I used the Kazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan border crossing at Kordai to get from Almaty to Bishkek. Here’s my report of the crossing, including transport times, prices, and places to stay on either side of the border.
Kyrgyzstan is quickly becoming Central Asia’s most popular destination, and southern Kazakhstan is a gorgeous bit of country well worth traveling. But is it easy to travel between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan?
Travelers rejoice: yes, yes it is! Traveling overland in Central Asia is becoming increasingly easy with each passing year, and the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border crossing at Kordai is a good indication of how smooth Central Asia travel can be. Coming from Almaty to Bishkek, or visa versa, this overland border crossing is very straightforward and doable with public transportation.
Almaty, Kazakhstan to the border
The journey begins at Almaty’s Sayran bus station. To get there from the superbly budget-friendly Amigo Hostel, I took a taxi for 300 tenge.
The marshrutka from Almaty to Bishkek
Regular marshrutky from Almaty to Bishkek leave from Sayran between 6 and 11 in the morning. The minibuses depart every half hour, or when full. A ticket costs 1,500 tenge per person, and there’s no need to buy one ahead of time–just show up when you’re ready to go. The ride to the border takes about four hours, including a stop or two for snacks and toilet.
The overland Kazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan border crossing at Kordai
This border is open 24/7, though is reportedly busier in the evenings.
Immigration services at the border go smoothly, but timing depends on how busy it is. It took me about half an hour to actually cross the border. On the Kazakh side there are no forms to be filled out, no departure fees, and no questions are asked. On the Kyrgyz side your passport will be taken into a side room to be stamped, which takes only five minutes.
Once you’ve crossed the border, you’ll have to wait for your marshrutka, so make sure to remember the license plate number. Many people only take the marshrutka to the border, so following your fellow passengers might not be helpful. I spent many a panicked minute frantically searching for fellow passengers and/or the marshrutka, only to have it roll through customs half an hour later.
Heading to Kyrgyzstan? Check out my Kyrgyzstan backpacking budget report!
… and the marshrutka is… where?
If you don’t have further transportation, there are several local marshrutky and a million and one taxi drivers waiting around at the border. A taxi to the center of Bishkek shouldn’t cost more than 300 som.
Changing money at the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border crossing
There’s a small money exchange booth with reasonable tenge-som spreads. One tenge got 0.19 som at the time of writing. Spreads in the city are a bit better though, so if you have a lot of money to change, it’s better to do it there.
Arriving in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
After a short 20 minute ride, the marshrutka from Almaty drops you off at the western bus station (Zapadny Avtovokzal or Западный Автовокзал).
To save yourself a bit of effort, I recommend and stayed at Apple Hostel, only a three minute walk away from the station. Owned by a friend and the queen of Kyrgyzstan tourism, Aigul, it’s reasonably priced, the staff are all incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, and the western bus station makes for a convenient landmark when navigating Bishkek’s marshrutka network.
Inside Apple Hostel
Things to do in Kyrgyzstan
You’ve taken your first steps into Kyrgyzstan, and the question is… now what?
From the towering Tian Shan mountains to the fertile Ferghana Valley in the west, there are all kinds of things to do in Kyrgyzstan for every traveler. Here are some more of my blog posts on Kyrgyzstan to aid and inspire you on your next nomadic adventure!
- Abandoned exploring in Min Kush, Kyrgyzstan
- Independent horse trekking to Song Kul lake
- The Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border crossing
Annnd there you have it, a quick guide on the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border crossing and getting from Almaty to Bishkek. Let me know in the comments if anything changes or I forgot anything!
Beautiful article guys!This will be so helpful to us when we get there.Seems like this border crossing was extremely smooth ( except for not knowing where your minibus was) This article is so rich and full of useful information.We’ll definitely follow your advice and change money in the city.How long did you stay in Bishkek? Can’t wait to make it to Kyrgyzstan, it looks like an amazing country!!
Glad it’s helpful guys! Hope it’s the same when you cross (two years form now). ?
Bishkek is not that interesting. We had to stay for a while to get our visas sorted out, but we wouldn’t recommend staying longer than two days, considering the beautiful nature it’s surround with.
Does the driver collect the passports
No, you leave the bus and cross customs yourself.
Just crosses the border of Kyrgzystand into Kazaghstan last night, I dont know if things have changed or its because its midnight but i was told to queue up with the Kyrgzystan citizens with passport queue (at least thats what i think because everyone on my queue had passports while the other were holding documents and ID).
Everything was smooth and on the Kazaghstan side, I had to fill up a simple customs form and thats about it, everything smooth.
Thanks for sharing your experience, I’m sure it’ll be helpful for future travelers 🙂 Enjoy Kazakhstan!
Hi, do you know roughly what time the first marshrutka leaves from Almaty? We want to get one as early as possible as we will only be in Bishkek for a day.
Does anyone know roughly when the last one leaves from Bishkek?
Thanks!
Hi,
buses from almaty to Bishkek are leaving from 6:00am to 7:pm.
Thanks for the tip! I’m sure it will be very helpful to future travelers 🙂
Here are my notes from my visa run, Almaty to Bishkek to Almaty. I included a lot of detail to hopefully paint a complete picture for anyone who might find it useful. Maybe it will reduce someone’s stress about doing it the first time.
Bring passport, money (about 5000 tenge)
Open Yandex taxi app
Type in Sayran
Pick first one in Russian
Visually confirm it’s right location on Yandex map because location is west of small lake
Arrive at Sayran bus station 9:10 am
Building is yellowish stone or orange stone color
The entrance is on the northwest side of the building
Go straight through the metal detector
Continue straight
Go to the ticket booth on left
Translate I need to buy a ticket to Bishkek or just say Bishkek
Pay 1800 tenge for a 1 way ticket
Show ticket to person at gate near ticket booth
Show ticket to person near door that leads outside, translate “where do I wait for the van?”
Her answer was 1 so I waited at the big sign with 1
Take photo of the van license plate so you can get back in the van at the border crossing
Show ticket to van driver
Get on the van
Van is about an 18 seater. There is some space for luggage at the backdoor but not a lot of room. Maybe like 1 small or medium piece of luggage per person but I’m not sure.
The van will start filling up with other people
When the van was full we left, I waited in the van for about 30 minutes
Van leaves at 9:51 am
Temperature outside was about 15C temperature in the van was probably around 19C not too hot not too cold
Kazakh SIM card “kcell” service was on E for the trip so I could get messages slowly or once in awhile
Gas station stop at 11:27 AM for about 20 minutes. Snacks and toilet here.
Stopped at first border 1:19 pm (Leaving Kazakhstan)
Get out of van and walk for 5 minutes with the other passengers
Give passport and look at the camera (just like Arrival Immigration process at all airports). They will keep your Kazakhstan arrival card (white piece of paper)
Walk for 3 minutes
Second border (entering Kyrgyzstan). Give passport and look at the camera.
Walk 5 minutes
Some taxi drivers will get in your face and ask if you need a ride I just kept walking straight
Look for some of the people you were on the van with before and wait with them
Eventually the van will come
Confirm it’s the same van by looking at the license plate photo you took before
Back on van by 1:45 pm (so the border crossing process took about 15 minutes total)
Wait for 7 minutes on the van for it to fill up
Some new people got on the same van and some people left
I didn’t have cell phone service in Kyrgyzstan because Kazakhstan SIM card
2:30 pm arrived in Bishkek bus station
Walked to a yellowish building nearby where there was a ticket booth and white vans parked outside
The price was 400 som for Bishkek to Almaty so I walked northeast for 30 seconds to a money changer and exchanged 3000 tenge for about 540 som
I went back to the ticket window and bought the ticket and asked the lady which bus and she said 5
Showed driver my ticket and got on the white van
Waited in the van for 2 hours for it to fill up
We departed at 4:42 pm
Now I did everything in reverse, do the 2 border crossings again.
You will need to fill out another Kazakhstan Arrival card when entering. I just put my name and nationality on it. Not any address.
Arrived back at the Almaty bus station at 9:01 pm so the whole process took me 12 hours.
Wowowow, thanks for sharing all of this information Pete! This is crazy useful, and definitely helpful (I know loads of people want to stay on in Kyrgyzstan longer than the two months). I appreciate your taking the time to share all of this! Cheers, and happy travels 🙂
If I’m a visa on arrival at Kyrgyzstan will I be ok doing a border crossing or I have to fly into the airport ?
You can go overland from the borders! There’s no difference between flying in/out and going by land when it comes to Kyrgyzstan’s visa-free policy.
I like your travel stories. You obviously love to travel. I too love to travel but not as daring as you are (I have visited 67 countries to date).
I was going to visit Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan but Covid-19 put a stop to it. I still intend to travel there post-pandemic though.
In preparation for the trip I am trying to learn the Cyrillic alphabet & just enough Russian to get by (found it quite a challenge).
In the meantime I have these questions for you:
1. What is your opinion regarding the safety of marshrutka from Almaty to Bishkek re vehicle condition & driver behaviour (speeding / careless?).
2. I will be travelling with a couple of carry-on bags. I understand there is a bathroom /snack stop for 20 minutes or so on the way. How safe is it to leave the bags in the van when I go to the building during that time? (I know taking the bags with me is the safe way to go but it may be very inconvenient).
By the way I am Canadian by passport, Indonesian by birth.
Thanks and safe travel to you.
Hi Usman, I’m glad to hear you like my blog. Too bad you couldn’t visit Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, but let’s hope you can do so soon.
As for your questions, I didn’t feel unsafe while being in marshrutkas in Kazakhstan of Kyrgyzstan. Now it obviously depends on the driver, but in generally it should be fine.
Your stuff should also be fine inside the marshrutka. You should keep your daypack with your most valuable stuff with you, but it’s not likely people are going to steal luggage with your clothes in them and such.
İ want to ask , do you have any idea about kyrgyzstan and kazakhstan korday border is it still open ? Or its lockdown because of covid-19.Because i want to pass by bus.i just wanted to be sure, thank you
Sorry, I don’t know what the current status is. You can check the Caravanistan forum for more info