Itinerary
With all tours originating in the Pacific city of Vladivostok you are guaranteed a memorable journey through Asia, Siberia and European Russia passing breathtaking landscapes such as the Ural Mountains and the awe-inspiring Lake Baikal. For a detailed breakdown of this tour, please download our free Trans-Russian tour brochure which includes a day to day account of what you will see and do, along with tour prices and information regarding your accommodation.
Day 1 - Arrival in Vladivostok
Your tour starts in Vladivostok, where your transfer will be waiting for you at the airport, or train station, to take you to your accommodation.
Day 2 - Free Day in Vladivostok
Today your adventure starts, you have the freedom to explore, and experience, the city of Vladivostok at your leisure.
Day 3 - Depart Vladivostok
Pack, and prepare to check-out, then make the most of what Vladivostok has to offer on your final day in the city before you are provided with a transfer to the railway station, where our guide will advise, and assist, in purchasing provisions for the train if desired, accompany you to the platform, ensure that everyone is settled into their cabins and answer any last minute questions.
Day 4 - Into the Far East
Your first full day on the train takes you through Khabarovsk, the largest city and the administrative centre of the vast region that is twice the size of Germany, but with a population of only around 1 million people. It is the second largest city in the Far East after Vladivostok and home of many natural wonders including the famous White Siberian Tiger and the Amur River.
Day 5 - Siberian Hinterlands
You will spend all day on the train heading towards Lake Baikal, winding through the Siberian hinterlands, along the border with China, after a brief stop in Chita.
Day 6 - Arrival in Irkutsk
Following your arrival in Irkutsk, you will be taken to your accommodation. You will then have a full day to explore, and experience, the city.
Day 7 - Free Day in Irkutsk
Today is left free to relax, explore, experience, shop or book one of our many optional excursions.
Day 8 - Free Day in Irkutsk
Today is left free to relax, explore, experience, shop or book one of our many optional excursions.
Day 9 - Depart Irkutsk
There will be a transfer from the hotel to the railway station to catch your train for the next leg of your Trans–Siberian journey, on through Siberia and on to Moscow.
Day 10 - Venturing into Siberia
Through the seemingly limitless tracks and incredible forests of Siberia (the largest forest in the world), you will be passing through the mighty Altai region, crossing the River Yenisei at Krasnoyarsk.
Day 11 - Heading into Eurasia
After passing through Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia, the train will head for the historic Yekaterinburg and the Ural Mountains, crossing the border between Asia and Europe, around 1,000 miles east of Moscow.
Day 12 - European Russia
Spending the day on the train, you will head past the ex-military city of Perm, the great industrial city of Kirov, and the beautiful cities of the Golden Ring.
Day 13 - Arrive in Moscow
At the end of this day you will reach your destination, the Russian Capital of Moscow, where your transfer will be waiting to pick you up.
Explore, Discover, Experience
Real Russia has drawn on years of experience in the region to create three ranges of our tours and a wide selection of options to give you maximum choice and flexibility in choosing your Trans-Siberian adventure.
As an ‘Explore Range’ tour, this tour has been designed for independent-minded travellers, who like to plan their adventures themselves, with some of the heavy lifting done for them by experts. Real Russia will book trains, transfers and selected 2* and 3* hotels or home stays.
To view this tour in the other ranges, then please select from the options shown below, or, if you are ready to start your adventure with Real Russia, then simply press “Request Tour” and we will get started!
Includes
All our tours include:
- Domestic and international rail tickets
- Transfers for all departures and arrivals at each city
- A transfer with a personal guide to accompany you to the train on the start of your journey
- Russian letter of invitation
- Breakfast at all hotels, homestays and other accommodation
This tour includes:
This tour does not include:
- In tour spending money (all accommodation, excursions, transfers and other tour elements are fully paid prior to departure)
- Flights or other travel arrangements to tour joining point
- Meals, unless specified in the itinerary
Explore, Discover, Experience
Real Russia has drawn on years of experience in the region to create three ranges of our tours and a wide selection of options to give you maximum choice and flexibility in choosing your Trans-Siberian adventure.
As an ‘Explore Range’ tour, this tour has been designed for independent-minded travellers, who like to plan their adventures themselves, with some of the heavy lifting done for them by experts. Real Russia will book trains, transfers and selected 2* and 3* hotels or home stays.
To view this tour in the other ranges, then please select from the options shown below, or, if you are ready to start your adventure with Real Russia, then simply press “Request Tour” and we will get started!
Overview
Your tour begins in the Russian Far East, in the city of Vladivostok before moving on towards Siberia, making a three night stopover in Irkutsk, close to the majesty of the worlds largest freshwater lake, Lake Baikal. You will move westward through the vast steppes and forests of Eurasia, passing the Ural Mountains into European Russia before finally arriving in Moscow. With our trusted 2* and 3* hotels or home-stay accommodation and arranged transfers to and from train stations, you are free to explore the real side of Russia.
Tour dates 2019
| Jan |
Feb |
March |
April |
May |
June |
July |
Aug |
Sept |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| 5 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
| 12 |
9 |
9 |
14 |
13 |
8 |
13 |
10 |
14 |
12 |
9 |
14 |
| 19 |
16 |
16 |
21 |
20 |
15 |
20 |
17 |
21 |
19 |
16 |
21 |
| 26 |
23 |
23 |
28 |
27 |
22 |
27 |
24 |
28 |
26 |
23 |
28 |
| |
|
30 |
|
|
29 |
|
31 |
|
|
30 |
|
Prices
| |
Second Class |
|
First Class |
| No. of people |
£ |
€ |
$ |
|
£ |
€ |
$ |
| 1 |
£1,650.00 |
€1,900.00 |
$2,170.00 |
|
£2,170.00 |
€2,500.00 |
$2,855.00 |
| 2 |
£1,305.00 |
€1,505.00 |
$1,720.00 |
|
£1,830.00 |
€2,100.00 |
$2,400.00 |
| 3 |
£1,360.00 |
€1,565.00 |
$1,790.00 |
|
£1,880.00 |
€2,165.00 |
$2,475.00 |
| 4 |
£1,290.00 |
€1,480.00 |
$1,695.00 |
|
£1,810.00 |
€2,080.00 |
$2,375.00 |
| 5 |
£1,325.00 |
€1,520.00 |
$1,740.00 |
|
£1,845.00 |
€2,120.00 |
$2,425.00 |
| 6+ |
£1,275.00 |
€1,470.00 |
$1,680.00 |
|
£1,795.00 |
€2,065.00 |
$2,360.00 |
Below is a selection of recent testimonials received from Real Russia customers …
"The whole tour was absolutely amazing ..."
Ben
"Everything was perfect, the guides, the hotels, the tours and the trains. The trip was beyond our expectations. I will happily recommend you to anyone. Thank you!!!"
Cynthia and Craig
"I just wanted to say that your thoughtfulness and attention to detail made for just a wonderful holiday. We have sung your praises so many times ..."
Barbara & Jan-Erik
"I don't see how you could do better. I couldn't recommend you more highly."
Jane
"I just wanted to thank you for your excellent services! Everything went brilliant and we enjoyed the Transiberian/Mongolian railway a lot. We will recommend you everywhere."
Michal
"Now that our Russian adventure has come to an end we want to let you know how much we enjoyed the tour. Your excellent planning and arrangements really resulted in a trip that more than met our expectations. It was truly the trip of a lifetime."
Alan and Gail
"The trip has been wonderful It has exceeded our expectations! You have done a wonderful job, congratulations to you and Real Russia!"
Cinthia and Craig
"We had a fantastic trip through Russia, Mongolia and China. It simply can't be described in words :-) It's one of those life changing experiences."
Guro and Thomas
"We had an amazing journey and loved every minute of it. Your organization of the tour was excellent and everything went to plan. The trip was made very interesting by the informative and very pleasant guides we had in the major cities – they looked after us very well, were always on the platform to meet us and ensured we got the next train. That certainly took the worry out of the trip. The way the tour was organized allowed us plenty of free time after we had the introduction to the city. All the hotels were good, the Imperia Park in St Petersburg was excellent for friendliness and location (away from the main tourist area but near the underground). The hotel in Moscow was also in an interesting location and suited us very well (although quite a walk to the underground) and gave us a flavour of soviet style hotels.
Our time in Yekaterinburg was most enjoyable, the hotel was excellent and our tour guide an amazing and informative man who ensured we got the best from his city. Lake Baikal and Irkutsk were cold, sunny but again very interesting – the Circum-Baikal railway was a definite highlight of the trip – it was a lovely day and the al fresco lunch with pine nut vodka will stay with us for a long time. Ulan Bator was a very different experience, despite the dreadful driving conditions we had an excellent guide and most importantly a very careful driver. The Ger camp was set in an amazing valley away from the main camps and was quite delightful – and the visit to a local herdsman was memorable.
I could continue to write about our trip for several hours but I am sure you can see that we had a wonderful time. We would like to thank Real Russia for their excellent organization, from the original enquiries, the visa service, hotels, train tickets and the partner guides in the various cities. All of these things ensured that we had a trouble free experience and we would highly recommend Real Russia for anyone thinking about travel in Russia. If you require any more detailed feedback we would be happy to do so.
Once again, many many thanks for helping us to go on this trip."
Andrea and Maurice
"Nick and I have just got back to the UK after a fantastic two-week adventure on the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian routes, and I just wanted to write to you to register our big, big thanks!
You, and all the team at Real Russia, have done just the best job for us. You've been terrific from the start when we had lots of options and lots of changes of mind, and you were wonderfully patient and advised us very well. Once the itinerary was finalised you did briliantly with all the tickets and visas on time, everything clearly described, and all 100 per cent ready to go.
All the arrangements worked out perfectly. We've been delighted. You and Real Russia deserve all credit for a wonderful job and, again, many many thanks!
All best wishes"
John and Nick
For other testimonials – see our Testimonials page
Tours Overview Brochure
Trans-Siberian Rail Route Brochures
Trans-Russian
- Travelling the length of Russia
- Trans-Siberian Express:
10 days Moscow to Vladivostock direct
- Classic Trans-Siberian:
13 days Moscow to Vladivostok via Irkutsk and Lake Baikal
- Vladivostok Voyager:
16 days Moscow to Vladivostok via Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk and Lake Baikal
Trans-Manchurian
- Travelling through Russia and China
- Beijing Express:
10 days Moscow to Beijing through Manchuria
- Siberian Eye:
14 days Moscow to Beijing via Irkutsk, Lake Baikal and Manchuria
Trans-Mongolian
- Travelling through Russia, Mongolia and China
- Trans-Mongolian Express:
9 days Moscow to Beijing direct
- Three Capitals:
13 days Moscow to Beijing via Ulan-Bator
- Classic Trans-Mongolian:
17 days Moscow to Beijing via Irkutsk, Lake Baikal and Ulan-Bator
- Real Eurasian:
19 days Moscow to Beijing via Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal and Ulan-Bator