If you enjoy the simple pleasures of slow train travel and would like to experience the joy of slowly rolling across the Kazakhstan steppe in an old Soviet train… please read on for a simple guide to Kazakhstan train travel.

A budget guide to Kazakhstan train travel

We have a passion for slow train travel. There’s nothing better than settling down on a comfortable bed with a cup of hot tea from the samovar and watching the endless expanse of the Kazakhstan steppe pass by. After our wonderful time travelling across Russia on the Trans-Siberian train we wanted to repeat the experience again during our travels in Central Asia. We spent 18 days doing a loop of Kazakhstan by rail. It was an absolutely wonderful experience that we’d recommend to anyone who wants to step off the tourist trail and see Kazakhstan on a budget. Read on to find out how easy it is to do it yourself.

Where we went

We travelled in a circle anti-clockwise around Kazakhstan from Almaty to Shymkent. A total of 4249 kilometres. We took the final short journey from Turkistan to Shymkent and on to Uzbekistan by bus as it is cheaper, faster and buses are more regular and convenient for that leg of the journey. These are the trains we took and prices we paid, 3rd class.

Almaty to Astana – 23 hours – 4333 Tenge = US$ 11.70

Astana to Kandyagash – 26 1/2 hours – 4758 Tenge = US$ 12.86

Kandyagash to Aralsk – 9 1/2 hours – 2394 Tenge = US$ 6.47

Aralsk to Turkestan – 14 1/2 hours – 2614 Tenge = US$ 7.06

That’s just over US$ 38 for 73 hours travelling including 4 nights accommodation over 4249 kilometres. That’s pretty good value for money!

The rail network is quite extensive and covers a lot of this vast open country. It stretches from Aktau in the West on the Caspian Sea to Ust-Kamenogorsk in the east at the Altay mountains. You can travel from Russia in the north to Uzbekistan to the south. There’s so much to explore!!

How do I book a ticket?

You have 2 options.

You can go to the Kassa (ticket office) at the station and book your Kazakhstan train. We wouldn’t recommend this in the summer as you may struggle to get a seat on the train you want. They do sell out early.

Book online. Railways.kz is the official site but it is mostly in Russian and difficult to navigate. We used tickets.kz which charges a small administration fee but is user friendly and in English. We were able to check availability and price of berths in every carriage. They email you an e-ticket which you can print out and use.

Class options on Kazakhstan trains

We are Frugal Travellers and travelled 3rd class, platzkartny, on all of our Kazakhstan trains. We feel that it’s the best way to travel in this region. The people here are very friendly and open, and sharing a small space with a carriage full of Kazakhs is the best way to make friends and learn about Kazakh life first hand. You will learn new language skills and you will try new food. It beats being cooped up in a tiny compartment and being isolated from others. You will have to put up with a noisy environment and lack of personal space but it will be well worth it. You only have two options travelling on the slow trains in Kazakhstan.

• Second class – Kupe – 4 beds sharing a private compartment.
• Third class – Platzkartny – A bed in a 56 bed dormitory style carriage.

There is a high speed train, the Talgo which runs between Astana, Almaty and Shymkent. It is faster and more comfortable and more expensive. This blog concentrates on the cheaper, slower trains which we took.

Booking ahead

We left it till late (about a week before we entered Kazakhstan) until we booked our train tickets online. That was a mistake as in summer trains get booked up early so it’s best to book at least a few weeks in advance if you want to avoid being stuck in the worst berths in 3rd class.

Which berths should I book?

We have a few tips which we think, from our experience, will make life more comfortable for your journey on Kazakhstan trains.

• Avoid the ends of the carriage. Being too close to the toilets isn’t much fun, there is a lot more foot traffic here and the door is constantly slamming as people come and go. Aim for the middle of the carriage.
• The bunks along the corridor side are less popular. They are shorter in length so tall people would struggle to fit in. Also you are more exposed to disturbance from passersby.
• Bottom bunks are great for easy access and you get the prime spot at your table and a window view. Also you store your baggage underneath your bed, which keeps it safe and secure. You pay slightly more for this
• Top bunks require athletic skills to get on but the bonus is you can hide away from the activity below if you are not in the mood to socialise. Finding a table to eat at is sometimes a challenge as the downstairs folk have prime access.

As a couple we try to book a bottom bunk and the top bunk above it. This guarantees us half the table, a place for us both to sit together during the day, somewhere to escape to and secure storage for our bags. We think this is the best option for travel on a slow Kazakhstan train.

Life onboard the train

Third class carriages on Kazakhstan trains are a great microcosm of life in general in Kazakhstan. There is a great deal of camaraderie and sense of sharing amongst the people. Strangers mingle, space and food is shared. People help each other. Sellers wander up and down the corridors selling all manner of goods. It may be noisy at times and you will most certainly be given the chance to try out your Russian skills as folk will be curious to talk to the rare foreigner onboard.

Here are some general tips to make your Kazakhstan train journey a pleasant experience

• Have your passport and ticket ready when you board. The provodnik (carriage attendant) will want to see them.
• Learn a little Russian or even some Kazakh to communicate with. The people will love you for it. Use a translation app like Google Translate to help.
• For landscape photography you will find windows that open in the toilets and sometimes at the ends of the carriage. Closed windows are normally too dirty to get good photos through.
• Take a photograph of the journey timetable which you will find by the samovar. You can refer to this to see how long you will be stopping for at each station.
• Take note of the toilet closing times posted outside the toilets. They sometimes close for over an hour at the long stop stations. Time your toilet visits accordingly or you could be waiting a long time.

Food

• It’s alway a good idea to be well prepared with food and snacks for your journey. People will offer you theirs and it is nice to reciprocate. You will sometimes find sellers on the train and on the platforms offering all kinds of food, hot and cold.
• We like to make use of the plentiful hot water available from the samovar. Like the locals, we bring tea and coffee and our own cups to drink from. 2-minute noodles are a popular easy meal. We supplement them with tomatoes and cucumber and a little spice which we carry. Porridge oats are a good filling breakfast. Milk powder and cinnamon and maybe currents or sultanas can jazz it up a bit.
• There is often a restaurant car. On these you can find standard Central Asian fare. We didn’t use any as always had plenty of our own supplies. I believe the standard is pretty average but the prices are quite reasonable!

Drinks

• Tea is the ubiquitous drink throughout the region. Everyone tends to bring their own as there is free hot water available permanently from the samovar.
• You can buy soft drinks from sellers who walk up and down the train with assorted items.
• Alcohol isn’t very prolific. We saw beer for sale on a platform and from an onboard seller but nobody seemed to bother. A few of the passengers reeked of vodka so we assume it’s a case of BYO.

Read – Travel costs and Information for Iraqi Kurdistan

Essential items to bring on a Kazakhstan train journey

• Cups, spoons, bowls (we use fold-up plastic bowls with lids)
• Tea, coffee, noodles, porridge oats
• Snacks to share around
• A good book to read or ebooks on your device
• Headphones for listening to music to drown out the sound of the snorer next door
• Toilet paper just in case
• Toothbrush and toothpaste. They give you a towel
• Slippers. You’ll want to kick your boots off and get comfy like everyone else. Plastic slippers are cheap to buy locally and useful for moving around the train

---

To get a better idea of what life is like travelling on a Kazakhstan train across this amazing country, check out our Youtube videos of our journeys right here…

Almaty to Astana

Astana to Aral

Aral to Turkestan

---

Central Asia – See what we got up to in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

We hope you like our journey and you found the information and advice useful and interesting. We’d love to hear from you so if you have any questions or comments to make, please do so below in the comments box.

How to travel the world as a Frugal Traveller

Happy travels!!

---

Like this post? Pin it

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means we receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking them at no extra cost to you. If you do choose to book through these links, it will help us to continue our travels. We really appreciate your support!