Pickup
Return
🎁 Use code WELCOME3 during checkout to get discount on your first booking with us. Enjoy! ☀️
Car hire in Almaty is the simplest way to reach what people actually fly here for: Charyn Canyon, the Kolsai and Kaindy lakes, Medeu's Olympic skating rink and Big Almaty Lake at 2,500 metres. The city itself is walkable and well-served by taxis and the metro; the rental earns its keep the moment you leave the ring road. ALA airport sits 15 km north of the centre, and within a day's drive lies almost everything that brings travellers to southern Kazakhstan.
A Manchester couple landed at ALA at 03:40 from Istanbul. They signed at the terminal exit and were in their hotel near Dostyk Avenue 35 minutes later — no waiting on an airport shuttle.
The Kazakhstani road rules and insurance basics are covered on the country page. This page is about Almaty itself: pick-up at ALA, parking, the road to Charyn, the passport zone at Big Almaty Lake, and whether driving 1,200 km to Astana is worth it.
Pick-up at ALA airport and in the city
Almaty International (ALA) sits 15 km north of the centre — 25–35 minutes by car, longer in rush hour. International desks (global chains) sit in the arrivals hall and run 06:00–24:00. Local Kazakhstani operators (Naprokat, Easy Rent, NSK, Avtoprokat, Premium Rent) meet customers at the terminal exit with a flight-number sign and operate around the clock, including night-time arrivals.
A traveller's KC8772 from Almaty's Istanbul leg touched down at 01:15. The global-chain desks had already shut at midnight; a local host had keys and contract ready at the exit in under ten minutes.
Doorstep delivery to a hotel in the centre, to Medeu or to Shymbulak is normally free with local operators during business hours; night and early-morning slots run KZT 3,000–8,000 ($6–17). Drop-off can be at the same point or one-way in Astana — more on that further down.
Delivery to Esentai Tower or the Ritz-Carlton before 18:00 is free. The car can be brought up to Shymbulak too, useful if you plan a few days on the slopes and would rather not drive down for the keys.
TakeCars shows the exact delivery fee per supplier at booking, so there are no surprises after pickup.
Chevrolet Monza in Kazakhstan
Good deal, though there are some accidents, it is dealed fairly. But it may not feasible for tourist to clean the car at return. And the owner could not keep the original time for returning car.
Day trips and overnight routes from Almaty
Within 350 km of Almaty sits almost the entire natural must-see of Kazakhstan. Tariff and car class decide whether the trip happens.
Charyn Canyon — the headline day trip
200 km and three hours east on the A351 towards Khorgos. Mostly tarmac, last 15 km good gravel. Free parking at the Valley of Castles, entry around $3. Full loop — 10–11 hours.
Kolsai and Kaindy — overnight
Kolsai-1 is 330 km and 5 hours via Saty on tarmac. Kaindy is another 20 km of rocky mountain gravel with a spring stream; a 4×4 is needed. Most suppliers exclude this stretch from standard CDW. Pair it with Charyn — 50 km between them.
A pair of friends pushed a basic saloon down to the Kaindy ford last May and bent a sump on a hidden rock. The repair came off their deposit. A 4×4 with Full Cover sits at $35 a day extra — cheaper than one bad afternoon.
Medeu, Shymbulak and Big Almaty Lake — half-day
Medeu (1,691 m) — 15 km up Dostyk Avenue. Shymbulak — 4 km further. BAL (2,511 m) — 30 km up a serpentine; border zone, the police post checks passports. In winter the upper section is sometimes closed.
A guest drove an hour up to the BAL post without his passport last October. The officer turned the car around at 2,200 metres. Carry the document on you, not just a phone photo.
Plan an early start in winter and check the forecast: black ice closes the upper serpentine on short notice.
Parking in Almaty
Paid zones are marked with blue "P" signs in Medeu, Bostandyk and Almaly districts. Rate — 100–300 tenge per hour ($0.20–0.60). Payment via the Aparking app, Yandex Maps, meters or SMS. Sundays and weekdays after 20:00 — free. Enforcement is strict: cameras read all plates and the tow truck works fast.
A guest left a foreign-plated SUV unpaid for 40 minutes on Furmanov last spring. The fine landed on the supplier the same day and was deducted from the deposit with a KZT 1,500 admin charge.
In residential districts (Bostandyk, Medeu, Auezov) and outside the central zones, parking is free year-round. Big hotels and malls — Mega, Apport, Esentai — provide free guest parking. At Kok-Tobe — free at the lower cable-car station, paid at the upper terrace. Medeu has a large free lot (200 tenge on a winter weekend). Shymbulak is paid at the lower gondola (KZT 1,000–2,000) or take the free shuttle from Medeu. Zenkov Cathedral — free on Tole bi and Gogol streets, KZT 200/hour at the entrance.
For a foreign visitor, the easiest way into Aparking is via Yandex Maps. It talks to the parking system directly, so no separate registration is needed.
Most local hosts will pre-install Aparking at handover and walk you through the first session.
Rates in Almaty vary throughout the year depending on the season and the rental length.
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
How expensive is renting a car in Almaty: average daily rates for a one-week car rental, across all car classes.
What TakeCars does differently in Almaty
-
Meet at ALA with a sign — no shuttle bus
Local partners drive directly to the terminal exit using your flight number, with no airport desk and no shuttle to a remote office.
-
Right car for the route
If Kaindy or Kolsai is on your plan, we'll suggest a 4×4 with the right cover from the start, so you don't end up uninsured on a gravel mountain road.
-
A local manager around the clock
A real person in Almaty answers WhatsApp and Telegram, speaks Russian and English, and isn't sitting in a call centre three time zones away.
Highway police posts and one-way to Astana
Highway police posts
On the Almaty–Bishkek, Almaty–Charyn and Almaty–Astana roads, police checkpoints are routine. Always carry: passport, licence, rental contract, copy of the insurance, and (if your licence is non-Latin) an IDP. Stay in the car, don't argue, don't offer cash. Most checks take 1–3 minutes.
You get used to the posts in a day. The trick is keeping every document in one folder in the glovebox and staying in the seat until asked otherwise.
Bishkek in a day
Bishkek is 240 km and four hours via the A2 motorway and the Korday border post. The Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border is open under EAEU rules. Most suppliers ask for a written permission and a Green-Card-equivalent policy ($10–30) plus a cross-border fee (KZT 5,000–15,000). Bring your passport; EU/UK/Swiss nationals follow Kyrgyzstan's own visa-free regime.
One-way to Astana
Pick up in Almaty, drop off in Astana — yes, global chains and several locals offer this. The one-way fee is KZT 30,000–80,000 ($60–170); the distance is 1,200 km and 13–15 hours via the A1 through Karaganda. Most travellers fly instead and hire a fresh car in Astana — quicker and often cheaper.
Frequent Questions
Almaty International is 15 km north of the centre, 25–35 minutes by car, longer in rush hour. A taxi via Yandex Go or InDrive runs KZT 1,500–2,500 ($3–5). Bus 92 leaves every 20 minutes for the Sairan bus station for KZT 100. In your hire car, the run from ALA to Kok-Tobe or Dostyk Avenue is the same 30 minutes outside peak hours.
For a daytime arrival, global-chain desks at ALA run 06:00–24:00. Local operators meet you 24/7 at the terminal exit with a flight-number sign and are often cheaper. A city office pick-up makes sense if you spend the first couple of days car-free and only take the vehicle for out-of-town trips.
Yes. Local Kazakhstani operators deliver to a hotel in the centre, to Medeu or to Shymbulak, normally free during business hours. Night and early-morning slots are KZT 3,000–8,000 ($6–17). International chains don't offer doorstep delivery — only their ALA desks and city offices. On TakeCars the supplier filter shows the exact delivery scenario and any fee.
Paid zones are marked with blue "P" signs in Medeu, Bostandyk and Almaly districts. The rate is 100–300 tenge per hour ($0.20–0.60). Payment via the Aparking app, Yandex Maps, parking meters or SMS. Sundays and weekday hours after 20:00 — free. Cameras read all plates, including foreign ones; tow trucks operate in the centre and unpaid fines reach your supplier.
Medeu has a large free lot, sometimes a token KZT 200 on winter weekends. At Kok-Tobe — free at the lower cable-car station, paid at the upper terrace. Shymbulak — paid (KZT 1,000–2,000) at the lower gondola, or take the free shuttle from Medeu. Zenkov Cathedral — free on adjacent streets, KZT 200/hour right at the entrance. Mall car parks (Esentai, Mega, Apport) are free for guests.
Yes. BAL sits in a border zone with a police post on the access road. A foreign passport is fine, but without a document you will be turned around — and the hour up the serpentine wasted. In winter, also check the forecast: the upper section can be closed for snow or black ice. Carry the document on you, not just a phone photo.
Charyn Canyon is 200 km and around three hours east of Almaty on the A351 towards Khorgos. Mostly tarmac, last 15 km good gravel — any car will manage. Parking at the Valley of Castles is free, entry around $3. A full loop with photo stops and lunch takes 10–11 hours — a comfortable day trip from the city without an overnight stay.
For Kolsai-1 (the lower lake) — no, it's tarmac and a parking lot at the water. Kolsai-2 and -3 (upper) are walking-only. For Kaindy — last 15–20 km is rocky mountain gravel plus a spring stream; a 4×4 is strongly advised. Most suppliers exclude this section from basic CDW — a saloon can technically reach it, but any damage is on you.
Yes. Bishkek is 240 km and four hours via the A2 and the Korday border post. The Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border is open under EAEU rules. Most suppliers ask for a written permission and a Green-Card-equivalent policy ($10–30) plus a cross-border fee (KZT 5,000–15,000). Tell TakeCars at booking and we'll match you to a supplier that handles this without paperwork drama.
Stationary traffic-police posts on the Almaty–Bishkek, Almaty–Charyn and Almaty–Astana roads. They stop cars to check documents: passport, licence, rental contract, insurance. Stay inside, don't step out unless asked, don't argue and don't offer cash. Most checks take 1–3 minutes. Keeping all documents in a single folder in the glovebox makes the stop trivial.
Yes — one-way is offered by global chains and several local operators. The fee is KZT 30,000–80,000 ($60–170); the distance is 1,200 km and 13–15 hours via the A1 through Karaganda. In practice most travellers fly (HSA or Air Astana, $40–80) and hire a fresh car in Astana — usually faster and often cheaper than driving the whole way.
Automatics are now around half of the Kazakhstani fleet — a mix of Korean, Chinese and Russian models. Surcharge over manual is 10–25%. For city driving and Medeu the choice doesn't matter much; for Kolsai, Kaindy and long mountain serpentines an automatic is easier. In peak season (June–August) book an automatic 1–2 weeks ahead — they go first.
Tamgaly (Bronze Age petroglyphs, UNESCO 2004) is 170 km and three hours north-west of Almaty on the A2. The last 10 km is gravel — a saloon will manage but it shakes. Parking at the visitor centre is free, entry around $2. The site is quiet and uncrowded, a good contrast to Charyn. Easy as a day trip; in summer bring water and a hat.
Turkestan with the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi mausoleum (UNESCO) is 880 km and 11–12 hours by road via Shymkent. Most travellers fly from ALA to Turkestan (HSA, around an hour, KZT 15,000–25,000) and hire on arrival. Doing it by road is realistic as 2 days down + 2 back, justified mainly if the journey through southern Kazakhstan is part of the plan.
Yes. Local operators have long tariffs: economy KZT 220,000–400,000 per month ($470–850), SUV KZT 350,000–600,000 ($740–1,280), starting from 28 days. No Kazakhstani residency required — visa-free entry or a short visa is enough. Almaty is the country's main hub for long-term renters and remote workers; on TakeCars the "long-term" filter surfaces suppliers with monthly discounts.