Kolsai Lakes and Charyn Canyon from Almaty

[stevesayskanpai]

Given we are short on time, we're considering taking a tour to visit Kolsai Lakes and Charyn Canyon from Almaty. Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap but reputable tours? Also a rough price for how much this sort of tour might cost?

Many thanks.

[steven]

Hi Steve,

well, I do have some recommendations on the site

Basically, if you send in a custom tour request, expect around 75$ per person per day for a group of 3, 100$ for a couple, accommodation included.

The average cost for a 2 day trip for a couple seems to be 130-150 US (per person per day ) for a English speaking guide, including transport, accommodation and entrance fees etc.

If you shop around, I don't think you will see a lot of difference in prices, but of course, see for yourself. I may be wrong. There are however very cheap tours in big buses. That's 20$ per person per day. I am personally not a big fan of those but you see them advertised now in all the hostels - it seems a new company is advertising them to foreigners, it used to be locals-only...not quite sure if they have English-speaking guides.

Here are some examples.

https://caravanistan.com/tour/charyn-ca ... -or-2-days
https://caravanistan.com/tour/kolsai-lakes-kaindy-lake

[stevesayskanpai]

Thanks for the reply Steven. It's tough as I feel like we're too short on time to do this region justice - we have two weeks to visit the main sights of Uzbekistan, catch a train to Almaty and do anything we plan in Kazakhstan before flying home from Bishkek.

I was originally planning less time in UZ to allow time to explore Kazakhstan at a slower pace, however it seems crazy to rush the Silk Road cities which I'm assuming will be the highlight of this leg of my trip.

[steven]

Good thing is you can decide on the fly if you are not too keen on staying in one particular hotel. Just book something the night before for 1 night or 2, and then see if you want to stay extra or feel like you can already move on. You don't have to plan/book everything in advance. With the tour, though, 3-4 days notice is a minimum to be certain. This is not the Amazon economy yet.

[ikari]

Hi Steven,

Is the price you have quoted only available for Kazak/Russian speaking guests? I contacted close to a dozen operators/guides for a similar trip for 2 persons, including some of the offers posted/received on this site. The average cost for a 2 day trip for a couple seems to be 130-150 US (per person per day ) for a English speaking guide, including transport, accommodation and entrance fees etc.

"Basically, if you send in a custom tour request, expect around 75$ per person per day for a group of 3, 100$ for a couple, accommodation included."

If there are any guides/tour operators which offer the above rate (ie 100USD per person for a couple per day), would be glad to have their contact! Thank you!

[steven]

Hi ikari,

sorry, my mistake, I thought this was the price. It's usually Saule who deals with tours so I guess I was behind with tour prices. The tenge devaluation has made certain things cheaper and other things more expensive.

Apologies for the wrong info!