How much do you need to travel to any place? Well if you can know fairly about this in advance then your trip can be well within the budget you planned for. In this new article on ‘Penny Wise’ we will look at Kazakhstan, another country in Central Asia. Travel to Kazakhstan may not be as cheap as probably you thought but it is surely much less expensive than travel in Europe or USA would be.
First thing that as a traveller would satisfy is the fact that tourist infrastructure in Kazakhstan is getting better. You will find Kazakhstan to be booming economically, heavy with business travellers in the major cities. Almaty and Astana are two main modern cities here and attract lot of tourist every year. Kazakhstan is changing rapidly so as a traveller you should be looking for updated budget every now and then. It will help you make your travel easier.
In Kazakhstan accommodation is not very cheap but not overblown either. And when it comes to food, you’ll find local restaurants to be the cheapest way to go and the best way to experience the cultural heritage of the cities. Though you find local food more prevalent here in Kazakhstan yet in Almaty and Astana you can expect to find Indian and Western food in wide variety and at reasonable prices for your comfort. When it comes to activities and excursions you may have to up your budget a bit. For the most part, excursions are priced per day no matter if one person or four people are on the trip, so it is best to find someone or a small group to help defray costs.
Transport is not expensive here considering the fact that country is big in size. There are plenty of transport options here depending on your comfort and budget. But note that if you happen to visit the remote locations in Kazakhstan then it will increase your budget. Reason is that for remote locations you will hire private taxis or a rented car. Cycling is very popular here and you can meet many of the cyclist here.
By now you have a fair idea that for Kazakhstan you need to up your budget slightly but this is still not much specially because once you see the modern cities and natural landscapes here you will cherish it forever in your life.
Here is a table to help you know about probable current prices of different items in Kazakhstan.
| Item | Price in  Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT) | Price in dollars ($) |
| Meal for 2, in inexpensive Restaurant | 1762.97 | 9.48 |
| Meal for 2, in mid range Restaurant, Three-course | 7000.00 | 37.65 |
| Combo Meal at McDonalds | 1350.00 | 7.26 |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) | 275.00 | 1.48 |
| Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) | 350.00 | 1.88 |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 507.14 | 2.73 |
| Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) | 125.75 | 0.68 |
| Milk (Regular, 1 Ltr.) | 215.70 | 1.16 |
| Water (0.33 liter bottle) | 93.70 | 0.50 |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 1200.00 | 6.45 |
| Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro) | 250.00 | 1.34 |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 300.00 | 1.61 |
| Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) | 100.00 | 0.54 |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 1500.00 | 8.07 |
Prices are our approximations and may vary slightly.
Prices in dollars are calculated taking exchange rate of 1$= 185.930 KZT
Prices of water etc are market prices and may vary at restaurants and hotels.
