Yeldos.
About this host
Yeldos organizes jeep tours across the Mangystau peninsula from Aktau, Kazakhstan. He does not guide or drive himself; he plans the routes and works with a team of local driver-guides who take travelers out into the region.
His tours range from two-day trips to week-long expeditions, covering the peninsula's best-known natural sites: the Valley of Balls at Torysh, Sherkala, the Bozzhyra canyon panoramas, the Tuzbayir salt marsh, Kyzylkup and the Karynzharyk depression. Most routes include overnight camping, with tents, mattresses and sleeping bags provided, and some longer itineraries add a night in a yurt. He also rents out 4x4 SUVs, with or without a driver, equipped for independent off-road travel through the desert and canyon landscapes.
Guests describe well-planned itineraries that reach the remote corners of Mangystau, good food cooked along the way, and camping gear that holds up to the desert nights.
Trips are run as private departures with custom routes built around what travelers want to see, from short jeep loops to multi-day overland expeditions, with an English-speaking guide available on request.
2 Listings
We traveled as a group of 11 people, aged 25-60. The tour leader and the other drivers were excellent drivers. The rides were exciting, and everything was well-organized. They had everything we asked for, and even things we didn't request, making it a truly memorable tour. Thank you so much!
We spent three days exploring Mangystau, and overall, the trip itself was really good. We got to see exactly the places we wanted to visit, the food was delicious, the equipment was good, and our driver drove very well. One important clarification: we did not travel directly with Yeldos, but with a freelancer working with him. That said, there are a few aspects of the experience that we believe could be improved, especially considering the price of the tour. We had booked a private tour and therefore expected a certain level of professionalism, flexibility, and personal attention. While our driver was excellent behind the wheel, we found it difficult to describe him as a guide, as he did not provide any explanations about the places we visited and did not get out of the vehicle with us at any of the stops. The trip felt more like being driven from one attraction to another than having a guide who actively contributed to the experience. There were also several situations where communication and time management could have been better. On multiple occasions, we were told that he would be back in 20 minutes, only for this to turn into an hour or even an hour and a half. On the first day, for example, we waited at a restaurant for around 90 minutes because we were supposed to order our food together when he returned. Although the food itself was very good, this meant we spent a considerable amount of time waiting unnecessarily. Another evening, we were unable to go to bed because he had driven to a friend’s place to get internet access via Starlink. He told us he would be back in 20 minutes, but after more than an hour, we eventually had to walk over and ask him to retrieve our sleeping bags from the locked vehicle so that we could go to sleep. We also would have appreciated more personal interaction during meals. Although the food was excellent, our guide would sit down with us and spend his time playing Candy Crush on his phone, rather than engaging with us or sharing anything about the region. We are sharing this feedback constructively because Mangystau itself is an incredible destination, and the tour had many positive aspects. The driving, food, and equipment were all good, and we saw everything we had hoped to see. However, for us, a private tour is about more than transportation and visiting beautiful places. It is also about the overall experience, good communication, reliability, personal attention, and a guide who helps bring the destination to life. Especially at this price point, we expected a more professional and personalized experience, with a little more flexibility to accommodate our needs and make the trip feel special. With better time management, more engagement, and a more guest-oriented approach, this could have been an outstanding experience. We hope this feedback is helpful in improving future tours.
Unfortunately, I cannot leave a positive review about my experience with Yeldos. After booking and paying for the tour, communication was practically nonexistent. In the weeks before departure, I asked him a few questions, but I received very short and often generic replies, together with messages that clearly seemed standardized and not particularly personalized. Two days before departure, I had to contact him again myself to find out how the pick-up would work, since we were going to stay at a hotel near Aktau Airport. I was simply told that someone would pick us up at 10:00 AM. I then asked whether Yeldos himself would be accompanying us. He replied that he could not because he was ill. This left me quite puzzled because, around the same time, he was posting content on social media while accompanying another group of Asian photographers. However, the most serious issue concerned Starlink. Starlink was clearly included in the tour program I had purchased, and its availability had also been confirmed to me. For me, this was not simply an extra feature for using the Internet while on holiday: when travelling for several days in completely isolated areas, having a connection can also be important for family or personal reasons. Once we arrived, we discovered that our driver/guide did not have Starlink and was not even aware that it was supposed to be included in our tour. Only later did we understand that Yeldos had passed our trip on to another small local agency. Paradoxically, this turned out to be the best part of the experience: the person assigned to us was fantastic. He was kind, helpful, friendly, professional, and even spoke Italian. We got along extremely well with him, and the trip itself was wonderful. However, this does not change my assessment of the service I received from Yeldos. Throughout the entire trip, he never contacted us to ask whether everything was going well, whether we had any problems, or simply whether we were satisfied. No messages, no follow-up, and no assistance whatsoever. In addition, a service that was included in the price and paid for — Starlink — was not provided. Regardless of the fact that it can sometimes be nice to “disconnect” during a trip like this, if a service is sold as included, it should be available. A customer should not have to justify why they need it. In the end, we had a very enjoyable trip thanks mainly to the person who actually accompanied us, but as far as Yeldos is concerned, my experience was characterized by very poor communication, a lack of transparency, a paid service that was not provided, and a complete absence of support during the tour. For these reasons, based on my personal experience, I cannot recommend him.
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