Travel from Ürümqi in China, to Almaty in Kazakhstan can be done in multiple ways. In this guide I will explain how I did this, and give some additional options.

Option 1 - Train to Khorgos and then a bus to Almaty

The cheapest option is to first take the night train from Ürümqi to Khorgos. Khorgos, also known as “Huoerguosi” is the town directly at the border of China and Kazakhstan.

The ticket for the night train depends on your seat/bed, but the prices should be as follows:

• Hard sleeper: 163 yuan (around 20 euros)

• Soft sleeper: 251 yuan (around 32 euros)

• Seat or standing: 93 yuan (around 12 euros)

I had a hard sleeper, and this was a fine bed. It might be a bit on the small side if you are tall. If you want more comfort, I would suggest the soft sleeper, but I don’t have any experience with this bed.

You will arrive at the Huoerguosi station around 09:00 in the morning.

Important: If you order tickets through Trip.com, or the 12306 Railway app, you will have to search for ‘Huoerguosi’. This is the train station in Khorgos. Ürümqi will be described as ‘Wulumuqi’ for the Central Station, or ‘Wulumuqinan’ for the South Station.

Once you get out of the station, the taxi drivers will immediately ask you to take a taxi to the bus station. Didi is not available in this area, so you will have to get a taxi by speaking to them. The taxi driver will know exactly where you have to go, because around 95% of the people in the train will go to the bus station. This is the location of the bus station

If everything goes right, you will arrive at the bus station before the opening time, which is at 10:00 in the morning. As soon as you arrive at the bus station you should join the queue, and try to get into the station once it opens. It might be a bit chaotic, and once the station people will try to get in as quickly as possible, but there should be enough seats for the bus to Almaty.

There are two buses to Almaty, one at 10:30, and one around 13:00. If you want to take the earlier bus, you will have to be in the front of the queue to make it on time. We took the bus at 13:00. Once you buy your tickets, make sure to go to the bus, because the time is more of an indication, and the bus can leave earlier if it’s full.

Once the bus leaves, you will travel for about 10 minutes to the actual border area. This can take a very long time, for us it took 4 hours in total to cross the border. This is how it will go at the border crossing:

1. First you will have to wait in the bus. The Chinese border crossing only lets one bus enter at the same time, and there will be multiple buses waiting. This means you have to wait for your turn.

2. Once it’s your turn, you leave the bus with all your luggage. You will cross Chinese immigration, they will do a check on your luggage, so this can take some time. After that you go to the immigration counter, and they will give you a stamp.

3. After the Chinese immigration you will have to go back on the bus, which will leave once everybody is back on the bus. Then you will drive for about 5 minutes. After that you have to leave the bus again, with all your luggage, and enter Kazakh immigration.

4. You cross the Kazakh immigration, which should be a lot faster, and go back on the bus, and leave for Almaty.

Important: You cannot walk across the border! The bus will bring you to the other side.

The ride to Almaty will be around 3 to 4 hours. And you will have a break during this ride. The bus will drop you in Almaty, at the following location. (you should use Yandex in Kazakhstan, since Google Maps won’t always have up to date information).

From this area you will have to take a Yandex Go (a taxi), or public transportation to go to your accommodation. There will be ATMs available in this area. We arrived in Almaty around 17:00.

Important: This is a lot of information, and it seems like a lot can go wrong, but you have to trust that everything will go right. Along the way people will always point you in the right direction, and everything will be fine.

Option 2 - Direct bus from Ürümqi to Almaty

There are direct buses from Ürümqi to Almaty, which will take between 20 to 24 hours. I decided to go with option 1, so I can’t tell much more about this. If you want more information I would suggest going to the International Bus Station in Ürümqi, and ask around for the price and more details. You can find the International Bus Station here: https://surl.amap.com/mM7sTU1g1lk

Option 3 - Fly from Ürümqi to Almaty

The quickest and easiest way to go from Ürümqi to Almaty is by plane. You have a direct flight from Ürümqi, which should take around 2 hours. I decided to go with option 1, so I can’t tell much more about this. But just know that this is an option as well.