The very notion that people would seek to travel (purposefully) to Siberia is something very new. Russia’s newfound ‘tourism industry’ is forming, and while Moscow and St Peterburg are indeed very open and essentially ready to receive tourists, once you leave Moscow, information becomes a little less available.
Like probably most of the people visiting this post, you are not currently living in the Russian Federation, there is a specific process to follow. Buying Russian train tickets on English website can be easy to do in the west, but it gets increasingly difficult to see the various options, inclusions, and exceptions, as soon as you search beyond Moscow-St Petersburg.
Booking Your Trip:
I would highly suggest starting at Real Russia. Even if you don’t end up using their services, they have an invaluable tool for route and stop planning. If you choose to use their services, they are easily the most reasonably priced (charging only a 2% commission on tickets booked, as opposed to sometimes as much as 20% from some competitors). They have an easy-to-understand website, English-speaking telephone/in person help, and they have an office in London.
Booking tickets through their site is easy to understand and they offer a variety of levels of service (if you just need tickets and prefer to travel independently, or all the way to 12, 14 and 21 day all inclusive guided tours).
Tickets must be picked up in the territory of the Russian federation (Moscow or Vladivostok most likely), but their offices are easy to find and they go through the tickets with you to ensure the information is correct.
Costs:
For mostly first class cabins with a meal included, expect to pay ~700£ from Moscow to Beijing. This would not be the fancier la rossiya train, as this trip would include a number of stops and thus, a change of train. These are two-bunk compartments, almost always with plug ins, televisions, air-conditioning and occasionally sinks.
For mostly second class (kupe) cabins with a meal included, expect to pay about 400£. These are four-bunk compartments with adequate luggage storage, but usually do not have plug ins or air-conditioning.
Third class (plazcarte) cabins are not usually recommended for foreigners. They are not compartments, but large dormitories with upwards of 50-75 narrow beds. Storage space and privacy are minimal to non-existent. There is no air conditioning and are no plug ins. Bedding is usually an extra charge, and there are rarely meals offered to be included in the ticket cost. Ticket costs are about a third of first class. (If this sounds enjoyable to you, or you would like to hear about an interesting experience I had the one time I had to travel in kupe class, check out my post here….it’s now a (somewhat) laughable story…)
Meals in the dining car (of which most trains have), cost between 5-10 USD including a drink.
Stops Along the Route:
In general, trains stop about once every hour or two. Sometimes these are quite short stops, but other times, you may have the opportunity to get off and stretch your legs. Make sure not to wander far from your car, as a brief whistle is all you’ll hear before the train pulls away. The TransSiberian waits for no one!
At the absolute minimum, you should allow for a few days in Irlutsl to explore Lake Bailal; the largest freshwater lake in the world. Here I include more tips and suggestions for itineraries.
Also concerning itineraries: A paperback copy of The TransSiberian Train by Thomas should be brought, as it details a mile-by-mile ‘what am I looking at’ guide, as well as cultural advise and itinerary suggestions. Unfortunately, it is not yet available as an ebook.
Visas
Some 120+ countries require a visa for entry to Russia. For most countries, this is an incredibly long, detailed and expensive process. Unless you live in a city with a Russian consulate or embassy, I would suggest using a visa consular service. This will help you avoid having to fly to your nearest Russian embassy to have an intense in-person interview. Consular services act as middlemen and can handle a large variety of questions from the Russian authorities. While there is a cost involved for their services, it is most likely less than a flight/hotel deal to the Russian embassy closest to you.
If you are in Canada or the United States, I would suggest CIBTvisas (.ca and .com respectively). If you are in other countries, they can make suggestions on who might be able to help.
The visa process takes several hours to complete and a variety of information about your trip is needed. Accommodations must be books, a tourist invitation letter must be issued, and you should have details about the last ten years of your travel history. After all this, you pay between 200-500 USD, and hope that the Russian government sees fit to allow you to spend even more money in their country. Despite the hassle, I promise, to visit the country is well worth it!
A Russian tourist visa can be valid for up to 30 days, and this is definitely the easiest and least expensive visa option. It would be best to try and keep the trip through Russia to less than 30 days. Remember to watch your exit/entry time if you are doing so by train. Many trains out of Moscow cross the border after midnight, which means you will face consequences for overstaying your visa (even if only by an hour or two, or even if you borded the train on your exit day. Just do it right! Consequences can be as simple as a fine but as serious as jail time and travel bans).
While the TransSiberian train journey needs a certain amount of pre planning, it is well worth the effort, and once onboard the train, there is little to do but relax and enjoy the incredible journey. For more details on the journey and my impressions, check out this post.
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