4 nights / 5 days · Kazakhstan

Almaty with a View

Four nights in the city: the gondola to 3,200 metres, Zenkov Cathedral, an evening on Kok Tobe and a morning in the Green Bazaar.

Plan this trip See the day-by-day

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Duration: 4 nights / 5 days
Where you stay: Almaty
Style: Classic city
From: AED 2,270per person

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About this trip

The other four-night package spends every day out of the city. This one stays in it. There is a single mountain morning, the gondola at Shymbulak, and after that the itinerary works through Almaty itself: the Soviet-era squares and theatres, the cathedral in Panfilov Park, the cable car up Kok Tobe, and the bazaar.

Almaty is low, green and walkable, with the Tian Shan standing at the end of most streets, and the package is built around that view rather than away from it. Shymbulak looks down on the city from 3,200 metres, Kok Tobe looks across it from 1,100, and the Panfilov and Arbat walk on the second evening takes it at street level. It is the cheapest of the Kazakhstan packages and the least driving.

What you go for

Gondola to Shymbulak Level 3, at 3,200 metres
Zenkov Cathedral and the Panfilov Park war memorial
Kok Tobe by cable car, over the old town and the fruit gardens
The Green Bazaar, with the Rakhat chocolate shop next door

The route

Day by day

Times are the operator's planned schedule. They shift with the season, the light and the traffic on the day.

Day 1
Arrival in Almaty
1600
Arrive at Almaty
Your English-speaking guide meets you in the arrivals hall once immigration and baggage are cleared.
1700
Transfer to your vehicle. Chocolates, refreshing napkins and Wi-Fi on board — ask your guide for the login.
1800
Check in at your hotel.
2000
Dinner at a restaurant of your choosing.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 2
Shymbulak, then Panfilov and Arbat on foot
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
1000
Shymbulak, Level 3
An hour from the city centre to 3,200 metres on a three-stage gondola. At the top there are cafés and restaurants, an observation deck with binoculars that swing through a full circle, and a playground; in season, zip-lining, paragliding and horse riding. Nobody has to ski.
1400
Lunch at Shymbulak, or back in the city at a restaurant of your choosing.
1600
Back to the hotel to rest.
1800
Panfilov Promenade and Arbat Street
An evening walk facing the Opera and Ballet Theatre, past small shops, cafés and the musicians who work the promenade after dark, finishing on Arbat among the shops and the street performers.
2000
Dinner at a restaurant of your choosing.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 3
The city, Panfilov Park and Kok Tobe
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
1000
Almaty city tour
An introductory run through the set pieces: First President Park, Republic Square, the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, the museums at the Academy of Sciences, Abay Square, Hotel Kazakhstan and the Palace of the Republic.
1200
Panfilov Park and Zenkov Cathedral
The park is named for the twenty-eight Panfilov guardsmen of an Almaty infantry division. The war memorial east of the cathedral carries soldiers from all fifteen Soviet republics across a map of the USSR, and the rest of the park is lawn and shade to sit in. The cathedral itself is fifty-six metres of timber, and the legend that it went up without a single nail is one the operator's own sheet is careful to deny.
1400
Lunch at a restaurant of your choosing.
1600
Back to the hotel to rest.
1800
Kok Tobe
The highest point in the city at 1,100 metres, on the south-eastern edge. The cable car starts near the Novotel and runs over some of the oldest quarters of Almaty and the fruit orchards the city is named for. At the top, the 372-metre television tower, the view in every direction, and restaurants to eat in.
2000
Dinner at a restaurant of your choosing.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 4
Green Bazaar, Rakhat and the malls
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
1000
Green Bazaar and the Rakhat chocolate shop
The Zelyony Bazaar near Panfilov Park sells meat, spices, fruit, clothing and furniture, and the price depends on how willing you are to argue about it. Next door is the factory shop of Rakhat, the oldest chocolate maker in the country, whose name means pleasure in Kazakh; it runs two factories, in Almaty and Shymkent, and its diabetic and low-calorie lines sell as well as the rest.
1400
Lunch at an Indian restaurant (on your own account).
1500
Shopping
Dostyk Plaza, Esentai Mall and Mega Mall for the higher end.
2000
Dinner at a restaurant of your choosing.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 5
Departure
0400
Packed breakfast and check-out.
0430
Transfer to the airport for your flight home or onward.

Where you stay

Hotel options

Pick a line and the whole trip is costed against it, so you can see what the difference actually buys.

4★
- Astana International
AED 2,270per person
3★
- Astra Hotel
AED 2,325per person
4★
- Park Dedeman
AED 2,725per person

Per person, twin share. Land only — international flights are not included. Rates move with the season, the number of you travelling and the hotel line you choose, so we confirm the final figure against your dates before anything is booked.

The detail

What is included

Included

Airport meet and greet.
Chocolates and refreshing napkins served on board your vehicle.
Complimentary Wi-Fi on board every vehicle.
Daily breakfast.
Private vehicle with driver throughout the trip.
Vehicle and guide at your disposal for nine hours daily (1000–1900).
Sightseeing as set out in the day-by-day above.
Two bottles of water per person, per day.
Hotel taxes.
Four nights in Almaty at your choice of the hotels above.
Dedicated English-speaking guide throughout.
Gondola tickets to Shymbulak, Level 3.
Gondola tickets to Kok Tobe.
Souvenir on departure.

Not included

Flights.
Meals other than those listed above.
Expenses of a personal nature.

Entry rules, tourism taxes and health requirements change without notice and depend on your passport. Everything above is confirmed by our operations desk before your booking is finalised.

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