The complete guide to a memorable family ski trip in Kazakhstan

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Why visit Kazakhstan for your family ski trip?

Kazakhstan presents great value when it comes to ski holidays. And realistically, who isn’t interested in finding value when you’re booking a family trip! Kazakhstan’s resorts are modern and have plenty of restaurant options. Lift passes are affordable and the resorts have smaller crowds than many better known international ones, especially in the mornings. Plenty of instructors speak English, and they’re not expensive to hire. Some ski resorts, such as Shymbulak and Oi Qaragai, also have the benefit of excellent creches for smaller kids when they get tired. Kazakhstan really is an ideal place for a family ski trip!

If you travel to Almaty, the biggest city in Kazakhstan, you also have multiple ski resorts to choose from. The biggest are Shymbulak, Oi Qaragai and Ak Bulak, which all have unique ski terrain, and their own character.

Where to go in Kazakhstan for your family ski trip

Almaty is the best place in Kazakhstan for your family ski trip. With international flights arriving and departing every day, well-maintained roads, more spoken English, and modern resorts, it will make your stay very comfortable. You can also try eastern Kazakhstan which has some good off-piste snow but I wouldn’t recommend this unless you have older children who are confident skiers. Google “Ridder Kazakhstan” if you’re interested in this level of skiing.

Almaty has a number of resorts all offering slightly different conditions. Shymbulak is the best known, with the highest altitude, the closest to the city, and most popular. Oi Qaragai is similar but lower in altitude and a bit further out of the city, with a less well maintained road for the final stretch. Ak Bulak is a bit further out than Oi Qaragai and is quite popular with locals. There are also smaller resorts aimed at beginners out near Oi Qaragai but their status is a little uncertain and you can’t be sure if they’re operating. I would recommend going with one of the bigger established ones I mentioned.

The best time to ski in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is in the northern hemisphere so naturally ski season is in the northern hemisphere’s winter, but pick your time carefully. The season technically starts at beginning of December for all major Kazakhstan resorts, however, the snow is usually much better towards the end of the month. January and February are normally very good for all the resorts. March marks the end of the season for the lower altitude resorts of Oi Qaragai and Ak Bulak. Shymbulak with its peak of 3,200m, will usually deliver great conditions through till April. If you catch the end of the season at Shymbulak, they hold an end of season party, with everyone dressed up in shorts and Hawaiian leis. Its a fun day out.

If I was to choose, I’d go with mid January for my family ski trip Kazakhstan. The snow is ideal, and the Kazakhstan winter holidays have all finished so you almost have the slopes to yourselves during the week.

Are the ski resorts family friendly?

The Almaty resorts are very family friendly. I consider the easiest ones to navigate with kids to be Shymbulak and Oi Qaragai, with their creches and good variety of restaurants. All the main resorts offer slopes for all ability levels, and each has a ski school with plenty of instructors who speak English. A particular quirk I found in Kazakhstan is that they don’t tend to offer group ski classes for children. Rather children take 1:1 lessons with an instructor. For small kids at Shymbulak, they have a 45min “baby lesson” which is what we took for our children when they were little.

How is the food at the ski resorts?

All the resorts around Almaty have plenty of options to feed a crowd, including fussy eaters. Let’s take a look at each resort individually.

Shymbulak

There many options on the mountain and plenty of variety from different restaurant chains that you find down in the city, at least at the level of the main village. Our favourites in the village were Paul and Chalet. The next level up you will find Le Mont (previously Sneg) and La Skala. La Skala is good but it’s off to the side so you’ll need to take the KKD4 lift up to it if you’re not skiing down towards it. At the top you will find the yurt cafe and Tenir Restaurant.

Oi Qaragai

Oi Qaragau has several sections of the resort with restaurants. Aport is on the entrance side as you first enter the resort. It has fabulous shashlik, a grilled meat with a delicious marinade. Over at the Lesnaya Skazka side you will find a Georgian and an Italian restaurant, as well as a yurt serving Kazakh cuisine. The top of the mountain also has a lovely newish restaurant and you’ll find lots of smaller kiosks all over.

Ak Bulak

There is a cafeteria and a small cafe at the base of the resort. Neither are fancy, but both are fine and will fill you up. There are small kiosk/huts up the mountain which will serve you a hot drink and snacks too. The hotel restaurant only serves guests as far as I could tell. They did do an incredible lamb cutlet dish when we stayed which I feel is worth pointing out!

Practical tips for a Kazakhstan ski trip with kids

Ski hire

Hire ski kit in the city to get better prices. We always went with Fischer (located here next to Ritz Palace for kids, and Skadi up the road for adults. You can also hire your kit on the mountains themselves. Be sure to bring ID such as a passport with you.

If you prefer to hire at the resorts themselves, be sure to bring your passport too. I definitely noticed that Shymbulak and Ak Bulak strictly followed this, whereas OQ was a lot more relaxed (I could show a photo of my passport and that was fine). If you or your children book a lesson up at Shymbulak, you can also hire from the rental kiosk in the ski school reception area, rather than the larger main kiosks. This can be helpful on busy days when the main kiosks are rammed with customers.

Choosing a ski resort

There are three main resorts that I recommend in Almaty: Shymbulak, Oi Qaragai and Ak Bulak. Shymbulak is the best known and has the longest ski season, owing to its high altitude. Oi Qaragai has a good variety of runs, which will keep family members of differing abilities interested for longer. Oi Qaragai also looks a little less intimidating to new skiers. Ak Bulak has a lovely long and very wide course, with some interesting forest passes. There is a creche at both Shymbulak and Oi Qaragai, but not from what I could find at Ak Bulak.

Knowing toilet options on the resorts

These main resorts are well equipped with toilets all over the resorts, and in Shymbulak and Oi Qaragai they are all free and modern style. Ak Bulak has some that you need to pay for at the base, and some of these are squat toilets, though it is a small nominal fee. They also have long drops scattered up at the mountain. There is one with a particularly pretty view at the top if you’re interested.

Where to stay for your family ski trip in Kazakhstan

On the resort

If you choose to stay on the resort, this will make it easier and quicker to get started with your ski day.

Shymbulak has Shymbulak Resort Hotel, Le Mont Hotel and Tenir Eco Hotel. They are all great though Tenir has a minimum age requirement of six years old owing to its high altitude. Check out my guide to Shymbulak’s accomodation options for more information.

OQ has a range of accomodation options such as chalets, treehouses, yurts, dormitories. We’ve stayed in several of the accomodations and I would recommend them all but the yurt was definitely fun and unique. For more details you can check out my guide to OQ’s accomodation.

Ak Bulak has Ak Bulak hotel, which is a really cool looking hotel. However, I did find them a bit uncommunicative when you reach out. For more info please check my review of Ak Bulak Hotel.

Off the resort

While my first choice would be to stay on the resort, the fabulous thing is how close the resorts are to the city. So you won’t miss too much time on the slopes for your family ski trip in Kazakhstan if you stay off the resort. To quickly access Shymbulak you can stay in any city hotel as the resort is only an hour away. Ritz Carlton and Intercontinental Almaty are lovely high end options. Terrenkur Boutique Hotel or Novotel Almaty City Centre are also good options at a more budget friendly price.

If you want to visit OQ you are best staying along the eastern side of the city for quick access. The same goes for Ak Bulak. Any accomodation along or near Dostyk Avenue will work for you. There are also many accomodation options on roads out to these resorts.

Transport options

You can hire a car or take public transport to the resorts, which is very affordable. Yandex has options for ski equipment when you’re booking your taxi. If you’re happy to go by bus, there are services (Bus 12 and 21) heading up Dostyk Ave to Shymbulak, and also out to OQ (Bus 210).

If you do hire a car, parking is easy enough and very reasonable at any of the resorts. Shymbulak has plenty of covered and uncovered parking at the base, both paid, and then you either take the gondola up or you take an electric taxi to get to the ski village. I would take the gondola as its way cooler. OQ has only uncovered parking on the entrance side with a bit of covered parking on the Lesnaya Skazka side. All of it is paid for. Ak Bulak has both free and paid for parking (the paid part is closer to the resort) and I believe it is all uncovered.

If you hire a car then double check that you have winter tires. The road up to Shymbulak is pretty well maintained but you still need tires with good tread. It’s even more critical for the roads out to Ak Bulak and Oi Qaragai.

Ideas for non-ski days

You probably won’t want to ski every day, so why not explore Almaty a little? If you’ve got a day or two either side of the ski trip, there’s plenty of great things to do in Almaty. There’s also plenty of winter specific things, like ice skating at the world’s largest high mountain ice skating rink, known as Medeu, just down the mountain from Shymbulak. For other kid specific ideas, check out my ideas for the best things to do in Almaty with little kids.

Packing guide

Here is a short and not exhaustive list of things I’d bring with you to help your family enjoy their ski trip in Kazakhstan.

Ski jacket and pants, though these can easily be hired
Ski equipment (skis or snowboard), can also easily be hired
Ski or snowboard boots, also can be hired
Helmets and ski goggles – can be hired easily
Ski gloves or mittens
Thermal Underwear, less easy to hire!
Beanie or balaclava (without a pompom – the pompoms don’t fit under helmets!)
Regular boots with good tread (the streets can be slippery)
Backpack
Battery pack for recharging phone
Reusable handwarmers, get some cute ones for the kids so they’ll (hopefully!) be more likely to look after them
Snacks for ski days (Rakhat does a great chocolate called “Kazakhstan” in blue wrapping – they come in mini size)

Sample 1 week itinerary

Obviously we’re going to be going hard with the ski days on this itinerary but I feel that with kids it’s sometimes better to offer up some alternative activities. I also think that while Shymbulak is the main ski resort and is really good, Oi Qaragai sometimes gets left out and I think it’s worth checking out so I’m including an overnighter there too.

Day 1 – Arrival

For your arrival, which may be during the night, book yourself and the family in to stay at somewhere easy like Terrenkur Boutique Hotel or Novotel Almaty City for the remainder of this night.

After check out, rent out the ski kit for you and your kids. Then head up the mountain and drop your luggage off at whichever resort hotel you have booked. I recommend first time visitors stay at Shymbulak Resort Hotel. After a quick lunch from Paul, book the kids an instructor and then drop them at the creche until their lesson time. Then get on the slopes.

After an afternoon ski session, take a dip in the hotel’s outdoor heated pool and warm up between dips in the hotel’s sauna. Have dinner at the hotel’s restaurant and then get an early night.

Day 2-3 – Total ski days

Start with a hearty breakfast in the hotel restaurant, then get to the lifts from 9am. Now that you all should have plastic ski passes, you can book your lift passes online using the Shymbulak app.

After a full ski day, retreat back to the hotel and take a relaxing swim and sauna.

For dinner try out some other restaurants in the ski village, such as Chalet, or Refugio del Monte.

Day 4 – Head down for an R&R break

After one last morning of skiing, head back down to the city at lunchtime for the night. Don’t return your Shymbulak plastic passes – they are useful for Oi Qaragai too. Down in the city I suggest a stay at Novotel Almaty City. There is usually also a free skating rink out the front of the Novotel, for which you just need to pay for your skate hire.

I recommend rewarding your kids for their good behaviour so far by checking out Kok Tobe, the city’s hillside fairground. Eat your evening meal up at Kok Tobe in any of the great restaurants or kiosks. We always enjoyed eating at Abay Restaurant. My favourite dish was the lagman (the non spicy one).

Day 5 – Visit Oi Qaragai

Check out of Novotel and take a yandex to Oi Qaragai. Get a yurt if you can but the tree houses and cottage rooms are also great. They are on the Lesnaya Skazka side of the resort.

Drop off your luggage for storing till check in and get your lift passes sorted. OQ and Shymbulak plastic passes work in each others systems so you can load your lift pass onto your Shymbulak one and vice versa.

Head to the ski school reception if you want to book lessons or hire equipment. For lunch I’d head to the Italian restaurant or cross the mountain to Aport restaurant which has great food. Their ramen is really good.

Try the Georgian restaurant, located above the Italian one, for dinner.

Day 6 – Shopping

Get a morning of skiing in after your breakfast. Finish up with lunch before taking a yandex back to the city.

Choose a hotel somewhere near Dostyk Avenue or Al Farabi for easy access to everything.

Head to Green Bazaar if you have the energy for shopping. Check out my guide to this iconic marketplace.

Day 7 – Departure

After an intense week of sport and culture, might I suggest a visit to the bathhouse before you leave? Arasan is a great location for self care in Almaty. It’s a sauna and plunge facility in a very grand soviet era building. Children may enter with an adult once they turn six. The bathhouse is segregated by gender and most attendees are naked, though they do tend to wear a cotton sheet or towel between sauna rooms. You may wear a swimsuit if you prefer. Have a look at my guide to Arasan for more details.

If this isn’t for you then I suggest you get outside and wander Panfilov Park, which is just across the road from Arasan. Its home to the beautiful Ascension Cathedral, a magnificent war memorial and the quirky museum of musical instruments.

How to get to Kazakhstan

For North American folks, if you can get to London Heathrow then you can take Kazakhstan’s national carrier, Air Astana, on its direct flight into Almaty from London. Otherwise you can go with one of the middle east carriers, such as Etihad.

Folks in the UK are recommended to opt for Air Astana, and continental Europeans can choose from Scat Airlines, Lufthansa and Neos for direct flights or Turkish Airways or any of the middle eastern airlines for flights with connections. And they can also now go with Air Astana on a direct flight from Frankfurt.

For Australians and those in our neighbouring countries, Air Asia is a fantastic budget choice flying into Almaty from Kuala Lumpur several times per week. My only recommendation is to download some movies onto a tablet for the kids so they’ve got something to entertain themselves with. Also you should pre-order your meals as these get served first. Another option if you’re coming from Thailand is to take Air Astana.

If you’re flying in from South Asia, you have multiple options such as Air Astana, IndiGo and Fly Arystan.

What do I know about Kazakhstan?

I lived in Almaty from 2021 till 2025 with my young family and we had the time of our lives – specially in ski season! Visit my About Me page to understand more about my perspective.