Reviews
★★★★
Our guide was lovely. Yet after many kms at the end once we reached the end of Altyn Arashan the driver didnt come to pick us up because the 4x4 car couldn't handle the road (a perfectly fine road without potholes that many cars moved on even soviet vans) So we had to walk another 20mins when many other cars passed us by to reach the point of pick up.
The guests are very kindly and big lovers of hiking. Hope they enjoyed Ala Kul lake.
★★★★★
We booked a 2 day Sary Jaz and Enilchek Ghost City tour with I'm Nomad. They are one of the few guides tgat offer tours to this remote but beautiful corner if Kyrgyzstan. Erzhan is a fantastic guide, very engaging and accommodating to our needs. The tour provided a 4WD, tents. Sleeping bags and cooking equipment. We camped in Sary Jaz for a night before heading to the ghost city the next day. Both sites were mind blowing. We were literally the only people there and had the whole valley to ourselves while horses, lambs and cows roamed the land. The car was good and the camping equipment was good quality as well. We were very happy with the tour. Highly recommended
The guest enjoyed the views of high mountain peaks of Sary Jaz. The guys are very kindly and smily. Thanks a lot!
★★★★
We had a great day exploring the Ring of Sary-Jaz with Akay’s driver, Akjol. He was very friendly and pleasant throughout the day, and we really enjoyed his company.
The morning was a little disappointing as Akjol arrived late, and we still needed to pick up our border permits and refuel before setting off, which meant we got a later start than expected. It would also have been great to have a little more commentary during the drive, particularly pointing out some of the surrounding mountains and sights along the way.
That said, the scenery more than made up for it. Sary-Jaz is an absolutely stunning and magical place, and we had a fantastic time exploring the area. It’s a truly spectacular part of Kyrgyzstan and well worth visiting.
Overall, we enjoyed the experience and would recommend Akay and his team to anyone wanting to explore this incredible region.
Guys are very nice and kind. Our driver came late for 1 hour bcs of the road situation. The tour was great.
★★★★★
What an incredible trip!
Akay has helped with every step of the process, even managing to help those who needed a visa to have it on time.
Erzhan, Akay and Misha our driver have all made this trip unforgettable.
The 3 days hike in the snow mountains and Ala-kul lake was fabulous with an authentic Yurt stay experience.
Kyrgyzstan is such a beautiful country, really recommend. 🧡
We did an amazing trekking to ALa Kol lake. The guys are very friendly and helpfull. Hope to see you them again.
★★★★★
All went smooth & perfect as requested. We had a fantastic transfer and enjoyed the landscapes with a visit to Charyn canyon on the way a lot. No need to look further if you need excursions or transfers in Kyrgyzstan. Thank you so much Akay & your team!
Wonderfull day with good people from Partugal.
★★★★
Quick response to your queries. Responsible when there was dispute during the trip. The only drawback is my tour guide was not Akay, but assigned by him, who I found not compatible as tour guide. After expressed our complain/opinion, there was a improvement. Overall, the tour guide do a good job for Eagle Hunting Show.
★★★★★
An excellent guide!
I contacted Akay weeks before my arrival but unfortunately I only noticed his response a few weeks later, so in the meantime he had already organized a tour with other clients. But Akay was so thoughtful to organize the tour for me anyway (based on my preferences) and direct us to a colleague of his.
Everything was really perfect. The Guide was always very kind and helpful, he guided us everywhere and satisfied all our requests. He was more than a guide, he was a friend. He showed us the canyons, the lake, the mountain, the immense meadows. We saw eagles up close and slept in yurts. We rode horses and tasted freshly picked apricots from the tree.
Kyrgyzstan is a wonderful place. Clean, safe, with great food and full of lush nature. The local people are always friendly and above all not oppressive towards tourists.
I recommend anyone to take a break to visit the pristine Kyrgyzstan.
We will definitely be back in the winter!
R
★★★★★
I had a fantastic time on my tour organised by Akay. It was my first time in Kyrgyzstan and doing this tour made it one to remember. Having everything organised for me made it easy and painless to see some of the best that Kyrgyzstan has to offer. Would recommend!
Nice experience with Marazat. Good accommodations, itinerary and beautiful places.
★★★★★
For anyone looking to experience a destination through the eyes of a local, I highly recommend Akay. He didn’t just guide us but he immersed us to hidden gems and off-the-beaten-path spots that we never would have discovered on our own. Every step of the way, he went above and beyond to ensure our comfort and enjoyment.
★★★★★
Akay was a great host. He was very friendly, knowledgable and we could adjust our trip before we came to our likings. His car was very comfortable, his driving also. The places we stayed were very nice and food/restaurants very good. We can fully recommend him for your tour in Kyrgyztan or southern Kazakhstan.
★★★★★
Akay was the most incredible driver and guide. He quickly responded to our request, which was not listed and made it happen. He picked us up exactly on time, drove us safely from Karakol to Almaty, making stops as we wished and waiting for us at the sights. He spoke good English and was a great person to talk to. He is an incredibly kind and sweet person, and we cannot recommend him enough! He helped us cross the border with ease. If you’re coming to the region, there is no better guide.
★★★★★
Did a very good job getting us a sprinter and taking us to Charyn canyon and across border to Karakol. Will recommend him to my friends
I met a group in Almaty at airport and we did a comfortable transfer to Karakol city. Nice big family with wonderful kids from USA. Thanks a lot.
★★★★★
Nous avons eu la chance d’effectuer un merveilleux voyage en Kirghizie avec Akai comme guide. La réussite et l’intérêt de ce voyage lui en revient entièrement.
Passionné par son métier, il a su nous faire découvrir de magnifiques paysages très variés mais aussi la vie des nomades, les traditions toujours très vivantes de son pays. Partout l’accueil a été très chaleureux, les hébergements et les repas que ce soit chez l’habitant ou dans de petits hôtels ont été de grands moments de bonheur.
Si vous aimez la nature et les modes de vie pas encore agressés par la vie dite moderne, alors allez vite découvrir ce beau pays ! Un très très grand merci à Akai.
Michèle et Pierre
T
★★★★★
We did a 12 day tour organized by Akai in September that included 3 days at the World Nomad Games, 2 days trekking up to Ala Kol Lake, 3 days horse trekking through Jety-Oguz and a 2 day trek/yurt stay in Song Kul. The itinerary that Akai prepared for us was wonderful, we got to see and do a lot in a short amount of time! Akai has a good sense of humor and is knowledgeable about Kyrgyzstan and sharing about Kyrgyz culture! I thought that the accommodation that he chose for us was really nice as well as the dinners! Akai was with us for the first three days of our tour and then his colleague, Aza, was with us for the remainder of the time for all of our trekking. Aza was really friendly and served us well.
While our experience was overall positive, and we LOVED Kyrgyzstan, there are some things that I think need to be considered by potential clients and hopefully improved upon for Akai and his guide service in order to better accommodate future clients.
Professionalism in the areas of punctuality, reliability, communication with colleagues, and general preparedness are things that I think were lacking and recommend be improved upon.
For example, there were two couples in our group and Akai agreed to pick us up at the airport at arrival, which both parties confirmed a couple of days beforehand. The first group who arrived earlier than us he did not arrive at all for resulting in them taking a taxi and for us he was late. This was a poor first impression and was a stressful situation considering that when we arrived we didn`t have phone service to contact him and didn`t know what hotel we were staying at. We were heckled by taxi drivers and thankfully a local person did help us contact him at the airport to confirm that he was indeed coming, though over a half an hour late. Our group was rather disappointed by this situation. Also, there was another time when we confirmed a pick up time and he arrived almost an hour later. I think it is important to know that when catering to western tourist especially, that being punctual and reliable is very important.
When it came to communication with his colleague Aza and the preparedness of Aza for our tour, we found out that Aza was not thoroughly informed about our itinerary (he asked to see my print out) and he had not actually done our particular Song Kul trek before guiding us on it. I confirmed our tour six months before going on the trip, so there was more than enough time to have his colleague prepared and experienced with our itinerary. Aza had to stop and ask locals on our way to Song Kul where to go and what the path was. Aza did a great job improvising and leading us in spite of this, but I found it a bit frustrating because when I pay for a guide the expectation is that they are familiar and have experience with the itinerary. I think because of this I did not enjoy myself as fully as I could have because I didn`t feel safe or comfortable enough.
Another thing is the driving. If Akai can provide vehicles with seatbelts that would be great. We found the driving in Kyrgyzstan a bit scary and at least having cars with seatbelts would help increase that sense of safety for clients.
So overall, we had an amazing time in Kyrgyzstan and everything ended up working out even though there were mishaps along the way. I think Akai`s strengths are his knowledge of the country and friendliness. I think that if he improves his professionalism in the areas I mentioned then I would highly recommend him and his business would be perfect, however, from my experience at the moment I would recommend with some caution depending on what is important to you out of a guide service.
M
★★★★★
Everything smoothly. We planned a six days tour through Kyrgyzstan from Karakol to Osh and we have been really satisfied. even if we organized everything with Akai, Asamat, his elder brother, has been our guide. He has been really available, discrete and well prepared. He is a real professional driver indeed he could manage the driving on any kind of road. We’d recommend this to anybody interested in stunning Kyrgyzstan.
P
★★★★★
All the things William explains in his review are thru. Mirjam (my wife) and I have the same experience.
We are a little older and more experienced but never the less Akai provided us with "the trip of our lifetime"!
On top of that, Akai is fun and inspiring person. He even got us horseback riding!
M
★★★★★
Akai is a fantastic guide, he has many years of experience within hospitality and has a lot of knowledge about Kyrgyzstan and it`s history. Throughout our journey, Akai would always explain to me the different places we were passing or visiting and at times introduced me to locals so I really gained a deep insight into the culture and spirit of the country I am travelling.
Akai also speaks very good English and French so communication was always very clear. But what stood out for me personally about Akai is his high energy and sense of joy/humour. I had so much fun on this road trip and that was largely because of Akai`s personality. It was a total adventure filled with epic scenery, thrilling activities and a lot of great laughs along the way!
As I was travelling alone, therefore it was most of the time just Akai and I, so I got to know him well. I can honestly say from my experience that Akai is a good man, and a true nomad!
O
★★★★★
Thanks for Akai`s fantastic plan in Kyrgyzstan visiting with the most local way, hiking, horse riding and skiing. The guest house he arranged is warm and comfortable. He is also willing to share his personal opinion and have great talk from different culture background. And, good driver. Unforgettable memories we create there.
M
★★★★★
Bonjour,
j’ai eu l’occasion de visiter une partie du Kirghizistan en 4X4 en aout 2017 accompagné de notre guide Akay et j’ai été tellement satisfait de sa prestation que je tiens à vous en faire part afin de vous permettre d’enrichir votre offre auprès de vos clients.
Nous étions 4 voyageurs plus notre guide Akay avec lequel nous avons visité la capitale Bishkeck. Nous avons fait le tour du lac Issy Kul et dormi en Yourte en passant par le lac Son Kul qui est magnifique. Nous avons ensuite contourné le lac Yssi Kul en direction de l’est vers Karakol en passant par de magnifiques paysages montagneux et des cols de hautes altitudes et enfin regagner Bishkeck pour terminer notre road trip en 10 jours.
Tout a été parfait : Akay est francophone, pour des Français, c’est très important. En plus il est sympathique et toujours de bonne humeur ! L’hôtellerie est parfaite que ce soit en maison d’hôte chez l’habitant ou en hôtel. Pour la restauration: idem, il y avait même trop à manger et la nourriture était bonne. Le 4X4 était propre et confortable avec de l’eau minérale à volonté pendant le voyage. Je remercie Akay pour son professionnalisme car il a organisé lui même un road trop de qualité.
Je vous joints quelques photos de mon voyage.
Cordialement, Francis
T
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