BootsnAll Travel Community

I guess I'll take any and all info, personal accounts (good or bad), advice, etc... about traveling the trans-siberian railway from Moscow to Beijing (down thru Mongolia).

I'm curious as to how people arranged their flights (from the U.S.) to Moscow and then back home from Beijing. Flying from Minneapolis, it looks like I need to go east thru Frankfort or Amsterdam to Moscow. Then back home from Beijing across the pacific thru somewhere.

Chuck

If you poke around the Asia, Europe and Around the world and Vagabonding fora a bit, you'll find plenty of info on the trans-sib and trans-mongolian railways.

I kept a blog during my 2004 travels in Siberia and Mongolia: http://tblogs.bootsnall.com/karlien

quote:

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I did the vodkatrain(vodkatrain.com.au) in the middle of winter (only time to do it I say!) - Helsinki-St Pet-Moscow-Irkustk-Ulaan Bataar-Beijing...

Am still writing about it!!

Defo go via Mongolia...

Some other links in my blog here: http://jb72.blogspot.com/2005/09/trans-siberian-here-i-come.html

Hate to be a wise-ass (no I don't), but doing a search is really not a difficult thing:

Search for Tran-Sib post in 2006-2007

The sum of all my posts in those threads (must be dozens):

a) Travel Platskartny
b) Don't just stop in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinenburg and Irkutsk
c) Allocate AT LEAST 1 month for Russia
d) Buy the tickets at the local train station (vokzal)
e) Get off the 'Trans-Sib' as much as you can. You can spend as much time as you like in trains in Russia...you don't have to do Pjeter to Vladivostok to do the 'real' thing.
f) If you want to get to China 'off the beaten track', go through Kazakhstan - (Kyrgyzstan) - Kashgar/Urumqii - Bejing

a.

Awww, I've been dreaming about this ultimate train trip for a few years now! I could start from my hometown and end up on the other side of the world travelling only by train. So far it's only a dream without any true intention for realization, but some day I will make it. Some day...

My dream is becoming fast looming reality

I leave Manchester in the UK on the 27th July and will be overland all the way to Shanghai!

I'd been thinking about doing this trip for ages and was spurred on that final amount after watching Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman. For those that dont know they travelled from London to New york on motorbikes, only getting a plane to alaska from magadan.

Anyway it was seeing Mongolia that tipped the scales so I got digging for information.

I found an extremely useful site which I'm sure you know about already which is seat61.com. From there I got all the info I needed regarding the train tickets.

Although I know that the suggested way is to turn up and buy the tickets in Moscow to save money I dont have that luxory as I am only away for a measly month and then I have to go back to work So as a compromise I have gone through a Russian agency for my tickets which is more than the tickets direct in Moscow granted but are way cheaper that using an UK agent. I used a site called connectrussia. For the trans-sib you can now pre-book tickets with agents who get the tickets on advance sale a few days before they are released to the public.

What I have found useful is to keep a spreadsheet with all the information in that I need regarding intineraries, costs, visa info etc etc. Again I would never normally dream of doing this and usually just rock up to a country and see what happens but given the complexity of the trip and the short time I have to do it in then I'm forced into this level of organisation.

A good tip for you is not to forget your Belarussian transit visa if you are coming in from Europe as if you dont have it you are hauled off the train and subjected to a CLMF (Crippling last minute fee) that I'm sure isnt an official fee

Anyway I hope you enjoy the trip, if you fancy swapping hints/tips organisation points etc feel free to pm me!

Cheers

Chris

Chris,

I am only back a few weeks from drivng from Vladivostok to Europe. Although we didn't go on the train the "ROAD???" followed it and the towns we stayed in are the same as you will stop in.

My wife Bev did a regular report of the trip. Might give you an idea of the fabulous country and more fabulous Russian people.

Click on "Latest News" then go to the archives to get all the story.

Lang