Trans Siberian Railway

livinsane

Hi, has anyone had any experience with the Trans Siberian Railway service?

http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm

I'm looking into the Moscow-Mongolia-Beijing route, but considering others. Looking for information on stop-off time, how much sightseeing you can do outside the train, basic info on provisions on-board and comfort.

Grateful for any help

treefingers

yeah i would be interested in information as well. i will be doing the exact opposite route though. (teaching english in china from september)

tywy

I've just booked it...

Going from St Petersburg-Moscow, Moscow-Ulan Bator, Ulan Bator-Beijing, it's costing about €520 for that (first class).

Booked with http://www.sv-agency.udm.ru

They're supposed to be good, seat61 recommends them.

We are flying from Dublin to Berlin and then Berlin to St Petersburg, that's costing €150. Then in China we're getting another train from Beijing to Shanghai and flying to London from there with Qatar Airways for €508, then home from London with Ryanair.

We were gonna fly Aeroflot home from Shanghai via Moscow for €460 but you have to by a transit visa which costs €60. They're a bit dodgy and I'm nervous of the Russian security at the airport and getting delayed so decided on Qatar Airways via Doha.

I don't really know is this the kinda info you are looking for, I will let you know how we get on when I get back. We are leaving on August 14th, back September 8th.

Also don't forget, you need a visa for each country. The Russian visa takes 2 weeks and costs €80ish when you include the invitation required. The Chinese visa costs about €30 I think and takes a week, the Mongolian visa is £45 and also takes a week. The embassies need your passports when they are sorting out the visas. Also remember that the Mongolian consulate is in London, so you have to send your passport over there.

Any other questions?

michaelanthony

Derbhla murphy wrote two books about it. Through siberia by accident. And Silverland. Her personality is a bit irritating but the books are very interesting. She went on the BAM which splits off north from the Trans siberia at lake baikal and goes to komsomolsk north of vladivostok. She says the BAM train and towns are crime free compared to the trans siberian railway route and less tourist spoilt and generally more interesting.

Ps. I am very jealous.

jjbrien

Best to book with the Vodka Train company http://www.vodkatrain.com/


UK Office
Vodkatrain
Suite 207B
The Business Village
3-9 Broomhill Road
London SW18 4JQ
United Kingdom

Ph: +44 (0) 20 8877 7650
Fx: +44 (0) 20 8877 9002
europe@vodkatrain.com

Joeyjoejoe43

This is very interesting as I was thinking of making my way from Asia to Moscow using the siberian express, however I was of the impression it does not run from January until April. Is this the case? The prices qouted above make it feasible, and to see Russia and China would be something else.. Any further info would be appreciated..

cailinoBAC

Ok, I've never actually done this journey, but I've read a lot about it and I'd like to at some stage. I think 'trans siberian express' is just a catch all name to cover the trains going from beijing (through mongolia or not) or from Vladivostok. They are working trains that most people are taking to get places, not just for the fun of the journey, so they do run during winter, thought it is possible that certain trains don't. Possibly some travel companies that sell tickets on this route don't bother doing so in winter.
If you are going on the so called 'express' trains, I think some of these don't stop for 3 days so make sure you're stocked up before you go. Personally I would have no interest in this because I'd like to stop off and see some of the country instead of just through the window. If you're travelling in 2nd or 3rd class have lots of food to barter with others on the train. I don't know what 1st class is like, but I'd say the toilets are no different really than for 3rd and 2nd. Obviously if you're a couple you'll want to travel 1st class but for a group or alone I'd go 2nd or 3rd.

Previously when I've travelled on Russian trains I've tried to go in 3rd class if possible. Not only is it much cheaper but much more sociable too, unless you really want to keep yourself to yourself. Though I'm not sure if that would be such a good idea if you're going to spend so long with a lot of people who haven't the opportunity to shower in a few days.

Not sure when I'll ever get doing this trip, but last time I was looking into it I was going to take the BAM to the north of the Baikal and then fly down to Irkutsk. Though if I was planning on doing that I'd check out some reviews on whatever airline it is that does that. Internal Russian flights aren't supposed to be the most safety conscious.

seandeas

Folks,

Planning a big trip for early next year. Part of it will be the Transmongolian Express from Moscow to Beijing. I'm not sure if I should buy the tickets through an agency or take a chance and get them at face value from the train station in Moscow. I'll be travelling in Jan or Feb so it won't be peak season by any means, so I'm thinking there will be a good availability.

Naturally I don't want to get stuck in Moscow for a week waiting for the next available train.

Also - I'll probably go first class (travelling with a friend), so two sharing is fine and I don't relish the thoughts of sharing my cabin for a week with strangers and not being able to shower, - although I'm concerned that we'll miss out on some of the socialising and craic.

Can anyone advise -

1) will I have a good chance of getting a ticket from the station in Moscow or should I pre book through an agent ?

2) if you're in first class do you miss out on the craic - or can you just wander down to second class to join in ? - or does every congregate around the hot water thing ?

thanks !

jackbhoy

1. Assuming you are not traveling during holidays you should have no problem getting tickets in Moscow and it will be way cheaper than going through an agent.

2. Personally I think first class would be insanely boring. You'll meet mostly fellow tourists there and even in second class. You can go to dining cart to meet people and you can wander through any part of train you want. I went third class and while you don't have much privacy it's a fantastic way to meet locals, we were only foreigners in whole carriage and everyone came to try and talk to us and share food/drink, play cards etc, and anytime we got off to pick up food etc a band of old ladies guarded our bunks for us. For the Ulan Bator to Beijing section we could only get 2nd class tickets and it was no where near as much fun or as interesting(90% of people European/US tourists). All depends on what kind of experience you want I suppose...

seandeas

thanks for this Jackbhoy - good advice indeed !

Civilian_Target

1) Yes, definitely buy the ticket in Moscow. Even if you have to pay some boyo 20 bucks to do the actual buying for you, you'll still save money over going though an agent. And actually, buying the ticket is an experience in itself!

2) 1st class will indeed be boring. 2nd class is perfectly comfortable and will place you in a cabin with 2 others, so at least you'll have a bit of outside contribution to your group. Plaskarte (3rd class) is like an open dormitory full of smugglers drinking vodka and having the craic. I wouldn't want it every night, but it's definitely an experience you shouldn't miss - travel at least some of your journey this way!

ozzy jr

Thinking of doing this journey myself too.

Is it correct that you can't just hop on and off the train where you like, you have to have a ticket booked for each leg of your journey?

How do you go about doing this when you're buying the ticket at the start?

jackbhoy

ozzy jr wrote: »

Thinking of doing this journey myself too.

Is it correct that you can't just hop on and off the train where you like, you have to have a ticket booked for each leg of your journey?

How do you go about doing this when you're buying the ticket at the start?

Yep, you can buy all individual ticket in Moscow if you want but it'll mean working to fixed dates. We stopped in Siberia and Mongolia and just bought tickets when ready to move on. We had no problem getting tickets from Irkutsk to Ulan Bator but from there to Beijing was bit more difficult. We planned on spending few days there but ended up staying 3 weeks which worked out well as if we wanted to leave within 4 days we wouldn't have got tickets. If you are short on time consider booking all in advance, if you are flexible you'll be fine.

podgeen

You shouldn't have any problems buying the tickets yourself. I'd recommend 2nd class instead of first, the trains are very comfortable and in my experience the people well all very friendly. I'd suggest taking some food and drink with you to share and also maybe some photos or postcards of home.

I did the trip in December 2009. Take a look at my blog for more details on where I stopped etc. Also here is a post about me buying a ticket in moscow and also one with the prices i paid for tickets.

Any questions just ask.

gary the great

Lads, buy the tickets yourself! Its way cheaper (although some trains sell out, so may not be the best idea if your tight for time).

I loved this trip. We did it in 25 days, Riga to Beijing. Stopped in St Pete, moscow, listvyanka, Ulan Baator and Beijing.

The trip had everything, drinking vodka till you couldnt stand in an apartment in St P with some local russians, some rich russians taking us to the coolest club in Moscow in their super fast car, staying in a wooden cabin over looking a frozen Lake Baikal, watching the scenery out of the window in mongolia, seeing Beijing. Loved the trip.