Hallingdahl

I am beginning to plan a trip across Russia by way of the Trans-Siberian Railway for June of 2016. I am wondering if anyone has recently traveled this route and has suggestions for our trip. My son is 22 and I am 60, and we are both in good health and frequent international travelers. Our route will begin in Moscow and end in Beijing.

jim21

We took the Trans-Siberian last June & July. It was a great experience and a lot easier than you would expect. You say you are going from Moscow to Beijing but you do not mention which route you plan on taking...the Trans-Mongolian route (via Ulaanbataar) or the Trans-Manchurian route (via northeastern China). If you have yet to make up your mind I recommend the former. Mongolia is wonderful.

We used a facilitator for the trip to handle the logistics such as buying the tickets for the train and cabin type you want the day the tickets go on the market (45 days in advance); arrange for your transfer from the airport in Moscow to your hotel; booking the hotels (moderate, inexpensive hotels with 2 or 3 stars), a 3 hour walking tour in Moscow that teaches you how to use the Metro, etc., etc. They take care of the time consuming, annoying parts of your trip while allowing you to travel independently.

There a number of different agencies that provide this service. Most of them are based in London. For us it came down to "On the Go" ( http://www.onthegotours.com/Trans-siberian-Railway ) or "Russia Experience" (http://www.trans-siberian.co.uk/ ). We ended up choosing Russia Experience and they did a wonderful job.

One thing we would definitely do differently is plan our trip around one of the two high profile trains...the Rossiya or the Vostok . Those trains offer all three classes and, from what we hear, are more culturally enjoyable. For example, when our train made stops there were very few locals there to sell homemade foods, which is significant. That will likely be the best food you find on the 87 hour journey to Irkutsk.

We just decided on a day we wished to depart Moscow and ended up on a local train #70. It only had 2nd and 3rd class which was okay with us because we were traveling second class anyway.... there were 4 of us. If there are only going to be the 2 of you I recommend getting a first class cabin, if for no other reason, so there are fewer passengers to each WC in the cabin.

The first place you should go to plan your trip is "The Man in Seat 61" ( http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm#.VRXNYfnF98E ) . We also used the Trans-Siberian Handbook by Bryn Thomas and the Trans-Siberian Railway by the Lonely Planet.

We extended our trip by 3 days in Moscow and 3 days in Beijing. I recommend you do the same or more. You may also choose to spend a few days in one of the cities in Siberia on route. Russia Experience accommodated us on all of our adjustments to their basic itinerary.

The planning of the trip is very demanding and will take a lot of time. I am not sure of your nationality but as americans we had to get visas for Russian and China which is time consuming and costly. Begin your planning now and it will all turn out great for you I am sure.

Let me know if you need any more info or details.

thursdaysd

Moscow to Beijing is not the Trans-Siberian. The Trans-Siberian is Moscow to Vladivostok. That said, I second the vote for the Trans-Mongolian, however my trip was in 2004.

I stopped in Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk (and Listvyanka), Ulan Ude, Ulan Bator (with a side trip into the countryside) and Datong. All were interesting but if I had to drop one it would be Ekaterinburg. I traveled in kupe, and I agree that some trains are better than others - in general the lower the number the better the train. I imagine it is still a good idea to board with your own food.

Hallingdahl

Jim,
Thanks so much for your reply. Super helpful. Here are some more details of my initial planning and welcome your further suggestions.
Since we are traveling to Russia we also want to stop by St. Petersburg for a few days since we are so close, relatively speaking. Thinking of flying in to St. Pete from US and then on to Moscow, either by train or plane?

We plan to stay three days at least in Moscow to see the sights. I was there in 1981 and have heard it has changed quite a bit. Would like to stay in a hotel that is centrally located.

We are choosing to travel on the Trans-Mongolian route so we can end in Beijing rather than Vladivostok. (Nothing against Vladi, and I traveled through there many times as a kid playing the game Risk.) My son is currently studying in Shanghai and he wants to show me around his haunts next year when he returns. The plan is to train to Beijing and then continue on to Shanghai.

We are thinking of going alone - privately, and not with a group tour. Which did you do?
I am planning on securing the twin berth compartments. sounds like you endorse this.

Are there restaurant/dining cars on the trains? or do we pack our own and picnic across Siberia?

Do the facilitators you mentioned assist with the visa process or are we on our own? I have heard it is quite an ordeal.

Thanks for the great internet reference/resources as well. I will check them out. I have purchased the Lonely Planet Book and it has been a good starting point.

Thanks a bunch,

jim21

We never travel with a group tour...always independently. The only tours that were included were the 3 hour orientation/walking tour in Moscow, a 4 hour walking tour of Listvyanka on Lake Baikal and a walking tour of Ulaanbaatar that includes a visit to the Genghis Khan statue on the way to the Ger (yurt) camp where we spent 2 days and nights. You are on your own 99% of the time. While in Listvyanka we opted to visit the Talsty Wooden Museum which I recommend because it takes you back to the village life that was 19th century Irkutsk. Even then the facilitator just arranged for transportation to and from the museum and the tickets. We were on our own for the entire 3 hours we were there.

I am not sure about the other facilitators but The Russia Experience offers trips that begin in St. Petersburg ( http://www.trans-siberian.co.uk/our-...st-petersburg/ ). I believe St. Petersburg to Moscow is a simple 4 hour trip on one of the high speed trains. Just make sure to align your timetable with the departure from Moscow of the better trains. By the way, this year for the first time we will be in St. Petersburg from July 4th to the 7th.

As far as a centrally located hotel in Moscow I am not sure if that is necessary. The hotels close to Red Square were high end such as the Four Seasons. I think proximity to the Moscow Metro system is the key. The Russia Experience put us in the Maxima Panorama which is decent. There is a green line Metro station 20 meters from the front door. It took us 10 minutes to get to Red Square and there were no transfers. Also, there was a nice little restaurant just down the street that had very good Italian food. I only mention that because we were tiring of the Russian food after the first few days.

Yes, there are restaurant cars on all the Trans-Siberian/Mongolian/Manchurian trains. Ours was very basic but we were on a train that only had 2nd and 3rd classes. I am guessing the better trains have better restaurants. Of everything we read and experienced they all have large menus but typically only offer 15% to 25% of what is on the menus. The dining cars seemed better suited to drinking and meeting other people than formal dining. As thursdaysd pointed out above, it is a good idea to bring your own food. There is a samovar in each car with provides hot water 24/7. Bring foods and drinks that you can heat up. We also brought a variety of meats and cheeses but you must eat those early on.

The dining car on the train from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing was by far the nicest and had good food. Again, that train had 1st class which seemed to make the difference.

Yes, the visa application process for both the Russian and Chinese visas was on ordeal. Unfortunately, I am once again experiencing that ordeal all over again not that we are headed to St. Petersburg. The facilitators leave it up to you but they do arrange for the "letters of invitation" from both countries which must accompany the applications. You should begin looking now for a place that takes visa photos. They are not the same as passport photos and here in Tampa we could only find one photo studio which takes them. The specifications for the Russian visas are a bear...no pun intended.

The Russia Experience recommended using the CIBT (http://cibtvisas.com/ ) service which made the entire process easier. Oh yes! Russian will want to know every country you have ever visited including the dates of entry and exit. You may want to begin working on that now too. China not so much but they want information all your close relatives. American citizens do not need a visa for Mongolia.

I hope I have answered your questions. I also hope you like birch trees because you will be seeing a lot of them during your trip!

thursdaysd

I suspect the better food on the Beijing-Ulan Bator leg was because the dining car on that stretch was run by the Chinese, not because the train had first class carriages. See: http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian...hat_about_food

PalenQ

Though not really apeaking about the Trans-Siberian - I took tjhe T Sib and it was the most absolutely boring scenery I have ever seen and for a week at a time. Would never do that route again though was a wonderful experience to have done once - went to Khaborvask (sp?) for boat to Japan.

thursdaysd

@PalenQ - it is definitely a good idea to get off the train! I think my longest stretch on board was two days. I also had the advantage not just of taking the Trans-Mongolian, but of doing it in autumn, when the trees were changing color.

PalenQ

I was there is autumn too and the scenery is redolent of northern Michigan - lots of scrubland and bushes and not really big trees - a highlight was plum peasant women descending on the train platform at each station selling home-made snacks.

And the luck of the draw about having compatible compartment mates for the week or so - these are or were sleeper trains were the seats convert to regular seats during the day.

Hallingdahl

Thanks again for the helpful information. I understand that when you get off the TS for an overnight or tour that you need a separate/new ticket to continue on the trek the following day or whenever you return to the train station. ANd how long are the stop overs at various statins along the way? Enough time to pick up groceries and the like?

thursdaysd

Depends entirely on the station, and on whether the train is on time. There are timetables on the seat61.com website linked above, and probably also on the Russian railways web site. If you mean enough time to actually leave the station and find a store, forget it. Used to be locals selling foodstuffs on the platform, don't know whether that is still the case.

Board with food and drink and a tin mug.

jim21

Yes, you will need a separate ticket for each leg of your trip. If you use a facilitator they take care of all of that. The person who gave us our 3 hour walking tour of Moscow brought us our tickets for the Moscow to Irkutsk and Irkutsk to Ulaanbaatar legs of the trip. The person in Ulaanbaatar who give us our walking tour of the city had our tickets for the Ulaanbaatar to Beijing leg.

As for overnight stopovers, we stayed in Irkutsk (1night)/Lake Baikal (2 nights) and Ulaanbaatar (1 night)/remote Ger Camp (2 nights). If I had known then what I know now I would have added an extra night to Irkutsk which I found to be incredibly interesting.

If you do have enough time take thursdaysd's recommendation a stay a night or two in a city between Moscow and Irkutsk.

The stopovers vary from 2 to 3 minutes for most stops, to 20 minutes for the major city stops. A warning here, be careful of using any of the time schedules from the internet while on the train. We found out the hard way that the schedules can and do change regularly so be sure to double check with the provenista in charge of your car before departing.

As thursdaysd states above, forget about doing any shopping unless you are purchasing from the venders on the platform. I highly recommend not leaving sight of your train at anytime. I can attest from personal experience.

Now I must confess that when it came to shopping for the trip we cheated. We have Russian friends who live in Moscow and they took us shopping which made it easy. But I do not think you will have a problem. Your hotel can direct you to the nearest grocery store which will likely be a typical store that is easy to navigate.

As for thursdaysd's recommendation to bring tin cups, they are essential. Here is a link to cups we purchased... http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Ounce-...ywords=tin+cup

If you would like to see the final itinerary provided to us by the Russia Experience feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will forward it to you. It will answer many of your questions.

crdtny

My wife is Japanese and when we visit Japan we go overland as I dont like flying. Have been on several different routes,Trans Mongolian,Trans manchurian and also via Kazakhstan to Almaty then to Urunqi for Dun huang and Xian.....this was the most interesting route.

Went form London via St Petersburg. Got train to Brussels then onto Cologne where we got overnight train to Copenhagen spent the day there and then got night train to Stockho;m again for another day sightseeing. Ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki where we spent one night and then the train to St Petersburg spending three nights before getting the train to Moscow for the train to Beijing.

German rail is best for getting tickets to Moscow where you then have to arrange to pick up tickets for the journey to Beijing.

Our Visas were aranged by "Real Russia" very easily and we had no problems in the six journeys we made.

It does require a fair deal of planning but well worth it in the end.

Journey of a lifetime.

Hope to go again next year....I will 71 years of age by then.