Turkmenistan Kazakhstan
Turkmenistan 
KazakhstanLast reviewed July 2026
Crossing the border
Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan share a land border you can cross by car. Keep your passport, national driving licence and International Driving Permit together, and check opening hours and any toll or vignette requirements before you travel.
Driving rules in Kazakhstan
- Drive on the right.
- Zero-tolerance alcohol limit (0.0%).
- Headlights on outside cities.
- Long, remote highways between cities.
What to see when you arrive in Kazakhstan
- the futuristic skyline of Astana
- the city of Almaty and the Medeu rink
- the Charyn Canyon
- the Big Almaty Lake
- the steppe mausoleums of Turkestan
Once you're driving in Kazakhstan
Destination-specific detail sourced from national road authorities, motoring clubs and rental policies — the things that catch cross-border drivers out.
Driving on a foreign licence
Kazakhstan accepts the 1968 Convention IDP; foreign tourists may drive on their national licence plus an IDP for up to six months (or until temporary stay registration expires). An IDP with a Cyrillic/translation is strongly advised as police and rental firms may not read Latin-only licences.
Tolls & road charges
Major arteries such as the Astana-Almaty corridor and sections of the A1/A2/A3 are tolled; tourists usually pay electronically via the national operator (KazAvtoZhol/tollroad system, often through plate-linked accounts or roadside terminals), and rates are modest (a few hundred tenge per segment). Carry cash as some points and fuel stations don't take cards.
Parking in the cities
Almaty and Astana run paid municipal zones managed by the 'Almaty Parking'/'Astana Park' apps, payable by app, SMS or terminal (Qiwi, Kassa24); unpaid parking in marked zones risks fines and towing, so use the app or guarded lots.
Fines & camera enforcement
Traffic police actively enforce speeding, phone use and the 0.0/strict drink-drive limit; fines are calculated in MCI units and, while officially paid via bank/Kaspi, foreigners should refuse informal cash demands and insist on an official receipt. Rental firms recover camera and unpaid fines from the renter's card.
If you have an accident
Call 102 for police or the unified emergency number 112, do not move the vehicles, and wait for the traffic police (whose report is required for insurance and the rental firm) before clearing the road.
Driving in the capital
Almaty's grid is on a slope below the mountains and suffers heavy congestion and aggressive driving; paid central parking zones and frequent traffic-police posts mean you should keep documents and the IDP to hand.
Sources: internationaldriversassociation.com · internationaltravelpermits.com · kaztag.kz · rhinocarhire.com