Experience the journey of a lifetime onboard a private charter train travelling the world famous Trans Siberian and Trans Mongolian railways. This truly unique tour includes stops for excursions at points of interest on the way, as well as accommodation in Ulaan Baatar, Moscow and Beijing. This trip offers a great opportunity to see some of the globe's more remote areas while enjoying a decent level of comfort.

The Route Map

Highlights of the tour:
Moscow / Siberia / Lake Baikal - deepest, biggest seawater reserve in the world / Mongolian steppes with yurts and horses / Gobi Desert / Great Wall of China / Peking / Boat Cruise on the Europe's longest river, the Volga / Boat cruise on Siberia's mighty river, Yenissej / Private classical concert / Folklore show of Mongolian artists / Mini Naadam show of Mongolian horse racing, wrestling, archery.

 

Itinerary:
Russia – Mongolia – China (eastbound)
Moscow – Kazan – Yekaterinburg – Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Lake Baikal – Ulan Ude – Ulaanbaatar – Gobi Desert - Peking

Day 1
Arrival Moscow
Arrival in Moscow. You will meet your tour guides at Moscow airport and they will transfer you to the hotel. After a welcome dinner a tour of Moscow by night through the beautiful illuminated city will make you forget the old cliches of Russia being grey and dark. Moscow has become a vibrant city, comparable to other major European capitals and full of life.
Accommodation in a **** Hotel in Moscow.

Day 2
Moscow
A full day sightseeing tour shows you the magnificent Red Square, the Kremlin grounds and other highlights. In the evening transfer to the railway station where your private special train Grand Trans Siberian Express is expecting you to board for the first leg of the almost 6’000 miles long journey to Peking.
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 Autonom 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-Sarif mosque, which is already rebuilt inside the citadel and the Governor's House now the Palace of the President of Tatarstan.
In the afternoon you will enjoy a boat ride 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 Csar Peter I as the metallurgical factory and by the XX century it had become one of the largest and the most important financial, industrial and cultural centres. West of the city there is the geographical border defined by scientifists between Europe and Asia. An excursion takes you to the obelisk there which marks this virtual border. Back in the center of the city, you will visit the 2004 completed Cathedral on The Blood built at the place where Csar 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 Grand Trans Siberian Express today stops in Novosibirsk. With 1,5 million inhabitants this is Russia’s third largest city and the biggest of Siberia, which is widely regarded as the centre 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 mid 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 don’t expect in Siberia. An excursion out of city to the small town of Akademgorodok, which used to be a center of scientific research in Soviet times and now tries to develop itself to 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 was formerly a “closed city” with no foreign visitors allowed. It is located along Yenisej river which is the most mighty of the big rivers of Russia. During a boat cruise on the Yenisej 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
Arrive about noon in Irkutsk, famous for its trade with Mongolia and China and previously called the “Paris of Siberia” because of its colourful life. You visit the old town with its large quarters still consisting only of wooden houses, before being invited to the cultural highlight of the tour, 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 features one of the highlights of the tour with the Grand Trans Siberian Express which 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 1,620 meter it is the deepest lake of 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 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 local people. A Baikal picnic is also a part of the programme.
After lunch you will leave the train at Port Baikal where a boat takes you on a short cruise on Lake Baikal to the small village Listvyanka. A walk through the village takes you to St Nicholas church, a typical orthodox wooden build church beautiful renovated in the post Soviet era. With a great Siberian dinner in a rustic restaurant along Angara river an unforgettable day will end, with entertainment from local folk musicians. After dinner you 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 Ulde. 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's an amazing mix of cultures and a meeting place between east 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 center of Buddhism in Russia. The Dalai Lama has visited it three times already 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. Then the train reaches the Russian border station Naushki and the Mongolian border station Suche Baatar. All passport and customs formalities will take place in the train. You may stay in your compartment and don’t have to leave the train.
Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 10
Ulaanbaatar
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 Sukhabaatar Square, the Bogd Khan Museum which was formerly the winter and sometimes also the summer palace of the Khans, 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 *** hotels in Ulaan Baatar.

Day 11
Ulaanbaatar
Today an unforgettable excursion will take you to the Terelj National Park which is famous for its scenery which remembers to locations in Switzerland, Europe. A stone formation called “turtle” and other holy places will fascinate you. In the Terelj National Park area you will have the chance to meet a herder family inside their yurt. 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 and 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 there will be a quick passport and customs check in the Chinese border town of Erlian. All passport and custom formalities will again take place on the train, so you can just stay in your compartment and watch the procedures. In Erlian railway station the Russian railway gauge system (“broad gauge” 1520 mm wide) meets the China railway gauge system (“standard gauge” 1435 mm 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 sumptuous Chinese welcome lunch. In the afternoon the Chinese train will pass through the Gobi desert.
Accommodation onboard the Grand Trans Siberian Express.

Day 13
Peking
A full day city sightseeing tour will show you the Imperial Palace (“Forbidden City”), the huge Tian An Men Square with the Parliament building on its west side and the Temple of Heaven.
Accommodation in a **** hotel in Peking.

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

Day 15
Peking & Departure
Airport transfers are provided by our service team to connect with your flight departing Peking.

Train
Train highlights: Modern Deluxe sleeping cars with private lavatory, toilet and shower en-suite / Modern First Class sleeping cars with shared washing and toilet facilities / Guaranteed double and single accommodation throughout the tour / All cars are newly built, averaging 2-3 years old / 2-3 Restaurants, so all passengers are catered for in one sitting / A cosy bar with live piano music in the evening / Service car with shower cabins for First class passengers / Conference car for onboard lectures.|

Deluxe Cabin (1 or 2 persons)
Deluxe cars offer 6 cabins each. Each cabin offers 1 lower and 1 upper bed. A private toilet, lavatory and shower are en suite. The cars are air conditioned. Sockets for 220V are in each cabin. Cabin dimensions: Cabin 2,00 x 2,70 = 5,4 sqm Lower bed 120 x 190 cm Upper bed 85 x 190 cm

        

Car plan:


 
 

First Class Compartment (1 or 2 persons)
First Class sleeping cars offer 9 cabins for guests each. Each cabin is equipped with 2 lower beds. Toilets and lavatories are at both ends of the cars for the common use of maximum 9 x 2 = 18 passangers of each car. The cars are air conditioned. ockets 220V capable for razors and mobile phones. Cabin dimensions: Cabin 2,00 x 2,00 = 4,00 sqm Lower beds 65 x 195 cm

        

Car plan: