Near Bishkek, 20 km away there is Manas International Airport. The airport is small, recently renovated, there are cafes and pharmacy kiosks with small shops. If you come with a reserve, then you will have nothing to do there. Coffee in the machine costs 0,34 RUB = 35. KGS baggage packing 3,5 RUB = 350 KGS
How to get there
You can get to it from the city itself on a comfortable and clean minibus number 380 for 38 RUB = 40. KGS Stop coordinates: 42.877647, 74.575208. The minibus takes 40 minutes, as it stops in villages along the way. View prices and conveniently order a taxi and meeting at the airport in advance via the Internet using an international service
Airfare from Moscow
An Aeroflot Moscow-Bishkek air ticket will cost you approximately 13,000 rubles. for the cheapest round trip fare. All flight options from your city can be viewed on Aviasales
Bishkek city transport
In Bishkek, public transport includes buses, trolleybuses and minibuses. The fare is 8 RUB = 8 KGS for a trolleybus and bus, and 10 RUB = 10 KGS for a minibus. Minibuses run more frequently and the city's coverage area is much wider. Traffic jams are not uncommon on main streets. Travel is paid at the entrance.
Intercity shuttle buses of Kyrgyzstan
The main way to travel around the country is by minibus. The quality and cleanliness of the minibuses varies; passengers can also carry cargo in the cabin; there is no air conditioning. One thing that’s great about them is that there are a lot of them in the main areas, and if you don’t like one, you can wait for the next one.
- The price is fixed and can be easily found out from the driver; Kyrgyz soms are accepted for payment.
- The cost of travel from Karakol to Kadzhi-Sai was 57 RUB = 60 KGS for an hour and a half
- From Kadzhi-Sai to Bishkek 239 RUB = 250 KGS for 6 hours.
- A direct minibus from Karakol to Bishkek (400 km) costs 287 RUB = 300 KGS and takes less time along a good northern road through Cholpon-Ata.
Long-distance buses from Bishkek
Long-distance minibuses make stops for snacks. The cost of visiting the toilet on the road is 10 RUB = 10. KGS buns in a cafe nearby from 19 RUB = 20 KGS per shortbread From Bishkek, a good asphalt road leads towards Almaty, to the northern side of Lake Issyk-Kul through the tourist town of Cholpon-Ata to Karakol, in side of Osh. All other roads are compacted gravel, very dusty in places.
Rail transport in Kyrgyzstan
International trains
By rail you can get to Bishkek from Moscow. The station is located within the city. Coordinates: 42.863869, 74.605706.
Local trains
From the local service, there are short branches from Bishkek towards Issyk-Kul to the city of Balykchy (but it operates only in the summer and takes 7 hours versus 4 hours by minibus for the same distance), to the north with the border of Kazakhstan - Tokmok, Merke.
Passing cars
Hiking is sometimes the only means of transportation in remote parts of the country. Both soms and rubles are accepted for payment.
The initial fare is unrealistically high for the country; you must bargain. The remoteness of the nearest settlement and the lack of transport on this section of the road are taken into account. For a 2-hour drive on gravel from the border with Kazakhstan near the city of Kegen to Karakol, after trading, 1,000 rubles were paid for two (1,500 rubles were originally requested). Absolutely without amenities (there may be other passengers in the car), but quickly and with transportation to the place.
The cost of gasoline in Kyrgyzstan
- 95th 0,37 RUB = 39 KGS
- 92nd 0,34 RUB = 36 KGS
- diesel 0,31 USD = 32 KGS
The day before, Deputy of the Bishkek City Council Saidakhmat Ismailov proposed annually increasing fares for public transport. Otherwise, in his opinion, we risk ending up without it altogether - prices for fuel and lubricants and spare parts are rising, but tariffs remain unchanged.
IA "24.kg» I figured out whether we really have the lowest fares and how much money is spent on updating municipal transport.
How tariffs were increased
Conversations that there is an urgent need to increase public transport fares in Bishkek arise every year. Every year, officials propose to increase the price of travel on municipal transport by 50 percent - from 8 to 12 soms. And the reasons are always the same - expensive fuel and high costs.
In 2014, bus drivers went on strike. They demanded an increase in fares and the abolition of a fine of three thousand soms for standing passengers. On the eve of Orozo Ait, minibuses throughout the city simply did not go online.
Drivers were confident that fares would increase as of August 1, 2014. However, the deputies of the Bishkek City Council were on vacation at that time and were not going to consider the issue. That's how it remains. Well, except that the traffic cops stopped paying attention to the overcrowded buses.
In 2012, for the same reason, private cab drivers demanded an increase in fares. And the methods were identical. Then the townspeople were promised that comfortable transport would be waiting for them for 10 soms. The situation has not changed until now.
The last time fares for public transport in Bishkek were increased was in May 2012. Then the price for travel on a minibus increased from 8 to 10 soms during the day and from 10 to 12 soms after 21.00. The price for travel on trolleybuses has increased from 5 to 8 soms, and on buses - from 6 to 8 soms.
Where are buses and trolleybuses more expensive?
The capital's authorities have repeatedly stated that the cost of travel on public transport in Bishkek is several times lower than in neighboring countries. Hence, they say, all the problems. Municipal transport simply cannot live on the money it earns. The Bishkek City Hall annually subsidizes municipal transport by approximately 230 million soms.
Now let’s compare transport costs with the average nominal salary in these cities. To make it easier to navigate, we have converted all prices into Kyrgyz soms. The average salary in Bishkek is 18.5 thousand soms, in Almaty - 38.4 thousand soms, Tashkent - 22.8 thousand soms, Moscow - 75.3 thousand soms and Dushanbe - 12.3 thousand soms.
Every month, Bishkek residents spend, on average, 2.5 percent of their salary on public transport.
Traveling on buses and minibuses in Dushanbe costs a little more—0.48 percent of the salary. In other cities, costs are much higher. In Tashkent you will have to pay 2.1 percent for travel, in Almaty - 4 percent and Moscow - 4.2 percent.
How Bishkek's transport was updated
This year the government expects to receive 356 new buses for Bishkek. The funds will be credit - 3.5 billion soms. It is expected that the cost of one bus will be $143 thousand. To achieve this, the country's authorities planned to issue government securities.
Last year, a new route was launched in the capital - No. 35. Its difference is that private buses operate on it. An investor from China purchased 12 cars. The mayor's office provided the carrier with benefits so that the route would not be closed.
In 2016, Urumqi donated ten new buses to Bishkek as part of a program of cooperation and development of friendly ties. Buses run on gas and run on route No. 42.
In 2013, about 80 new trolleybuses were purchased using the first tranche of the EBRD loan. In 2015, deputies received the second tranche of a soft loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the amount of 7.9 million. According to the mayor's office, this will allow the purchase of up to 50 new trolleybuses.
The biggest scandal was the purchase of 200 buses in 2008. Then the mayor was Nariman Tyuleev. As a result, he and the former director of the Bishkek passenger motor transport enterprise Medet Kozhebergenov, former vice-mayor Valery Kornienko, head of the municipal property department Ruslan Beishenbaev and acting. Director of the Tazalyk MP Bakyt Sydykov was accused of corruption. The Prosecutor General's Office considered that Nariman Tyuleev bought the buses at an inflated price.
Manas Airport
International airport of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Located 23 km from the center of Bishkek. This is a two-story building, small and convenient for its purpose. It cooperates with 16 airlines and serves approximately 40 flights per day. We ordered our tickets for our vacation. The airport has only one terminal, but it copes with the needs of passengers. As soon as we arrived, we were able to immediately exchange Russian rubles for local currency at the airport; there are already four exchange offices there!
We received our luggage in comfortable conditions, in a well-equipped block, with almost no queues, the only thing that is not clear is why it was checked after arrival. It’s difficult to get lost at the airport, there are signs everywhere, it’s better to trust them and not contact the help desk; they didn’t answer our questions.
Anyone traveling on an international flight must go to the second floor, while those traveling within the country remain on the first floor. The security service at the entrance to the airport checks very carefully, even children are examined! Pre-flight control is even stricter than at the entrance; everyone is seen as a threat to society. The employees work with stone faces, we never got a smile.) They are demanding about the weight of luggage, it should not be more than 20 kg, hand luggage up to 5 kg. We were overweight by 200 grams, so we had to put on a couple of sweaters. The departure hall is large and comfortable. In the center there is a Duty-Free, although with a small selection, but the prices are a little cheaper than ours. There are also a couple of shops with gifts in the hall, but the prices there are clearly higher than in Bishkek itself. We also liked the huge windows in the waiting room, from which we can see planes landing and taking off. This is an amazing sight! You can find more detailed information on the official website.
How to get from the airport to Bishkek by bus
The bus stop is located one hundred meters from the arrivals area. The buses are small and have no luggage compartment. If you have a lot of things with you, you will feel uncomfortable traveling in it.
