Trans-Siberian Railway / Different holiday

Eglinton

I'd like to do something different holiday-wise this year. Two weeks ish.

Anyone travelled the trans-Siberian? Info I've seen so far on the net isn't very comprehensive. Sounds like a great holiday in theory though.

Any other holiday ideas welcome.

littlejp

I did the Trans-Mongolian route of the Trans Siberian last year. It was absolutely incredible. One of the most memorable things I've ever done.
It was a bit of work getting the Visas organised but was worth all the hassle in the end.

I booked it through Sundowners. They helped out a little with the visas and arranged the hotel for Moscow. Cost about 600 to get from Moscow to Beijing. I did it non stop (7 days straight) You can get off in Ulan Battar and stay for a few days but it's more expensive. You won't need much spending money for the week, most of the stations sell bread, fruit and other foods for next to nothing and you'll find the locals using the train are more than generous when it comes to sharing food, vodka, etc.

I plan on doing it again sometime in the future but I wanna go the whole way from Dublin to Seoul (where my sister lives) without flying. I cheated last time and flew to Brussels from Dublin and Beijing to Seoul. Think I'll wait and see if the North Korean Rail-link to South Korea works out.

I would highly recommend it and would be happy to answer any questions you have about it.

Victor

Bring toilet paper!

littlejp

And Baby Wipes...Ha!

man1

Victor wrote:

Bring toilet paper!

That true alright!!!:D
Having spent a lot of time on russian trains, thats one thing you need!!
It will be a great experience for you if you do decide to go.

aviendha

Did the Transmongolian last year - stopped in Irkutsk (fantastic) and Ulaan Baator (not so great, but the ger experience is fun). We booked it online through seat61.com with one of the Russian travel agents and the whole trip from Moscow to Beijing with the 2 stop-offs cost us €450 each.

Hopefully you'll be lucky enough to share with some locals as we were, in which case it's a good idea to bring photographs of home, and/or some postcards. Some local vodka is also advisable as the stuff they sell on the trains is a bit dodge!

Oh, and BE NICE TO THE PROVINIDSKA (aka, train carriage attendent) - she can make or break the journey!

Eglinton

Thanks for the info folks. Getting very interested now.

Are your costs including flights to Moscow? And did you fly back from Beijing or whereever your particular destination was?

Can you hop-on hop-off for a day or two; or is just scheduled stops and if so how long are they?

So many questions!! I'll think of more too :-)

littlejp

The 600 i paid covered 2 nights in Moscow. Went overland to Moscow and flew from Beijing. You can get a train from Beijing to Vietnam as far as I know which would be deadly. You can also fly to pretty much any city from Beijing

Galadriel

Hey, I'm doing that trip aswell this summer, I want to fly to Moscow, stay there a few nights, get the train then to Mongolia as I'll be meeting people there. Only downside is I think the train only goes every Tuesday so have to plan around that!

Is that 600euro or sterling? I'm trying to find 'cheap' flights to Moscow at the moment.

littlejp

€600. But it sounds like aviendha got a better deal. Mine did include 2 nights in Moscow. Be careful with what hotel you book in Moscow. The hotel has to issue you a document which you then need to show the embassy to get your visa and only certain registered hotels can do this.

senordingdong

Me and my buddies fles to Japan a while ago. After we were done there we got a ferry to Shanghai, after that we got a train to Beijing, and from Beijing we did the Trans-Manchurian train to Moscow, and once done there got a train to St Petersburg. After that we got a train to Riga and flew home with Ryanair.
I think it wa a far more intresting take on the Trans Siberian railway.

thirtyfoot

Don't miss Ulaan Bataar and Mongolia if you are going, its very run down, very poor but an amazing place. Its like nothing you would ever have experienced before and would be a shame to miss. Try some Buuz too, mutton filled dumplings, with the locals in any of the Buuz restaurants. Great food on a biting winters day.

Galadriel

Thanks for the tip littlejp, wasn't aware of that.

Went to that website mentioned above www.seat61.com, its great
full of tips and sites to book the train and hotels on. I emailed them
yesterday and got this back:

We can offer you the following trains:

Moscow - Ulan-Bator
Train #006, 004 departs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
21:32 - 07:35, on the way 4 days 5 hours 3 minutes
1st class ticket is USD 368
2nd class ticket is USD 257

$257 is a brilliant price from Moscow to Mongolia!