I'll be transiting through Almaty with a 7-hour layover. How can I get from the airport to the city? How much time will it take? Do minibuses accept rubles?
Bus 92 goes from the airport to the city center, specifically Abay Avenue, taking about 40 minutes. The standard city fare is 100 tenge if paid with the Onay transport card. I used the virtual Onay card in the smartphone app, paying via QR code. You can also pay in cash, but it costs 200 tenge.
Bus 3 (a night route) also operates, but it doesn’t enter the airport grounds. You’ll need to exit past the barrier gate and walk along the right side to the nearest bus stop.
Bus 92 runs through the entire city to the airport, making it very convenient. There’s space for small luggage. For just 100 tenge (approximately 20 rubles), you’ll be within a 3-minute walk of the new terminal.
If you have a Kazakh SIM card, you can pay for any bus ride via your mobile balance by sending an SMS. You’ll receive an electronic ticket, which you can show to the conductor. Instructions for this are posted inside the bus.
Can I simply pay with a foreign Visa or Mastercard without downloading the Onay app?
Unfortunately, no—you can’t just pay directly with a card, as there are no terminals for that. It’s a bit of a hassle, but you’ll need to download the Onay app. Through the app, you can pay with any card. You can also use the app to purchase multiple tickets, though there’s a 15-second delay between transactions.
Here are some updated figures.
Road repairs are ongoing, so there were some traffic jams along the way.