Car rental at Astana's Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ) works best pre-booked: international networks and Kazakh agencies serve the arrivals area, and the airport formerly used the code TSE - the city itself also answered to Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022, so older listings mix all three names for the same place. Two practicalities dominate. First, paperwork: carry an International Driving Permit alongside your national licence - desks routinely require it from foreign renters. Second, climate: Astana's steppe winters run toward minus 30, so winter tyres are standard in season and engine heaters matter, while summer drivers instead face long, empty distances - Burabay's lakes, the classic excursion, sit about 2.5 hours north. Confirm after-hours pickup; the flight bank includes late arrivals.
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