Saken.

We had a great two-day trip with Saken to Kolsai lake and Charyn Canyon. Saken was very easy to get on with, he speaks English like a first language so it was easy to have a good conversation and interesting to hear his insights into the region. He is an experienced guide, as well as an experienced traveler. He was very attentive from the beginning and contacted us prior to the tour to ask about eating preferences, what to bring for the trip etc. His car was very comfortable, perfect for long trips, and he is an excellent driver. We also appreciated that Saken works with the locals in areas we visited, supporting the development of responsible travel and tourism which benefits the people in those areas; the homestay we stayed with was a great experience. Highly recommended.

Peter

December 2020

Everything went great, Saken was so kind and nice guy since the first day we met. He came to see us at the hotel on the day we missed the flight to Istanbul. He took care of us perfectly. He was an excellent driver. He took us to see many things in Almaty even we had an only 1-day layover. My friends and I enjoyed all. If anyone wishes to visit Kazakhstan I highly recommend Saken to show you around.:)

Saken is a very good guide with a tons of knowledge and good advice. We really had a very good time with him. I can highly recommend him

If you are going through reviews and looking for a guide to organize your trip, look no further! Saken is the PERFECT choice! I just got back from a 5-day tour me and my friend booked with Saken and we couldn`t be happier! :) The man is professional, reliable, well-organized, trustworthy, very kind and well-mannered, and has a vast knowledge of the region & history, plus a GREAT sense of humor and tons of interesting stories that he shared with us over the course of the trip. We not only got to experience the culture of Kazakstan, but we also bonded with Saken - he was not just a driver or guide, he went with us on all walking tours/hiking trips and was there with us all along, showing the coolest places, explaining different things, taking care of accommodation, meals, literally everything. He is also a great driver, drives carefully and responisbly, and is fluent in English which was perfect, since me and my friend didnt know Russian or Kazakh language. All in all - in 5 days we managed to see all places we had on our wishlist (Altyn-Emel National Park`s Singing Dune & Aktau Mountains, Charyn Canyon, Kolsai and Kaindy lakes, Tamgaly petroglyphs, plus a few places in city of Almaty) and got back home safely with lots of positive energy and priceless memories. Thank you so much Saken!!! :) All the best!

Saken was the perfect for our Tour. He tokk us through Almaty and Altyn-Emel. He was very friendly and knew a lot about Almaty and its region. His driving was very pleasant and always had interesting stories to tell. He took us to get in touch with locals, which were very receptive. Would always recommend him.

Saken is a very experienced and professional tour guide. He does not normally take children on tours but was very accommodating for our two children ages nine and four years old. He was great to talk to and offered lots of interesting stories about his travels and life in Kazakhstan, which we very much enjoyed. He’s a very careful driver and considerate towards people used to calmer driving. His car is very nice and extremely clean. He is very trustworthy and we would definitely hire him again if we are in the area. We had a great time and it was a lovely day out of Almaty!

We had a great time with Saken! He is an excellent guide, showing us not only the beautiful nature around Almaty, but also giving us interesting insights into the culture and the kazachen way of live. He is extremely reliable and helped us beyond our visit to Almaty. He made sure, that we had a contact in the next travel destination who help us to get to the Uzbekistan border. Having gotten to know Saken and his vast knowledge of central Asia, we wished we had booked a longer tour with him. We can highly recommend Saken as a guide!

Couldn`t expect someone better person than Saken for a trip, tour, in another unknown country. Very knowledgeable, very polite, very helpful. We have got a special care from Saken even what was needed not direct to the planned tour. We are committed now, because we want to be, to tell our friends and virtual friends about Saken and we will sure recommend him as the one and only guide to each country from Georgia to all South East Asia.

Our tour with Saken has been our very first time with a private tour guide. After we intentionally waited some weeks before writing this review in order to see other guide’s performance and be able to actually rate this experience, Saken’s tour still remains outstanding. He has been highly professional, pro-active and overall inspirational. We arrived quite unprepared and Saken saved us with his “no problem”-mindset: we failed to inform him about our flight’s delay – no problem, Saken was still there. Our hotel refused to receive us anymore – no problem, Saken organized an even better one. We hadn’t exchanged any money beforehand – no problem, Saken found a perfect solution. Whoever considers booking Saken can be sure that he will be taken care of, no matter what happens. Moreover, he managed to completely change our mind about Kazakhstan, evolving us in interesting conversations, giving us “deep” insights into the local culture and tradition. Throughout the tour he managed to keep an exciting atmosphere with us, two rather boring and reserved young German travellers. The restaurant was amazing and it was very clear, that Saken knows what he is doing and really picked out the best places around Almaty for us. We can whole-heartedly recommend anyone heading to Kazakhstan to spend some time exploring it with Saken – just please don’t give him such a hard time as we did, he’s a truly exceptional guy. We will certainly come back.

4D3N trip I was quite satisfied with the trip and the overall service. I had booked a 4 day 3 night excursion to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai lakes and Kaindy. I was met by Saken the night prior at my hotel who explained in detail the itinerary, what to expect and plan for. Picked up promptly the day after and began the journey which I had requested to be trek focused. He is well travelled and speaks good English so was both effective in knowledge and communication. We stayed at a family guest house in Saty which was warm and welcoming. After experiencing Charyn and Kolsai (1&2) I wanted to make a change to the trip to do something slightly different so I asked whether it was possible to try Kyrgyzstan for a day which I heard was spectacular and not far. Saken did not hesitate and with his Kazakh friendliness and generosity accepted. I had several offers to choose from but I am glad to have selected Saken`s and recommend him highly. I hadn`t been to this part of the world before and was apprehensive at first. Saken, for me, is genuine, reliable and knowledgeable. Thank you Saken for a memorable trip and hope to see you soon!

Great

Saken is a great guide and driver. He was always very punctual, and catered to all our needs. We bonded well with Saken, and he was really good company to have on our trip! We learnt so much about the Kazakh culture. We would highly recommend Saken!

Saken is a really helpful and nice guy. He and his wife picked us up at the airport and drove us to the big almaty lake. Afterwards we had a really nice lunch in a local restaurant with traditional food. At the end we walked around through the local market and the city center of Almaty. Totally worth it :)

Couldn’t have asked for a better guide. Went to all of the places I wanted to and more. Also had lots of insight about all of the sites.

We had 18-hour layover Almaty.We decided to book 1 day tour-Big Almaty Lake,Medeo ice rink and Almaty city.Saken is knowledgeable about the history behind every site we went and has a great sense of humor.We had lunch at local restaurant and lots of of stories about Kazakhstan and Kazakh families.We also went to local market-Green Bazaar for food tasting and took a walk in the Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen to explore Russian Orthodox Church And World War 2 Memorial.We would highlyrecommend Saken.

Unser Ausflug zum Altyn-Emel Nationalpark war eine sehr spontane Aktion. Am Sonntag Abend bei Indy-Tours gesucht und gebucht und Montag morgen um 7.00 Uhr gestartet. Per Email konnte ich mit Saken alle Fragen und Wünsche unkompliziert im Vorfeld klären. Pünktlich zur verabredeten Zeit holten uns Saken und ein Fahrer im Hotel ab. Die Fahrt von Almaty zum Altyn-Emel dauert recht lange, aber wir legten genügend Pausen ein, aßen ein sehr leckeres Mittagessen und Saken überbrückte die Zeit mit interessanten Informationen rund um das Leben in Kasachstan. Im Altyn Emel Park führte Saken uns an alle Orte und war ein hervorragender Guide, der viele Infos und Geschichten zu den besuchten Orten hatte. Dieser Tag war für uns ein tolles Erlebnis, wir haben uns bei Saken sehr gut aufgehoben gefühlt und können ihn uneingeschränkt weiterempfehlen. Danke noch mal für alles und viele Grüße aus Soest in Deutschland

We had a great trip to Lake Almaty witn visits to see Falcons, horses and camels at a country club on the way back. The next day Saken also kindly showed us around parts of the city including the green bazaar where we tried some Kazak delicacies. He was a fantastic guide and went out of his way to make sure we had a great stay in Almaty. Thanks again - would definitely recommend!