The Toyota Hiace Minibus in Detail
Our own photos of the 13-seat Toyota Hiace: exterior, cabin, seats and luggage compartment. Below are places we take our guests: Balkhash, Alakol, Medeu, hot springs.
The minibus outside and inside
Where we drive
Popular weekend routes and long trips, from Medeu and the hot springs to Lake Balkhash and Lake Alakol. These are photos of the places themselves, not of our trips: sources and licenses.
What you see in the photos
We drive our guests in a Toyota Hiace, a high-roof minibus with 13 passenger seats. The shots show our vehicle inside and out: body, cabin, seats and luggage compartment, with no polished advertising shots and no other people’s interiors. We name the vehicle that will come for you when you book.
Inside are soft reclining seats with a seat belt at every seat, air conditioning for cooling and heating, multimedia and a power door. The aisle between the rows lets you get to your seat without disturbing anyone, and the high roof gives you headroom: on a long drive to Lake Alakol or Lake Balkhash, you feel it most.
Luggage
Behind the last row is a separate luggage compartment. It takes suitcases, a stroller, skis and snowboards, backpacks, food and a barbecue grill for a day out in nature. All 13 can travel light; if everyone has a large suitcase, we take up to 9 people, and 9–10 with skis. Nothing has to sit on your lap. That is the main difference from an ordinary taxi, which a group with luggage simply does not fit into.
How many people fit
Thirteen passenger seats plus the driver’s seat. The cost is for the whole minibus; guide prices by route are on the prices page, and the routes themselves are under destinations. If fewer people are going, the free seats usually go to bags and backpacks, which is handy on a trip out of town.
Getting on board
We bring the minibus to your door, your hotel or right to the terminal exit. As the photos show, the step is low and the sliding door is power-operated: getting in is easy with a suitcase, with a child in your arms, and for elderly parents. A continuous aisle runs from the door to the last row, so people can take their seats in any order without climbing over each other. The driver gets out, helps load your things into the rear compartment and closes the door himself. For an airport pickup he waits with a name sign, and for a wedding he brings the vehicle at the set time and stays with the group for the whole booked time.
Where we go in these photos
The second half of the gallery shows the routes people most often book the minibus for: sunset over Lake Balkhash, the turquoise water of Alakol, the slopes of Shymbulak, the Uyghur District in winter, home to the Chundzha hot springs, and the Medeu skating rink in the mountains above the city. These are the same trips as on our destinations page; the sources and licenses of the place photos are listed separately.
If there are more than thirteen of you
One minibus seats up to thirteen passengers. If there are more of you, there are two options: two runs back to back if time allows, or a second minibus for your date so everyone leaves at the same time. Tell us the number of people right away, and we will base the quote on it.
Want to see the minibus in person?
That is a perfectly normal request, especially if you are organizing a wedding or transporting children. Call us or message us on WhatsApp and we will agree on a time and show you the vehicle before you book.
Tell us where and when
We’ll bring a Toyota Hiace minibus with a driver to any address in Almaty at the time you need. Available 24/7.
Our drivers don’t speak English. Phone calls are in Russian or Kazakh, so WhatsApp works best: write in English and we’ll reply using a translator. Need an interpreter? We can arrange one for an extra fee, agreed in advance.