Hotels in Aktau

Aktau: Kazakhstan's Caspian Port City

Aktau sits on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea in Mangystau Region, roughly 2,700 km southwest of Almaty. Founded in 1963 as a closed Soviet nuclear city called Shevchenko, it was built to support uranium mining and house the world's first commercial fast-neutron reactor. The city was renamed Aktau in 1991 following Kazakhstani independence. Its grid layout — streets numbered rather than named — reflects its planned origins.

Visitors arrive primarily for the Caspian waterfront promenade, ferry connections to Baku, Azerbaijan, and access to the otherworldly Mangystau plateau landscapes: chalk canyons, the Valley of Castles (Airakty), and the sunken Beket-Ata underground mosque, approximately 150 km northeast of the city. Business travellers connected to the Tengiz and Kashagan oilfields form a significant share of hotel demand.

Practical Tips

• Getting there: Aktau International Airport (SCO) operates flights from Almaty, Astana, and Istanbul.
• Ferry crossing: The Aktau–Baku Caspian ferry has no fixed schedule; departures depend on cargo loads, so allow 2–3 buffer days.
• Climate: Summers exceed 35 °C; spring and autumn offer the most manageable temperatures for plateau excursions.
• Currency: Kazakhstani tenge (KZT); card acceptance is limited outside central hotels.