Almaty Backpackers — Hotel in Almaty

Almaty was my first stop on my backpacking journey across Central Asia. I selected Almaty Backpackers Hostel based on the reviews found on TripAdvisors and info found in the Lonely Planet. This turned out to be an EXCELLENT choice and here is why:||||1) Hostel is located in a safe and quiet neighbourhood, with amenities/shops located conveniently close by (convenient store, coffee shop, grocery store “Inter-Food”, Post office, travel agency, a few restaurants/pubs/bars located on Dostyk Ave.||||2) Breakfast (local cuisine) is included with your stay and freshly prepared daily. Although it may be different from your typical breakfast, depending which part of the world you’re from, this avoids the hassle of waking up and having to wonder where to go in order to grab your morning bite. Personally, I have enjoyed discovering their local breakfasts, food was good and satisfying.||||3) Hostel’s overall atmosphere is warm and extremely welcoming. You almost get the feeling you’re “at home” away from home for a short while. Staff and other international guests easily mingle together and share tips and tour experiences, there is a great vibe, like a big family ambiance.||||3) The hostel staff is EXTREMELY nice and helpful, most notably Nuray and Natasha. I definitely recommend asking questions to Nuray, she is kind, sweet and very knowledgable as far as the city is concerned. She will not hesitate to connect with you on WhatsApp and provide you with information and/or translation when you venture out in the city. I did have a bit of an incident, where I sprained my ankle on a hiking excursion. Nuray accompanied me to the hospital at 23h30pm, making sure to translate between the healthcare stuff and myself. She made sure I was not left alone and went over & beyond to ensure I was fine and taken care of. Such generosity, compassion and care is, unfortunately too rare nowadays, but so appreciated when you find yourself in a tough spot. Natasha has also been great during my stay at Almaty Backpackers, she made sure food was cooked every morning and helped keeping the hostel clean and tidy. She was also very caring following my sprained ankle incident.||||4) The hostel, by means of an association with tourism agency, offers a variety of tours in the vicinity of Almaty. Those are great options if and when you feel the need to get out of the city and venture in the wilderness. As far as I am concerned, I have done the following tours and I recommend all of them strongly:|| ||A) 2-DAY tour - Charyn Canyon, Kaindy Lake & Kolsai Lakes (note: the hiking between Kolsai Lake 1 & 2 is a 19 km (11.85 miles). There are some steep stretches and depending on whether or not it rained in the previous days, the path can be muddy/icy/snowy. I would not recommend the hike for beginners.||||B) 1-DAY tour - Singing Dunes, this was definitely a special tour, which I recommend without hesitation. Just be aware it’s a 3-hr ride each way. If you can avoid the “Buddha engraving”, the attraction itself is quite underwhelming and not worth the 1.5-hr detour, in my opinion.||||6) The hostel tend to get quite busy, their good rating is most definitely a contributing factor; therefore I would suggest to make your booking/reservation in advance to secure your spot.||||7) The rooms are neatly arranged. My room was composed of 4 bunkbeds, for a total of 8 beds/guests. Rooms are spacious enough so you don’t feel cramped and each bed has a locker (usually underneath the bed), locks & keys provided by the hostel.||||A few areas where improvement would be needed (in my opinion):||||1) Although the hostel offers free WiFi, the signal can be choppy at times, which can result in a bit of frustration if you try to connect with friends & family, book trips, online bookings etc…||||2) The tours provided in partnership with the hostel, the “tour guides” are not “guides” per se, they are “drivers/chauffeurs” more than anything. In the sense that they will drive you from point A to point B; however they will not accompany you on the hikes; therefore you need to factor in you are on your own for the hiking portions.||||3) The “drivers/chauffeurs” speak little to no English; communication can be challenging at times. Also, it is difficult to get information, on the venues/tour, from them. Personally, when I book a tour, I like to have a bit of background information, or leastways, have the option of asking questions to the guide. In this case, it might be a challenge like I said. Take down your questions and ask “Google” afterwards. :)||||In summary, I am 100% satisfied of my hostel selection in Almaty Backpackers Hostel and would recommend it, in a heartbeat, to anyone...

Almaty was my first stop on my backpacking journey across Central Asia. I selected Almaty Backpackers Hostel based on the reviews found on TripAdvisors and info found in the Lonely Planet. This turned out to be an EXCELLENT choice and here is why:||||1) Hostel is located in a safe and quiet neighbourhood, with amenities/shops located conveniently close by (convenient store, coffee shop, grocery store “Inter-Food”, Post office, travel agency, a few restaurants/pubs/bars located on Dostyk Ave.||||2) Breakfast (local cuisine) is included with your stay and freshly prepared daily. Although it may be different from your typical breakfast, depending which part of the world you’re from, this avoids the hassle of waking up and having to wonder where to go in order to grab your morning bite. Personally, I have enjoyed discovering their local breakfasts, food was good and satisfying.||||3) Hostel’s overall atmosphere is warm and extremely welcoming. You almost get the feeling you’re “at home” away from home for a short while. Staff and other international guests easily mingle together and share tips and tour experiences, there is a great vibe, like a big family ambiance.||||3) The hostel staff is EXTREMELY nice and helpful, most notably Nuray and Natasha. I definitely recommend asking questions to Nuray, she is kind, sweet and very knowledgable as far as the city is concerned. She will not hesitate to connect with you on WhatsApp and provide you with information and/or translation when you venture out in the city. I did have a bit of an incident, where I sprained my ankle on a hiking excursion. Nuray accompanied me to the hospital at 23h30pm, making sure to translate between the healthcare stuff and myself. She made sure I was not left alone and went over & beyond to ensure I was fine and taken care of. Such generosity, compassion and care is, unfortunately too rare nowadays, but so appreciated when you find yourself in a tough spot. Natasha has also been great during my stay at Almaty Backpackers, she made sure food was cooked every morning and helped keeping the hostel clean and tidy. She was also very caring following my sprained ankle incident.||||4) The hostel, by means of an association with tourism agency, offers a variety of tours in the vicinity of Almaty. Those are great options if and when you feel the need to get out of the city and venture in the wilderness. As far as I am concerned, I have done the following tours and I recommend all of them strongly:|| ||A) 2-DAY tour - Charyn Canyon, Kaindy Lake & Kolsai Lakes (note: the hiking between Kolsai Lake 1 & 2 is a 19 km (11.85 miles). There are some steep stretches and depending on whether or not it rained in the previous days, the path can be muddy/icy/snowy. I would not recommend the hike for beginners.||||B) 1-DAY tour - Singing Dunes, this was definitely a special tour, which I recommend without hesitation. Just be aware it’s a 3-hr ride each way. If you can avoid the “Buddha engraving”, the attraction itself is quite underwhelming and not worth the 1.5-hr detour, in my opinion.||||6) The hostel tend to get quite busy, their good rating is most definitely a contributing factor; therefore I would suggest to make your booking/reservation in advance to secure your spot.||||7) The rooms are neatly arranged. My room was composed of 4 bunkbeds, for a total of 8 beds/guests. Rooms are spacious enough so you don’t feel cramped and each bed has a locker (usually underneath the bed), locks & keys provided by the hostel.||||A few areas where improvement would be needed (in my opinion):||||1) Although the hostel offers free WiFi, the signal can be choppy at times, which can result in a bit of frustration if you try to connect with friends & family, book trips, online bookings etc…||||2) The tours provided in partnership with the hostel, the “tour guides” are not “guides” per se, they are “drivers/chauffeurs” more than anything. In the sense that they will drive you from point A to point B; however they will not accompany you on the hikes; therefore you need to factor in you are on your own for the hiking portions.||||3) The “drivers/chauffeurs” speak little to no English; communication can be challenging at times. Also, it is difficult to get information, on the venues/tour, from them. Personally, when I book a tour, I like to have a bit of background information, or leastways, have the option of asking questions to the guide. In this case, it might be a challenge like I said. Take down your questions and ask “Google” afterwards. :)||||In summary, I am 100% satisfied of my hostel selection in Almaty Backpackers Hostel and would recommend it, in a heartbeat, to anyone...

Almaty was my first stop on my backpacking journey across Central Asia. I selected Almaty Backpackers Hostel based on the reviews found on TripAdvisors and info found in the Lonely Planet. This turned out to be an EXCELLENT choice and here is why:||||1) Hostel is located in a safe and quiet neighbourhood, with amenities/shops located conveniently close by (convenient store, coffee shop, grocery store “Inter-Food”, Post office, travel agency, a few restaurants/pubs/bars located on Dostyk Ave.||||2) Breakfast (local cuisine) is included with your stay and freshly prepared daily. Although it may be different from your typical breakfast, depending which part of the world you’re from, this avoids the hassle of waking up and having to wonder where to go in order to grab your morning bite. Personally, I have enjoyed discovering their local breakfasts, food was good and satisfying.||||3) Hostel’s overall atmosphere is warm and extremely welcoming. You almost get the feeling you’re “at home” away from home for a short while. Staff and other international guests easily mingle together and share tips and tour experiences, there is a great vibe, like a big family ambiance.||||3) The hostel staff is EXTREMELY nice and helpful, most notably Nuray and Natasha. I definitely recommend asking questions to Nuray, she is kind, sweet and very knowledgable as far as the city is concerned. She will not hesitate to connect with you on WhatsApp and provide you with information and/or translation when you venture out in the city. I did have a bit of an incident, where I sprained my ankle on a hiking excursion. Nuray accompanied me to the hospital at 23h30pm, making sure to translate between the healthcare stuff and myself. She made sure I was not left alone and went over & beyond to ensure I was fine and taken care of. Such generosity, compassion and care is, unfortunately too rare nowadays, but so appreciated when you find yourself in a tough spot. Natasha has also been great during my stay at Almaty Backpackers, she made sure food was cooked every morning and helped keeping the hostel clean and tidy. She was also very caring following my sprained ankle incident.||||4) The hostel, by means of an association with tourism agency, offers a variety of tours in the vicinity of Almaty. Those are great options if and when you feel the need to get out of the city and venture in the wilderness. As far as I am concerned, I have done the following tours and I recommend all of them strongly:|| ||A) 2-DAY tour - Charyn Canyon, Kaindy Lake & Kolsai Lakes (note: the hiking between Kolsai Lake 1 & 2 is a 19 km (11.85 miles). There are some steep stretches and depending on whether or not it rained in the previous days, the path can be muddy/icy/snowy. I would not recommend the hike for beginners.||||B) 1-DAY tour - Singing Dunes, this was definitely a special tour, which I recommend without hesitation. Just be aware it’s a 3-hr ride each way. If you can avoid the “Buddha engraving”, the attraction itself is quite underwhelming and not worth the 1.5-hr detour, in my opinion.||||6) The hostel tend to get quite busy, their good rating is most definitely a contributing factor; therefore I would suggest to make your booking/reservation in advance to secure your spot.||||7) The rooms are neatly arranged. My room was composed of 4 bunkbeds, for a total of 8 beds/guests. Rooms are spacious enough so you don’t feel cramped and each bed has a locker (usually underneath the bed), locks & keys provided by the hostel.||||A few areas where improvement would be needed (in my opinion):||||1) Although the hostel offers free WiFi, the signal can be choppy at times, which can result in a bit of frustration if you try to connect with friends & family, book trips, online bookings etc…||||2) The tours provided in partnership with the hostel, the “tour guides” are not “guides” per se, they are “drivers/chauffeurs” more than anything. In the sense that they will drive you from point A to point B; however they will not accompany you on the hikes; therefore you need to factor in you are on your own for the hiking portions.||||3) The “drivers/chauffeurs” speak little to no English; communication can be challenging at times. Also, it is difficult to get information, on the venues/tour, from them. Personally, when I book a tour, I like to have a bit of background information, or leastways, have the option of asking questions to the guide. In this case, it might be a challenge like I said. Take down your questions and ask “Google” afterwards. :)||||In summary, I am 100% satisfied of my hostel selection in Almaty Backpackers Hostel and would recommend it, in a heartbeat, to anyone...