Kazakhstan Basic Facts

Kazakhstan covers a vast land mass but is sparsely populated. It is the ninth largest country in the world by land area. There are around 15 million people living there. The official language is Kazakh but Russian remains widely used as a lingua franca for most everyday needs. English is becoming increasingly common in towns and cities. In the rural areas, which are predominantly populated by ethnic Kazakhs, you are less likely to find people with a strong command of Russian, let alone English.

Kazakhstan is not a dirt cheap place – budget accommodation is limited and rooms in average hotels start from around $30.00 per night for a single. Homestays are a better option. You can rent an apartment from $25.00 per night – there are women with small signs saying ‘kvartira’ at main railroad stations who can help with this.

For eating out figure on a minimum of $15.00 for a three-course meal plus a beer. There are plenty of supermarkets and markets for self-catering. Vodka is cheap, around $2.00 a bottle, and good local beers such as Irbis, Derbes, Shymkent or Karagandinskoye cost less than 50 cents in shops and around $2.00 in a bar.

International airlines such as KLM, BA, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines fly to Almaty and Astana as does the national carrier Air Astana. There are no budget airlines so flying can be expensive. There are train connections to Russia and China. For the really adventurous, there is a ferry from Turkmenistan or Azerbaijan.

You will need a visa for Kazakhstan. This needs to be arranged before you come; check with your local Kazakh embassy if you need an invitation. On arrival you will be given a migration card – keep hold of this as you need to give it back when you leave. If you lose it you will end up paying a big fine (or most likely a bribe) to the scary border guards. You also need to register your visa, but this is now done automatically for three months on arrival at the main airports and border crossings.