Down the Trans-Siberian Railway: 9 298 km from Moscow to Vladivostok
This train route is for those full of passion. Join us on a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway: 9 298 km from Moscow to Vladivostok.
This is a journey across two continents, 89 Russian cities, 16 large rivers and seven time zones. We will pass the longest bridge across the Amur River (2 568 meters) and follow the shore of Lake Baikal. Plus, we will see a unique railway station made entirely of marble. We will travel in the comfort of Russian train cars serviced by stewards, while we are sipping endless cups of tea from a samovar.
Along the way, we will often get off the train to see how the local people live to learn their traditions, culture and history and to visit the most interesting sites on the route: Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Stolby Reserve, Irkutsk, the Taltsy Open-air Museum, Listvyanka, the phenomenal Lake Baikal, Slyudyanka, Ulan-Ude, Chita, Birobidzhan (the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast), Khabarovsk and, finally, Vladivostok. Come with us on a journey and explore the Trans-Siberian main line!
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, no trips to Russia are planned for the coming year.
ITINERARY:
Day 1
Morning flight to Moscow, short tour around the city center according to time possibilities (Red Square, GUM, Kremlin or St. Basil's Cathedral). In the evening taking the train of Trans-Siberian Main Railway from Yaroslavsky Station.
Day 2
The first stop will be Kazan, the center of the Tatar republic stretching from the Volga River. We will visit the historical center, the local Kremlin, the mosque and the Volga coast. We will spend the next night on the train again.
Day 3
Trip to Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk), is a city on the border of Europe and Asia, in the center of the Ural Mountains. We will see the Church of the Blood, which is located in the place where the Bolsheviks murdered the tsarist family in 1918. We will go further by night train.
Day 4
The train stops in Novosibirsk, the largest city of Siberia, located on the river Ob. We will see there, among others, the center, the dam of a giant hydropower plant and we will visit the local museum. In the evening we move on by train.
Day 5
We get off in Krasnoyarsk. This time we will change the city tour for a walk around the sensational Stolby reserve. The name of the reserve refers to the shapes of the outposts there, whose height reaches 90m. There are gigantic towers and pillars, and even shapes reminiscent of petrified "haystacks".
Day 6-7
We get to Irkutsk, where we will leave the train for a long time. We stay for two nights in the city. We will see the center with original wooden houses, the Decembrist museum, the Angara River coast and the local market. We will go to the Talcy open-air museum where we will get acquainted with the culture of the Evenks and Siberian settlers. We also reach Listvyanka and visit the museum of Lake Baikal with the aquarium, where fairy tale seals live. We will not miss the market with roasted and smoked mussels, freshly picked from Baikal. Through Angara, close to the Shamansky Stone, we will sail all the way to the Port Baikal station, the former Krugobaikalka station.
Day 8
In the morning we will take a train to Sludyanka, located on the shore of the deepest lake in the world, Baikal. We will be there to admire probably the only station in the world built entirely of marble. The construction of the station ended in 1904 - it is a monument commemorating the suffering and sacrifices incurred in the construction of a unique, based on a complex structure of the Krugobaikalskaya Railway. We will also have time to swim in Baikal and walk to the valley of Chamar Daban massif, near the romantic river Sludyanka. Then we will get on the train again and we will go on a further journey.
Day 9
Ulan Ude - is the capital of the Buryat Republic, with a very interesting Buddhist temple (dacan) in Ivolginsk. We will see the greatest head of Lenin and the old district of traders with houses richly decorated with wooden ornaments. The open-air museum of Buryatia's architecture will also be interesting. And what the plan for the evening? Well, hit the road again!
Day 10-11
The next stop is Chita, a former fortress of colonizers of Siberia. We will also see the museum of Zabaikalskye Railways. This time on the train we will spend 2 nights and all day.
Day 12
Who would not stay in Birobidzhan as it is along the way?! After all, it is the capital of the Jewish Autonomous District with an extremely interesting history. We will see the city, the synagogue and the center of Jewish culture. Then we will go to Khabarovsk, the capital of the Russian Far East, 20km from the Chinese border.
Day 13-14
We reach the final destination of our trip! Vladivostok on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. We are staying in the city and we will go on a tour, during which we will see, among others, museum of submarines and new, huge aquarium on the Russian Island.
Day 15
That day we are coming back home by plane.
PRICE INCLUDES:
• Warsaw-Moscow-Warsaw flight ticket with all fees
• domestic flight Vladivostok-Moscow with all fees
• transfer between airports in Moscow and Vladivostok
• shared transport by train, local buses, rented marshrutkas and a boat
• accommodation: 10x on the train and 4x in the hostel in dormitory rooms
• care of an English-speaking guide
• information materials and maps
• obligatory insurance guarantee for the travel agency
• insurance of accident insurance and KL and luggage insurance up to 200 Euro
• a mandatory fee for the State Tourist Guarantee Fund (TFG) for each person
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:
• visa to Russia
• food
• fees for baggage storage and showers
• tickets
FLIGHT:
The place of departure is WARSAW or MOSCOW. In case you wish to travel from another destination or book flights on your own, please contact us for price quotation for this trip.
RUSSIAN TRAINS:
Traveling on Russian trains is comfortable even over long distances. Russian trains run on wide tracks, which is why they are bigger. Sleeping cars are equipped like ours - there are four beds in the car, a small table, a lamp and a luggage room. Travelers are looked after by a steward or stewardess. A samovar with hot water and a toilet are available at all times. In the compartment there is a 220V socket which sometimes even works.
VISA:
We are mediating for the willing participants to get a group visa.
ACCOMODATION:
Accommodation is organized in clean and checked hostels in Irkutsk and Vladivostok. Bedding, towel, shower, kitchen and internet are available. There is a possibility of buying a place in 2-person sleeping cars for additional fee (kupe) but that is not possible in all trains. You must be aware, however, that 2-person compartments are usually in a different car, separated from the rest of the group.
FOOD:
Catering participants organize themselves with the guide's support. You can dine on a train in a restaurant car. There are many shops at the stations to buy missing products. At train stations, in the vicinity of the train, babushkas sell dumplings and other delicacies (although unfortunately they are less and less frequent). Shops in cities are very well equipped. Local specialties are available. Bistros on the train stations offer basic Russian food - borshch, kashas, fried fish, chops, etc.
GROUP:
We travel in small groups. The minimum number of people on the trip is 7, maximum 15.
WEATHER:
On our route the weather will be varied, what we have to be prepared for. During the April expedition, in the Far East and more distant places of Siberia, we will still be surrounded by winter scenery. The temperature in Moscow will reach approx. 10 degrees Celsius. In Siberian cities (Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude), the temperature can drop to zero. September is much warmer - the temperature varies between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius this month.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• The itinerary may change depending on the date of departure, weather and other factors.
• Learn more about general conditions of participation and find out how to sign up for a trip.
• The organizer of the trip is Active Travel Agency Barents.pl