Almaty Family Days Out

Travelling to Almaty with children works best when you pair one big outing a day with a calm stop nearby. Kids’ tickets are cheap and the youngest ride free in most places. All prices are in tenge (KZT), about 470 to 490 per US dollar in 2026.

Day plan ideas

Hill-top fun at Kok-Tobe. Take the cableway, a ride of roughly 6 minutes, from Dostyk Avenue 104B or Omarova Street 41 (official site ). A child aged 6 to 12 pays about 5,000 KZT return or about 3,000 KZT one way, and anyone under 5 travels free. Walking around the park costs nothing, and the paid extras are optional:

  • Fast Coaster, child: about 4,000 KZT
  • Ferris wheel, child: about 2,500 KZT
  • Mini-zoo: about 3,000 KZT
  • Steam train: about 1,000 KZT
  • Climbing wall and rope park: priced on site

Animals at the zoo. Almaty Zoo stands at Esenberlin Street 166 next to Central Park and dates from 1937. Since 15 January 2026 an adult ticket is 1,427 KZT and a child of 7 to 12 pays 562 KZT, while younger children and some other groups go free. See almatyzoo.kz for opening times.

Boats and a toy railway. Central Park, known to many as Gorky Park, has a lake where you can hire a boat, plus a narrow-gauge children’s railway running since 2006. Ask at the gate for prices and hours.

A cable-car day in the mountains. Shymbulak is a good summer outing for older children who like height. A child aged 6 to 14 pays 4,000 KZT return and under 6s are free, while adults pay 12,000 KZT return. The upper stations are cool and the air is thin, so bring jackets and watch for headaches. Lifts are sometimes closed for maintenance, so check ahead.

Easy nature breaks

  • Ayusai waterfalls: three falls on a route of about 8 to 10 km return, roughly 2 to 3 hours. The visitor centre is half an hour from the centre of town.
  • Turgen Gorge: about 70 km east, with trout farms and waterfalls around the visitor centre.

When it rains

The Central State Museum of Kazakhstan is open 09:00 to 18:00 and closed on Tuesdays. Preschool children get in free and schoolchildren pay 300 KZT, while foreign adults pay 5,000 KZT for all halls.

Tips for parents

  • Rivers in the mountains run through steep channels and are dangerous, so keep children away from the banks.
  • Winter brings icy pavements and falling icicles. Pack boots with grip.
  • Smog gathers in the city between November and February. The slopes at Shymbulak are above it.
  • The Medeu rink is closed for rebuilding, so skip any skating plans for now.

Read more: ticket details for the big sights are in attraction tours , and bigger parties can look at group activities . Family-friendly tours can be compared on Viator .