Social ConventionsKazakhs are very hospitable. When greeting a guest, the host gives him/her both hands as if showing that he/she is unarmed. When addressing a guest or elder, a Kazakh may address him/her with a shortened form of the guest’s or elder’s name and the suffix ‘ke’. For example, Abkhan may be called Abeke, Nursultan can be called Nureke. This should be regarded as indicating a high level of respect for the visitor. At a Kazakh home, the most honored guest, usually the oldest, is traditionally offered a boiled sheep’s head on a beautiful dish
as a further sign of respect. National customs forbid young people whose parents are still alive from cutting the sheep’s head. They must pass the dish to the other guests for cutting. Inside mosques, women observe their own ritual in a separate room, and must cover their heads and their arms. Formal dress is often required when visiting the theater, or attending a dinner party. Shorts should not be worn except on the sports ground.
International Travel:Getting There by AirAir Astana (website:
www.airastana.com) is the national airline.
Departure TaxNone.
Main AirportsAlmaty (ALA) (website:
www.almatyairport.com) is located 10km (6 miles) northeast of the city.
To/from the airport: Buses connect the airport with the city center (journey time – 20 minutes). Taxis are also available.
Facilities: Car hire, duty-free shops, restaurant and post office.
Astana (website:
www.astanaairport.kz).
To/from the airport: Taxis are available.
Facilities: Duty-free, restaurants, cate, ATM, currency exchange bureaux and baggage storage.
Getting There by WaterMain ports: Aqtau,
Atyrau,
Oskemen,
Pavlodar and
Semey. Freight is carried on the Caspian Sea to Iran and the Russian Federation.
Getting There by RailThere are international rail connections with China, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Services run regularly from Almaty to Urumchi in China and daily to Moscow (journey time – 3 days) and connect with the entire Russian Federation railway network.
The
Tashkent–Novosibirsk Express passes through Almaty in both directions. The lines from Almaty in the north connect with the
Trans-Siberian Railway running west to Chimkent and finally to Orenburg in the Russian Federation. The
Trans-Asian Railway’s Northern Corridor links Kazakhstan to China, Mongolia, the Russian Federation and the Korean Peninsula.
A new railway line is being built to connect Kazakhstan to Iran and Turkey. Foreign visitors should exercise caution when using trains other than the Almaty–Moscow train; violent crime against Westerners is on the increase.
Getting There by RoadThere are good road connections into the Russian Federation, the other Central Asian states and China.
Bus: Buses leave Chimkent for Tashkent. The journey is 160km (100 miles) (journey time – 3 hours). There are also buses from Chimkent to Bishkek.
OverviewThe following goods may be imported into Kazakhstan by persons over 16 years of age without incurring customs duty:
1000 cigarettes or 1kg of tobacco products;
2l of spirits or 2l of wine;
a reasonable quantity of perfume for personal use;
gifts up to the value of US$500 for personal use only.
On entering the country, tourists must complete a customs declaration form, which must be retained until departure. This allows the import of articles intended for personal use, including currency and valuables, which must be registered on the declaration form. They must be exported at the end of the stay. Customs inspection can be long and detailed. It is advisable to keep receipts for items bought in Kazakhstan in order to avoid difficulties at customs on departure.
Military weapons and ammunition; narcotics; pornography; live animals (unless with special permit); photographs or other printed materials aimed against Kazakhstan; pigeons; gold and silver (except personal jewelry) and articles containing precious stones or pearls; anything owned by a third party that is to be carried in for that third party.
As prohibited imports, as well as annulled securities, state loan certificates, lottery tickets, works of art and antiques (unless permission has been granted by the Ministry of Culture), saiga horns, Siberian stag, punctuate and red deer antlers (unless on organized hunting trip), and punctuate deer skins.
Internal Travel:Getting Around By AirAir Astana (website:
www.airastana.com) operates frequent domestic flights to
Atyrau,
Aktau,
Aktobe,
Astana,
Karaganda,
Kyzylorda,
Oral,
Oskemen,
Semey,
Shymkent,
Zhezkazgon,
Kostanay,
Petropavlousk,
Zyzylorda and
Taraz. While Air Astana does maintain aircraft to European JAR-145 standards, travelers should note that maintenance procedures for some aircraft operating internally may not conform to internationally accepted standards.
Domestic airportsAstana (website:
www.astanaairport.com) and
Almaty (website:
www.almatyairport.com) have domestic flights to many cities in Kazakhstan including Kyzylorda, Oral and Aktau.
Kyzylorda offers domestic flights to Almaty, Astana, Shymkent and Atyrau.
Oral has domestic flights to Almaty and Astana.
Aktau has domestic flights to Atyrau, Astana and Almaty.
Getting Around by WaterRiver trips can be taken in Semipalatinsk on the River Irtysh.
Getting Around by RailThere are two
TurkSib trains leaving Chimkent daily, one to Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and the other to Novosibirsk (Russian Federation), stopping at destinations in between. The cost of rail travel in Kazakhstan is minimal in comparison with Western Europe and there are regular connections between all the main centers. Queues at stations to buy a ticket can be long and passengers should bring their own food and drink for the journey. It may be advisable for foreign visitors to travel by bus between cities, owing to an increase in robberies on trains.
Getting Around by RoadTraffic drives on the right. There is a reasonable network of roads in Kazakhstan connecting all the towns and regional centers. Petrol supplies are reasonably reliable in comparison with other Central Asian republics.
Bus: There are regular bus connections between all the main cities of Kazakhstan. However, visitors are advised not to use these buses as maintainence is generally poor.
Taxi: These are available in all Kazakh cities. Travelers should not use unlicensed taxis.
Car hire: Available in Almaty and Astana and at the airports.
Documentation: An International Driving Permit is required.
Getting Around Towns and CitiesAlmaty is served by trolleybuses and buses.
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