Russia – Mongolia – China (eastbound) 

Moscow – Kazan – Yekaterinburg – Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Lake Baikal – Ulan Ude – Ulaanbaatar – Gobi Desert – Beijing     

Experience the legendary trans Siberian Railway and the Trans Mongolian Railway onboard a private charter train.  Forget about any hassle of packing and unpacking every day.  Your cabin is your "home on wheels" during the entire rail cruise journey.Our train offers a choice of First Class and Deluxe accommodation as well as restaurants, a bar, a service car with shower cabins for First Class passengers and a conference car for lectures.

Stops for land excursions at the most interesting places along the route are included every day. In Ulaanbaatar, the Capital of Mongolia, a night in a hotel is included as well as hotel nights are included in Moscow and Beijing.

Our rail cruise offers you the opportunity to enjoy travelling through some remote areas of the world such as Siberia and the Gobi Desert and at the same time enjoying a certain level of comfort onboard the private charter train.

Itinerary

Day 1 : Arrival Moscow
Arrival in Moscow. You will be met by your tour guide at Moscow airport and they will transfer you to the hotel. After dinner a tour of Moscow by night through the beautifully illuminated city which will make you forget the old stories of Russia being grey and dark. Moscow has become a vibrant city, comparable to Paris or Rome and full of life. Accommodation in a 4 Star Hotel in Moscow.

Day 2 : Moscow
A full day sightseeing tour shows you the magnificent Red Square, the Kremlin grounds and other highlights of Moscow. In the evening transfer to the railway station where your private special train the Grand Trans Siberian Express is expecting you to board for the first leg of the almost 6,000 miles long journey to Beijing. Welcome dinner and accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 3 : Kazan
A full day of sightseeing in Kazan starts with a comprehensive tour of the city, which is the centre of the so-called Tatarstan Autonomous Republic. The city has a beautiful citadel, called Kremlin, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. Also of interest are the towers and walls, erected in the 16th and 17th centuries but later reconstructed; the Qol-Earil Mosque, which is already rebuilt inside the citadel and Governor’s House now the Palace of the President of Tatarstan.In the afternoon you will enjoy a boat cruise on the River Volga.Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 4 : Yekaterinburg
Stop in Yekaterinburg, capital of the Ural Mountains. It was founded in 1723 by Czar Peter I as the metallurgical centre and by the 20th century it had become one of the largest and most important financial, industrial and cultural centres of Russia. West of the city there is the geographical border defined by scientists between Europe and Asia. An excursion takes you to the obelisk there which marks this virtual border. Back in the centre of the city, you will visit the 2004 completed Cathedral of The Blood built at the place where Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 5 : Novosibirsk
After passing through the plains of Western Siberia, the Trans Siberian Express stops in Novosibirsk. With 1.5 million inhabitants this is Russia's third largest city and the biggest of Siberia. It was founded in 1893 as the future site of the Trans Siberian railway bridge crossing the Siberian river Ob. Its importance further increased in the middle of the 20th century with the completion of the Turkestan Railway connecting Novosibirsk to Central Asia and the Caspian Sea.

During a sightseeing tour you will see the incredible fruit market which is something you do not expect in Siberia. An excursion out of the city to the small town of Akademgorodok, which used to be the centre of scientific research in Soviet times and is now trying to develop itself into the Russian "Silicon Valley". There you visit a unique geological museum which displays beautiful examples of Siberian minerals. The recently opened railway museum shows locomotives and cars of all periods of the Trans Siberian Railway. Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 6 : Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk, like Yekaterinburg and Ulan Ude used to be a formerly "closed city". It is located along the Yenissei River which is the mightiest of the big rivers of Russia, during a boat cruise on the Yenissei River you will get an idea how wide and how Great Russian Rivers can be. The Yenisei is the greatest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean, slightly shorter but with 1.5 times the flow of the Mississippi-Missouri. Rising in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course to the Kara Sea, passing a large part of central Siberia.Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 7 : Irkutsk
Around midday you will arrive in Irkutsk, famous for its trade with Mongolia and China and used to be called the "Paris of Siberia" because of its colourful life. You visit the old town with its large quarters still consisting of wooden houses. A highlight of your visit will be a private classical concert in the wooden house of Decembrist Volkonsky. In the evening you rejoin the private train.Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 8 : Lake Baikal
Today one of the top highlights of the tour with the Grand Trans Siberian Express will amaze you for the rest of the day. Lake Baikal holds the biggest fresh water reserves in the world. It stretches up to 26 miles from east to west and more than 370 miles from north to south. With 1620 meters it is the deepest lake in the world.The mountain ranges around Lake Baikal and the deep blue water of the lake, you will never forget. The entire morning the train is running at low speed over the scenic Circum Baikal Railway line between Sludyanka and Port Baikal, which for many years has seen only a couple of local trains and tourist trains. A photo stop will be arranged at a small village where you can get off the train, put your feet into the clear and cold water of Lake Baikal and also visit the typical wooden houses of the local people. A Baikal picnic is also part of the programme. After lunch you will leave the train at Port Baikal where a boat takes you on a short cruise on the Lake to the small village of Listvyanka. A walk through the village takes you to St. Nicolas church, a typical orthodox wooden built church, beautifully renovated in the post Soviet era. With a great Siberian dinner in a rustic restaurant along the Angara River an unforgettable day will end with entertainment of local folk music. After dinner you will travel back to Port Baikal and rejoin the train.Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 9 : Ulan Ude
In the morning the Grand Trans Siberian Express arrives at Ulan Ude. The city which you will visit in the afternoon used to be a "closed city" for foreigners during the time of the USSR. It is the capital of the so-called Buryat Autonomous republic of the Russian Federation. With Buryats being an ethnic group close to Mongolians it shows to be an amazing mix of cultures and a meeting place between and west. Like Irkutsk, the city still has large areas with typical Siberian wooden houses. An excursion will bring you to the Ivolginsky Monastery which is the centre of Buddhism in Russia. The Dalai Lama has visited it three times since the opening of the city in 1991.

When leaving Ulan Ude, the Grand Trans Siberian Express switches from the Trans Siberian mainline to the Trans Mongolian mainline on its way to Ulaan Baatar. When the train reaches the Russian border station Naushki and the Mongolian border station Suche Baatar, all passport and customs formalities will take place on the train. You stay in your compartment and do not have to leave the train.Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 10 : Ulaan Baatar
In the morning the Grand Trans Siberian Express arrives in Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia. During a full day sightseeing tour you will visit the famous Gandan Monastery, the central Sukhabatar Square, the Bogd Khan Museum which used to be formerly the winter and sometimes also the summer palace of the Khan's, as well as the Zaisan monument at a viewpoint high above the city. From there you will have an excellent view of the city which is surrounded by large areas of yurt settlements. An amazing cultural music and dance show in the evening will introduce Mongolian folk music and culture to you.Accommodation in a 4 star hotel in Ulaan Baatar.

Day 11 : Ulaan Baatar
Today an unforgettable excursion will take you to the Terelj National Park which is famous for its scenery which resembles areas of Switzerland. A stone formation called the "turtle" and other holy places will fascinate you. In the Terelj National Park area you will have an opportunity to meet a herder family inside their yurt (house). In the evening the train will leave Ulaan Baatar for China. Enjoy the rest of the day viewing the wonderful scenery of Mongolia with yurts, nomads, horses passing by from time to time. Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 12 : Erlian
In the morning you will arrive at the Mongolian border village of Zamyn Uud and undergo a quick passport and customs check before arriving in the Chinese border town of Erlian. All passport and customs formalities will again take place on the train. You will stay in your compartments until the procedures are finished.

In Erlian the Russian railway gauge system ("broad gauge" 1520mm wide) meets the China railway gauge system ("standard gauge" 1435mm wide). The Grand Trans Siberian express therefore terminates in Erlian. The connecting Chinese special train will be waiting on the same platform. While your luggage will be transferred by service staff to the Chinese private train, you will enjoy a rickshaw tour to the local market and a traditional Chinese welcome lunch. In the afternoon the Chinese train will pass through the Gobi desert. Accommodation on the Chinese Private Train.

Day 13 : Beijing
Arrival this morning in Beijing. A full day city sightseeing tour will show you the Imperial Palace (Forbidden City), Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven.Accommodation in a 4 star hotel in Beijing.

Day 14 : Beijing
Full day excursion to the Great Wall and Ming Tombs. A farewell dinner will be held in one of the famous Peking duck restaurants.Accommodation in a 4 star hotel in Beijing.

Day 15 : Beijing Departure
Day at leisure until your transfer to the airport for you next destination, or homeward bound flight.

End of Services

Cost Per Person:

First Class Compartment - Share twin accommodation - R55,430 per person
First Class Compartment - Single accommodation - R75,000

Deluxe Compartment - Share twin accommodation - R110,820 per person
Deluxe Compartment - Single accommodation - R171,015

Your holiday includes:

• 9 nights accommodation in the category booked onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express Moscow - Erlian (Chinese border)
• 1 night accommodation in First Class/Comfort sleepers onboard the Chinese connecting train Erlian - (Chinese border) - Beijing  (no deluxe cars available on the Chinese connecting train)
• 1 night accommodation at a 4 star Hotel, Moscow
• 1 night accommodation at a 3 star Hotel, Ulaanbaatar
• 2 nights’ accommodation at a 4 star Hotel, Beijing
• Full board throughout the tour, starting with dinner on the first day and terminating with breakfast on the last day
• Transfers airport - hotel v.v. in Moscow and Beijing on day 1 and day 15
• Sightseeing and excursions in Moscow, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Ulan Ude, Ulaanbaatar, Erlian, Beijing
• Lectures onboard (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian (other languages on request)
• Cultural events mentioned in the programme
• Private classic concert in Irkutsk
• English, German, French, Spanish, Italian speaking local tour guides (other languages on request)
• English Speaking Tour Director throughout the tour

Your holiday does not include:

• International Flights (Westwood Holidays can assist you with flight options)
• Visa Russia, Mongolia, China
• Gratuities (EUR 100 / USD 140 tipping kit recommended)