🚌 Bus
The easiest way is by bus. Tickets can only be purchased at the ticket office, and the fare from Bishkek to Almaty is 600 som. In practice, there may actually be two buses involved. The first bus will take you from the Bishkek Bus Station (location available on 2GIS) to the border crossing point.
Note: The Western and Eastern Bus Stations in Bishkek have been relocated outside the city. The current departure point is at Alma-Atinskaya, 1/1, Buses now depart from this new out-of-town station according to the old schedule: 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and 6:00 PM.
Once you arrive at the border crossing, you will need to get off the bus to go through customs control. The staff might tell you the bus number waiting on the Kazakh side of the border, or you may have to wait for the same bus you arrived on to cross the border.
You will be dropped off at the Sayran International Bus Terminal (location available on 2GIS).
🚘Public Transport
First, you need to get from Bishkek to the Ak-Zhol border checkpoint (location available on 2GIS). The easiest way to do this is by taking bus #34 (route on 2GIS) or minibus #285 (route on 2GIS). You can also take a regular taxi—it’s not too far from Bishkek.
After crossing the border, private taxi drivers will be waiting at the exit of the Kazakhstan checkpoint. They will offer to take you to Almaty for 5000 tenge shared with other passengers. Departure will happen as soon as the car is full. If you walk a bit further to the parking lot behind the gas station, you can arrange to buy a bus ticket for 3000 tenge (the same bus mentioned earlier). Departure will take place once all passengers have passed passport control at the bus station.
✈️ Plane
There are direct flights available, but they are much more expensive compared to land transport.
Have a pleasant trip to Almaty!