Trans Siberian Tours
This is our most popular Trans Siberian tour and costs just €969. For variations on this, to stay longer/shorter, add extra tours etc, please contact us for information and pricing.
For a tour upgrade please see information at the bottom of the page.
Please note the tours do not include flights.
Departure day is every Tuesday all year round
Day 1: Arrive at Moscow Yaroslav station and leave aboard the 13:35 train. Head out of Moscow's suburbs towards Vladimir and view the golden spires and domes of the Assumption Cathedral before glimpsing the Bogolyubovo 12th century monastery complex. Head east to Nizhny Novgorod.
Day 2: Relax on board the train as you travel further
Eastwards towards Yekaterinburg through the verdant rolling
foothill landscapes of the Ural Mountains.
Day 3: Relax on board the train and make the most
of the restaurant car as you head towards Omsk and pass the 2102km point
which officially marks the border of Siberia. Give your legs a stretch at
each stop and buy food from the many sellers on the platforms.
Day 4: Onwards towards Krasnoyarsk as you pass through the
busiest section of railway in the world. Freight trains, mainly full of
coal heading towards the Ural smelting works from the Kubas Basin.
Further along you will cross one of the worlds longest rivers on the
870m long Ob River bridge.
Day 5:
Arrive in Irkutsk at 11.00.
Transfer to your hostel and spend the day at leisure around Irkutsk. Maybe go for a leisurely stroll and
take in the beautiful wooden buildings before visiting the Church of the
Saviour, the Znamensky monastery and Irkutsk Museum. Later, head to the
market to pick up some supplies then head out for a tradition Siberian
meal at one of the cities many restaurants before continuing onto a bar
or club later.
Day 6: Our driver will pick you up at 9.00 and head north
250 km along
the Primorsky Mountains on Baikal's western shore towards Lake
Baikal, the deepest lake in the world at 1673m. We have a coffee stop en
route before arriving at the Olkhon Island
ferry around lunch time. After a short stroll around the ferry stop we make the crossing to Olkhon
Island, 71km long and 14.5km wide; making it the largest lake island in
the world. Olkhon is populated primarily by the Buryati people who are of
Mongolian descent and whose Buddhist practices coexist with their
shamanism. Upon arrival you are transferred to your accommodation at a fisherman’s family
guesthouse. After lunch group members can explore the village and
visit the museum of Local Lore. A walking excursion can be done through
the village to the Cape of Burkhan to see the famous Crag of Shaman
(Rock Temple) which was generally regarded as one of the 9 sanctuaries
of Asia. Return to dine on home-cooked grayling, a local Baikal
speciality before spending the rest of the evening at leisure.
Day 7:
In the morning depart by Russian military jeep
to explore Olkhon Island and classic Lake Baikal vistas. Head north and
make your first stop at Sagaan-Khushun Cape, a beatiful cliff covered in
red lichen. Then head forward to the coastal sand dunes and stretches of
beach along the way, including the 200m high cliffs of Khoboy Cape at
the northern tip of the island. After a picnic-lunch (Baikal omul
fish-soup), cooked on an open fire in Uzuri bay you will return to
Khuzir village. Experience a traditional Russian banya (sauna) before
being served a traditional 3 course Olkhon dinner. Again spend the rest
of the evening at leisure.
Day 8: After a farewell breakfast in the guesthouse, our
driver picks you up in an Istana minibus and drive onwards to the
ferry-station. Cross the strait to the mainland and drive to Irkutsk.
There is an en
route stop for lunch in the Buryat village of Bayandai. Arrival in Irkutsk
around 16.00. A few hours at your leisure before
heading to the train station for the 20.45 train to Ulan Bator,
travelling around part of the lower edge of Lake Baikal.
Day 9: On board the train, passing through the semi
autonomous region of Buryatia and the shores of Goose Lake. Arrive at
the Russian border town of Naushki ready for your crossing into
Mongolia. After passports are checked you enter Mongolia and witness a
rapid change of scenery with the pine and birch forests making way for
the beautiful green pastures of the Selenge River basin.
Day 10: Arrive in Ulan Bator at 8.45. Transfer to your hostel and the rest of the day can be spent at
your leisure around the capital. Maybe visit Sukhbaatar Square, Nairamdal
Park, the Gandantegchinlen Khiid temple and National Museum of Mongolian
History before heading for dinner at any one of a wide range of
restaurants. We recommend you try a traditional Mongolian barbecue.
In the evening you could visit the Tumen Ekh Ensemble Palace to view
contortionists, dancers, opera singers and the bizarre Mongolian throat
singers! Spent the rest of the night around one of the cities many bars.
Day 11: Our driver picks you up in the morning and drives
you to Terelj
National Park, 50 miles northeast of Ulan Bator. Enter the park and
immediately feel the cool alpine air and view the magnificent mountain
scenery. You will be taken to see and possibly buy goods from local
artists, view hawks and eagles and even camels! You then transfer from
the minibus onto horseback* and a journey into the valleys past streams
and through winding mountain paths. The horses are then tied up as you
begin a mountain hike up to Ariyapala Temple crossing a rope bridge
along the way. After ascending the steps to the temple you will have the
chance to meditate or simply sit back and admire the amazing views. You
then return to your horses and head back to Turtle Rock and the Ger Camp
where you will spend the night. The camp is set in
the spectacular Gorkhi River valley. Settle down in your Ger then meet
the farmer and his family who own the camp. Spend the rest of the
afternoon taking leisurely strolls on green meadows carpeted with
edelweiss and a variety of other wildflowers; view incredible rock
formations against a backdrop of pine-covered mountains; and stroll
along the banks of a mountain stream. Return to your camp and help milk
the cows, tend to the young calves and feed the goats. Cook dinner on a
stove inside your Ger and eat it under a huge starlit sky. When the
temperature drops head inside the Ger and the farmer will light up your
stove to keep you warm during the night!
Day 12: Our driver will return to pick you up in the
morning after breakfast. Return to Ulan Bator and spend the afternoon at
leisure. Visit the National Modern Art Gallery, the Museum of National
History and the Winter Palace of Bogd Khaan. Visit the huge State
Department Store before eating dinner at one of the cities many
restaurants and maybe spend the evening watching the ballet at the State
Opera & Ballet Theatre or a live rock or jazz band at River Sounds.
Day 13: Arise early for your transfer to the station where you
can order breakfast before the 8.05 train to Beijing arrives. head south
through hundreds of miles of the Gobi desert, as far as your eyes can
see. Have dinner in the extravagant Chinese buffet car before arriving
at the border around 21.00.
Day 14: Travel through incredible Chinese countryside,
crossing the Great Wall of China and finally arriving in Beijing at
16.30.
This is where your tour ends. However for help booking onwards journeys within Beijing and the rest of China please contact us.
We also have the option of replacing the Olkhon Island trip with a
journey around Lake Baikal on the Circumbaikal railway.
Click here for further details.
* we can arrange alternative activities for anyone not keen on horse riding
* For anyone looking to reduce the price even further, we also offer a lower budget Trans Siberian tour, travelling in third class.