Moscow & Ulaanbaatar Trans-Siberian Railway

Moscow & Ulaanbaatar Trans-Siberian Railway

Day 1: Moscow

Welcome to Russia! We'll pick you up at Moscow airport and take you to a centrally located hotel in Moscow, where you'll spend the next three nights.

Day 2: Moscow

After breakfast, you'll be picked up from your hotel for a sightseeing tour of Moscow. On this driving tour we'll pass by the most symbolic sights in the Russian capital, such as the KGB Headquarters on Lubyanka Square and the Bolshoi Theatre, located on Teatralnaya Square.

We'll also take a stroll through Moscow's Red Square. There, we'll visit the beautiful St. Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum and the GUM department store. Our tour of Moscow will end at around 3 pm, after which you'll be able to explore the city at your leisure.

Day 3: Moscow

In the morning, after breakfast, we'll head to the Red Square for a guided tour of the Kremlin. This walled compound was the former residence of the Tsars and is the current seat of the Russian Presidency. We'll also see its four cathedrals before giving you some free time to wander around the Armoury Museum.

After learning all about the Kremlin, we'll take a guided tour of the luxurious stations in the Moscow Metro. You'll then have some free time until the late afternoon, when we'll reconvene and take you to the Moscow railway station. From there, you'll take an overnight train to Yekaterinburg.

Day 4: Moscow - Yekaterinburg

We hope you enjoyed your trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway! Once you've arrived in Yekaterinburg, we'll take you to your hotel in the city centre.

Day 5: Yekaterinburg

We'll start the day with a sightseeing tour of Yekaterinburg, the first stop being the imposing Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints. After seeing some other parts of the historic centre, we'll drive to the outskirts of the city to visit Ganina Yama - the grave where the bodies of Tsar Nicholas II and his family were laid to rest after their assassination in 1918.

Our next stop will be the Memorial to the Victims of Stalin and the monolith marking the border between Asia and Europe. You can spend the rest of the day as you wish, until the late afternoon when we'll head to the station to catch the train to Irkutsk.

Days 6 & 7: Trans-Siberian Railway to Irkutsk

You'll ride the Trans-Siberian Railway between Yekaterinburg and Irkutsk, the perfect way to admire the steppe landscapes of Siberia.

Day 8: Irkutsk - Listvyanka

Once we've met you at Irkutsk station, we'll drive to Listvyanka: a picturesque town on the shores of Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world. There, you'll be able to spend the rest of the day visiting the Lake Baikal Museum and St. Nicholas Church on your own. Last of all, we'll take you to a centrally located hotel in Listvyanka where we'll spend the night.

Day 9: Listvyanka - Irkutsk

You can spend the morning exploring Listvyanka at your own pace and visiting the places that interest you most. In the afternoon, we'll meet you at the hotel and take you to the Taltsy Museum of Wooden Architecture. After a short stop here, we'll continue our journey to Irkutsk, known as the "Paris of Siberia". We'll take a sightseeing tour of the city's main sights, where you'll be amazed by its elegant buildings.

Day 10: Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar

In the morning, you'll have some time to explore Irkutsk on your own. We'll pick you up from the hotel in the evening and take you to the station, where you'll hop on the train to Ulaanbaatar.

Day 11: Ulaanbaatar - Terelj

Welcome to the capital of Mongolia! From Ulaanbaatar station, we'll take you to the countryside where you'll see the huge equestrian statue of Genghis Khan, which towers at 130 feet (40 metres) high.

We'll then drive to the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, where we'll see its famous turtle rock and the Aryabal Monastery. We'll conclude this unforgettable day by staying with a Mongolian steppe family at a camp in Terelj.

Day 12: Terelj - Ulaanbaatar

After breakfast at the camp in Terelj, we'll say goodbye to the steppe family and head to the Mongolian capital for a tour of Ulaanbaatar. On this scenic route, we'll visit the following places: Gandantegchinlin, the largest monastery in the country; Sukhebator Square; and the National and Natural History Museums. The latter houses a large collection of dinosaur fossils found in the Gobi Desert.

At the end of the city tour, we'll take you to a centrally located hotel and you'll have the rest of the day to spend at your leisure.

Day 13: Ulaanbaatar - Bayan Gobi

We'll leave the hotel in Ulaanbaatar bright and early and set off for Bayan Gobi, where we'll admire the spectacular Mongolian steppe landscapes and the Ovgon Monastery.

The rest of the day will be spent in a ger, which is a typical Mongolian steppe tent.

Day 14: Bayan Gobi - Karakorum

After breakfast at the camp, we'll drive to Karakorum, the former capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. We'll visit the Erdene-Zuu Monastery and its attached chapels, whose architecture tends to amaze all who visit.

We'll spend the rest of the day relaxing in a traditional Mongolian camp in Karakorum.

Day 15: Karakorum - Hustai - Ulaanbaatar

Following a delicious breakfast at the camp, we'll go to the Hustai National Park. In this protected area, we'll see a great variety of Takhi horses, deer, wild boar, mountain goats and more.

From the park, we'll drive to a hotel in Ulaanbaatar. Once we're back in Ulaanbaatar, you'll have the rest of the day to spend as you wish.

Day 16: Ulaanbaatar

You can have a relaxed breakfast at the hotel, before having the final day in Ulaanbaatar to spend at your leisure. We'll pick you up and take you to Ulaanbaatar airport - bon voyage!

Accommodation

This tour includes 10 nights' bed and breakfast in the following hotels and campsites:

• Moscow (2 nights): Moscow Ibis Centro Bakhrushina 3*.
• Yekaterinburg (1 night): Novotel Yekaterinburg Center 4*.
• Listvyanka (1 night): Listvyanka Mayak 4*.
• Irkutsk (1 night): Irkutsk Angara 3*.
• Terelj (1 night): Tourist campsite with ger tents. 
• Karakorum (2 nights): Tourist campsite with ger tents.
• Ulaanbaatar (2 nights): Hotel Platinum 4*.

The nights not spent in the hotels listed above will be spent travelling on a 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 herbal tea, and you'll be provided with clean bed linen and cups.

When making your booking, you'll only need to select the type of room you'd like to sleep in at the hotels, as you'll always travel in 4-person compartments on the trains. 

If you'd prefer not to share a train compartment with other people, you can pay an additional cost. Please let us know in the comments when making your booking and we'll send you a request to pay this additional cost.

City guides

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.