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Shymkent City Tour: Explore Kazakhstan's Green Oasis
3.0
1 Rating
Tashkent
Currently, Shymkent ranks as the third most populous city and the largest by area in Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of the South Kazakhstan region and is known as one of the greenest cities in the area. Shymkent is situated in the desert.
Currently, Shymkent ranks as the third most populous city and the largest by area in Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of the South Kazakhstan region and is known as one of the greenest cities in the area. Shymkent is situated in the desert.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Tashkent - - Tashkent: Pick up from your hotel/airport/train station and transfer to the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan border. Cross the border. Meeting with our driver. Start of the trip. Along the way you can see the camels and at some stop try mare’s milk.
- Kazygurt - - The Sacred Mound of Kazygurt: Along the road, we make a pit stop for the visit…
- Tashkent - - Tashkent: Pick up from your hotel/airport/train station and transfer to the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan border. Cross the border. Meeting with our driver. Start of the trip. Along the way you can see the camels and at some stop try mare’s milk.
- Kazygurt - - The Sacred Mound of Kazygurt: Along the road, we make a pit stop for the visit of “Noah’s Ark“. Once the Great Silk Road passed through these places. Many legends and beliefs are connected with Kazygurt. According to one of them, Noah’s Ark landed at the top of the mountain.
- Shymkent - - Shymkent: Scientists mentioned that the city is at least 800 years old. Firstly, the name of the city is given by a medieval historian writes that in 1365-1366, during Tamerlane’s military campaign, his army stopped in the village of Chimkent near the city of Sairam. Caravans of the Great Silk Road passed through Shymkent until Genghis Khan’s troops captured the city in the XIII century. Nowadays, Shymkent is administrative center of the South Kazakhstan region.
- Tsitadel’ - - Citadel: old town has already existed since the 9th century. And the oldest mosque and minaret also have been preserved there. The citadel is considered to be the same age as Tashkent, more than 2200 years. The highest point of the city is also located in the citadel, which offers a panoramic view of the entire city.
- Ordabasy - - Ordabasy Complex - under the citadel there is a shopping area in which a new complex was built.
- Жер Ана (Мать Земля) монумент - - Zher Ana Complex - was also erected in this territory, which symbolizes the independence and freedom of Kazakhstan.
- Independence Park - - Independence Square: It was opened in 2011 in the historical part of the city, and is the largest and newest park in the city.
- Metallurgists’ Park - - Metallurgists Park - one of the most beautiful parks in the city, the park of was built before the war and located in a city quarter which was built by German and Japanese prisoners of war.
- Arbat - - Arbat Shymkent: The local “Broadway” is the business card of the city. Furthermore, here we can visit the upside-down house which now one of the more preferred attractions of citizens.
- Museum of Victims of Political Repressions - - Museum of Victims of Political Repression: In this museum you can get more information and knowledge about Stalin’s repressions against the Kazakh people.
- Russian Orthodox Church of Shymkent - - Russian Orthodox church: Cathedral of St. Nicholas was built in 1988 during the reforms (perestroika) of the Soviet Union.
- Abay Park - - Abay Park: In the center of the park is the Alley of Glory, a memorial complex to the events of the II WW, the central place in which is installed Memorial of Glory. The park is named in honor of Abai Kunanbayev, the great Kazakh poet and educator, the founder of modern Kazakh literature and philosophy, and to whom a monument has been erected on the territory of the park.
- Tashkent - - Tashkent: Finishing the tour of Shymkent, return to Tashkent and on the way some stops to take photos of green camps (April-May), farms and livestock farms.
What's Included
- Professional Guide
- Pick-up and drop-off from hotels
- A/C Vehicle (in both countries)
- Professional Guide
- Pick-up and drop-off from hotels
- A/C Vehicle (in both countries)
What's Not Included
- Entrance tickets to the mentioned monuments (aprox. 5 usd for all monuments)
- Lunch/Dinner (10-15 USD p/p)
- Other and personal expenses that are not mentioned in the program
- Entrance tickets to the mentioned monuments (aprox. 5 usd for all monuments)
- Lunch/Dinner (10-15 USD p/p)
- Other and personal expenses that are not mentioned in the program
Location
Tashkent
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.0
(1 Rating)
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1 star
Gayathri_m
Sep 26, 2024
Nightmare of a travel day, but our tour guide was a gem! - This is a hard tour for me to review.
Firstly, the tour guide, Deen. I would give him a 10 star rating out of 5 stars. He is AMAZING! He was the best part of the tour. Deen is incredibly dedicated and became my angel by the end of the day.
Shymkent is a great city to visit as well, while in Tashkent as there is quite a lot to explore. The mosque especially was grogeous. It was a well packed day and we got to see museums, learn about Kazakhstan's history, culture and much more.
Then why do I give it a 3 star rating? I could have given 1 star as well as the day was a nightmare. The day was one of the worst days of my travel experience. After the tour of the city, I couldn't enter back into Uzbek due to visa issues and it ended up costing me a lot of money and immense stress... and more importantly a ruined birthday evening. After a lot of unproductive struggle, I re-entered Kazakhstan and drove 2 hours back to Shymkent, booked the only 2 seats on the only flight in 3 days, and got back on my way. I had to cancel my next day booking made through viator and got no money back on the tour due to 24hr cancellation policy. I couldn't get my unused hotel days refunded. I can go on. Gah... it was all a nightmare! Most expensive trip for nothing.
I should have made myself more aware of the Uzbek needs and challenges and checked my paperwork properly. So no doubt there.
But, given the seriousness and incredible strict rules, the tour company should do more in terms of prep. I have traveled inter-country on so many such tours. The tour companies do a pre-travel paperwork check. They typically give a list of documents we need, visas we need, and such. At the minimum, they atleast warn us... make sure you have the needed visa to re-enter the country. In this case, I booked through viator and had no communication with the tour company until the day prior. And until we were ready to get into the car, no one even asked us if we are carrying our passport, which we were.
My recommendation to the your company is to call this out in the booking page. A simple reminder, or a checklist on the needs will help. If visa on arrival for such trips are not available and if we are traveling with a single entry visa, there is no way out. You can't enter the country. And this is a serious matter. And so it needs to be properly called out.
That said, the silver lining, Deen, he never left my side and sat through my entire ordeal, doing the translation and giving me company until I was on my way back to Shymkent. Thank you!!!
There were couple of other matters, which I wonder why I even bother saying given all the main drama. But it may help those who don't face my issues (hope no one does!!)
1. We booked a 7am tour as we wanted to come back for an evening. But last minute tour company issues got us leaving after 8am and a need to wait at the border waiting for another couple as they merged 2 tours due to their last minute issues. We lost a good 90 min.
2. The tour length mentioned in the booking is not accurate. I noticed that in both my tours in Uzbek. One tour said 7hrs and it ended up being 12. This tour too... it says 8 hours. But it will be an all-day/evening thing. So plan accordingly.
Review provided by Viator
