I was in Kazakhstan between the 27th and 29th of November 2022 and then again between 5-6th of December. The currency in Kazakhstan is Tenge (where the Russian word for money comes from by the way) and prices are relatively cheap.
You will need between 20 and 40 euro per day as a backpacker in Kazakhstan.
This report goes hand-in-hand with my tourist guide to money in Kazakhstan.
Accommodation
Accommodation in hostels varies between 6 euro and 12 euro. I paid for 4 nights in hostels and spent one on an overnight flight.
I arrived shortly after the mobilization in Russia was declared and there were a lot of Russian immigrants taking the cheapest beds in the hostels.
Total accommodation cost came to around 39.5 euro making the average 7.9 euro per night in total or 9.88 if you only count the nights I paid for.
Food and Drinks
Food in Kazakhstan is cheap, but not as cheap as its southern neighbors.
Street food like hamburgers, hotdogs, and shawarmas cost between 2 and 6 euros. Fast food chains are relatively expensive compared to the numerous local brands and outdoor food stands.
A simple meal in a restaurant will cost you between 6 and 10 euros. In total, I spent 40 euro making the average 8 euro per day.
Transportation
I didn’t need a lot of transportation inside Kazakhstan, as I stayed in Almaty and didn’t travel around the whole country.
Local transport in Almaty is cheap – 0.16 euro with AlmatyCard or 0.30 without, however, nobody actually checks and the drivers didn’t accept my money for the first few rides, so I just used the buses for free.
Getting to the natural attractions in the Almaty region is troublesome unless you book a tour, which is what most of my transport budget went for.
In total, I paid 32 euro for transport. The average daily cost came out to 6.4 euro.
This excludes the expensive 255$ flight I had to take from Baku to Almaty.
I wouldn’t have, but the Caspian Sea Ferry was off-limits for passengers at the time and even if it hadn’t been, it would’ve cost me a lot of time and money to get from Baku to Aktau and then to Almaty – not worth it.
My initial plan was to go south through Iran, but the protests in the country forced me to rethink my plans.
Insurance
For travel insurance, I use a company called SafetyWing, which provides a subscription model insurance, best suited for young people (as the price is understandably lower).
It costs 42 dollars for 4 weeks, so 5 days are ~7.5 euro or 1.5 euro per day.
Culture and Activities
There aren’t many museums in Almaty. Actually, I only paid an entrance fee for one museum – the Central State Museum, which at 1 euro is quite worth it. In total, I paid 1 euro for entrance fees. The average cost per day comes to 0.2 euro.
I had no other expenses and no incidental costs.
| Accommodation | 39.5 euro |
| Food | 40 euro |
| Transport | 32 euro |
| Travel Insurance | 7.5 euro |
| Culture | 1 euro |
| Other | 0 |
| TOTAL | 120 euro |
In total, I spent 196.5 euro for 5 days, which makes the average 24 euro per day.