Lake Baikal-Mongolia-China
An incredible journey through Russia- Mongolia-China on the famous Trans Siberian Express.
Experience Siberia’s remote wilderness and discover Mongolian Nomadic life,
spending a night in a traditional felt ger in the
Sacred Tuul River valley.
Day 2: Moscow. Moscow is a dramatic city with wide streets and a collection of hugely impressive buildings. This morning head towards Red Square with your guide and enjoy a sightseeing tour of the Kremlin and see the palaces, cathedrals and the armory. The afternoon is free for your own sightseeing. Meals Included: Breakfast Day 3: Moscow – On Board Train. Meals Included: Breakfast Day 4: On Board Train. Travel eastwards on the Trans-Siberian railway through endless forests of birch and pine and passing traditional villages. Day 5: On Board Train. Spend the day relaxing and enjoying the Ural scenery from your window. Pass Ekaterinburg and continue eastwards towards Siberia. Day 6: On Board Train – Irkutsk. Another day on board to catch up on your reading as you travel across the Yenisei River at Krasnoyarsk. Day 7: Irkutsk. Arrive this morning in Irkutsk and transfer to your hotel. Visit the Trubetskoy and Volkonsky houses, the regional museum and Znamensky Monastery. There is time to wander around the town and admire the charming wooden cottages with their lacy, wood-carved decoration, typical of Siberia. Day 8: Irkutsk – Lake Baikal – Irkurtsk. Today drive to Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world. On the way visit an open air museum of Siberian architecture and continue to the charming village of Listvianka on the shores of the lake where you can go for a walk. Meals Included: Breakfast Day 9: Irkutsk – On Board Train. Enjoy your beautiful surroundings with a cruise on Lake Baikal and visit the Limnological Institute before returning to Irkutsk where you will board the overnight train. Meals Included: Breakfast Day 10: On Board Train. Day 11: Ulaan Baatar – Tuul River Valley. On arrival at the station this morning, you will be met and driven to the Sacred Tuul River Valley. This afternoon explore the area on foot or on horseback. Mongolia’s real attraction lies in its pristine, untouched wilderness and rich nomadic culture and tonight you will sleep in a comfortable ger, the nomad’s traditional round felt tent. Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner Day 12: Tuul River Valley – Ulaan Baatar. This morning you can either go trekking, swimming or rafting in the Tuul River or ride on Mongolian horses into the foothills of the mountains and along the river. This afternoon drive to the Terelj National Park, famous for its amazing rock formations, untouched alpine scenery and varied fauna. Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch Day 13: Ulaan Baatar. After breakfast discover the Mongolian capital with your guide on a full day tour. Visit Sukhe Bator Square and the Bogd Khan Palace – home to Mongolia’s last king – and its museum. Continue to the Gandan Monastery and the Museum of Mongolian History Meals Included: Breakfast Day 14: Ulaan Baatar – On Board Train. Transfer to the train station for the last leg of your epic journey. The train departs in the morning and the rest of the day will be spent on board. You will cross the Mongolian – Chinese border where trains need to be lifted and bogies changed due to different size tracks. Meals Included: Breakfast Day 15: Beijing. Arrive into Beijing station in the early afternoon where you will be met. The rest of the day is left free. Day 16: Fly Beijing – London. Transfer to the airport for your return flight to London. Meals Included: Planning your trip… 1. When to go? What class of sleeper to use? What’s Trans-Siberian travel like? Is it safe? It’s perfectly safe, even for families, and you can go at any time of year as the Trans-Siberian Railway operates all year round. However, the summer months from May to September have the best weather and the longest hours of daylight so are the most popular. On board the trains, ‘Kupé’ 4-berth sleepers (2nd class) is the usual choice for most westerners. 2-berth ’spalny vagon’ costs twice the price and is only for people who aren’t concerned about the cost. See Trans-Siberian travel tips for more advice on each of these issues. 2. Decide on your route & final destination… The Trans-Siberian Railway doesn’t just go to Vladivostok. It links Europe with China, Japan, Korea, even Vietnam and South East Asia. How about going to Beijing? Shanghai? Hong Kong? Tokyo? Tibet? See the interactive Trans-Siberian route map to open your eyes to the possibilities offered by the Trans-Siberian Railway. You can even reach Hanoi, Saigon, Bangkok or Singapore overland from London. Vladivostok is an interesting place for a day or two, but not worth a 7 day journey from Moscow unless you’re catching the ferry to Japan or Korea. Beijing is a better choice of destination than Vladivostok, an amazing city that’s well worth the trip. And the Trans-Mongolian is arguably the most interesting route, with great views of the Gobi desert and a chance to stop off in Mongolia on the way. But why end your trip in Beijing? Shanghai or Xian are just an overnight train ride away. How about Japan? There are ferries from Shanghai to Japan and a ferry from Vladivostok to Japan. There’s even a twice-weekly train from Beijing to Hanoi in Vietnam taking 2 nights, 1 day (see the Vietnam page), then you can take daily trains to Saigon, a bus to Phnom Penh and on to Bangkok, then a train to Malaysia & Singapore, see the Cambodia & Thailand pages. 3. Do you want to make the whole trip in one go, or to stop off on the way? Travelling to Vladivostok in 7 days without stopovers can be tedious, and it is better the break up the journey and see something of Siberia. On the other hand, the more varied scenery and camaraderie on board the direct Moscow-Beijing trains makes non-stop travel on these trains a very enjoyable option and maximises your time in China. If you’d like to stop off, the best stopovers are Irkutsk in Siberia and Ulan Bator in Mongolia. Ekaterinberg & Ulan Ude are also worth a stop if you have more time to spare. To help decide if and where to stop off, buy a copy of Bryn Thomas’ truly excellent Trans-Siberian Handbook, with journey planning information, town guides, the history of the line, and best of all, a mile-by-mile guide to the sights you can see from the train, to help you get the most from your trip. The Lonely Planet Trans-Siberian Railways guide is also good. 4. Plan your Trans-Siberian trains… There is no such train as the ‘Trans-Siberian Express’ but a whole range of trains across Siberia, including many Russian domestic trains plus a handful of direct international trains to Mongolia and China. Plan your trains using the Trans-Siberian timetable below or the Real Russia Trans-Siberian trip planner. Within Russia, there are both faster quality ‘firmeny’ trains & slower cheaper trains, it’s your call. Fares are shown in the fares section. 5. How much will it cost? How long will it take? How to plan your own itinerary and budget… I suggest sketching out an itinerary and budget using the method explained on the How to plan an itinerary & budget page. In terms of cost, It all depends on what you want to do. But for the cheapest trip put together yourself, you can buy a Moscow-Beijing 2nd class train ticket for around £500, and add London-Moscow train tickets for another £200. Use the the Real Russia Trans-Siberian trip planner to get a good idea of cost, even if you pick a date before you actually intend to travel. You’ll also need at least 1 night in a hotel in Moscow, and of course budget for visas for Russia, China and possibly Mongolia and Belarus. In terms of time, London to Beijing with a one day stopover in Moscow takes around 10 days, London to Beijing with 2-days in Irkutsk and 3 days in Ulan Bator in Mongolia would take 15 days. London to Tokyo or Hanoi with stopovers in Moscow and Vladivostok takes about 14 days. You could reach Bangkok in around 20 days. But where and how long you stop off is up to you. Send your inquiry to; Mr. Tulga
If you have a group of friends or relatives, or are part of a club or organisation, and would like to travel on a private tour organised by Nomadic Trails – either using an existing Nomadic Trails itinerary, guide and departure date or by tailor-making a trip of your own – we’d be happy to help. In fact, we feel this offers the best of both worlds, enabling you to tailor-make your holiday, travel when you like, and with exactly who you want! Not only that but by arranging your own group you can qualify for significant discounts. If you manage to get 10 passengers we will give 1 place free of charge; if you get 8 passengers we will give the lead booker a 50% discount; and if you get 6 passengers we will give the lead booker a 25% discount.* ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Day 1: Fly London – Moscow. Depart on the morning British Airways flight to Moscow. On arrival transfer to your hotel.
Nomadic Trails Co.ltd.,
Bayangol District, 6r khoroo, Aminii Oron suuts 11 7B
Ulaanbaatar 44 P.O. Box 793 Mongolia
Tel/fax: + 976 11 68 82 56
Mobile: +976 9904 0894
Private Groups
