return to France from Astana: simple and not too expensive 2. Almaty-Turkestan-Aktau-Astana (train + flight = very expensive!!) 3. Almaty-Aktau-Astana (flights—very, very expensive but fast) 4. Almaty-Turkestan-Aktau and return to France from Aktau, but combining two different airlines with two one-way tickets and the risks that entails...

Currently, only FlyArystan has released tickets for this summer, and the Almaty-Aktau-Astana flights cost nearly 1000 € for three people with luggage (200 € per person one-way).

For the Almaty region, I could even stay two weeks since there’s so much to do and see. That would be a fifth scenario, but I’d also like to take the overnight train and see the capital and the Mangystau desert.

International flights are operated by Turkish Airlines to Astana and Almaty, but they don’t serve Aktau. Pegasus flies to Aktau but not to Almaty or Astana on the days I want.

So, I’m looking for feedback from people who’ve visited Mangystau and Burabay to see if it’s worth investing time and money in those excursions or if the Almaty region alone is enough for the trip?

Thanks to the great travel journals I’ve read—they’ve already given me plenty of ideas.

Thanks so much for your reply! I think I’ll stick with my original route that includes everything. I keep telling myself you only live once, and it’d be a shame to skip Aktau and the nearby desert.

True, I’ve noticed some spots are pretty touristy, especially around the capital and Almaty. For Turkestan, I’m not expecting anything super wow—having already seen Bukhara, Khiva, and Samarkand.

Hopefully, we won’t run into the same stomach issues we had in Uzbekistan, especially with my little one :/

Hello, in the end I’m going to stick to Almaty and Astana. We’ll go back to Aktau another time. So, to get to Borovoe from Astana, you chose to drive. Did you rent by the day? Which rental company did you use? I think I’ll do the same.

Hi there,

Kazakhstan is a very modern country—Yandex taxis, tons of airline routes, card payments, and electric Chinese cars. If you want to avoid the typical tourist trail, I’d suggest Astana, Karaganda, Shymkent, or even Petropavl or Pavlodar... To the north, it’s a bit like Russia, and to the south, almost like Turkey. Almaty is a more complicated city and can be extremely polluted.

Michel