Trans-Siberian Railway
Irkutsk Beijing
in 12 days
package tour : departures on flexible dates for individuals.
Discounted rates for pre-established groups
duration : 12 days 11 nights
code : TSB-IP-12
accommodation : hotel and overnight stay on the train
excursions : included as per program.
treatment : full board
highlights : Irkutsk , the Cirkumbajkalica railway, Lake Baikal, Ulan Ude', Ulaan Baator (Mongolia), Beijing (China).
tour note: Itinerary, prices and program are subject to reconfirmation and may vary in the event of changes to flight and train operations and in the event of fluctuations in exchange rates
For rates: you can send your requests to
Program
1 day - arrival in Irkutsk
Arrival and meeting with the guide at the airport, breakfast and continuation for a guided tour of Irkutsk. Irkutsk is famous for its trade with Mongolia and China and was called the "Paris of Siberia" for its colorful life; visit to the "Irkutsk Regional Memorial Decembrists Museum, Volkonsky House" and the old city with the typical neighborhoods which still consist of wooden houses. Hotel accommodation, free time, dinner at the hotel and overnight stay.
Overnight at Hotel.
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2 day - Irkutsk - Circumbaikalica Railway
Breakfast in the hotel, at 07.30 meeting with driver with sign and departure to the starting point of the tour. Day dedicated to the excursion aboard the "Circumbaikalica panoramic train", a southern branch of the Trans-Siberian, built to avoid the northern area which presented insurmountable technical difficulties at the end of the 19th century. It was called "the golden buckle of Russia's steel belt" due to the enormous cost of its construction due to the lay of the land which features high cliffs and rocky reliefs. To complete the 100km route, 39 tunnels were needed for a total length of 8994 metres. From the train you can admire interesting stone bridges with extraordinary architecture, tunnels and viaducts that adapt to the topography of the region. The train station buildings are constructed of wood and maintain the architecture in the Modern style. Lunch and dinner on board included, in the evening return to Listvyanka for an overnight stay in the hotel.
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3 day - Listvyanka (Lake Baikal)
The small village of Listvyanka, where the famous Shaman's Stone is located, one of the symbols of Baikal, is located on the western shore of Lake Baikal, 70 km from Irkutsk. This ancient Siberian village is famous for its history: since the 18th century a ferry left from Listvyanka to transport traders who had to travel to Mongolia, China and the Far East.
Breakfast, meeting with the guide, walking tour of the village, visit to the Lake Baikal Museum (Limnological Museum) which provides information about the origin and fauna of the lake. A video will give you the opportunity to see the deepest point of the lake bottom (1,637 m) filmed from a submarine. Lake Baikal is frozen from late January to early May, the thickness of the ice near Listvyanka can be 70-80 cm. The part of the lake near the source of the Angara River is the only place in Siberia that never freezes.
Organized lunch and boat trip on Lake Baikal.
Return to hotel and overnight stay.
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4 day - Listvyanka - Irkutsk - Ulan Ude
Breakfast at the hotel and free time. In the village you can find a large variety of omul (smoked or salted lake fish) for sale. Several bistros and restaurants offer traditional Siberian dishes. You can enjoy pelmeny (filled ravioli), pirozhki (with sauerkraut, meat or berries) and caviar sandwitches to feel the spirit of Russia. Free lunch.
Meeting with the guide, check-out and departure towards Irkutsk. Stop along the way to visit the Taltsy Architectural-Ethnographic Museum, which houses an extraordinary collection of architectural monuments of the 17th-20th centuries. It is one of the five largest open-air museums in Russia. It covers an area of ​​67 hectares and is home to over 40 wooden architectural and sculptural monuments, typical of 17th century Siberian village life. Continue to Irkutsk, organized dinner and departure with train 002 at 10.02pm local time for Ulan-Ude.
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5 day - Ulan Ude
Meeting with the guide at the carriage for the tourist day in Ulan-Ude: breakfast in a restaurant, panoramic city tour of the city and visit to Ivolventsky Datsan, the most evocative time of Siberian Buddhism. I'm going back to the hotel. Check in. Free time. Overnight at Hotel.
6 day - Ulan Ude - Ulaanbaatar
Breakfast, free time. At 2.00 pm transfer to the station and departure with train 306 at 3.39 pm and after 15 hours the following day arrival in Ulan-Bator, the Mongolian capital. Overnight stay on the train, dinner is not provided on this train, so it is better to get it by buying something in Ulan-Ude. Overnight stay on the train, processing of customs procedures during the stop near the Russian border.
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7 day - Ulan Bator
Arrival at 06.38 in Ulan -Baatar- Gokhi-Terelj National Park.
Meeting with the guide and the driver. Transfer to Chingis Khan Statue Complex which is located about 65 km from Ulaanbaatar. This statue is the world's largest statue of a rider on a horse erected in Mongolia. Visit and photos. Continue the route to Gokhi-Terelj National Park. Accommodation at the tourist camp. Lunch. The visit continues on horseback. Visit The Turtle Rock. Visit to the picturesque Buddhist meditation center of Aryapala, from here the astonishing scenery opens up behind you. Visit to the nomadic family. Return to the camp on horseback, dinner and overnight stay.
8 day - Ulaanbaatar
Breakfast at the camp. Return to Ulaanbaatar. Accommodation in 3* hotel. Ulaanbaatar city tour including visit to Zaisan Memorial Monument. It is the masterpiece of socialist realism and at the same time a panoramic point over the city and the surrounding hills. Visit Zanabazar Fine Arts Museum which displays a splendid collection of paintings, bas-reliefs and sculptures, including many works by the famous sculptor Zanabazar. Visit to the Winter Palace of Bogd Khan.
Lunch. Visit the Gandan Khid Monastery, the largest and most impressive in Ulaanbaatar and the seat of Mongolia's Buddhist spiritual leader. His name means “wonderful place of perfect joy”. Visit to the National Museum of Mongolian History. Visit the main square of the city Sukhbaatar with enormous bronze statues of Chinggis Khaan, accompanied by those of his son Ogedei and grandson Kubai on the west and east side respectively. Visit to the evening folklore show. Dinner. After the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel. Overnight stay in hotel.
Breakfast lunch dinner
9 day - Ulan Bataar - Beijing
Breakfast and transfer to the airport, flight to Beijing at 11.50am arriving in Beijing at 1.55pm (3hr 5min flight). Meeting with driver and transfer to hotel, accommodation.
We will visit two of China's most famous tourist attractions: Tiananmen Square (the hub of the history of communist China) and Gugong Imperial Palace (Forbidden City), the largest and best preserved complex of ancient buildings in China. It was the residence of two imperial dynasties, the Ming and the Qing, who rarely strayed from this wonderful home. Access to which was forbidden to anyone who was not part of the ruling dynasty (hence the name).
Optional: Chinese acrobats show. Meals: Lunch at a Chinese restaurant
10 day - Beijing
Breakfast at the hotel. Excursion program with lunch in a country restaurant serving Chinese cuisine: visit to the Great Wall of China which extends for 7200 km from the Bo Sea in the east to the Gobi desert in the west. Imperial Summer Palace (Yiheyuan Park).
External visit to the Olympic Park: the 91,000-seat Olympic stadium which has become the largest steel structure in the world, renamed the "bird's nest". Not far away is the futuristic "Water Cube" where the Olympic swimming competitions were held and which is now also functioning as a public swimming pool.
Return to the hotel. Free time.
11 day - Beijing
Breakfast at the hotel.
Excursion program with lunch in a Chinese restaurant. We will visit the Lama temple, vast and beautiful, a riot of colours. The five main halls and 10 exhibition halls contain myriad images of the smiling Buddha, the most famous being the 18 meter high statue of Maitreya Buddha, carved from a single sandalwood tree. Lunch and continuation to the Temple of Heaven Park. It has an area of ​​273 hectares, almost double the size of the Forbidden City. The most beautiful Ming building in all of China is the Temple of Heaven. The prayer hall for good harvest is a magnificent building on three terraces with marble bunks. The temple is 38 m high and 30 m in diameter, made of wood, without a single nail! Built in 1420, it was burned by lightning in 1889 and rebuilt identically. He is the symbol of tourism in China.
Optional: Rickshaw ride through the hutong alleys. Hutongs are the ancient alleys of old Beijing, an area that holds a very important position in the city's rich history.
Return to the hotel.
Meals: breakfast, lunch
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12 day - Beijing - departure
Breakfast at hotel. Meeting with the guide and transfer to the airport. Departure.
included in the tour
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accommodation as scheduled in a 3superior/4 star hotel
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train accommodation in 2 or 4 seater couchettes based on the cat. choice
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private transfers to and from the airports
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private transfers to and from the stations (as per program)
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meals as scheduled
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train tickets for trains scheduled on the Trans-Siberian Railway
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excursions with guide in each city
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telephone assistance for the entire itinerary
not included
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international flights and domestic flights
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extra services and meals not mentioned in the program
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visa for Russia
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medical insurance policy
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anything not mentioned under "Included in the tour"
Trans-Siberian
Programs
Trans-Siberian itineraries, travel times and stops along the way can be adapted to suit your needs, resulting in a package that meets your expectations. We offer you some example programs from which you can take inspiration for your trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway. In tourgroup specializes in organized trips for pre-established groups. For individuals we can study ad hoc itineraries and optimize them from the point of view of costs, visits and duration. All programs are customizable.
For your requests you can write us at info@intourgroup.com
destination: Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is known to all as the longest railway in the world. It crosses the territory of the Russian Federation between mountainous landscapes, forests, green valleys and endless plains, crossed by enormous rivers and lakes, touching territories inhabited by welcoming people of different religious faiths: Orthodox, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists. It is a part of the Russian railway system, created to connect the immense territory in a practical, widespread and economical way. The Trans-Siberian Railway is therefore not a simple tourist attraction but an infrastructure of vital importance for the lives of millions of people who use it or live along its route.
length: the Trans-Siberian is the longest railway in the world, with its 9300 km covering the route from Moscow to Vladivostok.
geographical position: the Trans-Siberian Railway is located in Russia and connects European Russia to the Russian Far East, passing through the Ural Mountains, the geographical border between Europe and Asia.
cities and regions: the Trans-Siberian Railway passes through 87 cities, located in Russian regions characterized by extreme cultural and religious variety, such as the Muslim Republic of Tatarstan and the Buddhist Republic of Buryatia.
rivers crossed: there are 16 large rivers that cross the Trans-Siberian railway. The main ones are the Volga, the Yenisei, and the Amur.
time zones crossed: on the Trans-Siberian route traveling from Moscow to Vladivostok and vice versa you cross 7 time zones.
the most western point: the westernmost point on the Trans-Siberian Railway is the city of Moscow
the most eastern point: the easternmost point of the Trans-Siberian route is the city of
Khabarovsk, which is located 5 days from Moscow)
the most southern point: the southernmost point of the Trans-Siberian Railway is Vladivostok, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, 5 days from Moscow.
the most northern point: the northernmost Trans-Siberian city is the city of Kirov
landscape types: European Russia is characterized by extensive plains with rare hills, covered with meadows or forests and steppe. The Ural area, the border between Asia and Europe, is characterized by hills and low reliefs. Beyond the Urals we enter Siberia, first with expanses of infinite steppe which in the eastern part gives way to the Siberian taiga, the splendid landscapes of Lake Baikal, and the famous Russian permafrost, barren and perpetually frozen terrain.
The main, northern route
itinerary : Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kirov, Perm, Ekaterinburg, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Ulan-UdÄ—, Chita, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok.
total length: 9,300 km
The new route, via Nizhny Novgorod
itinerary : Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Perm, Ekaterinburg, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Ulan UdÄ—, Chita, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok.
total length: 9,260 km
The southern route, via Kazan
itinerary : Moscow, Murom, Arzamas, Kazan, Ekaterinburg, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Ulan UdÄ—, Chita, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok.
total length: 9,150 km
The Trans-Mongolian, from Moscow to Beijing via Mongolia
itinerary : Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Perm, Ekaterinburg, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Ulan UdÄ—, Ulan Bataar (Mongolia), Beijing (China).
total length: 7,620 km
Best time to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian route covers areas characterized by a continental climate. Winters are therefore harsh, with frequent snowfall. If you love the winter season and picturesque snowy landscapes, Winter is the season for you but you need to travel with clothing suitable for the low temperatures typical of these climate zones. The spectacle of frozen Lake Baikal certainly repays the effort. Spring, on the other hand, sees a rise in temperatures and the sudden awakening of nature with the melting of the winter snows (from March to the end of April). The season is good for a trip on the Trans-Siberian but be careful of sudden changes in temperatures, which are still possible until May. Summer is definitely the ideal season to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway . Temperatures along the route vary from 15 to 30 or more degrees. Autumn, particularly September and early October, is still a good time to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway . The temperatures are still relatively mild, the line is less crowded and from the window of your cabin you can admire the spectacle of the autumn foliage, the golden Trans-Siberian autumn.
The high season certainly includes late spring, the entire summer and early autumn (April-September). Domestic tourism is particularly active and train travel is in great demand. In these periods it is therefore advisable to plan your itinerary as far in advance as possible to find train tickets on the Trans-Siberian Railway at the best price. The rates of train tickets in Russia vary based on availability and demand.
Tips for traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway
what to bring when traveling on the Trans-Siberian: we definitely recommend a good trolley with wheels, easy to handle in stations and in the narrow spaces of the train corridors. The dimensions must not be excessive to be stored in the appropriate spaces present in each cabin of the train on the Trans-Siberian. It is possible to add a small backpack to have the necessary things at hand on a day-to-day basis (without having to open the suitcase in the narrow spaces of the compartment). Clothing must conform to the temperatures of the period you have chosen for your Trans-Siberian, keeping in mind that the climate in these areas is subject to rapid changes. There is a heating system on Russian trains and the temperatures in the train carriages on the Trans-Siberian are very high. At the same time, the summer heat is mitigated by the air conditioning, which is always present. Heating and cooling are usually centralized, so it is best to dress flexibly to adapt to the temperature of the carriage. Don't forget your slippers, it's not customary to wear shoes on Russian train carriages. In the stopping cities along the route there will be no shortage of pharmacies, we recommend that you also bring a minimum amount of medicines with you on the train (in addition to those you use daily).
bathrooms on the Trans-Siberian : Most carriages on the Trans-Siberian have shared bathrooms. In some cases, first class cabins with private bathrooms are available.
electrical sockets on board Russian trains on the Trans-Siberian Railway: Electrical sockets are not always available in Trans-Siberian cabins. We therefore recommend a small power bank to charge electronic devices. In general the sockets are usually shuko , German style.
internet and telephone line on the Trans-Siberian : not always available as you pass through uninhabited areas. We therefore recommend preparing films, music and ebooks that can be used offline. We also recommend purchasing a Russian SIM, to avoid the high costs of international roaming.
food on board the Trans-Siberian train: restaurant carriages are available on the trains of the Trans-Siberian line, offering typical Russian cuisine. Typical Mongolian and Chinese dishes will be served on routes in Mongolia and China. However, it is recommended to bring a minimum amount of easily storable food with you, especially on longer journeys. On each carriage there is a samovar, a kettle that dispenses hot water for tea or coffee. During stops it can often happen that you can buy food, fruit and vegetables from street vendors in the stations or directly on the platform.
Russian trains on the Trans-Siberian Railway
The enormous distances in Russia have made this convenient and economical way of traveling essential. The railway in Russia is an institution, a vital infrastructure essential for Russian society. Traveling on a train in Russia means sharing the travel experience with people, coming into direct contact with the passengers of a line that every day transports thousands of people for work or tourism, distant destinies that for a few hours or a few days they find each other on a carriage, in a cabin on the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway.
A. Lux class cabins , with bathroom and shower in the cabin
Luxury VIP class cabins are available on some Trans-Siberian trains, which are twice as large as first class. There are usually 4-6 cabins for each carriage. When there are 4 there is usually also a lounge bar available on the carriage. They are usually equipped with a 120cm wide pull-out sofa bed at the bottom and a 90cm wide upper bunk. The VIP compartments on the Trans-Siberian trains are equipped with a table, wardrobe, independent air conditioning, TV and wifi. They are equipped with a private bathroom, which also functions during stops at the station. Each bathroom has a shower. The cabin door can be closed from the inside.
B. SV 1st class cabins
First class cabins are available on most Trans-Siberian trains. First class cabins on Russian trains have 2 low beds, usually around 80-90cm wide. The maximum occupancy of the cabin is 2 people, but it can be used for single use by purchasing both seats for a single person. The cabin door can be closed from the inside. The cabin is equipped with a table and luggage compartment. On some very long-distance trains, a shower is available in the first class carriages, shared with the bathrooms. As a rule, air conditioning and heating are centralized.
C. Kupe' 2nd Class cabins
The most popular class on Trans-Siberian trains is second class, known as kupe'. These are carriages with shared bathroom, divided into separate 4-seater compartments, equipped with 2 low beds and two high beds. The maximum occupancy of the Kupe' second class cabins is 4 people but they can also be booked for 1-2-3 people by purchasing all 4 tickets in the relevant compartment. The cabin door can be closed from the inside. The cabin is equipped with a table and luggage compartment. As a rule, air conditioning and heating are centralized.
D. Platzkart 3rd Class cabins
The cheapest class on the Trans-Siberian trains is Platzkart, third class. These are carriages with shared bathroom, divided into open 4-seater compartments, equipped with 2 low beds and two high beds. Rows with low and high beds are also available along the corridor. Despite the total lack of privacy, the Platzkart class allows you to fully experience the atmosphere of train travel in Russia. Each seat is equipped with a table and luggage compartment. The air conditioning and heating are centralized.