Entering Kazakhstan with kids completed a dream circuit of three ‘Stans for us.
We had spent time travelling overland in Uzbekistan making it all the way to the Aral Sea. Then we stayed with nomadic herders at Song Kol Lake in Kyrgyzstan.
Next, we wanted to visit Kazakhstan.
Here are some tips to share and things to do in Almaty, Kazakhstan with kids.
Choosing to visit Kazakhstan with kids
We had read it was possible to enter Kazakhstan overland via a small border crossing in the corner of Kyrgyzstan.
Which in theory was a plan that would work well for us, as we intended to find a driver and make a loop around the north of Kyrgyzstan.
Then the challenge would be to find a driver that could take us over the border into Kazakhstan.
And we did! Making the border crossing into the far corner of Kazakhstan with the kids makes for a story on its own. Oscar walked across the border amongst it all with bare feet – in true kiwi-kid-style!
Is it safe to visit Kazakhstan with kids?
Kazakhstan is generally considered a safe destination for tourists. The major cities like Almaty and Nur-Sultan (Astana) are well-equipped for tourists, with good infrastructure and services.
Plus, Kazakh people are notoriously friendly and like much of Asia, they enjoy children.
Obviously travel with the usual precautions for petty crime and in the cities.
We found it comfortable, interesting and felt safe traveling in Kazakhstan with kids.
Our route for one week in Kazakhstan
On this Central Asian trip our main focus was Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
However, we saw the chance to spend one week in Kazakhstan with the kids and so opted for a border crossing overland from Karakol in Kyrgyzstan to Kegen in Kazakhstan.
We spent the next two nights in Saty, not too far from the border.
Then we travelled to see the famous Kolsai Lakes and Charyn Canyon on our way back towards Almaty.
We didn’t spend half as much time in Kazakhstan as we did in the other ‘Stan’s. Or as much time as we would have liked too! We had a month in Uzbekistan and spent three weeks in Kyrgyzstan.
But it was a good first introduction to Kazakh culture. Plus, it made for a remote and adventurous arrival crossing the border overland from Kyrgyzstan.
- Read our detailed Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide and Uzbekistan Travel Guide.
Almaty – Kazakhstan with kids
Almaty is Kazakhstan’s largest city and it was also its political capital until 1997. During the Soviet period the city grew to become one of Central Asia’s largest cities.
It is quite a bustling and cosmopolitan city these days. So arriving from the remoteness of the small Kyrgyz town of Karakol was quite a shock!
It somehow mixes a modern vibe in with a Soviet era feel.
On some streets you have old markets and bazaars. Then along other streets you could be in a modern city anywhere in the world. (Well, perhaps in the post-Soviet modern world!).
We had a great few days in Almaty.
Exploring with the kids was lots of fun.
Things to do in Almaty – Kazakhstan with kids
There are some small amusement type parks and playgrounds dotted around the city.
Otherwise, the main things to do in Almaty with kids are to enjoy the outdoor city parks and green spaces.
- Ascension Cathedral: This iconic yellow toned church is a stunning site in Almaty! It is surrounded by parks and is a popular meeting place for families on outings.
- Green Bazar: This famous market is well worth a wander with the kids and is the perfect opportunity to try lots of Kazakh food.
- Panfilov Park: Another of Almaty’s famous parks though this one is known for the huge memorial to the 28 soldiers who died during World War II in the Battle of Moscow.
On the road from the Kyrgyz border to Almaty – Kazakhstan with kids
But first, we had spent a few days making our way to Almaty, with some stops on our way.
Kolsai Lake – Kazakhstan with kids
We crossed the border with the goal of seeing Kolsai Lake as a first stop on entering Kazakhstan with the kids.
The Saty region was beautiful!
It felt like a different kind of Central Asian mountain vibes and small villages than the rugged Kyrgyzstan we’d just come from.
Kolsai Lake itself was breathtaking. It kind of appears out in the middle of nowhere!
One downside to such a beautiful lake however, was that it was of course a huge tourist attraction.
We were blown away by the beautiful scenery. But honestly felt somewhat underwhelmed by the sight itself, simply due to the numbers of tourists making their way down to the lakeside in hoards.
We hadn’t expected or even considered that the location (within a days drive of Almaty) would make it such an attraction for domestic tourism.
It was beautiful. But after being spoilt with lone yurts and herders at the remote lakes in Kyrgyzstan on our way, we didn’t stay long.
Instead, we checked it out and then headed back into the hills to find a good picnic spot elsewhere.
Charyn Canyon – Kazakhstan with kids
We were intrigued to see Charyn Canyon, and weren’t disappointed by its grandeur. It is absolutely enormous in person.
The scale of the canyon is hard to describe. But it can be seen quite clearly on Google Maps!
One challenge from travel in Kazakhstan?
Figuring out shops and restaurants!
The architecture right across the villages and cities that we saw, is still notably Soviet in style. A lot of the shops and restaurants still maintain the boundary military style fencing and boards and bars on windows.
There isn’t a lot of signage, and what signage there is is written in Kazakh and Russian without many pictures for clues!
Where we stayed – Kazakhstan with kids
We only had a week in total in Kazakhstan, but enjoyed the varied towns and villages we passed through and stayed in.
We didn’t have accommodation planned for the first three nights, but found guesthouses in Saty and Shelek on our way back towards Almaty.
- Saty: Guesthouse found in village on outskirts of Saty
- Shelek: Guesthouse en route between Charyn and Almaty
- Almaty: World Travelers Hostel
The villages near the border crossing in Kegen were fairly remote and options for accommodation definitely limited.
In Saty, the guesthouse we were planning on staying at was full when we turned up.
We had to drive for another half hour to find the next village after a couple of stops at random looking guesthouses. Including one yurt-style homestay that only had one very open and old long drop for a bathroom!
However, we ended up finding a small family run homestay right next to a beautiful mosque, surrounded by Kazakh mountains.
AND they served us up a delicious dinner including homemade dumplings, AND kumiss…
Where we stay in Almaty – Kazakhstan with kids
In Almaty we enjoyed our stay at World Travellers Hostel.
- Almaty: World Travelers Hostel
It was hard to find, but the post-Soviet style of shop fronts makes it hard to recognise a lot of services in Almaty!
The hostel itself had a big size family room, with bunk beds and a double bed, and a clean shared bathroom.
It was only a 15 minute walk into the centre of Almaty which made it an ideal to see a city side of Kazakhstan with the kids.
Getting around – Kazakhstan with kids
Almaty was reasonably easy to explore on foot, and we mostly walked around for the time we were there.
Though we didn’t have a SIM card so couldn’t use online taxi services like Uber.
Our hostel hosts ordered a taxi online for us to get to the airport on leaving. We also got a taxi one day as we headed out to try and find a post office!
In honesty, we couldn’t find a taxi or figure out which cars were taxi’s to get one back. I wasn’t like in Uzbekistan where you just waved down any old car passing!
So we ended up walking a few km’s back to our hostel each time. Note the latest update sounds like Uber no longer works in Almaty, but their partner Yandex Taxi is an option.
If you are entering Kazakhstan overland your best plan is to find a driver!
We had a fantastic driver called Vitali, who we found via a Kyrgyzstan Travel Company – Kyrgyz Tourism – in Bishkek.
If we went again we would…
We would love to explore more of Kazakhstan!
There is such a focus on the mountainous regions of Kazakhstan – which is HUGE by the way!
We would definitely want to explore Astana and other areas next time.
Read more about traveling in Central Asia
- What Makes Silk Road Flatbreads So Fabled?
- Uzbekistan Travel Guide.
- The Greatest Gift Of Travel: We Found It In Uzbekistan.
- Overnight Train Tashkent To Nukus, Karakalpakstan.
- 5 Reasons We Loved Kyrgyzstan.
- Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide: Kyrgyz’ What?
Useful links for your travels in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and beyond
These are the companies we use and can recommend for planning and booking travel.
- Booking.com – The best all-around accommodation booking site that constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates. They have the widest selection of budget accommodation. It is easy to filter and sort into price and availability with all the extras you are looking for personally.
- 12GoAsia – Book trains anywhere online.
- Skyscanner– This is by far our favourite flight search engine. They are able to search small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites often miss. We book all our flights through Skyscanner.
- GetYourGuide– Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions offered all around the world. Everything from walking tours, to street-food tours, cooking classes, desert safari’s and more!
- SafetyWing – A global travel insurance that covers people from all over the world while outside their home country. You can buy it short or longterm; and even if you are out of the country.
- World Nomads – Make sure you have insurance before further planning Kazakhstan with kids!