TURGEN GORGE WATERFALLS & ASY PLATEAU | ALATAU ALMATY KAZAKHSTAN | JOINERS GROUP TOUR | JOINMEASIA

Here are my travel hacks, tips, and expenses for Almaty, Kazakhstan — as a budget-conscious and slow traveler

BUT FIRST here are my voucher codes:
Klook: LEONGUERREROKLOOK
Agoda Accommodation: LEONAGODA
Agoda Activities: AGODALEON

Eto na muna gawin niyo habang nasa pinas pa kayo.

1. Magdownload ng Yandex Maps (may sarili silang maps. Hindi kc lumalabas sa mga public transportation yung mga dapat sakyan like bus numbers or train stations kapag google maps lang ang gagamitin.)
2. Magdownload ng YandexGo or InDrive (yan yung mga ride hailing app nila dun. Yung InDrive pwede ka nang magregister kahit and2 ka pa sa pinas pero yung Yandex need mo ng local simcard so dun ka na sa airport magregister once na meron ka nang simcard dun kc magsesend ng OTP. Link your credit card para automatic bayad na. Bihira ang driver na nagsusukli kapag cash.
3. Magpapalit ng USD (Back up ko cya palagi just in case na hindi gumana mga debit or credit cards ko. Maganda ang palitan ng USD sa halos lahat ng local currencies.
4. Get a Maribank, GCash or GoTym debit Card. (I used GCash for atm withdrawal kc wala cyang withdrawal fee though yung mga local banks naman minsan may atm transaction fee pero very minimal lang naman. I used maribank naman sa lahat ng pwedeng pagamitan ng card like dining and shopping kc wala cyang foreign exchange mark ups plus may cashback pa. Always choose lang yung local currency sa machine kapag pinapapili kayo during payment, wag yung automatic converted in peso kc lugi kayo dun. Yung GoTym naman spare ko lang cya.
5. Magbook ng Accommodation (pwede kahit saang 3rd party app like klook, agoda, booking or yet direct sa hotel pero yung sa akin sa agoda ako nagbook, ₱2,500 for 6 nights, bunk beds lang po iyan pero kahit po mga rooms is sobrang mura lang. may 1 night din ako na overnight sa local village na kasama sa isang tour package.
6. Magbook ng mga activities. (Pwede sa Klook, Agoda, getyourguide, tripadvisor or pwedeng direct sa tour agency. Ako nagdirect ako sa local tour agency which is joinmeasia sa instagram ko sila nakita then naredirect yung chat namin sa wattsup. Yung 3 tours na kinuha ko sa kanila are joiner tours. Meron ding private tours. Bali yung binayad ko for the 3 tours Total cost of the tour: 122USD
prepayment: 61USD+5%=64.05USD
the remaining amount on the day of the tour to the guide in cash:61USD. Total nya is ₱7,700 lahat na.)

Eto naman kapag nasa Almaty Airport ka na! Nga pala Tenge (₸) currency nila dun, ₸1 = ₱0.13097

1. Magwithdraw ng Cash sa ATM (Halyk Bank ako nakapagwithdraw yung ibang machines kc nageeror yung iba naman 4 digits lang ang pin. Nagwithdraw ako ng ₸100,000/₱13,097.33, bale max yan sa isang withdrawhan).
2. Bumili ng local sim (Beeline Sim yung binili ko. 40GB for 1 week with unlimitted Social Media usage: ₸6,000/₱785).
3. Kumuha ng Onay Card sa Onay Machine. (Eto yung pinaka beepcard nila. ₸680/₱89 yung card then loadan mo na lang. In my case ₸2,000/₱261.95 ang nilagay ko sa machine pambili ng card pero wala ng sukli, automatic niload na sa card yung sukli. Sobrang mura ng transpo nila nagkasya na yan sa entire stay ko sa Kazakhstan.

Eto na ang day to day activities & expenses mga dzai!

Day 1, Arrival 12:30AM: YandexGo from airport to accommodation ₱365. Tulog muna then gising ng 1PM. Pasyal na. DIY.
Ascention Cathedral: Free
Panfilov guardsman & eternal flame: Free
Green Bazar: Free
Central Mosque: Free
Kok Tobe Hill: Cable Car 1 way-₸6,000/₱785.85, Fast Coaster-₸7,000/₱916.82, Bus-₸2,000/₱261.95
Foods at Green Bazar: ₸5,600/₱733.46

Day 2, DIY Snowy day at Shymbulak Mountain:
Cable car roundtrip: ₸10,000/₱1,309.74
Foods at Navat: ₸6,985/₱914.86

Day 3 & 4: 2-day Lakes & Canyons Group tour with 1 night accommodation in local village, 1 lunch, 1, dinner and 1 breakfast: 64USD/₱3,942.91.
(Meron din netong 1 day kaso paguran. 4:30am meet up tapos 10pm drop off. Same price din halos.)
Miscellaneous: YandexGo from accommodation to Meet up place - ₱264.44, Horsebackriding in Kolsay Kaindy Lake - ₸8,000/₱1,047.79, Other foods-₸3,500/₱458.41, Raincoat kc umulan -₸1,000/₱130.97

Day 5, Hiking Tour: Hiking group Tour to Big Almaty Lake: 20USD/₱1,232.16
Foods/grocery: ₸3,000/₱392.92

Day 6: Turgen Waterfalls & Assy Plateau Group Tour: 38USD/₱2,341.10
Foods: ₸4,000/₱523.90

Day 7 DIY City Tour:
Metro Train Tour: Used Onay beep Card
First President Park: Free
Arbat Street: Free
Foods: ₸3,500/₱458.41

Day 8 Lunch at Tarhun and Departure:
Tarhun Restauran foods - ₸5,300/₱6,94.16
Outside Airport Grocery Snacks - ₸1,000/₱130.97
7PM departure

Summary of Cost:
AirAsiaFllights: ₱33,989
Travel Tax: ₱1,620
Transpo/Foods/Sim/DIY Tour: ₱15,000
Accommodation: ₱2,500
3 Group tours: ₱7,700
Total: ₱60,809

I will also post my raw Almaty, Kazakhstan Vlog in my YouTube Channel.
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@LeonGuerreroTV?si=Aqgvug5yoP7Ub0IJ
Follow me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/mapisngi_ako/
FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/18YAxBJCKi/?mibextid=wwXIfr