Trans-Siberian Packages Explained

This journey of a lifetime is a wonderful chance to experience the real connection between the continents and the great cultures of the world, promising to be one of the most memorable experiences of all time.
 

PROGRAMME CHOICE

Go Russia offers you our expertise and professionalism to create unforgettable memories for your journey of a lifetime. We have designed the best and most popular trips for you. Our experienced English-speaking guides will look after you at each destination. We will make sure you arrive and stay in all three countries in comfort by arranging your accommodation, train tickets, airport and railway station transfers. Please note, we can tailor-make any journey for you along the Trans-Siberian or Trans-Mongolian route and can also offer you “Trans-Siberian train tickets” service. If you unsure which package is right for you, please read our short guide "Trans-Siberian Itineraries Explained".
   Our group tours are limited by number, meaning the number of participants is sufficiently small to ensure a good travel experience.  We strongly believe that by operating group tours, we give clients the opportunity to meet like-minded, interesting people. That’s why we tend to prefer fixed departure dates and set itineraries, giving you excellent value for money without compromising on the activities and sightseeing programme on offer. That said, we make sure tours can be flexible enough for you to do your own thing, adding on guided excursions or extending your stay without losing any of the benefits of a professionally managed tour.
 

TOUR MODIFICATIONS AND EXTENSIONS

Our standard tour programme operates throughout the year with set departure dates for each itinerary.  Most of our Trans-Siberian holidays depart weekly in the summer months, a programme which is reduced to twice-monthly in the late autumn and winter.  Don’t forget that it’s easy for us to arrange for you to have some pre-tour sightseeing before joining the group or extending your stay after the tour has concluded. Go Russia can arrange extra accommodation, transfers and guides at every destination along your route.
 
Why not spend extra night or two in Moscow and fully enjoy the Russian capital - visit the Armoury and the Diamond Fund, the Tretiakov Gallery or Stalin’s command bunker, once top secret. While at Baikal you can take a Circum-Baikal railroad tour where besides stunning views of the lake and surrounding mountains you will also be impressed by the unique engineering achievements of the railroad designers. In Mongolia, experience what it’s like to stay in a nomad’s ger or visit the South Gobi. In China, you could travel to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors. Perhaps head down to Shanghai, China’s financial and commercial centre, where you will be impressed by its modern and ever-expanding Pudong skyline featuring the landmark Oriental Pearl Tower. Hong Kong fuses Asian culture with Western influences and as the place where east meets west, it’s the ultimate destination for your transcontinental journey.
 
Detailed add-on options are listed within each itinerary.
  Accommodation used along the Trans-Siberian railway varies from a yurt in a ger camp to a premium 4* hotel. In Russian cities we stick to centrally-located 3* and 4* hotels, though at Lake Baikal you can opt for a traditional wooden guesthouse with en-suite facilities instead. Tours to Mongolia feature a yurt in a ger camp as well as a 4* hotel in Ulan Bator. In China, all the hotels we use are 4*. We endeavour to ensure that all the hotels we use on our Trans-Siberian packages are highly rated on Tripadvisor. If you wish to upgrade please let us know. 

All accommodation options are listed within each itinerary where you can view detailed description as well as the relevant Tripadvisor reviews.
 

TRAVEL STYLE

Please note that the Trans-Siberian is not a single train; rather it’s a mix of various trains that run across Russia’s vast territory and through into Mongolia and China. These trains are also used by locals for their commuting needs. On our standard packages we use only the best available trains in terms of quality and also seek out convenient departure and arrival times to your destination.
 
Recently private trains have been launched on the Trans-Siberian railway; these are designed only for tourists and include the Golden Eagle and Tsar’s Gold trains. Go Russia offers packages based on private trains and are an official agent for the Tsar’s Gold train.
 
You might find the following advice helpful in deciding which travel style to choose.
 

Standard trains:

Pros:

• Trains – good, solid, clean
• Flexibility of travelling on different trains
• Overnight stay in hotels during sightseeing stops
• All packages are designed and operated by Go Russia and so can be easily modified
• Great mix of people and the opportunity for interaction with locals on the trains
• Better experience of local culture and traditions
• Reasonable package price
• Weekly departures

Cons:

• Limited upgrade options – a first class upgrade is the only one possible
• No showers on trains although there is a sink and hot water available in a toilet compartment

Private trains (only for tourists):

Pros:

• More comfort and better facilities
• Tour leader available on the train
• Showers available in higher carriage categories on the train
• Variety of upgrade options
• Varied entertainment programme on board the train
• Full-board, with all meals included (except Moscow which is on a B&B basis)

Cons:

• Expensive package price
• Package designed and operated by the train company, less flexibility for add-ons and modifications
• Little or no interaction with locals
• Most of the time you sleep on the train
• Large groups
• Limited departure dates

TRAIN CHOICE - 1st or 2nd CLASS

A train will be your primary accommodation for at least some of your days and nights on tour.  We use comfortable four-berth compartments; however upgrades to two-berth compartments are also available. There is little difference between 1st and 2nd class other than the number of berths in the compartments, and slightly more space in 1st class.
 
A first class upgrade (to a two-berth compartment) is recommended for more privacy and comfort during your journey.

Note: it may happen that a 1st class carriage is not available for your part of the journey. There might be various reasons for that: operational decision of the railways, special group bookings, sales closed for a particular segment of the route, etc. In this case, if you wish to upgrade your train journey and have requested first class, we will buy out the whole four-berth compartment for you to ensure your privacy and comfort. So there will be only two people in the compartment: if there are two of you travelling together, there will be no strangers in your compartment and you will be able to use all four berths; if you are travelling solo, you will have three tickets and can use three berths, and will be sharing only with one person.
 

SOLO USE OF THE TRAIN COMPARTMENT

If you are a single traveller and wish to have a private compartment during the whole rail journey, it is also possible to arrange. The surcharge will be three times the price of the train upgrade.
 

TRAINS DETAILS

The trains operating on the Trans-Siberian railway do vary. Read more detailed information on trains.
 

OPERATIONAL

• Visas. All our tours include the cost of the Russian, Mongolian and Chinese visas. Read more about our assistance with the Russian, Chinese and Mongolian visas.
• Departure dates. All departure dates are guaranteed, we never cancel our tours unless for reasons of force majeure.
• Small groups. We operate only small groups, 2-14 people, if the group size is going to be bigger we will split the participants between the guides.
• Transfers included. No matter when you arrive to / depart from your destination, your airport transfer will be provided.
• Meals. We operate our Trans-Siberian tours with breakfasts in Russia, full board in Mongolia and China. No meals are included on the train, there are plenty of options available to get meals during your train journey.