DAY 01
Arrival in
Beijing. Make your own way to hotel. Free time to explore one of the worlds
fastest growing capital cities.Your train tickets will be delivered to your
hotel after check in, with instructions to the station in English and Chinese.
DAY 02
Own transport to
Beijing Central Station for early morning departure to Ulaanbaatar. Thunder on
across China – past the Great Wall. Overnight on board.
DAY 03
Full-On Mid-afternoon arrival in
Outer Mongolia! Chance to freshen up,
then transfer to a Mongolian Ger Camp – with accommodation in traditional
Mongolian wood-framed felt tents (gers).
The huge area of the Mongolian steppes around the camp is yours to
explore. Supper is included (yes, there are vegetarian options too). [No
Frills – car transfer to 1* Hotel
in Ulaanbaatar for a 3-night independent stay]
DAY 04
Horse-riding is available (for a small local charge)
with local herdsmen leaders – or walk, relax, or sometimes play traditional
Mongolian sports? (Full Board
included.)
DAY 05
Back to Ulaanbaatar. Your
local Mongolian Buddy will help you find the very best of “UB” – don’t
miss the Gandan Buddhist Lamasery. Then free to explore – find a net-café and
croissants, or authentic Mongolian pot-stickers?.
DAY 06
Breakfast. Time to stock up on provisions for your
overnight journey. Car trf to the
station for an evening departure to Irkutsk.
Overnight on board (this is a local train and there is often not
restaurant car).
DAY 07
Arrival late evening in Ulan-Uday, car to Family Stay.
Supper and overnight.
DAY 08
Breakfast. Car/guide trip to
Atsagatsky Buddhist Lamasery. After the
monastery, try cuisine of Buryatia for lunch with a village family. Return to
Ulan-Uday. Supper and overnight. (Option to upgrade to 3* hotel, at extra
charge. Meal basis B&B).
DAY 09
Breakfast. Visit to the
Ivolginsky Datsan (a much larger monastery). Lunch.Visit to Centre of Eastern
Medicine (optional consultation). Supper and car transfer to the station for
late evening departure to Irkutsk.
DAY 10
Arrival in
Irkutsk
No Frills: Car to family homestay for
3 nts in Irkutsk - Car transfer to the station on departure.
Full On: (Choose one of
the 2 options below)
(1) SIBERIAN VILLAGE (Option One)
Car (1hr) to Listvyanka Village (shore of Lake
Baikal). Lunch, walking tour of the village including Lake Wildlife Museum.
Then get it all off your chest the Siberian way - in the banya! (sauna).You'll
be ready for your home-cooked supper after all that – then sleep like a log in
a log cabin.
DAY 11
Choose one activity from the list, its all included in
the trip price!
(A) TAKING A SHORT
SOFT TREK with a local guide in the Baikal-side forests. - (May-Oct)
(B) TAKE A
FRESHWATER SCUBA DIVE in Lake Baikal
(they say you gain a year of life if you dive in!) with highly-qualified
CMAS-instructors (requires PADI-1), 2 dives included. (May-Oct.) 2 dives included (Feb-Mar.) Ice
Dive. 1 dive included.
(C) TAKE YOURSELF
FOR A WALK out of the village
with a packed lunch and a book, and contemplate the vastness of the world's
hugest lake.Then get it all off your chest the Siberian way – in the banya!
(sauna).You'll be ready for your home-cooked supper after all that – then sleep
like a log in a log cabin.
(D) SNOWMOBILE TRIP (2 hrs) with a local guide
- through the forest, or even out over the deep-frozen lake! (Dec-Apr only).
IF YOU'VE
CHOSEN THE 21-DAY VERSION OF THE ITINERARY, THIS IS YOUR EXTRA DAY!
(DAY 12)
Day entirely
free at Lake Baikal – breakfast and supper with your host family – overnight.
IF YOU'VE CHOSEN THE 20-DAY VERSION OF
THE ITINERARY, YOUR ITINERARY CONTINUES LIKE THIS:
DAY 12 (13)
By car to
Irkutsk (110km) and stay in a city apartment with a local family, in
soviet-modern city style. Day free to explore the city, dinner with host
family. (Or upgrade to tourist-class hotel if you rate comfort over
authenticity, and prefer to dine out this evening instead?).
DAY 13 (14)
Breakfast. Free-time. Car transfer to the station for afternoon
departure to Ekaterinburg.
OR
(2) FISHERMAN'S CAPE OF LAKE
BAIKAL (Option
Two)
DAY 10
Car directly from Irkutsk Station to the remoter village of Bolshoe
Goloustnoye (110km on rural roads).Your local guide shows you the village, the
Old Church, and lake shoreline. Get the 20th Century out of your system in a
real Russian banya (sauna) which will sharpen your appetite for home-cooked
food for supper. Sleep soundly - the modern world is far, far away.
DAY 11
Leisurely lakeside walk (8km) to Ushkani Cape, and visit our friends the
fishermen for lunch at their cabin. A gentle return walk (on the way see a
dried-up Lake.) Sauna and supper in the hushed silence away
from the tourist throng.
IF YOU'VE CHOSEN THE 21-DAY
VERSION OF THE ITINERARY, THIS IS YOUR EXTRA DAY!
(DAY 12)
Breakfast Walk back to Bolshoe Goloustnoye. Lunch. Sauna. Free time.
Dinner. Overnight.
DAY 12 (13)
Breakfast with host family, transfer to Irkutsk City.
Return to family stay and reunited with your baggage. Stay in a city apartment
with a local family, in soviet-modern city style. Day free to explore the city,
dinner with host family. (Or upgrade to tourist-class hotel if you rate comfort
over authenticity, and prefer to dine out this evening instead?
DAY 13(14)
Free time to visit the city. foot (we watch your bags)
until mid afternoon departure to station and on to Ekaterinburg
DAY 14 (15)
On board…across the River
Yenisei, at Krasnoyarsk
DAY 15 (16)
Arrive
mid-afternoon in Ekaterinburg. Car to
Hotel. Walking Tour + of Ekaterinburg with local guide. evening free to explore further.
DAY 16 (17)
Your choice of the
following programs+ (one choice is included in your
trip - no surcharges!)
YEAR ROUND CHOICES
(check applicable difficulty-level for each)
(A) ROMANOV GRAVES (& Europe/Asia Border Monument en-route). Car
excursion to site where the Romanov bodies were hidden. 5-6 hours. No physical
exertion involved.
(B) WALK IN THE
TAIGA FOREST The unique forest ecosystem of the Steppes, with car
to/from. 6 hour walk.Good fitness req'd
(C) SIBERIAN WILDERNESS
ADVENTURE Combined soft raft
(6km) and Forest Hike (12km) - optional cave visit. Good fitness req'd.
(D) SIBERIAN
COUNTRYSIDE & HISTORIC VILLAGE Visit to an old village now under a Preservation Order. Includes
home-cooked lunch, exhibitions of craftlore, horsecart riding. 8-9 hours. No
physical exertion involved.
(E) URALS MOUNTAIN
BIKE ADVENTURE All gear provided, for
a 16km off-road course at Devil's Rock. Transport to/from included (40km). Fitness and bike skills req'd.
SPECIAL WINTER ACTIVITIES (check applicable season and difficulty-level
for each)
(A) WINTER WALK to the Druzhba Caves. 16km
distance, no climbing. 01.Dec-01.Mar. Good fitness req'd. take warm clothes and
boots.
(B) SKIING At Ezhovaya Slopes Ski
Resort - even Putin skis here (sometimes). Skis/Poles/Lift-Pass package
purchasable locally approx $25 payable in roubles. 01 Dec-15.Mar.
No instruction is included
– this program is for those who can already ski without instruction.
(C) ICE-FISHINGYes, you saw the cartoons,
now you can try it yourself. Tackle, Angler's Hints & Fur Coat provided. 15
Nov - 15 Dec & 01 Feb - 15 Mar.We don't guarantee you'll catch anything! Takes 8
hours but you can come back sooner if you get cold.
(D) SIBERIAN HUSKY DOGSLEDDING Exactly what it says! A whole
day adventure to include 3-4 hours sledding following a made track through the
forest. 15 Nov - 01 Mar. (unavailable 31.Dec 10 Jan). No special fitness
required, but be ready to fall-off in the soft snow a few times - they're pretty fast!
DAY 17 (18)
Breakfast. Car transfer to the
station for overnight train to Moscow.
DAY 18 (19)
Arrival in Moscow! We whisk you by car directly to your hotel
Moscow Calling! Your Moscow Buddy+ is on hand to smooth your path… at least until lunchtime! Afternoon and
evening - it's all in your hands!
DAY 19 (20)
A full free day – take your pick of the best of Moscow! Overnight.
DAY 20 (21)
Breakfast. Your Trans-Siberian adventure comes to an end.
+ not included on the no-frills version of the trip.
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