There seem to be dozens of road crossing points between Kazakhstan and Russia according to the map, but are these all fully equipped, multilateral borders? Does anyone know a list of official crossing points that may be used by third-country nationals (i.e. non Russians / Kazakhstanis)?

Specifically, I want to know if I can cross the following border crossings:

-The road between Astrakhan and Aktau
-The road between Saratov and Oral, which crosses near the Russian town of Ozinki
-The road from Pavlodar east into the Altai Kray, towards the Russian town of Kulunda
-The road from Ridder (Leninogorsk, KZ) into the Altai Republic

Thanks for any info,

Daniel

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4.5 years around Eurasia in a Toyota Hilux|http://eurasiaoverland.wordpress.com/
Pictures Here|https://picasaweb.google.com/113619413612674951960

IN Sept 09 we used the border between Russia and Kaz at GPS ref:N51 12.577 E81 06.907 the nearest town in Russia is Veselyy Yar - we stayed in a hotel (typicl soviet style) at GPS ref: N51 31.672 E81 13.093

The town on the Kazak side is Krasnyy Aul- but went into Semy and stayed at Semy hotel - very easy to find and good rates at GPS ref: N50 24.880 E80 15.600

all border guards are well versed in tourists and big dealing with paperwork for bikes etc.

this route is great and takes you through the Altai mountains.

if you want to find out a bit about the route we took through Russia - Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan - Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - Iran - Pak and India (we are now in Nepal) have a look at the diary section of our website. 2ridetheworld.com : diary where you will jsut need to select the continent and country you wish to read about. we also have a fully downloadbale GPS ref file at the bottom of our index page.

hope this helps
cheers

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Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com

Hi Lisa

Thanks for the post. I used that exact border in June 2007, so I'm looking to use a different one this time.

Thanks

Daniel

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4.5 years around Eurasia in a Toyota Hilux|http://eurasiaoverland.wordpress.com/
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I will put the URL of the list below.

I have crossed about 10 of them over the years and can save you some time as I know most of the ones you mentioned.

-The road between Astrakhan and Aktau ... Its OK ... international
-The road between Saratov and Oral/Uralsk, which crosses near the Russian town of Ozinki ... Its OK, International
-The road from Pavlodar east into the Altai Kray, towards the Russian town of Kulunda. Dont Know ...check the document below .... the word you are looking for is "многосторонний" to mean multi-lateral
-The road from Ridder (Leninogorsk, KZ) into the Altai Republic - NO Chance. Its not even a normal border crossing for locals. You can get to within 20km from the border and thats it. Its for local Altai people to cross between the Russian Altai and Kazakh Altai. The nearest international border is between Shemonaikha and Zmeinogorsk.

I would add that the border between Shemonaikha and Zmeinogorsk is about 2-3 times quicker than the Main Highway crossing Lisa has mentioned, and having done both, the roads are far more scenic and interesting on the more easterly crossing. You can avoid the main highways COMPLETELY until Ongudai on the Chuisky Trakt (M52). I highly recommend this route over the highway route.

The official Russian border list is here ... and the word you need to seek is "многосторонний" meaning multi-lateral
[url=http://www.rosgranitsa.ru/about/docs/pp/1724-r]

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Just took a quick peek at the third border you mentioned ... Kulunda ... there are two borders at or near Kulunda mentioned in the Russian borders document. One is Bilateral and one is Multilateral.

You therefore need the one named Кулунда (Шарбакты) ... Kulunda Sharbakty.

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Great website...

Yeah, I found the two Kulunda borders, I'm not sure which one is which as they are both road borders, but I guess it will be more apparant on the ground.. I hope!

Thanks!

Daniel

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4.5 years around Eurasia in a Toyota Hilux|http://eurasiaoverland.wordpress.com/
Pictures Here|https://picasaweb.google.com/113619413612674951960

ithink borders are more and more difficult to cross