Travel Guides

Kazakhstan

Car rental Kazakhstan

Set almost in the middle of Central Asia, Kazakhstan is the biggest landlocked country in the world. It’s also not the easiest place to get to from the North American region and requires a change of aircraft in somewhere like Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt or London. The national airline of Air Astana has direct services from these cities to their capital city hub of Astana. Car rental in the airport comes from local companies and is also offered with a driver. This may be a good choice in a country where there is still some way to go in terms of tourist development.

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The history and culture of this part of Asia gets richer the further down the time line. Recent history features rule via the former USSR. But this was an important part of the famous Silk Road, which took travelers from Persia to China and the Mongolian territories. En route they would have encountered the same nomadic peoples who still live in the remote parts of the country. In the modern world, roads and railways are still as important as the old trading routes, including the junction for the South Siberian and the Trans Kazakhstan railways.

In the capital, most attractions are based around the religious buildings such as the Astana City Mosque. This impressive Muslim center is located in the central park and this along with the stunning Pavlodar Mosque make the Islamic architecture an important aspect of the country. As a piece of modern architecture, the Palace of the Pyramid of Peace is well worth a visit and symbolizes the reconciliation of six religions.

Best Time to visit

From a driving point of view it would be best to keep to the summer months as the winters in Kazakhstan can be severe. Roads are regularly impassable out of the main cities and in a country that borders Siberia, this is hardly surprising. But the spring and summer months show good temperatures – around 25 degrees Celsius in June, July and August.

Driving in Kazakhstan

While there are ample car hire services in Kazakhstan, the roads out of the main cities could be described as rudimentary. The need for a robust vehicle makes the SUV or four wheel drive car rental a more popular option. There is also the choice of having a local person do the driving, as this is a country where there are different interpretations of the laws and foreign visitors could easily be unaware of the local rules.