Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan in 11 Days: Bishkek to Almaty
Overview
The Kyrgyz loop plus Kazakhstan: Issyk-Kul, Son-Kul and Chon-Kemin, then over the border for three nights in Almaty, the greenest city in Central Asia, with a day at Charyn Canyon. A private tour: your own guide and car, on your dates.
Fly into Bishkek and home from Almaty — both have good connections — and see the two neighbours that could not be more different.
Highlights
Is this trip for you?
- Travellers who want two countries in eleven days with no internal flights
- Anyone who likes a city at the end of a mountain trip
- You want Uzbekistan’s architecture — this is landscape and nomad culture
- You dislike border queues (Korday can take an hour)
Our honest opinion
- Almaty’s restaurants are the best in the region — a reward after yurt camps
- The Charyn day is a genuine highlight, not a filler
- Roads to Son-Kul and the south shore are gravel; allow for a bumpy hour or two
- Showers at yurt camps are basic or absent
Open-jaw flights (into Bishkek, out of Almaty) are usually no more expensive than a return.
The trip in numbers
Your route
Dotted lines show the road route.
Day by day
Airport pickup, Ala-Too square and the Osh bazaar.
Burana tower, a Dungan family lunch in Iskra, the north shore of Issyk-Kul.
Petroglyphs, two alpine gorges and Karakol’s Dungan mosque.
Red cliffs, waterfalls and a south-shore guesthouse with an orchard.
Fairy Tale canyon, eagle hunters, felt-making in Kochkor.
Over the pass to the lake at 3,000 m and a yurt camp with a shepherd family — horses, kumis and a sky full of stars.
Down from the plateau and across to the Chon-Kemin valley.
To the Korday border, where your Kyrgyz driver hands you over to your Kazakh driver and guide; evening in Almaty.
Medeo, Shymbulak, the Green bazaar and Kok-Tobe.
Day trip to the Valley of Castles and the Charyn river.
Airport transfer.
What’s included
What’s not included
Where you’ll stay
Or equivalent, depending on season.
Traveller reviews
What guests wrote
“The Kyrgyz loop plus three days in Almaty with Charyn Canyon — great combination. Charyn is a mini Grand Canyon and we nearly had it to ourselves. The Korday border crossing was quick. Almaty is a proper, pleasant city to finish in with good restaurants.”
Good to know
Kyrgyzstan: citizens of the EU, UK, US and about 55 other countries enter visa-free for up to 30 days (reduced from 60 days in 2026). Kazakhstan: citizens of the EU, UK and US enter visa-free for up to 30 days; your hotel registers you automatically. We check your passport at booking.
Kyrgyzstan: the Kyrgyz som (KGS). Cards work in Bishkek and Karakol; cash is needed at yurt camps, guesthouses and bazaars, and ATMs are in towns only. Kazakhstan: the Kazakh tenge (KZT). Cards are accepted almost everywhere in Almaty; carry some cash for the canyon and lake areas.
June and early September are the best weeks — mild days on Issyk-Kul, clear skies over Son-Kul and comfortable walking at Charyn; July–August is peak season and hotter in Almaty. From October to May the high pastures and the Son-Kul yurt camps are closed.
Plug types C and F, 220 V — the same as most of Europe. Travellers from the UK, US and Asia need a standard Euro adapter.
Kyrgyzstan: relaxed everywhere. Bring warm layers — nights at yurt camps drop close to freezing even in summer. Kazakhstan: relaxed. Good walking shoes for the canyon trails.
Kyrgyzstan: good mobile coverage in towns; no signal at Son-Kul and in the mountains. Kazakhstan: fast mobile data in Almaty; patchy around Charyn and the Kolsai lakes.
Free cancellation 40 days or more before departure. 39–30 days: 30% of the price is kept; 29–15 days: 50%; 14 days or less or no-show: 100%. One free change of dates or hotel category 45+ days before departure.
Travel insurance is not included in the tour price. We recommend a policy covering medical care, repatriation and cancellation, and we can suggest trusted providers.
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