Almaty: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Almaty is a city of 2 million people in Kazakhstan, 783 m (2,569 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Almaty International Airport (ALA), 16 km (10 mi) from the centre. It has 3 railway stations on record, including Almaty-1 railway station. Our booking partner lists 1,025+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Almaty runs from about 9 h 2 min a day in late December to 15 h 27 min in late June (computed for 43.25° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Almaty is served by 2 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Almaty International Airport (ALA), 16 km (10 mi) from the centre, whose 14,764-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Issyk-Kul International Airport (IKU, 76 km).
Flights to Almaty: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Almaty-1 railway station, Almaty-2 railway station, Medeu railway station. Trains to Almaty
Buses to Almaty · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 1,025+ places to stay in Almaty (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 413 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (200), and 11 are five-star. Across 166 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.4 out of 10. Guests have left 126,844 reviews in total.
Hotels in Almaty: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 67 hostels in Almaty, out of 1,025 places to stay of every kind — 6.5% of everywhere it lists in the city, which puts it in the top tenth of the cities we hold hostel figures for — a well-established backpacker trail. Across 27 hostels with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.2 out of 10, 0.2 below the 8.4 its hotels average. Guests have left 11,027 reviews across them.
Hostels in Almaty: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Bishkek, 193 km (Kyrgyzstan) — flights
- Aqsu, 360 km (China) — flights
- Huocheng, 331 km (China) — flights
- Artux, 399 km (China) — flights
- Ghulja, 363 km (China) — flights
- Taldykorgan, 228 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Modena, Riga, Jeddah, Istanbul, Mogadishu, Tucson, Rennes, Meknes, Saint Petersburg, Bishkek, Tel Aviv, Antalya, Vilnius, Rosario.
Common questions
Which airport serves Almaty?
Almaty International Airport (ALA), 16 km (10 mi) from the centre, plus 1 other airport with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Almaty?
About 2 million people live in Almaty, across 682 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Almaty in?
Asia/Almaty, currently UTC+5.
What currency is used in Almaty?
The Tenge (KZT). Traffic drives on the right.
Are there hostels in Almaty?
67 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Almaty.
How many hotels are there in Almaty?
Our booking partner lists 1,025 or more places to stay in Almaty, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Almaty?
Bishkek (193 km), Aqsu (360 km), Huocheng (331 km), Artux (399 km), Ghulja (363 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.