Hi, please tell me what’s going on with the Chernyaevka customs checkpoint — has it opened? Or when will it open? We’re traveling on January 30 from Shymkent, so where should we go instead? Via Kaplanbek — does that mean changing buses at the Saryagash bus station? Or is there some other route?
You need to go to Kaplanbek — that’s the border crossing. Not the bus station.
Chernyaevka is still closed for now. The Kaplanbek customs checkpoint is operating. On the Uzbek side it’s the Navoi border checkpoint.
Shared taxis from Shymkent leave from the Kazygurt bus station.
please tell me, are there usually many people at Kaplanbek? On average, how long does it take to cross on foot?
I don’t have up-to-date info. There are queues there more often than at Chernyaevka. But overall it’s usually okay if it’s not peak time. If you’re lucky — 20–25 minutes; if not, up to 1–1.5 hours or more.
I wrote above about shared taxis — they go straight to the border and cost about 3,000–4,000 tenge per person, I think.