Trans-Siberian Railway: Beijing to St. Petersburg

Trans-Siberian Railway: Beijing to St. Petersburg

Day 1: Beijing

欢迎, or in other words... Welcome to China! From Beijing airport, we'll take you to a centrally located hotel in the city.

After a few hours of rest in your room, we'll pick you up and take you on a tour of Beijing's traditional neighbourhoods, called Hutongs. This route will take place on board very popular vehicles in Asia, which are called rickshaws. We'll also visit the Shichahai Lake area and the Drum Tower. Finally, we'll drop you off at your hotel and you'll have the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 2: Beijing

We'll pick you up from your hotel and drive to Tiananmen Square for a guided tour of the Forbidden City. In this monumental jewel, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we'll discover its most beautiful corners.

Our next stop will be the Summer Palace, before heading to Badaling, where we'll walk along a section of the Great Wall of China! We'll conclude the tour by returning to Beijing, where we'll stop at the 2008 Olympic Games Park. From there we'll take you back to your hotel in the Chinese capital, where you'll have the afternoon at leisure.

Day 3: Beijing - Ulaanbaatar

After a free morning in the Chinese capital, you'll be picked up at your hotel and transferred to the airport, where you'll take a flight to Ulaanbaatar. Upon arrival, you'll be picked up and transferred to your hotel where you'll spend the night. 

Day 4: Ulaanbaatar

You will have this day free to rest and discover Ulaanbaatar on your own - welcome to the capital of Mongolia!

Day 5: Ulaanbaatar - Terelj

From your hotel in Ulaanbaatar, we'll depart for the Mongolian countryside to see the colossal 40-metre high equestrian statue of Genghis Khan. Continue to the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, where you'll see a curious rock in the shape of a turtle.

Our final stop will be at a camp in Terelj. There we'll settle into gers, the typical Mongolian tents, and share our experiences of the journey with a nomadic steppe family.

Day 6: Terelj - Ulaanbaatar

After saying goodbye to the steppe family and having breakfast with them at the camp, we'll return to the capital of Mongolia for a tour of Ulaanbaatar. On this tour, we'll visit the Gandantegchinlin Monastery and the Natural History Museum, where we'll see its large collection of dinosaur fossils from the Gobi Desert.

In the afternoon, which you'll have at your leisure, you can visit other museums in Ulaanbaatar on your own.

Day 7: Ulaanbaatar - Irkutsk

You'll have the morning free in the capital of Mongolia and in the evening you'll be taken to Ulaanbaatar station for another night train. You'll start the Trans-Mongolian Railway Route, which will take you to Russian territory. First stop? The Siberian city of Irkutsk.

Day 8: Irkutsk - Listvyanka

You'll arrive in Irkutsk around 3 pm. From the station, you'll be taken to a hotel in Listvyanka, a picturesque village on the shores of Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world! You'll have the rest of the day at leisure in this beautiful village.

Day 9: Listvyanka

Free day in Listvyanka, which you can use to visit the Lake Baikal Museum or the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas.

Day 10: Listvyanka - Irkutsk

From your hotel in Listvyanka, we'll drive to the Taltsy Museum of Wooden Architecture, where we'll learn how the typical houses of the area are built. We'll then continue our journey north for a panoramic tour of Irkutsk, the "Paris of Siberia".

After a free afternoon in Irkutsk, we'll take you to the station for your onward journey by train. The Trans-Siberian Railway will take you to the elegant Russian city of Ekaterinburg.

Day 11: Irkutsk - Ekaterinburg

You'll spend the day on board the Trans-Siberian Railway on the route between Irkutsk and Yekaterinburg, a beautiful journey through the Russian hinterland, crossing the Siberian steppe!

Day 12: Ekaterinburg

You'll arrive in the early morning at Ekaterinburg station and from there you'll be transferred to a centrally located hotel in the city for a rest from your journey.

Day 13: Ekaterinburg

We'll pick you up from your hotel and start a panoramic tour of Ekaterinburg. We'll stop at the most iconic sights, such as the Cathedral of Spilled Blood or Ganina Yama, where the bodies of Tsar Nicholas II and his family were hidden in 1918.

We'll also approach the Memorial to the Victims of Stalin, and stop by the monolith marking the border between Asia and Europe. At the end of the tour of Irkutsk, we'll take you back to your hotel and you'll have the evening at leisure.

Day 14: Ekaterinburg - Moscow

We'll pick you up early from your hotel and take you to Ekaterinburg station, where your Trans-Siberian train leaves for Moscow at 9 am. The capital of Russia awaits you!

Day 15: Moscow

From Moscow station, where you'll arrive early in the morning, we'll take you to a hotel in the city. There you can rest and a few hours later we'll pick you up for a panoramic tour of Moscow. On this tour, you'll see the KGB Headquarters and the Bolshoi Theatre from the outside.

The tour will continue to the Russian capital with a walking tour of Red Square, where we'll see St. Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum and the GUM Shopping Gallery from the outside. You'll have the afternoon at leisure, a perfect opportunity to enjoy all the attractions of the Russian capital.

Day 16: Moscow - St. Petersburg

After breakfast at your hotel, you'll be taken to Red Square for a guided tour of the Kremlin. In this colossal walled enclosure, we'll discover the history of its four cathedrals, and see the exhibition of the Armoury Museum. At the end of the morning, we'll take a guided tour of the Moscow Metro, where we'l visit the most luxurious stations!

In the late afternoon, we'll meet again at your hotel in Moscow and transfer you to the station. This time you will board the Grand Express train, a comfortable train that will take you to St. Petersburg.

Day 17: St Petersburg

You'll be met at St. Petersburg station and taken to a hotel in this beautiful Baltic destination. In the afternoon, once you are rested, we'll take a tour of the city to see its most iconic monuments. Among them are the fortress of St. Peter and Paul and St. Isaac's Cathedral.

We'll conclude our tour of St. Petersburg by returning to your hotel.

Day 18: St. Petersburg

After breakfast at your hotel, we'll pick you up and spend the morning on a guided tour of the Yusupov Palace, one of the most luxurious palaces in St. Petersburg! We'll walk through its various rooms, sumptuously decorated with elegant frescoes, carved figures, marble, mirrors and gilded chandeliers.

At the end of the palace tour, we'll take you back to your hotel and you'll have the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 19: St. Petersburg

After breakfast, you'll be picked up from your hotel and driven to the former Winter Palace for a guided tour of the Hermitage Museum. You're sure to be amazed by its collection of paintings, which houses numerous masterpieces by artists such as Da Vinci, Raphael and Caravaggio.

You'll have the afternoon free to explore St. Petersburg at your leisure.

Day 20: St Petersburg

In good time, you'll be picked up from your hotel and transferred to St. Petersburg airport, the end of an unforgettable journey through China, Mongolia and Russia!

Accommodation

The tour includes 10 nights' accommodation with breakfast in the following hotels:

• Beijing (2 nights): Qianmen Jianguo Hotel 4*
• Ulaanbaatar (3 nights): Platinum Hotel 4*
• Terelj (1 night): Gers Tented Tourist Camp
• Listvyanka (1 night): Listvyanka Mayak 4*
• Ekaterinburg (1 night): Novotel Yekaterinburg Center 4*
• Moscow (1 night): Moscow Ibis Bakhrushina Center 3*
• St. Petersburg (3 nights): Hotel Nevsky Grand 3* or M-Hotel 3*

The nights that you don't sleep in the above hotels will be spent traveling by night train. On this means of transport, you'll have a 4-person compartment with two bunk beds. In addition, each train carriage has two toilets and hot water for making tea and tea, and you'll be provided with clean bed linen and cups.

When booking, you'll only need to indicate the type of room you want to sleep in at the hotels, as you'll always travel in 4-person compartments on the trains.

If you don't wish to share a train compartment with other people, you can pay a supplement. Please indicate this in the comments at the time of booking and we'll send you a request to pay the supplement.

Guides in the cities

The guide service is only included in the cities, while on the train, you'll travel on your own, enjoying the tour at your own pace.