🚌 By Bus
The easiest way. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office or on the Sairan Bus Station website if you have a Kazakh bank card (there will be a service fee for online purchases). The fare from Almaty to Bishkek is 3000 tenge.
Sometimes there may be two buses. The first departs from the international Sairan Bus Station in Almaty (Location on 2GIS) and takes you to the border. At the border, you’ll be asked to get off and go through passport control, stating the bus number you’ll board on the Kyrgyz side. After that, you’ll get on the second bus that will pick up passengers and take them to the bus terminal in Bishkek. Or the same bus may cross the border alongside you.
Buses arrive at the new Bishkek Bus Terminal, which is currently located outside the city. I recommend using the current location on 2GIS at Alma-Atinskaya, 1/1. Buses operate according to the schedule: 08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, and 18:00.
There is no need to go all the way to Bishkek Bus Terminal. A better way to reach downtown Bishkek is to tell the driver that you might continue on your own after the border. From the Kyrgyz side, you can take minibus #285 (Route on 2GIS) or bus #34 (Route on 2GIS)—this will be much more convenient!
🚘 By Shared Taxi
At the international Sairan Bus Station in Almaty (Location on 2GIS), where buses depart from, you can also find taxi drivers gathering people to share a ride to the Kordai checkpoint (Location on 2GIS). Prices start from 5000 tenge per person in a shared car. You can also rent the entire car for a more comfortable ride, depending on your negotiation.
After passing the checkpoints, you can get to Bishkek by taking minibus #285 (Route on 2GIS), bus #34 (Route on 2GIS), or a regular taxi. The trip to the city center won’t take long.
✈️ By Plane
There are direct flights available.
Have a great trip to Bishkek!
