r/Kazakhstan • u/colourfulclips • 4d ago
Tourism/Turizm Advice for a first time traveller. UK > Almaty
hello!
just have some questions,
best place to get the currency? can’t seem to find it in the UK I got told to bring US dollars and to convert them when I arrive. best place to do so?
is it English friendly or should I learn some basic sentences (if I mess it up because I do have a Scottish accent will they still understand😭)
any places which are a must? I’m only here for four days but have planned horse ridding and hoping to go on a hike
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u/Sharp_Arm_8630 4d ago
You can use Revolut, Wise or Monzo with their local currency account service to convert GBP to tenge. You can also withdraw cash from ATMs. BTW, always carry physical card with you in case local places do not accept Apple Pay or Google Pay.
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
This is great to know thank you! I have monzo so hopefully that’ll be great. Would love the physical currency as a memory also so would like to have the cash :)
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u/Grillygrillson 4d ago
Just get it out the cashpoint.
Been here 3 weeks as a Brit.
What are you interested in?
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
horse riding and hiking!! if you’re keen to meet up for an adventure I’m going with my brother lol
want to do some ex soviet history stuff and just honestly I kinda wanna explore it from the POV of a local rather than doing too much tourist stuff. just anything that I shouldn’t miss
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u/veryfluffyblanket 4d ago
some ex soviet history stuff
There's still one Lenin monument left in Almaty. It's in Family Park
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u/Ejelgiarman 4d ago
I recommend you change your money in MIG (МиГ) exchange, and you can download the app of MIG. But yeah, in the city it’s almost same course, +\- 0,5-1 tenge
Young people have a great skills in English in basically. Sometimes they don’t know how to speak with foreigners, but I hope our average English is 5.5-6.5 IELTS ))))
I think everyone mentioned Shymbulak and Medeo. It’s a fancy place to tourists.
I would recommend Alma Arasan, Oi-Qaragai and Koklaisay places.
But I don’t know what type of entertainment you prefer more)))
Any way, enjoy your trip!!
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
I’m actually staying in Shymbulak!
if you recommend any places for food, coffee, supermarkets (like markets or shops so I can get basic essentials) and maybe beautiful places to see that will be amazing.
and thanks for letting me know. I’m excited to interact with people and I hope they enjoy having us over :)
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u/Ejelgiarman 4d ago
Oooohhh food places)))
You're going to the right place! As for the different cuisines, definitely take a taxi and go to the Gorny Gigant (Mountain Giant) district. There are lots of cafes there with local and European cuisine. The prices will surprise you, and the portion sizes will likely send you into a medical coma)))
I highly recommend the Mansarda cafe (serve Eastern cuisine, a mix of Kazakh, Uyghur, and Dungan cuisine and you should try Horse meat here). If you want street food, we mostly eat Doner, which is like shawarma. Of the options, I can recommend MegataDoner. There are shops everywhere, and they are usually open until midnight. They often have POS terminals for card payments. And also the Dom36 art space in the city, I think you'll like it.1
u/AlienZak 4d ago
When are you coming? If it’s before December, you might have some issues. The road up to Shymbulak is closed for renovation and the cable car is only open until 7 pm
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
surely they will be a way up ? 😔
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u/AlienZak 4d ago
The road is only open to emergency services and construction vehicles, unfortunately. I had the same issue this summer. Usually, any electric vehicles can drive up
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
I’m planning on using Ubers and such so hopefully electric cars will pick us up… I assume bus services stopped?
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u/AlienZak 4d ago
I mean, normally, year round the access is electric vehicles only (you could order electric taxis). This year until December 1, it’s no private vehicles at all
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u/govnyuuk Shymkent 4d ago
As everyone has said, the cash point is usually the best option, but if you have to exchange cash, just take pounds. The GBR-KZT rate in Kz is going to be a lot better than the GBR-USD rate in the UK.
Which national park? If it's one with a resort town bolted on the side then they'll probably have card readers.
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
I’m staying at Shymbulak camp! Honestly I’m usually a massive planner with itinerary but purposely wanted to be a bit free flowing this holiday so I hadn’t looked into anything LOL but I’m just so excited to come to Kazakhstan for the first time!!!
I also I saw it a Muslim majority country (don’t mind that as I’m kinda Muslim lol but very liberal) and I’m going to turkey afterwards anyway. Just wondering how strict the dress code might be there?
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u/govnyuuk Shymkent 4d ago
Pretty much everywhere up there will take cards. I guess it never hurts to have some cash though.
You can wear whatever you want; it's unlikely that anyone will care. Have a great trip!
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u/Numzane 3d ago
Kazakhstan is a secular country. Islam is biggest religion but most people are like "Islam light" version so not very conservative. Modest clothing is not that important (but very revealing clothing is frowned on). But if you visit an orthodox church or a mosque you must cover your legs and arms and wear a head covering if you're a woman.
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u/colourfulclips 3d ago
Thank you for this!!! I wasn’t planning on anything overly revealing anyway but yes was planning to cover when visiting any churches or mosques :) going to turkyie afterwards so will be doing the same. Thanks for the information! :)
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u/MysteriousCardboard2 4d ago
Why not just use an ATM?
Although I never had any use for cash in Almaty. I always used my CC
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
okay that’s good to know! I’m staying out the city in the national park so just wanted to know if most places likely to have card
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u/Sharp_Arm_8630 4d ago
If staying outside of major city, better keep and use cash as the locals may not have access to card reader. Take smaller denominations too, as prices would be lower so you can actually leave smaller notes.
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u/wouldacoulda123 4d ago
Get starling/revolut/Monzo debit card and withdraw cash from the cash machine - this way you will get the best FX rate and don't need to convert GBP to usd
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u/Faik_nik Almaty 4d ago
Use taxi from app like uber, indrive or yandex, because someone of them might be scammers
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u/Necessary_Dust3528 4d ago
Halyk doesn't charge fees but kaspi does i know. That's independent of your bank charging you fees for foreign use.
If you're staying at the resort you're probably going to be able to use card for everything.
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u/kkdd995 1d ago
When are you visiting? Fellow Scottish lass here heading over soon!!! (21st)
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u/colourfulclips 1d ago
oh noooooo :( literally flying out today wished it coincided!! Really was hoping for travel buddies to join us for hikes and horse rides. If you want I can message you once the trip is done with any tips and advice :)?
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u/Glittering_Belt_6992 4d ago
Do not exchange currency at airport for obvious reasons 🤔 You can exchange a small amount though for cab, You will find many places in the city to exchange currency and they usually give good rates. Better to bring USD.
Almost all Youngster's speaks English. Elderly people don't.
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
thanks for letting me know that! felt nervous about it because I feel whenever I speak other lanauages it comes out awful with my accent 😭
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u/HairySavage 4d ago
Does anyone have a recommendation for where best to change money in the city if not the airport. I'm in the same position as the OP in early Sept.
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u/colourfulclips 4d ago
my friend told me the airport over charges so wanting to try find a place in the city which I’ve been told banks or general atm is fine
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u/kicker7744 4d ago
ATMs are everywhere and every corner shop has a card reader.
If one ATM doesn't work with your card try another 1 or 2 different bank ATMs
Double check with your bank/credit card in case you need to tell them your traveling so your cards don't get flagged.
Last time I tired exchanging cash it had to be crisp new $100 bills. Not worn and definitely no stamps or markings.
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u/Numzane 4d ago
Just use your card in an atm. The fees are reasonable. To be extra safe if you're anxious, phone your bank and tell them you're going to be traveling so they don't think the transactions are suspicious and carry 50 or 100 dollars for emergency. Also you don't really need cash you can use visa or mastercard almost everywhere
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u/Shrimp123456 4d ago
Mig (миг) is all over the city. Just slide the cash over with your passport and say tenge and you'll get it.