5 nights / 6 days · Kazakhstan

Almaty with Charyn Canyon

The standard Almaty week — mountains, the Soviet-planned centre, the Green Bazaar, and a full day at Charyn Canyon.

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Duration: 5 nights / 6 days
Where you stay: Almaty
Style: Classic city
From: AED 2,759per person

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About this trip

This is the package most first-time travellers should take. Two days are spent in the city — the boulevards, Panfilov Park and the wooden Zenkov Cathedral, then the Green Bazaar and the Rakhat chocolate factory shop next door — and two in the mountains, at Shymbulak and Kok Tobe.

The last full day is given entirely to Charyn Canyon, 195 kilometres east. It is a long drive each way, and the round trip runs ten to twelve hours door to door, which is the honest figure.

What you go for

A full day in Charyn Canyon's Valley of Castles
Shymbulak Level 3 and the Kok Tobe cable car
Panfilov Park, Zenkov Cathedral and the Almaty city tour
Green Bazaar and the Rakhat chocolate shop

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.
1800
Check in at your hotel.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
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 its highest reachable point at 3,200 metres, by three-stage gondola. Cafés, an observation deck, and adventure activities in season.
1400
Lunch at Shymbulak or in the city (on your own account).
1600
Back to the hotel to rest.
1800
Panfilov Promenade and Arbat Street
An evening walk along the promenade facing the Opera and Ballet Theatre — small shops, cafés, street musicians — finishing on Arbat, where the shopping and the street performers are.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 3
City tour, Zenkov Cathedral and Kok Tobe
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
1000
Almaty city tour
The orientation run: First President Park, Republic Square, the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Academy of Sciences museums, 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, commemorated at the war memorial east of the cathedral. Zenkov itself is a 56-metre wooden Orthodox cathedral from the early twentieth century that came through the 1911 earthquake standing.
1400
Lunch at a restaurant of your choosing (on your own account).
1600
Back to the hotel to rest.
1800
Kok Tobe
The cable car climbs from near Hotel Novotel over the oldest parts of the city and its orchards to the hill at 1,100 metres, under the 372-metre television tower. The panorama is the reason to go; the restaurants at the top are a good enough reason to stay.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
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 everything from meat and spices to fruit, clothing and furniture, and rewards anyone willing to haggle. Next door is the factory shop of Rakhat, Kazakhstan's oldest chocolate maker.
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 on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 5
Charyn Canyon
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel, then an early start — the road out is over three hours.
Full day
Charyn Canyon
154 kilometres of canyon where the Great Steppe ends and the Tian Shan begins, cut over roughly twelve million years and the largest in Central Asia. You walk the high panoramas and the Valley of Castles, between cliffs over 100 metres. Allow ten to twelve hours including the drive each way.
1400
Lunch at a local café, or packed (on your own account).
Evening
Back to the hotel.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 6
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 2,759per person
3★
- Astra Hotel
AED 2,828per person
4★
- Regardel Hotel
AED 2,972per person
4★
- Park Dedeman
AED 3,320per 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.
Five 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.
Day trip to Charyn Canyon.
Souvenir on departure.

Not included

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

Meal upgrades

Indian meals: USD 13 per person per meal, for groups of eight and above.
International set menu: USD 35 per person per meal, lunch only, Monday to Friday.

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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