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Country Guide > Asia > Kazakhstan | |
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Travel - International Air Almaty is rapidly gaining importance as an international hub. It has air links with many cities in the CIS. British Airways flies direct from London to Almaty three times a week. Connections from London can also be made on Austrian Airlines (via Vienna), KLM (via Amsterdam), Lufthansa (via Frankfurt/M) and Turkish Airlines (via Istanbul). There are no direct flights from Australia or the USA. Further connections are offered by Aeroflot from Almaty to Urumchi (China), from where there are connections to Beijing. New direct routes from Almaty to Delhi, Tehran and Tel Aviv are planned. Approximate flight times From London to Almaty is eight hours, from Istanbul is six hours, from Ulgi (Mongolia) is four hours and from Hanover and Frankfurt/M is 10 hours. International airports Almaty (ALA) is located 10km (6 miles) northeast of the city. Bus nos. 38, 446 and 492 connect the airport with the city centre (travel time – 20 minutes). Taxis are also available at the airport for transport into the city centre. Airport facilities include car hire, duty free shops, restaurant and post office. Departure Tax None. Sea Freight is carried on the Caspian Sea to Iran and the Russian Federation. Rail There 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 (travel time – three days) and connect with the entire Russian Federation railway network. The Tashkent–Novosibirsk Express passes through Almaty each day 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. 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. Road There are good road connections into the Russian Federation, the other Central Asian states and China. Bus: Buses leave Chimkent for Tashkent every 25 minutes 0700-1925. The journey is 160km (100 miles) (travel time – three hours). There are also buses from Chimkent to Bishkek. |