This budget is a bit lower than might be expected, because I Couchsurfed for the 11 days I spent in Almaty waiting for an Uzbekistan visa. An expensive city, having had to pay for a hotel there would have significantly increased the overall cost of Kazakhstan. Also note that the visa is included in the cost, though at $60 for US citizens this will probably be about the same for most other nationalities.

The Aral Sea tour was for the price of the car, regardless of how many people went. So, a group traveling together would be able to split that cost amongst themselves. Same for a number of the hotels where I had to get a double room because singles were not available.