Before you start

Onay transport card
Valid foreign driving licence
IIN (for any registered vehicle or licence process)

Step-by-step

1
Buy an Onay card on day one
Onay is Almaty's transport card and covers the metro, buses and trams on one tap at KZT 120 a ride. Buy it at a metro station kiosk or a Onay terminal and top up with cash, card or the Onay app. Contactless bank cards work on many buses but at a higher fare and with less reliable transfer handling. The metro runs eleven stations on a single line roughly east-west under the centre — useful, but it will not replace buses for most journeys.
In personWho: AllImmediateSmall card fee, then KZT 120 per ride
2
Use Yandex Go and inDrive rather than hailing
Yandex Go is the default ride-hailing app; inDrive — whose largest operational hub is in Almaty — lets you name your own fare and drivers accept or counter, which is genuinely useful for longer runs like the Medeu gorge. Both are inexpensive by Western standards. Street-hailing a private car is still a local habit but is worth avoiding until you can negotiate in Russian and know the going rate.
Mobile appWho: AllImmediateTypical city trip KZT 800-2,500
3
Drive on your foreign licence only until you have a residence permit
A foreign licence is accepted for visitors, and an International Driving Permit alongside it removes argument at rental desks and traffic stops. The moment you obtain a residence permit the clock starts: you are expected to exchange for a Kazakh licence within roughly 60 days. Do not treat the visitor position as if it survives your change of status.
In personWho: Drivers before obtaining residenceValid while you are a visitorFree
4
Exchange for a Kazakh licence — expect a theory exam
Since August 2023 the exchange has required passing the Kazakh theoretical examination: a computer-based test of around 40 questions in 40 minutes on traffic rules, safety and vehicle operation, generally taken in Kazakh or Russian. You will also need a medical certificate, a notarised translation of your licence and your IIN. The licence issued is tied to the validity of your residence permit, so renewals recur with it.
In personWho: Residence permit holdersDays to a few weeks including the exam bookingState duty plus medical certificate and translation

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence plus notarised translation
International Driving Permit (useful for rentals and stops)
Medical certificate (for the exchange)
IIN and residence permit
Onay card

Things most newcomers don’t know

The licence exchange is not the painless swap Georgia offers — Kazakhstan reinstated a theory exam in August 2023 and it is taken in Kazakh or Russian.

People arrive expecting the regional norm of a document-for-document exchange and discover a 40-question road-rules test in a language they do not read. It is passable with a fortnight of app practice, but it needs planning and it is the reason many foreign residents in Almaty simply do not drive.

Source: egov.kz

Almaty's grid runs uphill toward the mountains, and locals navigate by 'towards the mountains' rather than by compass — including taxi drivers.

The whole city slopes south to north with the Alatau range as a permanent landmark. Addresses and directions are given relative to it. Once you internalise that, the grid becomes trivially navigable; until you do, north-south confusion is constant because the mountains are south, not north.

The road up the Medeu gorge to Shymbulak is a single artery that jams solid at winter weekends.

Every skier and every family going to the ice rink uses the same road. Bus 12 from Dostyk gets a dedicated run and is often faster than a car, and the gondola from Medeu bypasses the upper road entirely. Driving up at 10am on a Saturday in January is a two-hour lesson in this.

Winter driving here means studded tyres and genuine mountain conditions within twenty minutes of the centre.

Almaty gets real snow and the gorge roads ice hard. Rental firms do fit winter tyres but confirm it explicitly, and confirm whether the insurance covers the mountain roads — some policies exclude them. Many residents drive in the city and take a taxi or bus for the gorge.

Common mistakes to avoid

Continuing on a foreign licence after obtaining a residence permit — the roughly 60-day exchange window starts then
Not budgeting for the Kazakh theory exam, which has been required for exchanges since August 2023
Driving up to Medeu and Shymbulak at peak winter weekend times instead of taking bus 12 or the gondola
Paying contactless on buses and assuming transfers behave the same as with an Onay card
Renting a car without confirming winter tyres and that the policy covers the mountain roads

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.