Trans-Siberian Express..advice?

yoga_girl

Hi! I was wondering if anyone has done the Trans-Siberian Express route from Moscow to Vladivostock/Bejiing? I'm thinking of taking it next summer, and was wondering how much time/money I'd need? Also, would it be safe for a female travelling alone or would it be better to travel with someone? I've done the backpacking thing around Asia and South America before, so I'm pretty used to roughing it..although this would be the first time I've travelled alone.

Any advice would be great, thanks!

lemon_of_old

Hi, I haven't done this trip but I came across this article which you might find interesting.
http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/08-07/the-trans-siberian-waiting-room-russia-europe.html

Also two of my friends have just arrived in Beijing after doing the trip with one stop off in Ulaan bator in Mongolia. Conclusion? You're just on a train for about 7 days, one of the longest experiences of their lives apparently. They shared a cabin for 2 people and from the photos it looks pretty "cosy" (10x8ft). At every route people come on board to try and sell you stuff, no matter what time of day (or night). But they really enjoyed Mongolia.

I reckon from what they say and from what I've read you should break it up with a few stops, otherwise it'll be really tedious. And as you're on your own it might be an idea to post on a few travel forums to see if anybody else is taking the trip at the same time so you could share a cabin with someone. It might be a great experience to share with Russianfolk but it might be boring if you're not able to converse with anyone for a week.

Sorry all of this information is 2nd hand as I've not been myself. As regards safety, I have no idea. But you've plenty of time to plan ahead and figure it all out anyway.

Civilian_Target

I've never gone trans-Siberian, but I've spent time on Russian trains, so I can give you a fair idea to expect...

I wouldn't advice trying to econimise by going 3rd class... while it is the real experience, I wouldn't want to have to deal with it for more than 1 day 2nd class is, however, quite comfy. As a solo guy traveller, I had no problems and a lot of fun... I met a couple of solo girls travelling along the way and they said it had been relatively problem-free too.

The train fare in Russia works out about 40 euros for a days travel, and the minimum travel time is about 2 weeks on the Trans-siberian... and I'll assume you'll want to stop on the way. Hostels and the like (Where you can find them!) are cheap, maximum e10 a night, and beer is cheaper than water.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to learn some Russian before you go, because no-one can speak English outside the big city, least of all the ticket sellers in the station. At a minimum you should know how to read the alphabet and know some train-related words. It will be a lot of fun, go for it!

Gaz

Ive recently just done the trans-sıberıan goıng westwards from Ulan-Bator to Moscow. I bought my tıckets ın Mongolıa and ıt was much cheaper, thınk ıt worked out at about 130 ın a 4 bed cabın. I met some people on group tours that paıd a small fortune, so ı would defınıtly recommend buyıng the tıckets yourself at the statıons.
Travellıng alone ıs fıne, there ıs always a small contıngent of backpackers doıng the route and they tend to put us all ın the same carrıage. As for the food, the restaurant carrıage changes dependıng on whıch county your ın. In Chına and Mongolıa I found the food good and cheap ıt was a rıp off ın Russıa though (15 feckın euro for breakfast) so brıng yourown food. There ıs a notıce ın the carrıage ındıcatıng the stops and for how long the traın wıll be stopped so you can jump off and get some grub. Bread, cheeses, meat and pot noodles beıng the maın thıng.
Also spend a lıttle tıme learnıng the Russıan alphabet, ıts not too hard and really helps. For example Pectopah ıs pronounced Restoran ... you get the ıdea.

Enjoy !

Civilian_Target

I've never gone trans-Siberian, but I've spent time on Russian trains, so I can give you a fair idea to expect...

I wouldn't advice trying to econimise by going 3rd class... while it is the real experience, I wouldn't want to have to deal with it for more than 1 day 2nd class is, however, quite comfy. As a solo guy traveller, I had no problems and a lot of fun... I met a couple of solo girls travelling along the way and they said it had been relatively problem-free too.

The train fare in Russia works out about 40 euros for a days travel, and the minimum travel time is about 2 weeks on the Trans-siberian... and I'll assume you'll want to stop on the way. Hostels and the like (Where you can find them!) are cheap, maximum e10 a night, and beer is cheaper than water.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to learn some Russian before you go, because no-one can speak English outside the big city, least of all the ticket sellers in the station. At a minimum you should know how to read the alphabet and know some train-related words. It will be a lot of fun, go for it!

jackbhoy

Civilian_Target wrote: »

the minimum travel time is about 2 weeks on the Trans-siberian...

Its more like 7 days if you just do it without stops.

Doing it in October and planning to stop off in Irkutsk/Lake Baikal and Ulan Bator, think it'd be waste to travel through these places and not stop couple of times.
There are plenty of companies who sell tickets/packages like vodkatrain or realrussia but as you'd expect it works out a lot more expensive this way, plus you'll probably end up in compartment with other tourists rather than locals. We are gonna get to Moscow and buy as we go at local stations, we should be ok as going in winter but if travelling in summer it mightn't be as easy to get tickets.

With regards to travelling alone, i'd say you'd be fine as in all my research of this trip i haven't heard too many bad experiences.

Check out seat61 for more info, real excellent site and has been invaluable to us in researching train travel from london to asia:
http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm

terencemc

Is it easy to get a visa for russia...I heard its quite hard yes/no ?
id prefer not to do a package job and just buy tickets as i go...

jackbhoy

terencemc wrote: »

Is it easy to get a visa for russia...I heard its quite hard yes/no ?
id prefer not to do a package job and just buy tickets as i go...

Its relatively straightforward. If you want to go independent and not book all accommodation/transport ahead there are plenty of companies such as realrussia that will provide invite and travel voucher for small fee (€15-20), then fill out form and send to Russian embassy in Dublin.

Btw I'd advise posting application, been to Russian embassy twice and it can be nightmare, queued for 4 hours and was last one to get application in, the guy just walked away at 12 (opens 9-12) leaving 25+ people who had all been queuing for at least 3hours without any explanation.

manufanu

Has anyone done this train in the winter. I was looking at the Harbin Ice Festival which runs in Jan/Feb and really want to see it. I would be worried though about the train breaking down due to the cold or there being insufficient heat on board. Are these trains modern?

jackbhoy

manufanu wrote: »

Has anyone done this train in the winter. I was looking at the Harbin Ice Festival which runs in Jan/Feb and really want to see it. I would be worried though about the train breaking down due to the cold or there being insufficient heat on board. Are these trains modern?

If anything they can be too warm. I did last November/December, it was -15 outside and +30 in the carriage, I was wearing t-shirt and flip flops! The quality of trains varies depending on whether it's Chinese or Russian and what train number or class you travel in but I found them all comfortable (generally travelled 3rd class) and reliable. These trains are designed for this climate, I have had many more breakdowns with Irish Rail than while travelling in Russia/China.

If you want to stop off in Mongolia/Siberia at this time of year though it can be unbearably cold and most tourist infrastucture will be closed until the Spring.

Aurora Borealis

What would be the best time of year to do it?

jackbhoy

Aurora Borealis wrote: »

What would be the best time of year to do it?

If you want to see Siberia/Mongolia in comfort probably best to do it between May and November. I always prefer shoulder season whenever I travel as you get decent weather but less crowds so maybe Septhember or May would be good for that. We camped one night in Mongolia in November when it was -12, not a good nights sleep!

If you just want to get train straight through then the scenery looks much better under a blanket of snow.