How do I get to Baikonur, and what do I need to arrange on my own?

All you need to do is purchase a flight ticket to Kyzylorda. We’ll take care of all the rest: we’ll meet you at the airport, arrange a comfortable transfer, and take you to your hotel. The day before your departure, you’ll receive detailed instructions, including our guide’s contact information and the meeting time.

Where do the tour participants stay?

At trusted hotels in Baikonur: “Tsentralnaya,” Galaxy, or “Sputnik.” You can choose your preferred option and room category when booking your tour.

What should I pack for the trip?

Documents, a comfortable backpack, a camera or video camera with a good zoom lens, and a thermos for trips to the launch sites. A couple of weeks before the trip, we’ll send you a detailed packing list tailored to the current weather forecast for the steppe.

Is it possible to see the abandoned “Buran” spacecraft?

The standard orientation tour itinerary does not include visits to these sites due to safety considerations and spaceport regulations. If you have a specific request to tour the historic sites of “Buran,” please let your manager know when you make your reservation—we will advise you on the available options.

Baikonur Cosmodrome · Kazakhstan

Baikonur without the countdown
— any month of the year

Three unhurried days on the cosmodrome: the Buran orbiter and the Energia stand in their hangar, Gagarin's Start, the museum and the closed town — none of the launch-day rush.

Duration

3 days

Group size

Unlimited

Access

Closed zone

Availability

365 days

Why Baikonur?

Launches follow Roscosmos's calendar; the cosmodrome works every day. During the inter-launch period the same facilities are open as on a launch tour — without the queues, and without the risk of a scrub. Gagarin's Start, which sent Gagarin up in 1961, has been inactive since 2019 and was handed to Kazakhstan to become an open-air museum. This is the tour that lets you stand there unhurried.

Day after day · hour after hour

Your itinerary, day by day

Over the course of three days in the heart of the cradle of modern space exploration, you’ll visit all the major historical sites at the spaceport, including the previously inaccessible hangars housing the Buran and Bury space shuttles

Day 1

Arrival and Check-in

We'll meet you, give you an initial orientation, and allow you some time to rest before the packed schedule begins.

TransferCheck-in

15:00
Pickup at the airport or train station
We'll meet you at your arrival point. Once the group has gathered, we'll head to the city of Baikonur.
16:00
Transfer to the city of Baikonur
16:30
Passing Checkpoint No. 1, document inspection
17:00
Check-in at the hotel and initial orientation
After you check in at the hotel, our team will explain the rules for being within the city and at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Since the cosmodrome is a restricted-access facility, there are rules that we must follow while on the premises.

MealsOn your ownOvernightThe Tsentralnaya Hotel

Day 2

Baikonur Cosmodrome

Open attractions and the museum—on your own schedule

BuranGagarin's launch

09:00
Breakfast
10:00
Transfer to the Museum of the History of the Baikonur Cosmodrome and City
10:10
Guided Museum Tour
11:10
Sightseeing Tour of Baikonur
The city, built from scratch in 1955 as a secret settlement and known for decades as “Leninsk,” was renamed “Baikonur” in honor of a mining town located more than 300 km away—this was done specifically to conceal the spaceport’s actual location.
12:00
A Visit to the Gagarin Gazebo
An elegant wrought-iron gazebo on the banks of the Syr Darya. According to local residents, it was here that the State Commission officially recognized Yuri Gagarin as the first person to fly into space.
12:30
Buying Souvenirs
13:00
Lunch
14:00
Departure and Inspection Procedures at Checkpoint No. 7
14:30
Transfer to Site No. 1
15:00
Tour of the “Gagarin Launch Site”
It was from this launch site that humanity paved the way into space. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin took off from Launch Pad No. 1 on a flight into Earth’s orbit; the launch complex was later named in his honor.
16:00
Transfer to the “Buran” Hangar Assembly and Refueling Complex
16:15
Tour of the Assembly and Refueling Complex
This is where the two “Buran” space shuttles are located—a place many adventure seekers once longed to visit. Together with our guides, you’ll gain completely legal access to the site and see the great legacy of the Soviet space program up close.
16:45
Transfer to the “Energia” Dynamic Testing Stand
16:55
Inspection of the “Energia” Launch Vehicle and the Space Launch Complex
Inside the dynamic test rig, the launch vehicle was subjected to various loads in order to identify critical parameters and improve the performance of this massive structure.
17:10
Transfer to the city of Baikonur
18:00
Dinner