Trans siberian how much does it cost

The carriages are lifted off the rails, and different gauge wheels are attached for travel along the narrower Mongolian and Russian lines. The Chinese restaurant car is replaced by a Mongolian one too. The next day finds you in the Gobi Desert, an arid, sandy-brown expanse occasionally studded with yurts used by Mongolian nomads. Lunch is mutton and rice and Mongolian beer. By mid afternoon, the desert has given way to grassy steppe, and soon you are arriving in Ulaanbaatar.

An hour or so later, you are on your way again. Here, a Russian restaurant car is attached, and Russian tea, borsch soup and ham and eggs is on the menu, and new friends are waiting to be met.

The train follows the Selenge River north from the border, and in the middle of the night the train pulls into Ulan-Ude, and swings into the main Trans-Siberian route. Then, at just before AM, you can join other passengers stocking up on dried fish, sausages, chocolate and other snacks on the railway station at Irkutsk. Use the hot water from the samovar at the end of each carriage to swell up your instant noodles.

You are now in Russian Siberia, following a forest of silver birch trees broken occasionally by onion-domed churches, wooden villages and industrial cities like Novosibirsk — the third biggest city in Russia after Moscow and St Petersburg.

It was founded in after the land was identified as a good place for a Trans-Siberian Railway bridge across the river Ob. Coming up to midnight, another industrial city emerges out of the darkness. You are now in Omsk, an important railway hub. Siberia continues, seemingly forever, and your railway compartment feels more like home. Before noon, your train pulls into Yekaterinburg, on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains.

This rule is the same for all Trans-siberian train tickets and cities on the Trans-Siberian railway, West- or Eastbound. You should check also our visa pages to be informed concerning visa requirements. For schedule of the main Russian trains and International Trans-siberian railway trains visit our Trans-siberian Railway Timetable page. Lots of train connections between Moscow and St. Petersburg are available. You can buy these tickets here or directly at the train station see our forum post How to buy tickets Petersburg-Moscow.

Depending of the date of travel and availability they can vary a lot. Please contact-us with your travel plan for a precise offer. Prices per ticket in EURO. Remarks all prices for tickets with stopover are based on train nr. Please note that in high season may-septembre train tickets from Ulan Bator for trains 24, 5, can be ordered only together with other services in Mongolia.

I just want to thank you for all your good work. Also the earlier you buy tickets the cheaper they will be for second class. Although some travel agencies offer to book your tickets a year ahead, actually they still wait and buy your tickets 60 days before departure.

This has a risk as schedules and the price can change. There are normally two classes in Russian trains along the Trans-Siberian: third class "platskartny" open wagon and second class "kupe" wagon with several 4-berth compartments. However premium trains also have a first class a wagon with 2-berth compartments which is normally double the price of second class.

Have a look here for more information on booking train tickets for your Trans-Siberian trip. If you want to make a stop in some cities along the route you should include in your budget an accommodation cost. This expenditure can be quite significant in comparison with train tickets, especially in big cities such as Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and others. Check-in at most hotels in Russia is around midday, so if you have an early arrival you should wait until check-in or book a room for half a day, although some hotels in Russia have a floating check-in time depending on your time of arrival.

The average price in a three-star hotel is around USD 70 with breakfast. You can make your trip cheaper by travelling on overnight trains and spending just the daytime to see attractions in the city, although for some big cities one day is of course not enough.

There is a wide range of accommodation along the route: hostel, homestays, Soviet-era hotels, business hotels and five-star hotels of international chains. Almost all long distance trains have a restaurant wagon, but these can be overpriced - for example a salad can cost about USD 10 and a hot meal approximately USD It might be a fun experience but the food will probably not be amazing.