Almaty and Astana are Kazakhstan’s two biggest cities, and at roughly 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) apart in the world’s ninth largest country, this is a significant journey. It’s Kazakhstan’s flagship domestic route, and your transport options really come down to speed against experience and cost. Fly from Almaty to Astana, and you’ll be there in under two hours. Take the overnight train, and you’ll spend up to about 17 hours or more covering the same ground, watching the steppe roll past, or sleeping instead. Whether you fly or take the train, they’re both good options, just for different types of travelers. Here’s how to go from Almaty to Astana.
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In this guide, I’ve covered the two transport options that make sense for this distance, flying and the overnight train, along with why a direct bus or a private transfer don’t. Which option to pick depends on your budget, how much time you’ve got, and whether you’d rather see the country along the way or just get there.
Where is Astana?
Astana is Kazakhstan’s capital city, up in the north of the country, roughly 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from Almaty, which sits down in the south near the mountains and the border with Kyrgyzstan. Almaty, as the country’s southern commercial hub, is much more popular for foreign visitors. Astana is the purpose-built northern capital, and it’s a fascinating place to visit.
Why go to Astana?
It’s the capital city, for a start, and that alone makes it worth a stop for most people passing through Kazakhstan. Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan until 1997, when it was moved to the far north, to Astana. It’s pronounced uh·sta·nuh. And while it’s the second largest city in the country (after Almaty), it somehow feels a lot bigger. Streets are wider, buildings are bigger, everything is just, well, bigger. It’s been the capital since 1997. Astana means “Capital” in Kazakh.
Astana’s modern architecture is unlike anywhere else in the country, and it works well as a deliberate contrast to Almaty on a wider Kazakhstan itinerary. See my full Astana Travel Guide for what to actually do once you’re here, read it in conjunction with my guide to Almaty and you’ll see its very different. You can put them together in an easy 10 day Kazakhstan itinerary, like this one here.
How to Go from Almaty to Astana
You’ve really got two realistic ways to cover this route, and here’s how both of them work.
The Almaty to Astana Train
There are 12 trains that operate the Almaty to Astana route. The earliest train of the day leaves Almaty at 08:53, and the last one leaves Almaty at 22:55. But not all trains are equal. There are fast trains – the Talgo service, which runs twice daily and covers the route in around 12 to 13 hours on the fastest services, though some standard services take up to 18 hours, so check which one you’re booking.
A kupe (four-berth compartment) ticket costs around US$34. [Book via Tickets.kz] or 12Go.asia, which lists Kazakhstan Railways services. See my full guide to trains in Kazakhstan for the full picture on how booking and classes work.
As you can imagine, this is a long time to spend on a train. And so getting yourself a berth is pretty important. We opted for a private two-berth. And while you can bring your own food, there’s also a dining car and bar sitting area too. And yes, there was beer on the train, and beer snacks.
One thing that you should know before you book is that there are two train stations in Astana. And trains from Almaty can arrive in either one. You can see which trains go to which station in the table below. The stations are Astana-1, the old central station, or Astana-Nurly Zhol, the newer one, so check which one your ticket gets you to. Onward transport into the city differs between them, and neither is especially close to what passes for a center. Astana is enormous and spread out, and it reminds me of Myanmar’s vast planned capital, Naypyidaw, in that respect. There isn’t really a compact ‘center’ the way there is in Almaty.
Nurly Zhol is connected by the brand new metro (May 2026), and this metro goes out to the airport and also into the center of the city. The metro does NOT go to Astana 1. Yandex works well here though (at both train stations); you might just have to wait if your train empties and you’re the last off!
The Almaty to Astana Train Timetable
| Train | Route | Astana Station | Departure Almaty | Arrival Astana | Buy Tickets on 12goAsia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 015Т | Almaty 2 → Petropavl | Astana 1 | 08:53 | 06:25 | Buy Tickets here |
| 003Т | Almaty 2 → Astana-Nurly-Zhol | Nurly Zhol | 10:00 | 05:50 | Buy Tickets here |
| 003Ц | Almaty 2 → Astana-Nurly-Zhol | Nurly Zhol | 16:04 | 08:45 | Buy Tickets here |
| 043Х | Almaty 1 → Kostanay | Astana 1 | 16:50 | 17:45 | Buy Tickets here |
| 009Ц | Almaty 2 → Astana 1 | Astana 1 | 16:57 | 09:36 | Buy Tickets here |
| 043Т | Almaty 1 → Kostanay | Astana 1 | 17:33 | 17:45 | Buy Tickets here |
| 201Ц | Almaty 2 → Astana-Nurly-Zhol | Nurly Zhol | 20:00 | 11:53 | Buy Tickets here |
| 113Ц | Almaty 2 → Kazan Pas | Nurly Zhol | 20:18 | 18:52 | Buy Tickets here |
| 119Т | Almaty 2 → Kostanay | Astana 1 | 20:40 | 13:08 | Buy Tickets here |
| 113Ц | Almaty 2 → Kazan Pas | Nurly Zhol | 20:47 | 18:52 | Buy Tickets here |
| 105Т | Almaty 2 → Petropavl | Astana 1 | 22:40 | 14:59 | Buy Tickets here |
| 101Ц | Almaty 2 → Astana-Nurly-Zhol | Nurly Zhol | 22:55 | 15:05 | Buy Tickets here |
Almaty to Astana Flight
This is the busiest domestic route in Kazakhstan, with dozens of flights a day between Almaty (ALA) and Astana (NQZ) on Air Astana, FlyArystan, SCAT and Qazaq Air. Flight time is under 2 hours, so with check-in and transfers either end, it’s easily a half-day option even if you’re only spending an afternoon in Astana.
And with the new metro opened in May 2026, in Astana and coming right out to the airport, it’s easy to get yourself into the city.
My guide on getting to and from Almaty Airport describes how to go from Almaty to the Airport, and my guide to Astana includes details on transport from the airport to the city at that end.
An Almaty to Astana Bus
Nope. Not happening. This isn’t an option worth considering, and I’d rather tell you that upfront than list it as a normal choice. At 1,200 kilometers (745 miles), a direct bus would mean 18 to 20 hours or more on the road, and in practice there isn’t a sensible direct service covering the full route anyway. Try to piece it together yourself, and you’ll end up bouncing between other cities along the way rather than traveling in a straight line. If you want to cover this distance overland, take the train instead.
Our Journey From Almaty to Astana
You can fly from Almaty to Astana, but where’s the fun in that?. We took the overnight train. (There’s more on overnight trains in Kazakhstan here) And here’s a little bit of la-di-da for you. We went first class sleeper. Fancy eh? To be fair, it wasn’t much more than a regular 4 berth or one of those carriages that contains half the train load of people.
My guide to trains in Kazakhstan covers, classes, tickets and what to expect. You can read it here.
We got a cabin for two people (one upper, one lower bunk). There’s a couple of sockets (see my guide to power converters in Kazakhstan here) and we got a sink (its hiding under the lifting table lid in the photo), and were right next to the buffet car. There’s hot and cold drinking water in the corridor of our carriage, nothing like the almost coal-fired boilers we met in Russia on the Trans-Mongolian some 11 years ago now, but perhaps somewhat more hygienic.
The toilet (shared, of course) is clean and new.
There’s a menu in Russian, Kazakh and English. But a note, you’ll need to pay for your food and drink on the train in cash, unless you have access to the Kaspi app (spoiler, as a foreigner you’re unlikely to). Read my guide to Currency and payments in Kazakhstan here.
And our cabin attendant has a translator on her phone (as do we, and the SIM card comes in useful – more in my guide here) and keeps us up to date with times of the buffet, wakes us (well, she would have if we weren’t already awake) with a 45-minute warning of arriving in Astana.
There’s cold beer and snacks. Mashed potato and creamy chicken stuff. Manti.
Clean bedding, including a sheet sleeping bag. We get control of heating in our cabin. And endless steppe views until it gets dark.
We get *some* sleep. Breakfast is pancakes or porridge. And then we’re in Astana. Where a Yandex takes us to our hotel. It’s the Baiterek Premium Hotel, where we discover that a friend stayed here in the past. And rated it a 3. Yikes. Too late to change it now. Still. We’ll have to wait until later to check in as it’s only 10:00 when we arrive. And the Baiterek Premium, we loved it and rated it highly and would stay there again.
Tips for Traveling from Almaty to Astana
Here’s the quick version if you just want the verdict for your own trip.
The Quickest Way to Get from Almaty to Astana
The quickest way to get from Almaty to Astana is flying, by a long way. Under 2 hours in the air beats even the fastest overnight train by a wide margin. Check flight times and prices here.
The Easiest Way to Go to Astana from Almaty
The easiest way to go to Astana from Almaty is, in my opinion, the overnight train. It takes longer than flying, but experiencing an overnight train in Kazakhstan is just so worth it, and you skip the airport altogether. You can book the train here.
The Cheapest Way to Go from Almaty to Astana
The cheapest way to get from Almaty to Astana is the train, specifically a kupe berth. It’s worth spending a little more for a private berth if one’s available. It’s not as cheap, but it’s worth it at least once.
The Best Way to Go from Almaty to Astana
The best way to go from Almaty to Astana depends on your travel style, but for a proper one-off experience, it’s the overnight train for us!
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Final Words on How to Go from Almaty to Astana
This is one route in Kazakhstan where the answer to “what’s the best way to go” splits people down the middle. If you’re short on time, or Astana is just one stop on a bigger trip, fly and don’t overthink it; you’ll be there before you know it. If you’ve got a night to spare and want a proper Kazakhstan experience, book the overnight train, and spring for a private compartment if you can.
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