Tips for travelling to Kazakhstan

The national currency of Kazakhstan is tenge. In all city hotels, restaurants and large supermarkets you can pay with an international bank card, but it is worth having cash to pay for services in small shops, transport or to pay in the mountains or outside the city, where there is no Internet connection. It is better to bring cash in US dollars and exchange them at exchange offices in the city. To do this, you will need your passport (a photo copy is not acceptable). The rate at the airport is slightly less favorable, but this is not critical if you are changing a small amount.

You can use Google Maps, Yandex Maps or the 2gis application.

In Kazakhstan, the socket types are C and F. If your chargers are of a different type, buy an adapter in advance.

Kazakhstan’s time zone is +5. In summer, sunrise in Almaty is at 4:30, sunset at 19:30, in autumn — at 5:30 and 17:30, in winter — at 7:30 and 16:30, in spring — at 5:30 and 18:30. Calculate your travel time taking into account the hour of darkness.

Kazakhstan has two official languages — Kazakh and Russian. Russian is more commonly used in Almaty. English is spoken by service workers working with foreigners. The population, as a rule, does not know English.

You can buy a SIM card with a tariff for travelers at the airport so that you have mobile Internet. Otherwise, you can connect to Wi-Fi at the hotel. The city has a stable 4G Internet connection. There is no Internet connection in the mountains. Outside the city there are areas with and without Internet, depending on the proximity to the settlements.

Often the toilet is marked with the inscription WC (water closet).

The air temperature in Kazakhstan depends on the location. In the mountains it is +20 during the day and +5 at night in summer, -10 during the day and up to -20 at night in winter. In the steppe it can be up to +40 during the day and +10 at night in summer. During the rains in the mountains the temperature drops significantly. If you are planning a trip to different natural zones, for a comfortable temperature regime you need to take different clothes and shoes for the mountains and the steppe.

Kazakh cuisine consists mainly of meat (beef, lamb and horse meat), dough, potatoes and dairy products. Plov is a dish with rice and meat. Lagman is noodles with meat gravy. However, in the city you can find restaurants with different cuisines of the world — fast food, Italian, Georgian, Thai, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, etc. In city restaurants there are options for vegetarians. In addition, you can always buy fruits, vegetables, nuts and dried fruits in stores.

In Kazakhstan, the current religion is Islam, but in its soft version. Believers fast, celebrate Navruz and Kurban Bairam. However, it is rare to see women in hijabs or Muslims praying. You can safely approach women in public places, showing them the customary respect.