BootsnAll Travel Community

Well, this year I've finally decided to do the TranSiberian rail trip. I'm doing it with Intrepid, rather than independently because I don't have much time and want to take out some of the guess work. Anyway, I'm a big fan of guide books, because I enjoy reading up and learning about the destinations as I'm on my way to them. However, this trip goes through three countries (China, Mongolia, Russia) and many different cities. I'm wondering what is the best solution for tourbooks short of bringing stacks of different books. Lonely Planet has a Transiberian book, which sounds like it would be perfect, but the reviews I've read on it haven't been too great.

hi redleader, i had to laugh in place, as i am from hayward, cali - your next door neighbor - small world! you are going trans-siberian? have you ever read cendrars' "transsiberian" poem? it is one of my dreams too. i have a few little booklets from the forties and fifties which describe this journey, outdated but brilliant. have you considered starting your journey from st. petersburg? i think i will start there with the state hermitage and all the french painters there. baikal would be great, and ulan ude, ulannbataar too for naadam- never mind me, caught me with wine and fantasies in hand. transsiberian yes!

Technically, you're talking about the Trans-Manchurian or the Trans-Mongolian, and not the actual Trans-Siberian. (You'll come onto the tracks of the Trans-Siberian soon after crossing the border to Russia, but you'll have "missed out" on more than half of Siberia by then.) The real Trans-Siberian travels between Moscow and Vladivostok, entirely within Russia.

A lot of travelers I've met say they want to go on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Few of them actually know much about what the trip is like. So, I decided to write a book about it. You can get it for free from http://bjornfree.com/ (It's one of the chapters, available as a separate download.) The short version is that the trip itself is relatively boring, and you really should bring someone to talk to, as it can be difficult to find people speaking anything but Russian. Unless the train you're on happens to be full of tourists, that is.

Also, just taking the train without getting off it every now and then is a senseless waste of travel time. You really need to make some stops and understand that Moscow/St. Petersburg is one thing and Russia is something completely different. And to make those stops, you need a guide book to tell you what to do and where to go, because there sure aren't any helpful tourist information offices to be found anywhere east of Moscow. The Lonely Planet one is fine, but not excellent. However, in addition you MUST learn to read Cyrillic before you go. Fortunately that isn't very difficult. And remember to smile encouraging at anyone that looks friendly. Maybe they'll come over to practice the little English they know, and they just might improve your trip much more than any guide book ever could.

Happy trails/tracks,

Bjørn

I couldn't agree more with uspn. People tend to do the 'Trans-Sib' as one of those checklist items; Sitting in a train for 6 days and basically missing out on what is not only the largest country in the world, but also a country worthwhile taking time for. Eventually you end up talking about the crossing of the border, Irkutsk, Pijeter and Moscow - like everybody else.

Also, there is no need whatsoever to do this through an international operator (nor an operator altogether for that matter). There's no guess work in crossing Russia in one train. Buy the ticket, get on the train, get off the train in Irkutsk/Moscow/St. Petersburg. You wouldn't use a tour operator for a flight from New York to Paris, would you now?

As for guide books - they all seemed outdated to me. LP has quite a bit of wrong information on accommodation and wrong maps. But, if you learn Cyrillic and about 10 sentences in Russian, you'll get by without a guidebook. (General rule is: there is some sort of accommodation in every larger town in Russia).
Accommodation is all I use guide books for anyhow (more the indication that there is accom in a destination than the actual recommendations) - all other information about a town (cultural, historical, lifestyle, etc.) you are better off getting from local resources anyhow.