Sergey started guiding by accident — he gave two fellow travellers a lift from the airport. Eight years on it is a team of driver-guides, a fleet of ten or more 4×4s and almost two thousand tours.
My name is Sergey, and I was born and raised in Aktau. I started exploring the vast landscapes of Mangystau as a child, together with my grandfather, Sergey Mikhailovich — fishing and hunting trips that lasted a few days, sometimes a whole week. It was my grandfather who gave me a lifelong love of being out in nature.
Once I had my own car — an ordinary sedan — the trips became more frequent, even though the car itself could do very little off-road. That never stopped us: we pushed into places most 4x4s wouldn't attempt, and a couple of hundred metres of bad track could eat up half a day. When we finally reached our destination, we'd pitch camp, light a fire, and spend the evening arguing about how on earth we were going to get back out.
Then the dream came true and I got a real four-wheel-drive — and suddenly there were no limits left. We started reaching further, faster, and finding more and more places nobody had shown us. The turning point came almost by accident: picking up a friend from the airport, we gave a lift to two women who used to live on the Mangyshlak Peninsula and missed its wild landscapes badly. That ride became our very first jeep tour with guests.
Since 2018, what started as a hobby has grown into a team of experienced driver-guides who know the land, its legends and its history. We carry everything needed to take guests 5 to 10 days away from civilisation in comfort: tents, sleeping bags, shade canopies, chest freezers, a field kitchen, a mobile shower. In 2023 I earned an official Category 3 guide certificate — though I'm still learning, because every question a guest asks reveals something new, even in a region I thought I already knew by heart.
These are the guides our guests travel with most often. The team is larger: we match the crew to the route, the season and the language of the group. Every guide is local, with a personal story and their own view of the region, and all carry electronic translators for international guests.
Founder, driver-guide
In tourism since 2018, and a certified Category 3 guide since 2023. He has explored the Mangyshlak Peninsula since childhood, yet keeps discovering places still untouched. A keen amateur palaeontologist and geologist, he has built up a sizeable collection of finds over the years, and spends his free time fishing and enjoying the quiet of the steppe, far from the city.
Driver-guide
In tourism since 2022. He arrived in Aktau 20 years ago and stayed for good, having fallen in love with the region's beauty. He leads an active lifestyle, travels to the area's lesser-known corners, and enjoys swimming, hunting and fishing — and has recently taken up learning Chinese.
Driver-guide
Born and raised in Aktau, in tourism since 2023. Meeting the team's founder, Sergey, helped him finally act on a long-held dream of travelling across his home region. A cycling enthusiast, he combines road trips with rides on two wheels, and captures the best moments from the air using a drone.
Guide
A guide since 2022, for whom a tour is a genuine encounter and a shared journey — not a rehearsed script rushed from point to point. He weaves in stories and legends, and leaves room for quiet moments to simply look around and take it all in. Attentive to the route, the people and the small details, he adapts to the group's pace, mood and weather, and is happiest when guests leave with warmth and a wish to come back.
Driver-guide
Born and raised on the Mangyshlak Peninsula, he spent his childhood hunting and fishing — building a deep understanding of the local landscape and climate. Since 2023 he has turned that passion for nature into a profession. His goal is not just to show beautiful places but to convey the region's silence, scale and grandeur: every route is personally planned and stays well away from mass tourism.
Guide
She first discovered this remarkable land about six years ago, on her earliest trips across Mangystau with her husband. The unusual landscapes, the endless open space and the particular spirit of the place won her over and led her to build her life around travel. Today she works as a guide and takes genuine pleasure in showing guests the beauty and the singular places of Mangystau.
Guide
He took up hunting in his youth and over the years covered countless tracks and corners of Mangystau. Two years ago he gave up hunting and devoted himself to guiding. He hunts for ammonites and shark teeth instead, knows the terrain inside out and enjoys showing guests the most beautiful and least-known places of the region.
Part of the fleet — the vehicles that go out on the route most often. There are ten or more 4×4s in total; we match the car to the size of the group and the difficulty of the route.
Tents, sleeping bags, the kitchen and water are on us. Your backpack should stay under 30 litres: the cars are already fully loaded.