Guide: How to Travel From Tashkent to Shymkent
This guide shows you all the different ways how you can travel from Tashkent in Uzbekistan across the border with Kazakhstan to the city of Shymkent.
From Tashkent to Shymkent
After a beautiful and comfortable trip on a night train across Uzbekistan I found myself back in Tashkent.
From Tashkent, I would head across the border with Kazakhstan to Shymkent, the final destination on my Central Asian trip.
It was a bit of a puzzle to decide which transport mode to choose, as each of them seemed to have their pros and cons.
Train
Normally I prefer to travel by train – and given that there is a railway line connecting Tashkent and Shymkent this seemed to be the most logical option.
The train in question is the Tashkent-Almaty Talgo train operated by Kazakhstan Temir Joly, the Kazakh National Railways.
On its long route from Tashkent to Almaty, this Kazakh train also calls at Shymkent.
Train tickets, which start at 5,512 Kazakh tenge (€11) for a second-class seat between Tashkent and Shymkent, can easily be booked at Tickets.kz.
Before you book your ticket, you should be aware that this train connection has some disadvantages, first and foremost the horrible departure and arrival times.
When you travel from Tashkent, the train will already depart at 4.40am, arriving in Shymkent at 11.49am.
The other way around is not much better, as the 9.30pm departure from Shymkent means that you will only arrive in Tashkent at 2.53am the following day.
With a travel time of over six hours, the train is also the slowest of all transport options, with a lot of time lost waiting at the border.
You should also note that the Tashkent-Shymkent-Almaty train doesn’t operate daily, but rather runs twice or three times a week.
Since there was no train scheduled to depart from Tashkent to Shymkent on the day I needed to travel, I unfortunately couldn’t use this travel option.
Bus
Reportedly, there is a daily 12pm bus from Tashkent to Shymkent with tickets costing 60,000 Uzbek som (€4.40).
From Shymkent, there should be a bus departing at 10am for Tashkent, which costs 3,000 Kazakh tenge (€5.90).
The journey by bus between Tashkent and Shymkent will take between three-and-a-half and four hours.
In Shymkent these cross-border buses use the Bekjan bus station, while in Tashkent they use the Avtovokzal (central bus station).
Buses between Tashkent and Shymkent are however prone to changes, as there are frequent reports of this cross-border bus service being discontinued, only for it to be restarted some weeks or months later.
If you’re determined to take a direct bus from Tashkent to Shymkent, I highly recommend inquiring at the bus station about the status of this bus and its exact departure time at least a day prior to your travel.
Taxi, shared taxi, Yandex and minibus
The fastest and most flexible way to travel between Tashkent and Shymkent is by taking a taxi or marshrutka (minibus), although this option will be a bit more adventurous than the bus or train.
To avoid long queues at the Chernayevka/Zhibek Zholy border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, it’s best to split the route in two.
Coming from Tashkent, this means that you first get some transport to take you to the Uzbek border post at Chernayevka.
Ask to be let off at ‘Gisht Kuprik’ for the pedestrian border crossing alongside the main road, which allows you to cross both the Uzbek and Kazakh border posts on foot.
You will then find yourself in Zhibek Zholy in Kazakhstan along the main road, from where it’s easy to arrange onward transport to Shymkent.
As the Uzbek border post at Chernayevka is only 20 kilometres away from the city centre of Tashkent, a private taxi will not be expensive.
Another option is to take a marshrutka to get to the Uzbek border, but personally, I wouldn’t bother with it given the short distance from downtown Tashkent.
Once you crossed the Kazakh border post of Zhibek Zholy you will find plenty of minibus and taxi drivers offering you a ride to Shymkent.
Most of the car drivers use their vehicle as shared taxis and will only depart when the car is full, although you can of course speed up the process by negotiating a private ride.
This is the way how most locals seem to travel, and it’s unlikely you have to wait for a long time for passport control and customs at the border posts and at Zhibek Zholy to arrange onward transport to Shymkent.
The rideshare app Yandex also works like a charm in both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and can be used as well to arrange rides at each side of the border.
Of course, it’s possible as well to arrange a taxi or private car transfer from Tashkent to Shymkent, but I would advise against it, as it will not only be much more expensive, but the time spent at the border will also be much longer if you cross by car instead of on foot.
As the Chernayevka/Zhibek Zholy border is open 24 hours a day, travelling by taxi or minibus is also the most flexible option as you can depart at any hour you like, although finding a ride at night will likely take a lot longer than during daytime hours.
The trip by shared taxi
I decided to travel by shared taxi and minibus between Tashkent and Shymkent as it appeared to be the most convenient option, especially considering I could depart immediately upon arriving by train in Tashkent
I had no problem finding a private taxi at Tashkent South station to take me straight to the Uzbek-Kazakh border, and managed to negotiate a price of $5 for the ride.
The driver took me directly to the pedestrian border crossing, a separate pathway adjacent to the main road leading to both the Uzbek and Kazakh border posts.
The border procedure was fairly quick and straightforward.
During the Uzbek exit procedures, there was no inquiry about the hotel registration slips (which I was officially required to retain), and I received my exit stamp within minutes after a brief wait.
After a brief 10-minute wait at the Kazakh border post, I eventually reached the front of the queue to proceed to the passport control booth.
A friendly Kazakh officer quickly glanced through my passport and stamped me into the country after inquiring about my travel plans.
The entire procedure turned out to be much easier, faster and more hassle-free than I had anticipated based on the information I had read about this border.
At the border, you can easily change Uzbek som or US dollar to Kazakh tenge (and vice versa) at both semi-official exchange booths, as well as with money dealers wandering along the road.
Although there are irregular marshrutkas (minibuses) departing from the border at Zhibek Zholy to Shymkent, I didn’t spot any while waiting alongside the main road.
There were however plenty of drivers of taxis and private vehicles offering rides to Shymkent.
For around $10, I arranged a front seat in a private car, and we immediately set off for Shymkent.
On our 110-kilometre-long journey to Shymkent we did however pick up three more passengers, although this was hardly an inconvenience.
The road from the Uzbek-Kazakh border to Shymkent is of good quality and the views over the barren landscape are actually quite pretty.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the peculiar sight of what looks like a wooden ship that is beached on a hilltop to the left of the motorway.
Following a pleasant two-hour journey, we reached Shymkent, and the friendly driver kindly dropped me off at the entrance of my hotel.
The entire trip from Tashkent South station to my hotel in Shymkent – including the time spent at the border – only took 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Conclusion
It’s straightforward to travel across the Uzbek-Kazakh border between Tashkent and Shymkent, and you have the choice between multiple transport options such as the train, bus, minibus and taxi to cover the 135-kilometre distance between these cities.
Due to inconvenient and irregular train schedules and long-distance bus services that are prone to change, it’s recommended to travel by minibus or taxi between Tashkent and Shymkent.
The key is to split your journey in two and to take separate transport at each side of the border.
As the Uzbek border post is located just outside the city of Tashkent, you can easily cover this short distance by marshrutka (minibus), taxi, or Yandex.
You then simply cross both the Uzbek and Kazakh border posts on foot.
Once you find yourself in Kazakhstan, there will be plenty of cars available, which you can either hire as a private taxi for the ride to Shymkent or use as a shared taxi.
This option allows you to travel between Tashkent and Shymkent in just three to four hours.
Trip report index
This article is part of the ‘From Uzbekistan With Plov‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:
1. Review: Prietenia Night Train Bucharest to Chisinau
2. Chisinau Guide: A Visit to Moldova’s Capital
3. Istanbul Ataturk Airport and the Turkish Airlines Lounge
4. Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class Airbus A330
5. Tashkent Travels: A Day in the Capital of Uzbekistan
6. Tashkent to Samarkand by Uzbekistan Railways ‘Shark’ Train
7. Samarkand Visit Guide: Travelling Through Silk Road Splendour
8. Review: Afrosiyob High-Speed Train Samarkand to Bukhara
9. Bukhara: Exploring Unique Historic Sights and Timeless Charm
10. Bukhara to Khiva by Train: My Travel Experience
11. Khiva: Uzbekistan’s Unique Desert Oasis City
12. On a Night Train Across Uzbekistan: From Urgench to Tashkent
13. Guide: How to Travel From Tashkent to Shymkent (current chapter)
14. Shymkent: The Gateway to Southern Kazakhstan
15. Sukhoi Superjet: Flying Russia’s Homemade Plane
Thank you for your detailed information, it will help us in our upcoming trip in Turkestan as we are planning to visit Tashkent as well. Keep it up!