How to get to Alakol

Alakol is a lake, which is located between Almaty and East Kazakhstan regions. The lake has a unique water constitution, similar to sea water, and is believed to be curative.
Holiday villages and resort hotels near Alakol are located both on, so called, ‘Almaty shore’ – the shore closer to Almaty (Koktuma and Akshi villages) and on Semey shore, which is closer to Semey.

From Astana

In order to travel from Astana to Almaty shore of Alakol lake, it would be easier to get to Almaty first (by plane), and then take a train or a bus to Koktuma village. Alternatively, there are direct trains from Astana to Koktuma station.
In order to travel from Astana to Semey shore of Alakol lake, one needs to get to Semey first (by plane, train or bus), then take a regular Semey-Alakol bus to get to Alakol (about 12 hours trip by bus).

From Almaty

It is easier to get to Almaty shore of Alakol lake from Almaty. A train or a bus can be used to get from Almaty to Koktuma (Koktuma station) or Akshi (‘13 raziezd’ station), which are the closest villages to Alakol Lake’s Almaty shore. A trip by car from Almaty to Koktuma takes about 10 hours (650 km).

By train

In order to get to Almaty shore of the lake, train tickets should be bought to Koktuma station or ‘13 raziezd’ station (Akshi village).
In order to get to Semey shore of the lake, train tickets can be bought to Semey city, then a regular Semey-Alakol bus can be taken to get to Alakol lake (12 hours).
Train tickets are available from www.pcentre.kz website.

By bus
There are regular buses from Almaty to Koktuma village, which stops in Akshi village as well. These villages are the best choice if you wish to travel to Almaty shore of the lake.
In addition, there is a regular bus Semey-Alakol (600 km), if you decided to travel to Semey shore of Alakol lake.

By car
If you prefer to travel by car, you might need a map of automobile roads of East Kazakhstan region, or a similar map of Almaty region.