There are many ways to get from Bishkek to Almaty and vice-versa, each with their own benefits and shortcomings:

• flights are quick, but expensive and require you to adhere to schedules and baggage regulations
• getting into Almaty by train is comfortable, but requires multiple buses and marshrutkas from Bishkek
• dedicated buses can be inexpensive, but you will again have to adhere to their schedules and you may have to wait for them at the border

A slightly more complicated, but flexible and cheap solution is to split the journey overland at the border and take the most convenient method of transport for each leg. In this case this means taking a marshrutka or a taxi from Bishkek, crossing the border on foot and then taking another marshrutka/taxi to get to Almaty. The cost for this whole journey, including luggage is no more than USD 10 and takes between three and four hours from city to city.

Leaving Bishkek towards the Kazakh border

The traditional way is to head to the Western Bus Terminal and take a bus or marshrutka to the border or directly to Almaty. Get your tickets at the ticket counter and wait until departure. The quicker way is to pick up a bus of marshrutka lines 285 or 333 running between GUM/TsUM anywhere on Chuy Avenue to the Vostok Microdistrict, Alamedin Market to the border, keyword “таможня” for “customs”. The fare for a single person is KGS 35, in case you have a lot of luggage you may need to pay a little extra. The marshrutkas run during the day, in case you do not want to wait you can hail a taxi to the border, expect to pay around KGS 500, you can also order them via the Yandex Taxi app.

Crossing the border

After 20 to 30 minutes you will arrive at the terminus, right next to the entrance to the border facilities. Pay your driver in case you have not done so yet, grab your luggage and follow the constant stream of pedestrians. In case you arrive with a cross-border bus you will still have to get off the bus to pass border and customs checks on your own, in that case make sure you remember some of your fellow passengers to get into the right vehicle again.

Get your Kyrgyz exit stamps, walk across the Chuy river, get your Kazakh entry stamps and you are in Kazakhstan now! The no-man’s land between the two border controls is also a perfect place to sort out the cash in your wallet and SIM cards, as there aren’t many people around disturbing the peace.

Getting to Almaty

After passing Kazakh customs, you can now continue on your way to Almaty. In case you have booked a cross-border transport, look for your fellow passengers and follow them, otherwise you now have to get a taxi to Almaty.

Getting a taxi is easy, as drivers will approach you as you leave the border facilities. Negotiate a price for you and your luggage, wait for the car to fill up and your journey towards Almaty continues! A single seat to Almaty will cost you about KZT 5000, for a little more you can also have the taxi drive you to any point in the city, same applies if you want to leave faster or want more comfort by not filling up the whole car.

In most cases the driver will stop quickly at a petrol station in the area to fill up, this is also your time for a last toilet stop, as there aren’t any scheduled stop on the way.

Shared taxis will usually arrive near the Sayran Bus Terminal in the West of Almaty. You may also negotiate for the driver to take you directly to your desired destination, but in many cases it will be more desirable to avoid traffic by being dropped off at a metro station, the closest one being the Moscow terminus. To get there from the bus terminal, use this bus stop and take any bus for three stops. As of the date of this article, a single metro ride costs 80 tenge and a single bus ride costs 150 tenge if paid directly in cash.

Money Matters

Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan do not share the same currency, so you will need to change money at some point.

• The marshrutkas can only be paid in local currency, so on the Kyrgyz side you will need to pay in Kyrgyz som and in Kazakhstan you will need to pay in Kazakh tenge.
• The taxi drivers are more flexible, they will very likely accept both currencies or even other foreign currencies like USD or EUR, obviously they will ask you for a little more to make it worth their while.

Since changing money in Kazakhstan can be a bit cumbersome and Bishkek offers many ATMs and competitive money changers, you may want to exchange some money while still in Bishkek. Changing the equivalent of USD 15 should be sufficient, but you may want to exchange more in case the exchange rates are good or you want to get rid off excess Kyrgyz som. In case you only have big KZT bills, you can break them at the toilets in both the petrol stations and bus terminal or by buying something from a stall nearby.

Summing up

Using these options, you can travel between Bishkek and Almaty in less than four hours for less than 10 dollars at almost any time of the day. If you want to travel in the opposite direction you can just follow the steps in reverse or take a look at this description for detailed infos.