Our Trips

Ultimate Trans-Sib

Moscow to Beijing

Just when you thought our trip-names couldn’t run out of superlatives! “Suppose we made a trip with everything… no, really, with everything?!” we said one rainy November evening about five years ago. “Wouldn’t it be a bit, well, long?” Apparently it wasn’t – what we thought would be the “Cinderella” of our trips has become one of our most popular, and no wonder – it really has everything in it (well, except Inner Mongolia – but ask us if you want to add it). The highlight, for us, is the Altai Mountains – Neil’s own favourite Siberian destination.

Map

Trip overview

DAY 01 – Arrival in Moscow

Arrival in Moscow. Your driver will meet on arrival and transfer you by private car to the hotel.

DAY 02 – Around Moscow

After breakfast one of our local experts will meet you at your hotel in the lobby for a three hour walking and familiarisation tour, to introduce the city (and its public transport system) and to get your sightseeing off to a flying start. The rest of the day's your own.

DAY 03 – Departing Moscow

A morning free to pack in any last minute sightseeing. Afternoon transfer to Kazansky Station where you will board the Ekaterinburg bound train.

DAY 04 – Arrival in Ekaterinburg

Arrival late evening in Ekaterinburg, transfer to hote by private car.

DAY 05 – Your choice of Ekaterinburg activities

Please make a choice of one of the day trip options, it is all included in the trip price.

(A) Romanov Graves (B) Siberian countryside and historical village
(C) Hiking trip in the Urals (D) Siberian wilderness adventure

Check out of your room around midnight.

DAY 06 – On board The Trans-Sib

Private car to the station, where you will board the Barnaul bound train.

DAY 07 – The Altai Mountains

Transfer on arrival in Barnaul (as far as the train runs) then travel onwards by local intercity bus (6 hrs) to Chemal Village in the heart of the Altai Mountains. This afternoon you will go on a guided walk during which you will learn about the local Altaic people.

DAY 08 – Day excursion in Altai

After breakfast, excursion to site of ancient cave and cliff paintings. There will be an opportunity for a small local cash payment to ride Altai Mountain Horses and also to learn more about the ancient Chuisky Tract - the route of Genghis Khan’s messengers.

DAY 09 – Transfer to rafting

Transfer to rafting launch point. After receiving a safety briefing set off with instructor & guide for some white water rafting. This afternoon continue rafting the Katun River, then set up camp, followed by supper around the fire.

DAY 10 – Rafting the Katun River

Today you will continue rafting along the Katun River, including some rapids. Then set up camp, followed by supper around the fire.

DAY 11 – Departing Altai

After an early breakfast depart to Novosibirsk by road and public bus. Evening arrival at your home-stay and time to relax after your long journey.

DAY 12 – Departing Novosibirsk

Free time. Evening transfer to station, where you will board the Irkutsk bound train.

DAY 13 – On board The Trans-Sib

Travelling eastwards towards Irkutsk.

DAYS 14–16 Baikal programmes

Here we give you the option to make a choice of either Siberian Village which is staying in Listvyanka Village on the shores of Lake Baikal. OR Bolshoe Goloustnoye, which is available for two or more passengers travelling together, for arrivals between 1st June until 1st September.

Option 1 – Siberian Village

DAY 14 – Arrival in Irkutsk

Arrival in Irkutsk, transfer to Listvyanka Village on the shore of Lake Baikal.

DAY 15 – Choose one activity from the list

It’s all included in the trip price.

(A) Siberian trek (B) Circum Baikal picnic

(C)Taltsy wooden Museum (D) Do your own thing

DAY 16 – Departing Irkutsk

Transfer from Listvyanka Village back to Irkutsk, free time to explore. Evening transfer to the station where you will board the Ulan-Uday bound train.

Option 2 – Bolshoe Goloustnoye

DAY 14 – Arrival in Irkutsk

Arrival in Irkutsk. Transfer by car to Bolshoe Goloustnoye village, on the shores of Lake Baikal. The village is made up almost entirely of wooden-built traditional Siberian izba solid log houses.

DAY 15 – Trekking along the Baikal shore (20 km)

After breakfast we get ready to set off on foot along the shores of Baikal! There are a few upward hauls – but it’s all on paths, with no scrambling! The astounding views across the world’s greatest lake make it all worth while. The afternoon is more downhill, heading into Kodilnaya – where there’s a log cabin for our overnight accommodation, and a warm fire burning in the hearth. Our staff will be busy making a hot supper for you, while you ease-off your walk in the sauna before suppertime. Today’s total route is twenty kilometres, or around twelve miles.

DAY 12 – Departing Irkutsk

DAY 16 – Departing Irkutsk

After breakfast we repack our day-packs and continue our shoreline saunter towards Bolshie Koty – the Baikal village whose name means “Big Cats” in Russian. We cover ten kilometres (six miles) today – but some of it is a bit steep, so we take a steady pace! On arrival at Bolshie Koty we’ll take the local timetabled hydrofoil service across the waters of Lake Baikal, back to the city boat terminal in Irkutsk. There is a chance to have some free time (we’ll watch your bags!) in Irkutsk before this evening transfer to the station for the Ulan-Uday bound train.

DAY 17 – Arrival early morning in Ulan-Uday

Transfer to home-stay. Guided trip to Atsagatsky Buddhist Lamasery. After the monastery, try cuisine of Buryatia lunch with a village family.

DAY 18 – Visit to the Ivolginsky Datsan

Excursion to Tarbagatay, a village with traditional brightly painted house. Home to the "old believers", some have called "Russia's Amish" .

DAY 19 – Departing Ulan-Uday

Transfer to the station where you will board the Ulaanbaatar bound train.

DAY 20 – Arrival in Ulaanbaatar

Transfer from the station, shower and breakfast. Depart for city tour to include the Gandan Monastery ceremony. Depart Ulaanbaatar for the Bayangobi region. Evening arrival at a herdsman encampment. Tonight you are the guests of the herdsmen, and you’ll stay in a nomadic ger tent.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT NOMAD STAYS: When we say "nomad stay" it means exactly that - you are sharing the lives of herdsmen who live on the Mongolian Steppe. There's often no electricity, they don't speak English, and there isn't any plumbing!

DAY 21 – Onwards to Harhorin

Depart after breakfast for a day trip through the countryside of Övörkhangai Province in the direction of Harhorin. Our route takes us into the Orkhon Valley, a World Heritage Site. This afternoon we arrive at modern Harhorin – the settlement Genghis Khan would have known as Karakorum. Nothing is left of the ancient settlement but on its site is the (rather later) monastery of Erdene Zuu, one of the most important Buddhist centres in Mongolia. Returning back to our nomad host family.

DAY 22 – Elstei Ger Lodge

Evening arrival at Elstei Ger Lodge. This is a different experience from staying with nomads, as Elstei is purposely set up for foreign visitors. This evening, chill out and relax after the long journey.

DAY 23 – Elstei Ger Lodge

Free time at Elstei Ger Lodge. Throughout the day you will have the opportunity to partake in optional activities.

DAY 24 – Return to Ulaanbaatar

After breakfast transfer back to Ulaanbaatar and check into the Bayangol Hotel. The balance of the day is your own to explore this city of contrasts. Culture, shopping, food? This capital city won’t disappoint.

DAY 25 – Departing Ulaanbaatar

Early morning transfer to the station where you will board the Beijing bound train.

DAY 26 – Arrival in Beijing

Arriving into Beijing Central Station at the end of your Trans-Siberian journey.

Extras

The journey you have chosen has some “extras” that are necessary and then “extras" that will enhance your trip. We cannot re-iterate too much that at Russia Experience we pride ourselves on making the trip you have chosen the best it can be – so if we don’t mention something you want, ask us and we’ll try our best to make it happen! In return, we try to inform you about any great “extras” along the way, so that you have the chance to try them if you want! Visas are a necessary extra and needed for all the countries you travel through and the current costs and what is needed can be found under Visas.

Upgrading to 2- berth compartment

Upgrading to 2- berth compartment on the train is also an option, you will see under Prices. This service is becoming more popular every year and not helped by the train operators only confirming this request 30 days or less prior to your departure. We have however devised a workaround for this that’s proving very reliable. We request a 2-berth at the time of booking but if this comes back not possible we block out a 4-berth compartment for 2 person occupancy. The standard of these cabins remains the same, and you get the extra space and privacy one way or the other.

Upgrading to a Hotel stay in Ulan-Uday

Upgrading to a Hotel stay in Ulan-Uday is an option instead of a home-stay. Again you will find this under Prices. At Russia Experience we pride ourselves on sourcing all types of accommodation for our clients, however we understand that for some people a hotel would be more suitable and therefore we offer this option in these areas, as well as the standard homestay. The difference is more a question of ethos and genre than “quality” – it’s a different approach, so perhaps “upgrade” isn’t exactly the right word… but it does cost a little more, so we retain the term “upgrade” for this kind of swap-out. Also we have additional night prices if you would like to arrive prior to the official start date of your trip or extend your stay at the end of the journey. Make sure you have decided this at the time of booking though, so your visas application reflects your length of stay. Although we will always look at requests to extend the stops along the way (or add new ones) these can very often result in a mismatch that make your connections further along the trip fail (since some services operate once-weekly, or on even more unusual timetabling “rules”). If they are possible at all, the usual result of mid-trip extra nights is that your start-date moves earlier to “make room” for them. If you are interested in this kind of alteration please let us know before firming-up your booking, so that your visas can be issued to match the new itinerary. Our expert staff have fourteen years in setting-up complex itineraries, utilising all operating services to achieve your desired result, whilst keeping you advised of undesirable outcomes (ie services known to be poor or unreliable, that we ordinarily never utilise) that might arise from making extreme alterations.

Starting or ending in China

We have a range of services for passengers wanting to stay or continue their journey into China at the start or end of their journey.

Association of Independent Tour Operators

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	2 people	3-9 people
Full On
26 days full on	£	£
Extra night Moscow midweek	£75	£75
Extra night Moscow weekend	£90	£65
Hotel upgrade Ulan-Uday	£65	£65
2-berth upgrade Moscow-Beijing	£	£