Shymkent and Turkestan are close enough together that if you’re already in Shymkent, you’re almost certainly heading to Turkestan next. The pilgrimage city and its Yasawi Mausoleum are Kazakhstan’s biggest attractions, and at roughly 160 kilometers (100 miles) apart, this is an easy day trip to add on rather than requiring an overnight stay. We went from Shymkent to Turkestan ourselves using a taxi and marshrutka combination, which sounds a lot more complicated written down than it actually was. If you’re working through my guides to Shymkent and Turkestan, this is the missing link between the two, and to be fair, most people are in Shymkent to come to Turkestan anyway. Here’s how to go from Shymkent to Turkestan.
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You’ve got five real ways to cover this route: a guided day tour that handles everything for you, the shared taxi and marshrutka combination we used ourselves, a Yandex Go booked end to end, several trains that exist but aren’t the best choice for this route, and a private transfer if you’d rather not think about any of it. Which one makes sense for you depends on how much you value your time versus your money, whether you’re traveling solo or splitting costs with someone else, and whether Turkestan is a quick stop on your way through or a longer visit in itself.
Where is Turkestan?
Turkestan is in southern Kazakhstan, around 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Shymkent. It’s one of the oldest cities in the country and is best known as a historic pilgrimage city that was built around the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. The site is significant enough that it’s often described as the spiritual capital of the Turkic world. You can reach it by tour, shared taxi, marshrutka, Yandex, train or private transfer, and it’s all covered below.
Why go to Turkestan?
Turkestan is honestly the reason most people find themselves in Shymkent at all, rather than the other way round. Although Shymkent has some really rather interesting (if dark) reasons to visit. The Yasawi Mausoleum really is one of the most impressive single sights in Kazakhstan, and the city around it is particularly untouristy once you get away from the Mausoleum complex. But the complex itself is enormous, and once you’ve seen the mausoleum and various artefacts, there’s a whole load more tourist-related things to see, places to eat and so on. Read my full Turkestan Travel Guide for what to see and do once you’re there; this post is just about getting you from A to B.
How to Go from Shymkent to Turkestan
You’ve got five ways to get from Shymkent to Turkestan, and here’s how each one works in practice.
Take a Tour from Shymkent to Turkestan
The simplest option to visit Turkestan from Shymkent is a guided day tour, and if you’d rather not deal with bus stations or marshrutka timings at all, this Shymkent to Turkestan day tour does all of it for you. It’s an all-inclusive one-day trip: return transport, a guide who actually knows the history behind the Yasawi Mausoleum rather than you working it out from a plaque, and usually a stop or two along the way that you wouldn’t easily arrange yourself. You’ll get picked up and dropped back in Shymkent the same day, which makes it a genuinely easy way to see Turkestan properly without an overnight stay. My guide on what to see in Shymkent is here.
It costs more than doing it yourself, but you’re paying for convenience and context, and both are worth something. There’s no direct bus route between Shymkent and Turkestan, so if a tour isn’t for you, the next option, the marshrutka, is what you actually want.
Shymkent to Turkestan Shared Taxi / Marshrutka
This is what we did ourselves, and it’s the cheapest way to get between the two. From central Shymkent, (we stayed at the fabulous Express City Hotel) take a taxi or Yandex (see my guide to getting around Kazakhstan for more on how that works) out to Samal Bus Station, which is further from the center than you’d expect. The map location is here.
From there, marshrutkas cover the roughly two-hour journey. They depart when full rather than on a fixed timetable, so you’ll need to allow for some waiting time at the station. We arrived at 08:30 and didn’t leave until 09:17, and paid 1,700 KZT per person, in cash. Kazakh residents can pay by Kaspi (see my guide to currency and paying in Kazakhstan); everyone else needs cash.
On the way back, we got to the station at 15:10 and left at 15:55, so build the same buffer in either direction. The station on the return is the Altyn Orda station (map location); It’s sometimes called the Merey Bus Station, but they’re essentially in the same place. And the photo below shoes you what you’re looking for. The cost was 1,500 KZT to return (go figure), and we gave up on this mode of transport when it stopped at the Автовокзал Бекжан (Bekjan Bus Terminal) on the return. It was going to continue to Samal, but we just opted to jump in a Yandex instead.
Taking a Yandex from Shymkent to Turkestan
Yandex Go also covers this route in its “City to City” option, the same as it does for other longer journeys like Almaty to Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes, and it’s worth considering even if you’re trying to travel cheaply.
As I’m typing this, a shared carpool seat costs around 3,300 KZT per person, or 9,500 KZT if you book the whole car to yourselves. That’s more than the marshrutka, obviously, but you need to include the 1,610 KZT you’ll pay just to get yourself out to Samal Bus Station in the first place, plus the wait once you’re there. Once you add that up, a shared Yandex starts to look like the smarter, less hassle option for not that much more money.
Obviously, to use Yandex you’ll need mobile data. And my recommendations on mobile data and internet for Kazakhstan are here.
Taking the Train from Shymkent to Turkestan
Technically, you can take the train from Shymkent to Turkestan, and it takes around 3.5 hours, which already tells you it’s not the quick option here. You’ve also got to factor in getting yourself to and from the train stations at both ends, which eats further into any time you’d save.
Turkestan’s train station is more than 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the Mausoleum Complex itself, so you’re looking at another taxi or Yandex on arrival before you’ve actually reached anything worth seeing. Given the distance involved, this isn’t the best way to make this particular journey; book via 12Go if you do want to take it, and save the overnight trains for the longer routes, like Almaty to Astana. (Read about overnight trains in Kazakhstan here)
Shymkent to Turkestan Private Transfer
At around 160 kilometers (100 miles), this is a straightforward drive of roughly two hours door to door, which makes a private transfer a genuinely good option if you want a fixed price and a guaranteed pickup time rather than negotiating on the day or waiting for a marshrutka to fill up. Daytrip covers this route, with the option to add a stop along the way if you want to break up the journey or see something extra en route. It costs more than the marshrutka or a shared Yandex, but you’re paying for a set departure time, door-to-door pickup, and not having to think about any of the logistics above once you’ve booked it.
Tips for Traveling from Shymkent to Turkestan
Here’s the quick version if you just want the verdict for your own trip.
The quickest way to get from Shymkent to Turkestan
The quickest way to get from Shymkent to Turkestan is a private transfer or a Yandex-booked door-to-door; both get you there in around two hours without the waiting around a marshrutka or shared taxi involves. If time matters more than money, this is your option.
The easiest way to go to Turkestan from Shymkent
The easiest way to go to Turkestan from Shymkent is Yandex Go. Open the app, book your ride, and you’re covered door to door without working out bus station logistics, marshrutka departure times, or negotiating a fare, which makes it the least stressful option by some distance.
The cheapest way to go from Shymkent to Turkestan
The cheapest way to get from Shymkent to Turkestan is the marshrutka. It costs a fraction of the alternatives, but you’re trading money for time and comfort: expect to wait for it to fill up, and factor in getting yourself to Samal Bus Station in the first place.
The best way to go from Shymkent to Turkestan
The best way to go from Shymkent to Turkestan depends on your day, but for most people, this works well as a straightforward day trip. Book a guided tour if you want it handled for you, or take a Yandex Go from your hotel if you’d rather go it alone.
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Final Words on How to Go from Shymkent to Turkestan
We did this route both ways by marshrutka, with a Yandex at either end just to get ourselves to and from Samal Bus Station in Shymkent, and looking back, we’d have just booked a Yandex city to city instead. It wasn’t a bad way to travel, and there’s a certain satisfaction in doing it the independent way, waiting at a dusty bus station with everyone else and paying next to nothing for the privilege. But once you add up the taxi to the station, the waiting around for the marshrutka to fill, and the taxi back again on the other side, the savings over a door-to-door Yandex start to look miserly. If you’re short on time or just want the simplest version of this trip, book a tour or a Yandex and don’t overthink it. If you’ve got time to spare and want the full local experience, the marshrutka is honestly worth it once.
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