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Great service
I really enjoyed my trip from Ulaanbaatar to Moscow. The staff on board were so friendly and made delicious soup everyday. The 2nd class carriage was comfortable and I was very happy and relaxed.
Itinerary
Tour can be started on any day
Moscow - Irkutsk - Vladivostok
This streamlined trip on the Trans-Siberian railroad makes the full journey with only three stops. After seeing Moscow landmarks like the Kremlin, Red Square, and the city’s grand Cathedrals, you will set off for the Siberian city of Irkutsk near spectacular Lake Baikal, and finally on to the King of the East, Vladivostok, on the Amur and Golden Horn Bays by the Pacific Ocean.
Day 1 Moscow
Your Trans-Siberian adventure begins in Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation.
Our representative will greet you when you arrive in Moscow. As they transport you to your hotel, take the opportunity to enjoy your first glimpses of this historic city.
Day 2
Enjoy some free time after breakfast at your hotel before checking out and meeting with your guide. Your tour program begins with a city tour by comfortable minibus or car.
On Panoramic City Tour, our professional guide will escort you on a route that includes Vorobyevi Hills where you will get an incredible view of the city from an observation point. You will proceed to Moscow State University which is an example of architecture from the time of Stalin and one of Russia’s leading schools of higher education, then on to Novodevichy Convent, Victory Park, the Triumphal Arch and Kutuzovsky Prospect. You will get a chance to see from the outside, the Russian seat of power - the Kremlin and Red Square and continue on to see much more of this storied city.
Departure by rail to Irkutsk.
Day 3-5
Along the way, the train will stop in a series of 11th to 13th century cities, each offering historical sights – from the gold-domed churches of Vladimir (part of Russia’s Golden Ring) to Nizhny Novgorod’s Kremlin on the Volga River.
Overnight you will cross the Vyatka River, passing the towns of Kotelnich, Kirov (formerly Vyatka, where the first Russian washing machine was made in 1891) and Balyezino. Morning will bring you to the city of Perm in the foothills of the Ural Mountains, a cultural city known for its literature and ballet. Six hours later, you will reach Yekaterinburg with a 40 minute stop in that city.
Enjoy Siberia’s landscape of fast flowing rivers and deep forests as you continue on towards Irkutsk. You will pass through a number of towns such as Russia’s oil capital Tyumen and the city of Omsk. You will cross the Irtysh River and then the Ob River at Novosibirsk, as heavy forests give way to Siberian taiga. The train will cross more of Siberia’s many rivers, including the Kam, Chuna, Lya Oka, Yenisey and Angara.
Said by many to be the most beautiful part of the Trans-Siberian railway, this leg will take you past the Kam, Chuna, Lya, Oka and Angara Rivers, and then to the city of Krasnoyarsk on the Yenisey River for a short 20-minute stop.
Day 6 Irkutsk
You will be greeted by our representative when your train arrives in Irkutsk in the morning. Then you will be taken to the world’s largest freshwater lake, the wondrous Lake Baikal, with a stop at the Taltsy Ethonographical Museum, to see preserved examples of Siberia’s classic wooden architecture.
After viewing Lake Baikal from the observation point at “Cherskiy Peak”, it’s on to a hotel for an optional lunch. Then you’ll go to the Limnological Museum, which hosts exhibits of the lake’s unique ecosystem and an aquarium with local species including the Baikal nerpa – the only species of freshwater seal in the world. Then it’s off to the St. Nicolas the Miracle-Worker Orthodox Church.
Day 7
The next morning following breakfast our driver will pick you up in a comfortable minibus or car and take you to Irkutsk where you will drop off your luggage at your hotel. Next is a city tour of sights around the city, including the Cathedral of the Holy Sign (also known as Znamensky Cathedral). The tour then concludes with a visit to Irkutsk’s Museum of the Decembrists.
Day 8-10
After breakfast you will be taken to the train and proceed with your journey across Siberia. Your train departs at 7:56.
Settle into your cabin for the longest leg of the journey - from Irkutsk to Vladivostok, passing through Khabarovsk, taking over two days. Take advantage of the 20-to-25-minute stops along the way to stock up on supplies. The view of Siberia’s taigas and waterways on this leg is unchanging but brings home the sheer scale of Siberia.
The final leg from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok takes about 13 hours, passing close by the Ussuri River which marks the border between China and Russia. And keep a watchful eye to the east, looking for the occasional glimpses of the Pacific Ocean as you draw nearer to that port city called “Lord of the East”, Vladivostok.
Day 11 Vladivostok
Our representative will greet you when you arrive at the train station in Vladivostok, the “Lord of the East”. You will then check into your hotel.
Day 12
Breakfast at the hotel.
Check-out.
Your tour of the city begins after breakfast, taking you through Vladivostok’s historic sites. See the Vladivostok Railway Station, end point of the Trans-Siberian route, as well as the unique S-56 submarine museum, located inside the submarine itself in the “Military Glory of the Pacific Navy Fleet” memorial complex. Visit the site of the city’s founding in 1860 and the Arseviev Museum, showcasing the history, culture of ecology of the Vladivostok area.
After your tour, you will transfer to the airport. We hope that you enjoyed your Trans-Siberian railway adventure and are left with memories to last a lifetime!
Sightseeing
Moscow
With the largest urban area in Europe (as well as being the most populous city in Europe), Moscow is one ofthe largest cities in the world. The capital of Russia, as well as its cultural, political, scientific, and economic center, Moscow’s history extends back to medieval times. Moscow was a minor border town in its earliest history but was elevated in the 12th Century to the Grand Duchy of Moscow under the rulership of Prince Daniel. This Grand Duchy would continue to gain in power and influence after this, ultimately absorbing neighboring principalities over the following centuries, such as the Grand Duchy of Tver and the Novgorod Republic. Ultimately Ivan III extended the city’s territory to encompass all of the Rus’ territory, taking for himself the title of Tsar (though officially his son, known as Ivan the Terrible, was the first actual Tsar of Russia). Moscow has seen numerous wars through its history, from the Mongols to the Nazis, and has been under siege numerous times. Today a flourishing city, Moscow has an impressive metro system to facilitate visitors touring the city.
Moscow has numerous points of cultural and historical interest, notably Red Square and the Kremlin, but also St Basil’s Cathedral, over a hundred parks and gardens, the Bolshoi Theatre, Tretyakov Gallery, and the Moscow State Circus. Key architectural points include the Ostankino Tower and the Seven Sisters, a group of skyscrapers during the Stalinist period.
Irkutsk
Irkutsk began as a 17th Century gold-trading settlement which also served to collect the fur tax from the local Buryats. When the first road was constructed to Moscow in 1760, trade brought a number of luxuries and other items to the town for the first time. About 60 years later, the town was the seat of the Governor-General of East Siberia, and it later received an influx of exiled elites from St. Petersburg involved in the Decembrist revolt. As a consequence, the city developed a surprisingly rich cultural and intellectual life which continues to this day, with a large number of museums and scientific institutes.
Taltsy Ethnographic Museum
Also called Taltsy Village, this unique open-air museum covers 67 hectares near Listvyanka and showcases over 40 preserved buildings including a watermill, a 17th Century watchtower, two churches, and various farms and peasant homes. The museum also includes 8000 exhibits relating to daily life in Siberia in the 17th to 19th Centuries. Regular folk festivals are also hosted here.
Museum of the Decembrists
Located in the Volkonsky Mansion, the former home of one of the aristocratic families exiled to Irkutsk in the wake of the failed Decembrist revolt, this museum showcases the lives of the Trubetskoy and Volkonsky families and the events of their exile. Of special note is a monument to the wives of the Decembrists who left behind everything to follow their husbands into exile.
Cathedral of the Holy Sign
Known also as Znamensky Monastery, this holy site has a towering iconostasis, a sarcophagus containing holy relics, and a beautifully ornate interior. The graveyard holds the grave of Grigory Shelekhov, who claimed Alaska for Russia, as well as a number of Decembrists.
Listvyanka
Listvyanka is a small town of wooden, Siberian-style houses on the shore of Lake Baikal. Some 70 km from Irkutsk, it has a population of fewer than 2000 people. Among its places of interest are the Taltsy Village, an open-air museum of various preserved examples of wooden buildings, and the Baikal Limnology Museum, showcasing the ecology and history of the lake. This town is also home to a handful of sacred sites, including the Church of St Nicholas, Shaman Rock, and the Obo (sacred for the Buryat people who live in the region). The town features a number of shops selling local crafts and souvenirs to visitors.
Vladivostok
Vladivostok (the name means “Lord of the East”) sits on the Sea of Japan on Golden Horn Bay. The nation’s largest Pacific port, it is a major shipping and commercial fishing city and the home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet. The peninsula on which the city sits has been a possession of China, Mongolia, and others over the centuries before Russia acquired it in 1858 and built a naval outpost on the site the following year. With the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway, linking the city with distant Moscow, the economy of Vladivostok grew rapidly, and the city was heavily contested in the Russian Civil War before being taken by the Red Army in October 1922 in what would be the war’s final battle. Today the city is a gateway for travelers heading to China, Japan and South Korea and has a number of unique sites, including the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world and an extinct volcano, called Eagle’s Nest Hill, which offers stunning views of the city.
Vladivostok Railway Station
The foundation stone for the railway station was laid in 1891 by P.E. Bazilevsky, the station’s architect, with Crown Prince Nicholas (who would later become Tsar Nicholas II) in attendance. The station opened two years later, and trains began running between Vladivostok and Ussuriysk. When Moscow’s Yaroslavsky Station was built, this station was rebuilt in a matching design to stylistically connect the end points of the Trans-Siberian Railway. After several additional changes and updates, the station was updated in the 1990’s to recapture the original, pre-Revolution style.
Arseniev Museum
The Vladimir K. Arseniev Museum of Far East History was founded in 1884 by the Society of Study of the Amur Region and was opened to the public 6 years later. Seized by the Soviet state in 1925, it was named for explorer Vladimir Arseniev in 1945. The museum holds a number of artifacts ranging from the 16th through the 19th Centuries, as well as Ice Age fossils and exhibits relating to the indigenous peoples of the region.
Prices and Terms
Low Season
Nov 1st - Apr 30th
1st class
| 1 | $5289 |
| 2 | $3780 |
| 3 - 4 | $3556 |
| 5 - 6 | $3432 |
| single supplement | $416 |
2nd class
| 1 | $4425 |
| 2 | $2917 |
| 3 - 4 | $2692 |
| 5 - 6 | $2568 |
| single supplement | $416 |
High Season
May 1st - Oct 30th
1st class
| 1 | $5757 |
| 2 | $4248 |
| 3 - 4 | $4023 |
| 5 - 6 | $3900 |
| single supplement | $416 |
2nd class
| 1 | $4697 |
| 2 | $3188 |
| 3 - 4 | $2963 |
| 5 - 6 | $2840 |
| single supplement | $416 |
Prices are per person based on double occupancy in a specific hotel. If you travel in a group but decide to stay in a single room, please add the single supplement to the price. We offer discounts for groups of 7 or more. To inquire about group rates, please contact us.
Please note:
Train fares and schedules are subject to change without notice and the program may be slightly changed in this event. However, this will not influence the quality of the services and we will do our best to make your trip unforgettable!
Regular trains are used for these tours. On these trains, there is no WC your individual cabins and no shower on board. A different train is used for each leg of your journey. There is no guide accompanying you during your time on the train. A new guide will meet you by the train on arrival in each city and they will accompany you back to the train station on the last day in that particular city.
Every effort will be made to adhere to tour pricing, however, currency fluctuation is beyond our control and may affect final costs.
Prices include:
- Transfers airport to hotel / hotel to airport or train station to hotel / hotel to train station;
- Train tickets 1st (2-berth compartment*) or 2nd class (4-berth compartment);**
- Russian visa invitation (single entry).
- Bilingual guide for all programs (Russian/English);
- Accommodation in 3 star hotesl, DBL, B&B;
- Excursions according to programs;
- Entrance tickets to museums.;
- Free visa invitation - the document necessary for obtaining a Russian visa when applying for one at the local Russian Consulate in your country. PLEASE NOTE: your passport should be valid for no less than 6 months after the planned departure from Russia and it should have at least 2 blank pages. The process of applying for a visa may take a long time and we recommend that you start the process 3 months before your trip. In case you are booking the trip last minute, we recommend that you check with the Russian Consulate in your country to determine if you have enough time for the visa application process. In case you have to cancel your trip because of visa issues, our standard cancellation policy will be applied.
Single compartment in the train is available on request
Not included:
- Meals and snacks not listed in the program or listed as “optional”;
- Visa fees levied by the Russian, Mongolian and/or Chinese Embassies. For US, UK and Canadian citizens, our company offers Full Visa Support. With Full Visa Support, you send your passport and other documentation to us or our visa agent and we obtain the Russian visa for you.
- International airfare. Our Russian tours are offered as land only. Please arrange your own airfare and we will meet you at the airport and handle everything else on the ground in Russia.
- Fee for oversized and overweight luggage;
- Travel insurance. We highly recommend to purchase travel insurance before embarking on your trip to Russia. It’s always good to have extra protection while traveling far from home. Click here to learn more.
- Tips.
Payment policy:
To book a tour, a 30% deposit is required at the time of booking. The trip must be fully paid 61 days before departure.
Cancellation policy:
- 61 or more days before departure - a fee equal to 15% of the entire package will be charged.
- 60-15 days before departure - a fee equal to 30% of the entire package will be charged.
- 14 days or less before departure or no-show - a fee equal to 100% of the package will be charged.
Testimonials
Get ready to be whisked along on a smooth and magical ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Purchase your ticket safely and securely, then relax and let your train adventure begin!
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Our travel group under the names Express to Russia, Russian Rail and Trans-Europe Express has been recommended and/or accredited by:
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