Kazakhstan Classic Tours

Kazakhstan, far more than unbroken steppe with tales of a nomadic past, offers visitors glimpses into ancient civilizations, modern architectural wonders and diverse, refreshing nature getaways scattered in almost every corner of its boundless territory.

Kazakhstan Classic Tours integrate visits to a wide array of landmark destinations, creating unforgettable tours to culturally significant sites and national parks. Be it Astana’s iconic Bayterek Tower, Almaty region’s impressive Charyn Canyon or Otrar’s historically significant archeological site, Kazakhstan Classic Tours will inform and impress with their variety and relevance.

Best of Kazakhstan Tour

6 Days | March-October | Almaty, Turkestan (Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum), Otrar, Shymkent, Astana

The Best of Kazakhstan Tour is a blend of city excursions, ancient discoveries and cultural encounters that takes you from Almaty’s mountain ranges to Astana’s high-rise buildings, with extended stopovers in historic Turkestan, Otrar and Shymkent along the way. Whether riding the overnight train alongside local families, shopping at the lively Green Bazaar or touring an underground mosque with its own story to tell, you’ll be experiencing the best of Kazakhstan all along the way.

Kazakhstan Highlights Tour

5 Days | April-October | Almaty, Astana, Burabay National Park, Charyn Canyon

On the Kazakhstan Highlights Tour, you’ll get the best of both worlds as you alternate fun and informative tours of Almaty and Astana, Kazakhstan’s two largest cities, with day trips to two of the most beloved national parks in the country, Charyn Canyon and Burabay National Park. Included in this tour is a flight from Nur-Sultan to Almaty and a private guide and driver for each day tour.

Kazakhstan Short Tour

3 Days | All year round | Panfilov Park, Green Bazaar, Bayterek Tower, Khan-Shatyr etc.

The Kazakhstan Short Tour is a well-planned excursion to two of the country’s largest and most acclaimed destinations, Almaty and Astana. Acquaint yourself with the key cultural, historical and religious landmarks in both cities, including Panfilov Park, Green Bazaar, Bayterek Tower, Khan-Shatyr Shopping Center, Hazrat Sultan Mosque, and more. Included in this tour is a flight from Almaty to Astana and private guides and drivers in both cities.

UNESCO Sites in Kazakhstan Tour

6 Days | March-October | Almaty, Tamgaly, Shymkent, Otrar, Turkestan, Sayram

UNESCO Sites in Kazakhstan Tour includes visits to the Tian Shan Mountains, Tamgaly Petroglyphs and Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum in Turkestan, all UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Sites.

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Along the Silk Road Tour - 20 Days

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Customers Review

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Private Tour

We have had a great trip with excellent guided & drivers. Thanks very much for organizing it. We have usually done our own organizing so this was different for us but was very good. A few days were a bit strenuous but we had guides who understood & got sufficient rest days. Hilton Astana was the best. Everywhere the staff were friendly & helpful.

Tina Besley+1, New Zealand

Apr 2024

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan tour

The journey was really breathtaking, especially the first days because of the temperature, but we have seen so much. Uzbekistan of course the mosques and madrassas, the delicious food, the friendly people. The train journey from Khiva to Bukhara was also unforgettable, also because of the people you meet during such a journey. And everywhere we were met by a guide with a sign Cornelia Goedhart. So nice. And they were always there, and also bringing them back to the station they were always well on time.
It was a pity that I missed a step on the 4th day, 1st day Bhukara, and had a bad fall. But also there we were kindly helped by our guide who went with us to the hospital (an unique experience in such an Uzbek hospital) and also arranged a wheelchair for me. A wheel broke off after 50 meters due to the bad road surface, and the spokes of wheelchair 2 broke, but it's the thought that counts, and we did laugh. Luckily I didn't break anything and we didn't miss an excursion. After that I, not my husband, had another week of diarrhea and that was actually worse than the fall. Only when we arrived in Kazakhstan after an 18.5 hour train journey where I spent mainly on the toilet, things got a lot better. There are of course always some things that, in our opinion, could be done better.
Thanks for taking such great care of the clients!! Goedhart Cornelia+1.
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June 5 – 19, 2023: Khiva - Bukhara – Samarkand - Shakhrisabz – Tashkent – Almaty - Charyn Canyon – Lake Issyk - border Korday
Accommodations: Khiva – hotel Arqonchi, Bukhara – hotel K.Komil, Samarkand – hotel Malika Prime, Tashkent – Navruz, Almaty – hotel Mercury.

Goedhart Cornelia, Netherlands

Jun 2023

Central Asia private tour

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – Central Asia private tour, September 15 – October 10, 2022.

Aral Sea and Nukus:
Enlightening, visually compelling experience, despite long drives over poor tracks. Long two days driving, but it held our interest throughout. Two of the ladies were especially THRILLED to visit the Savitskiy Museum in Nukus. They even met the previous curator. The yurt experience was great.

Khorezm and Khiva:
An amazing walk through an amazing town. Visited all the sights at a perfect pace. Thorough and informative inspection of UNESCO sights.
Guide Ali - Knowledgeable. Well spoken. Very accommodating.
Hotel Orient Star - Great madrassah experience in Khiva. Excellent location right in the middle of everything (and for night photos).

Bukhara:
I think we liked Bukhara even more than Khiva, the day before; it’s more “lived in”. Again, a walking tour with good pace and coverage. Very good* second day. Hard to compete with the first day, although each of the second day sights were all well worth visiting.
Guide Rustam - Knowledgeable. Well spoken. Personable. Very accommodating.
Hotel Komil - Another hotel with character and ambiance. Excellent location near the walkable sights.

Shakrisabz:
After the wonders of Khiva and Bukhara it was a little harder to get engaged with Shakrisabz. But we’re very glad we went; it was worth the drive.

Samarkand:
Awesome and Unbelievably amazing day. Best day yet. Great sights, great pacing. We didn’t feel rushed. Being able to see it at night also was a real gift.
Guide Dilshod - Enthusiastic, well-spoken, knowledgeable, personable, accommodating. Perceptive – quickly moved on when we were apparently less interested in something, and lingered when we were more interested.
Hotel Malika Prime – Excellent. The room was very nice, and the location was perfect (walked to night photos – thanks for the extra Gur Emir and Registan tickets, we got great night pictures).

Tashkent:
It started off well with excellent visits to the Khazret-Imam complex, Chorsu Bazaar, and Applied Arts Museum. Then the rest of the tour was a quick drive around the city with fleeting partial glimpses of various sites. I ended up walking on my own from the hotel to Independence Square, and then to the Holy Assumption Cathedral so I could actually see them. And we never went by the Minor Mosque at all.
Guide Nusrat - He started off well, but after the Applied Arts Museum it’s as if he completely lost interest. He also had to sit down lots.
Hotel Bek - Good. Negative marks for the air conditioning not working in our room, and the internet being spotty. Positive marks for very accommodating staff, and walkable to signts.

Tajikistan
Penjikent and Iskander kul:
There really wasn’t much of interest for us in Penjikent (e.g.the mosque was closed for repairs, and the museum was dilapidated) EXCEPT the amazing bazaar. We took our time walking through the bazaar. Then we had a really great drive into the mountains to picturesque Iskander kul. We sat by the lake and watched the sun set while we ate dinner, and then ate breakfast by the lake while the sun rose the next morning. Fabulous.
Adequate accommodations, in wonderful setting in Iskander-kul.

Dushanbe:
The guide took us to a few additional sights not on the program (mostly buildings or monuments). Dushanbe was a very pleasant big surprise. We could have probably spent a second day there just to wander around more. And the drive there was also really interesting.
Hotel Serena - Modern hotel. Great location for my usual night pictures habit.

Istaravashn:
A mixed day. There wasn’t much of interest to us in Istaravashn itself, except the great bazaar. The wander through the bazaar and the drive through the mountains and into the Fergana Valley were definitely the highlights.

Khujand:
Very good. Especially the Payshanba Bazaar. We finished the program well before noon, but relaxed with a small lunch at a tea room.
Hotel Khujand Delux - Staff disinterested. Internet was poor and inconsistent. AC was barely adequate. Breakfast was poor.
Tajikistan escort guide Bobochon and Omar - Everything nice I said about the Samarkand guide you could apply to the Tajikistan guide. He did a masterful job of answering our questions and providing relevant information, and/or moving along when there was less interest. When I come back to see the Pamir Highway I’d be thrilled to have the same guide.

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
Turkistan:
Excellent. Great drive through Kazak countryside to Otrar. Otrar was fabulous; it was amazing to walk around an obviously ongoing archeological dig. Turkistan was an excellent surprise, an eclectic mixture of old and new. The only thing that could have been better is if we would have been able to fly to Almaty direct from Turkistan.
Hotel Hampton by Hilton - Modern hotel. Great location for my usual night pictures habit.

Charyn Canyon, Lake Kolsai, Lake Kaindy:
The canyon walk was sunny and gorgeous.
Kolsai Lake was fabulous even in the rain.
Matched expectations for an out-of-the-way guesthouse and the food they provided far exceeded expectations.
The Lake Kaindy part was amazing, and I plan to add Karakol back onto my list when I return to Kyrgyzstan for some hiking, and maybe just relaxing at The Green Yard.

Karakol:
Awesome. Guest house full of personal touches. I could easily see coming back just to stay here for a few days. The guide took us to an amazing local place for dinner, and then the guesthouse provided an excellent breakfast in an awesome environment.

Almaty:
Good. Traffic delays coming from Bishkek limited our time, and there was a huge line-up at the gondola, so there were some things that were missed. However, we did see the things that were most important to us (Cathedral and bazaar, so we are all happy).
Hotel Novotel – Excellent. Modern hotel.

Astana:
Full day in an amazing city full of monumental buildings.
Hotel Ramada - Modern hotel in great location.

Guide - more than awesome. I gave Dilshod (Samarkand) and Omar (Tajikistan) awesome reviews, but Aleksandr was even better! Great English skills, engaged, personable, knowledgeable, and always extremely helpful. The driver (Nikolai) was also the very best of a great selection of drivers so far.

Friedlander and Friends, Canada

Sep 2022

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