ASTANA – The private company Visit Astana with the support of the city’s akimat (administration) is providing city sightseeing tours on double-decker buses, according to the akimat’s press service.
The Hop-on, Hop-off double-decker buses pass the city’s main attractions, including the territory of EXPO 2017. Buses are equipped with audio guides with the six available languages, including Kazakh, Russian, English, Chinese, Turkish and German.
Tickets cost 3,000 tenge (US$9) for adults, 2,000 tenge (US$6) for students and pensioners, 1,000 tenge (US$3) for children 6-14 and free for youngsters under five. The bus ticket is valid for 24 hours. Tourists can get off at any stop to walk around and get on the next bus. The interval between buses is 30-35 minutes.
The starting and ending point of the route is a stop in front of the Duman entertainment centre along the Kurgaldzhin Highway. The route includes the Duman entertainment centre, Khan Shatyr Entertainment Centre, Mangilik Yel Arch, Mega Silk Way Shopping Mall, the National Museum of Kazakhstan and the Baiterek monument.
The project was launched last year.
“As the evenings are becoming colder, we offer plaid blankets for our guests. We also provide services for wedding catering. The wedding tours in our buses are now gaining popularity. There are a lot of tourists and visitors from Russia who are interested in the city’s development and architecture,” said Project Administrator Larissa Vostrova in an interview last year with The Astana Times.
Additional information is available at sightseeing-tours.kz.
