Kazakhstan is a charming and delightful country. I didn’t know much about this vast Central Asian country before I went there, and what little I thought I knew turned out to be mostly wrong.
Take Almaty as an example. The former capital and largest city is modern, cosmopolitan and beautiful, full of parks and green spaces, set against a backdrop of towering mountains that are covered with snow even in high summer. Not what I expected!
There’s great food here, both local and from surrounding countries, there are several small but very high quality third wave coffee roasters, and the area is famous for its tea.
It’s safe, clean, easy to get around with some helpful apps, and, at least in my experience, full of friendly people. And this is just one city! From the grasslands that cover much of the country to forests and wetlands, deserts and lakes, canyons and beaches, the landscape is diverse and impressive.
Add to this the fact that there are very few Western tourists and prices for everything from food to transportation and accommodation are relatively low, and you’ve got yourself a high Underrated travel destination.
I loved my time there!
Especially if you don’t speak Russian or Kazakh, but even if you do, you’ll benefit from mobile data when traveling across this vast land. From translating menus and conversations to calling Yandex (the local equivalent of Uber) and finding your way around, an internet connection makes life easier.
Luckily, data prices are as low as most others, whether you buy a local SIM or use the new travel eSIM. No matter which one you choose, I’ll provide you with all the details you need to get set up quickly and easily.
Here’s what you need to know.
company
There are three telephone networks in Kazakhstan: Kcell, Beeline and Tele2.
Kcell and Beeline have the largest number of users, each accounting for about 40%, followed by Tele2. There’s little difference in coverage, though, especially if you only visit larger towns.
All three companies are rolling out 5G, with service available in all major cities and some smaller cities at least in their central areas. No matter where you live, you’ll get good LTE coverage, but keep in mind that Kazakhstan is a Very Big country.
Major cities are hundreds or thousands of kilometers apart, so don’t expect reliable (or indeed any) service when traveling between towns, especially when you’re off major road or rail routes.
Tele2 tends to offer visitors slightly better prices and deals than other sites, so I recommend you choose Tele2. But realistically, for most visitors, this is unlikely to make much of a difference.
Please note that when you first register and use a local SIM card, your phone and ID will be linked to a government database. Thereafter, you will not be able to use a different local SIM card on the same phone (unless that phone is also registered), and you will not be able to use your SIM card on other devices.
This may not matter when you first visit Kazakhstan, but it may have an impact if you return and buy a new SIM card from another company: you need to make sure the old SIM card is not registered first Provided by the carrier you purchased from.
None of this applies when roaming or using a travel eSIM: it only applies if you purchase service from a local operator.
Kazakhstan Travel eSIM
I spent over a week in Kazakhstan, visiting Almaty and Astana. I’ve basically switched to travel eSIMs rather than physical ones these days, and it was no different here: arriving after a long flight, I didn’t want to queue to buy and register a SIM card.
My partner and I both used Airalo eSIM on this trip: She purchased Single country version For Kazakhstan, when I use the company’s Discover Global eSIM.
The latter has data packs of up to 20GB, lasts for a year, and is available in over 120 countries, so it’s a great deal compared to buying a separate eSIM. During a three-month trip across a dozen countries, it saved me a lot of Time and money!
We had good coverage in both cities we visited, both downtown and suburban. On overnight trains between them we would provide service whenever we were close to a town, but not where there was no real sign of civilization.
Like most travel eSIMs, they’re data-only: you don’t get a local number. I use apps for everything from communications to transportation these days, so the lack of a local number is rarely a problem for me, but you may have different needs.
If you’re new to eSIMs, they can be a huge benefit for travelers, making it quick, easy and (often) cheap to get connected when you arrive in a new country. latest mobile phone Support them and you can read all about them here.
Below is a pricing table that I update weekly with details on all plans from the companies I recommend.
How to buy a prepaid SIM card in Kazakhstan
Flying into Almaty’s brand new international airport, checking in and collecting your luggage is a breeze. If you want to buy a physical SIM card, all three operators have side-by-side self-service kiosks in the arrival hall.
Even though I had decided to use a travel eSIM card for this trip, I checked out the packages available at the kiosk. They’re all very similar to each other, but Tele2 gets more data for less money than the others.
I discuss the costs in detail below, but for now, if you’re a heavy data user, you’ll get better value from a local SIM with a travel package than a travel eSIM.
However, if you’re like me and don’t use a lot of data when traveling (my 3GB plan easily lasted me a week in Kazakhstan), then the eSIM option will cost the same or less than a travel SIM card, and More expensive to buy and easy to set up.
Local SIM cards need to be registered when purchased, so you need to bring your passport when purchasing. This is obviously not a problem if you’re buying at the airport, but it’s something to keep in mind if you wait until you buy in the city.
Prepaid SIM and eSIM fees
Phone 2
Especially if you buy it at the airport, but even if you’re not at the airport, you’ll be directed to one of the company’s travel SIM packages. This is usually a recipe for paying a good amount of money, but like many things in Kazakhstan, that’s not the case here.
For 5590 ZZT (about $11.50), you get 25GB of LTE data and 25GB of 5G data (if your phone supports it), as well as unlimited calls to Tele2 numbers and 240 minutes to other numbers in Kazakhstan. The package is valid for 30 days.
If that’s not enough for your travel needs, pay 6590 tenge (about $13.50) to increase the limit to 35+35GB and 340 minutes of talk time.
These are probably the only two options you’ll get at the airport, but if you’re willing to wait, you can find many more options at Tele2 stores in the city. Keep in mind that not all staff speak English, especially outside tourist areas.
Airalo
As I said, I’m using Airalo’s Discover Global package for this trip. This makes it much cheaper to get service in multiple countries, but it doesn’t always use the same local carrier as Airalo’s single-country eSIM.
This is the case in Kazakhstan: the single-country version purchased by my partner uses Beeline, while my multi-country version uses Tele2. This makes it easy to compare coverage and speed between the two without much difference.
Because Airalo has good service, a moderate amount of data, and the cheapest price, I recommend Airalo to most people traveling to Kazakhstan.
However, it is worth double-checking the details in the table below: At that time, aloSIM card (Another company I frequently use) has a lower price for the 10GB data package. If my trip required that much data, I would choose this option.
I update this table weekly, most recently November 4, 2024.
top up
Phone 2
Tele2 travel SIM plans are all valid for 30 days: if you run out of data or have a longer stay, the easiest way to top up is to return to the Tele2 store and buy a new plan.
If you’re not near a store, you can also purchase new bundles using the company’s app (iOS system and Android) or by calling #122*4# and follow the prompts. If you don’t understand Russian or Kazakh, you’ll need to do some Google Translate.
Airalo
Top up Airalo or any of the other travel eSIM companies I mentioned by logging into the website or app. All you have to do is select your Kazakhstan eSIM, click on the recharge button and buy the same plan again.
The pricing and duration of the top-up packs are exactly the same as for the original eSIM: there is little difference between top-up your current eSIM and buying a new one, except that there is no need to activate it.
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We spent five days in Almaty and three days in Astana, exploring most of the central areas of both cities as well as some attractions on the outskirts. We also traveled about 1200 kilometers between the two cities by night train.
We tested it in any city, and we were able to enjoy fast and reliable LTE service anytime and anywhere: Beeline LTE network is a little faster than Tele2 network, but both are very fast. During my stay, I had no issues from using maps to making video calls.
Given how sparsely populated much of Kazakhstan is, it’s no surprise that many parts of our train journey had little to no Tele2 or Beeline coverage. As we got closer to town, service resumed, but at much lower speeds than in major cities.
Check out our guide to SIM cards and eSIM 65+ other countries here.
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