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Shymkent and Sayram Day Trip from Tashkent: Into Kazakhstan for a Day
Cross into Kazakhstan at Zhibek Zholy for a day in Shymkent and ancient Sayram, with the mausoleums of Ibrahim Ata and Karashash Ana, Shymkent's museums and parks, and lunch in Kazakhstan's third-largest city. Private car on both sides and an English-speaking guide.
About this trip
Kazakhstan starts half an hour from central Tashkent. This private day trip crosses the border at Zhibek Zholy and spends the day in Shymkent, a fast-growing city of over a million people, and in Sayram, one of the oldest towns in the region.
A car waits on each side of the border, so all you do is walk across with your passport.
What you see
- Sayram, a town on the Silk Road for more than two thousand years, with the mausoleums of Ibrahim Ata and Karashash Ana, the parents of the Sufi poet Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
- Shymkent's Regional Museum, for the history of southern Kazakhstan
- Abai Park and the city's memorial alley
- A Kazakh lunch: a good chance to try beshbarmak or kazy (paid on the spot)
How the day goes
About 10 to 11 hours. Our driver collects you in Tashkent and drives you to the border, 30–40 minutes. You cross on foot, which can take up to an hour or more at busy times. Your guide and a Kazakh car meet you on the other side; Shymkent is about an hour and a half away. You return the same way in the late afternoon.
Visas and passports
Citizens of many countries, including most of Europe, the UK and the US, can enter Kazakhstan without a visa; check your nationality before you book. If you need a visa for Uzbekistan, it must allow two entries, because you come back the same day.
Want to go on to Turkistan and the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi? It makes a long day or a good overnight trip: message us on WhatsApp.
Day by day
- Tashkent to the Zhibek Zholy border
Our driver collects you from your hotel. About 30–40 minutes to the border.
- Crossing into Kazakhstan
You cross on foot with your passport. Your guide and a Kazakh car wait on the other side.
- Sayram
One of the oldest towns in southern Kazakhstan: the mausoleums of Ibrahim Ata and Karashash Ana and the old town around them.
- Shymkent
The Regional Museum, Abai Park and the centre of Kazakhstan's third-largest city.
- Lunch
A Kazakh lunch at a local restaurant, paid on the spot.
- Back to Tashkent
The drive back to the border in the late afternoon, the crossing on foot, and our driver takes you to your hotel in Tashkent.
What's included
- Private car with driver Tashkent – Zhibek Zholy border – Tashkent
- Private car with driver on the Kazakh side, border – Shymkent – Sayram – border
- Your own English-speaking guide in Kazakhstan, meeting you at the border (other languages: see the options)
- Bottled water
Not included
- Kazakh visa, if your nationality needs one
- Lunch and drinks
- Museum tickets
- Tips for guide and drivers
- Travel insurance — required for every traveller
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