Border crossing is still only possible by bus. I hitchhiked to the border and tried to walk. They would not let me. The guards were not friendly at all. But as it is always the case in asia, there will be some very friendly locals who are happy to help. You can try to hop on a bus from right before the border but most bus drivers will want to see a ticket (which you get in zharkent for 5000 tenge). there was a lady charging 2000 tenge to help you get on the bus, which seemed to be necessary, because none of the buses wanted to take us people waiting infront of the border. granted most of them were probably full. in total you would have to pay 7000 tenge to cross from here (5000 + 2000). i don't know how but i ended up not paying anything to cross, the others told me not to worry about it. but i am guessing someone payed for me. the crossing took a long time. 2-3h i would say. it is probably smartest to hitchhike to zharkent and take the bus fron there. have fun in china<3

Just dropped here, used the thumb and got a easy ride to Aktau, let's go!! God is good ! Some local traffic imo (you should walk further if you can) but still work

I waited kind of long time imo but managed to get a ride to Shetpe direction Aktau. I was a star for a lot of children that were doing something about the trees. Also the 3 kazaks boys found a car for them.

Excellent spot to go South, you have a shop, restaurant, toilets, lot of traffic. It took me more time because I basically was with three young kazaks and they wanted to hitchhike with me (they were also HH to Aktau) and while I went to buy water inside they found two cars and we went two by two ! Direction Aktau/Ouzbekistan. Dropped in Beïnéou

Lol I hitchhiked with a old man. I was kind of pissed to have someone with me but hey it turned really well at the end. We got a ride to Koulsary on the way to Aktau ! It is maybe not the exact spot but who cares, cars here will go further South and East.

Easy ride to Dössor, this is where you need to go at least to catch the cars going south to Aktau or to Ouzbekistan. Thanks Jasulan, he also offered me pizza 😁 GLORY TO THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

Just go on that highway the further possible you can, it doesn't matter which exact place you hitchhike :) thanks Yerlan ! He brought me further

You don't really have a choice anyway but not the perfect spot. When I was there, no trucks were entering KZ, just cars (often full) and taxis. Very low traffic as well. Somehow, a small truck driver stopped and brought me all the way to Atyraou! God is good ! Thanks Ruslan 🇰🇿🏹

This is the spot if you want to get a ride to the aktau Mountains. People go to the visitor center bc they need to pay a fee to enter the national park. Still lots of waiting tho but there is fresh water outside

I only waited that long bc there were 5 other locals and they got rides before me. Really popular spot, expect some competiton :)

local walked right next to me after 10 minutes and caught a ride before me. haha overall great location for cars to pull over and a market right next to it

NO A HITCH Busses to China leave from here. You can‘t hitch the border. The last bus of the day goes at 6pm (THIS MIGHT CHANGE). It costs 5000 and tickets can be bought with card. Crossing was easy and took 2-3h (+3h time difference). Be ready to take out all metals from your bag. Good luck!

Took less than 10min to catch a ride. He demanded money at the end. At the spot there is a restaurant and a bus stop. We just stood on the highway to catch all the traffic. Be there early, more cars will go to China.

A old men in a Volkswagen took us (ig he was a shared taxi but kapusta pusta made him laugh). He almost killed us on the way but was a great guy.

We got dropped here by friends and started hh. Some traffic but not much to the border. A guy pulled up and ended taking us to a random location. He loved ‚kapusta pusta‘ lmao

Lots of traffic, gas station and a toilet. Lots of police too but they did not care about me. Took less than 5min to get a ride.

Light traffic so I decided to walk to the motorstop in the highway. A truck stopped while I was walking and took me. Pretty good spot ig

Took only a few minutes to catch a nice car. Just say Almaty or Kenen for the generall direction.

Not great. I ended up explaining my situation to a shared taxi driver (kapusta pusta - the cabbage ist empty aka I got no money) and he took me up the road. Maybe it's better to pay for the short ride and go from there.

dddd

Easy ride to Dössor, this is where you need to go at least to catch the cars going south to Aktau or to Ouzbekistan. Thanks Jasulan, he also offered me pizza 😁 GLORY TO THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

I took the bus 120 from Chorsu metro station, stop here (be careful it's not the terminus), crossed the border on foot then hitchiked easily in Kazakhstan I did the other way also, don't trust taxi driver if they said "no bus anymore", walk until this point and take the bus 120 to go to Chorsu metro station (terminus) You can pay by card

High speeds and not too many cars as most turn to the lake up the mountains. But it's Kazakhstan, people will stop for you no matter what.

Don't take this eastern route to Kazakhstan, go north through Tyup instead. Getting the first ride here isn't an issue but later on it gets veeeery quiet.

Here is a cafe where truck drivers stop to take a rest. We got a direct ride to Kazakhstan border from here. The road is in a bad condition, so it took as 6+ hours to get there.

Crossed the border from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan in the middle of May. The guards were nice and chilling. We crossed at 2 or 3 pm and there was no traffic at all. Got the ride with the first passing car after 1,5h of walking. The landscapes are awesome.

While hitching north there is high probability that you will hitchhike after Ucharal's police checkpoint as almost 90% of cars turn to Ucharal. I guess wait here is more comfortable than closer to that checkpoint. First, here is a river and you can fresh yourself anytime. Second, you can stay at night near the river. it's better that sleep on sand. Third, road on the bridge is in vary bad condition so cars cross bridge at 30-40km/h. Forth, police in Kazakhstan may ask you some stupid questions and finally bring you some thoubles. P.S. Hitchhike at lest to Urzhar turn otherwise you will spend some time in the desert with no water around.

If you are going to take a ship from Baku to Turkmenistan or to Kazakhstan, you can go to the port early and try to talk to one of the Turkish, Georgian or Azeri truck drivers. They can show you as a driver on paper and you can save 100$.

As carpooling is common in Kazakhstan, don't forget to explain the driver that you are HHing and not going to pay for the ride.