Quickest route to Kazakhstan

[Lee08]

Hello,
Can someone please fill me in on the quickest route from the USA to Karaganda, Kazakhstan with the least amount of hassle? Which airlines and is the only way via Russia or is there a connecting flight in Ukraine or other European country?

I was also wondering if anyone here has been there and could share their general experience with me. I've read plenty on Russia and Ukraine but have not seen anything on Kazakhstan. I did a search here without any luck.

Thank you for any replies.

[apple47]

     My wife is from Almaty and I used Luftansa because they only stopped once in Frankfort.  I flew from O"Hare.   I believe the only Int. Airports are in Almaty and Astana.    I can ask my wife how to get to Karaganda,but I'm thinking you may need to go by bus. 

       The only other air lines that went to Almaty were KLM and British Air,  IIRC.    The problem with each of these were ,,one made a stop in Detroit and the other made a stop in Minneapolis,from O"hare.    KLM stopped in Amsterdam and BA at Heathrow and then to Almaty. 

        There was talk of a plan to force all incoming International flights to land in Astana,the new capital, and then require you to get another plane   to get to Almaty. Don't now if this has happened or not.       

                                       Good Luck

                                                           ...Larry

[Ridersfan]

   
  I went to Almaty twice in 2002 to visit a woman. I flew from western Canada with Northwest/kLM through Minneapolis and Amsterdam. It wasn't fast with over 30 hours of travel each way, but the biggest time delays were bad connection times in Minneapolis.

  I found this site that shows a flight from Almaty to Karaganda but none from Astana.
          http://www.airastana.com/
 
 This site shows other airlines that fly to Kazakhstan. Lufthansa does fly to Astana.
                 http://www.kazakhstan.orexca.com/air_kazakhstan.shtml

  I believe that they have built a new terminal in Almaty and I think that it is still the major airport for Kazakhstan.

  I thought Almaty was very nice and I would go back under the right circumstances. However, I can not speak of other cities. I rented apartments both times and they were comfortable, with the second one being more modern and including a washer/dryer.

  On my second trip, custom officials tried to get money out of me on arrival and departure. Both made me count my money in front of them. The arrival agent was hoping I did not declare it all and the guy at departure just asked me if I would give him $10.00. Neither got anything.

  I hope your trip goes well.

           Bob

 

[alantodd]

What city in the USA do you live in?  Many ways to get there.

[Lee08]

What city in the USA do you live in?  Many ways to get there.

I was looking to fly out of Atlanta or New york. I was mainly looking at the connecting flights abroad. I'm sure no one offers non-stop flights to Kazakhstan.

[apple47]

     Talked with my wife tonight,she says that there used to be a flight from Hanover and from Hamgurg, in Germany, to Karaganda.   You'll have to do some research to find these things out. But,maybe you can arrange a flight from USA with no connecting fights til you get overseas. And then from there directly to Karaganda.
    As Ridersfan noted  there is a new terminal in Almaty,its been in use since sometime near the end of 03 or the first part of 04.
      from O'Hare my trip was 25 hours door to door when there were no problems. 17 hours of this time in flight.
   
       I don't remember why,but there was a reason for being required to count your money in front of the customs officials.   They tried ,both coming in and going out, to get some of my money from me.   I just looked them in the eye,not smiling and held my hand out til they placed my money back into my hand.    You'll also have to register within 3 days of arrival.    Also be sure to register at the US Consulate,they'll give you a paper {get 3 or 4 copies} that can be used in place of your passport.   If an official asks for your passport you give him the paper instead.   Keep your passport locked up somewhere.

[Lee08]

   
  This site shows other airlines that fly to Kazakhstan. Lufthansa does fly to Astana.
                 http://www.kazakhstan.orexca.com/air_kazakhstan.shtml
 

Thanks for the link. Lufthansa seems to be the way to go. Total trip time from Atlanta to Astana via Frankfort Germany, 17.5 hours. Now I just have to find a way from Astana to Karaganda. It's much closer than Almaty.

  
   On my second trip, custom officials tried to get money out of me on arrival and departure. Both made me count my money in front of them. The arrival agent was hoping I did not declare it all and the guy at departure just asked me if I would give him $10.00. Neither got anything.

  I hope your trip goes well.

           Bob

 

            I don't remember why,but there was a reason for being required to count your money in front of the customs officials.   They tried ,both coming in and going out, to get some of my money from me.   I just looked them in the eye,not smiling and held my hand out til they placed my money back into my hand.    You'll also have to register within 3 days of arrival.    Also be sure to register at the US Consulate,they'll give you a paper {get 3 or 4 copies} that can be used in place of your passport.   If an official asks for your passport you give him the paper instead.   Keep your passport locked up somewhere.

Thanks for the tips and info. I hope it's not that bad now, but in either case I don't handout money easily.

[BillyB]

I've been to Uzbekistan, near Kazakhstan,  4 times and there is no quick way to get there. Expect to spend 2 days out of your vacation travelling. It'll be tiring and boring. So boring I found myself reading the vomit bag on the airplane. 1) Open bag. 2) Insert mouth. 3) Vomit. Bring lots of reading material or a laptop. Sleep on the airplane if you can and time will fly by quick.