The Ultimate Transsiberian Railway Planning Guide
One of the longest train rides in the world, the Transsiberian Railway stretches 7,621 km from Moscow to Beijing. The train still functions as a mode of transport for local commuters, but has also made its way onto the bucket lists of many adventurous travelers around the world. Find everything you need to know to plan your Transsiberian Railway trip in this ultimate guide!
Overview
The total Transsiberian Railway journey from Moscow to Beijing via Mongolia takes 6 days, as the train snakes through the mountains, alongside rivers, and across endless plains of Siberia. For travelers, it’s most common to allocate time to exit the train at some of the many stops along the way and visit some of the cities before reaching the final destination.
I’d dreamt of making this journey for years, and it turned out to be the most challenging trip I’ve ever planned. In the end, it was absolutely worth all the hassle (and money), and was a truly unforgettable experience.
Dining car on board the Ulan Bataar - Beijing train
Tour groups and travel agencies can plan your Transsiberian Railway trip for you, but at a tremendous surcharge. Expect to pay thousands (or even tens of thousands!) of dollars more than if you planned the trip yourself. Although self-planning is bit more complicated and time consuming, it’s definitely possible and you’ll save a lot of money and have the most control over your itinerary.
Here is everything you need to know to plan a Transsiberian Railway trip on your own.
Step 1: Pick A Route
There are two main routes you can take on the Transsiberian. One route takes you through the eastern part of Russia until reaching the city of Vladislavok, just above northeastern China. This route is preferable if you just want to spend a lot of time on the train, and don’t want to visit Mongolia or China. The landscapes here are less exciting & varied, but if you’re mainly after the train experience and want to avoid some visa hassle, this might be a good option for you.
However, I recommend taking the Trans-Mongolian route, which takes you from Moscow to Beijing via Mongolia. You’ll get to see more diverse landscapes, will have the opportunity to visit Mongolia (highly recommended!), and will be able to end in bustling Beijing. Because this is the route I took and the route I recommend, this guide will assume you’re taking this Trans-Mongolian route.
This Transsiberian Railway route departs east-bound from Moscow every Tuesday night, and makes the same route west-bound leaving Beijing every Wednesday morning. Leaving from Moscow is more popular for western travelers, but the reverse route is doable if you’d prefer to start your trip with a flight out to Asia.
Step 2: Get Your Visas
This is probably the most complicated part of the process of traveling the Transsiberian Railway. As always, visa information differs for every country, so you’ll need to check the laws in your country about whether you need a visa for Russia, Mongolia, and/or China.
For Americans, you’ll need a Russian and Chinese visa, but not a Mongolian visa. However, Mongolia requires passport-holders of many countries in Europe and elsewhere to have a visa for entry.
I strongly recommend applying for your visas within your home country. For various reasons, I needed to apply for my Russia and China visas while traveling internationally and it was a tremendous headache. It’s possible, but it’s expensive and frustrating as heck.
Timing:
Give yourself plenty of time to apply for your visas! Most of these visas require you to physically submit your passport to the consulate for processing, which means you cannot fully complete the application process online and cannot apply for these different visas simultaneously.
Expect visa processing to take days (or even weeks) longer than expected. Ideally, begin applying for visa no later than 2 months before your Transsiberian Railway trip.
To get an idea of visa processing times and costs, click here for iVisa’s “Visa Checker Tool.”
Where to Apply:
In many countries, visas for China and Russia are processed at visa processing centers, rather than at the embassies or consulates. Call the nearest consulate in your country to find out what their policy is, or run some Google searches for visa processing centers in your country.
Whether applying for your visa at a consulate or visa processing center, you likely will need to make an appointment to bring your application and passport in, and these slots can fill up quickly and may only be open for a few hours a week. Plan in advance and call way ahead of time (at least two weeks) to make an appointment.
Bookings required for visas:
Some of your visa applications will require you to show confirmation of tickets to enter and depart the country, whether by train or plane. Unfortunately, this means you’ll need to book your train tickets (and a flight out of China if that’s your last stop) before even knowing if your visa is approved. It’s a huge pain, but it’s really the only way to do it.
When booking train tickets or when applying for your visas, keep in mind that the date of entry on your visa cannot be earlier the date that the train crosses the border into the country. This might be a day before you actually reach your first stop in that country, so plan accordingly.
You’ll generally get a one-day “grace period” that allows you to enter the country one day after (but never before) the date of entry on your visa. But please check with your visa agent or consulate to be sure.
If your visa applications request hotel bookings, it’s easy to find fully refundable hotels on most hotel booking sites and make a sort of “dummy reservation;” then, just cancel those hotels before your trip and after your visa is approved. These countries often require booking confirmations, but do not require you to actually ultimately stay at those particular hotels.
Visa Agents:
You may want to consider using a visa agency to help apply for your visas. The Russia and China visa applications can be complicated & overwhelming, and it’s not uncommon to get the application rejected or returned with “errors.” With a visa agent you’ll get the help of experts who know exactly how to fill in the applications and know how to avoid common application mistakes.
I’ve used iVisa in the past and would recommend their services. They have great 24/7 customer service (with experience in Transsiberian visa applications), and they will help you fill out the applications properly to avoid unnecessary delays or complications. Plus they have a 100% money-back guarantee on the service fees in the off chance your visa doesn’t get approved (although over 99% of their visa applications get approved). Click here for more info on iVisa and just give them a call (day or night) if you have questions.
Step 3: Plan Your Itinerary
It’s possible to take the Transsiberian Railway from start to finish without making any stops to explore, which takes a total of 6 nights. However, I definitely recommend stopping to visit some of the cities in Russia, and taking time to explore Mongolia! Ideally you’d be able to spend 3-4 weeks taking full advantage of the Transsiberian Railway stops.
Here is a recommended itinerary for about a month-long Transsiberian Railway trip:
St. Petersburg: This city is technically not a part of the official Transsiberian Railway route, but if you’ve put in all this effort to get your Russia visa and to fly over there, you might as well stop at the most beautiful city in Russia! Spend a few days indulging in the impressive culinary scene, visiting the beautiful churches, and wandering the streets of this stunning historic city. You can then take a train to Moscow where you will transfer to the Transsiberian train. Recommended stay: 4+ days
Moscow: This is where you’ll “officially” start your Transsiberian Railway journey. Definitely give yourself a few days to explore this city! There is so much to see in terms of art/music/theater, excellent food, impressive architecture, and beautiful parks. Recommended stay: 3+ days
Kazan: Be sure to visit the beautiful blue Kul Sharif Mosque, the colorful Temple of All Religions, and catch sunset from Kremlin. Recommended stay: 2 days
Ekaterinburg: Catch sunset from the top of the Vysotsky skyscraper, visit the border between Europe and Asia (put one foot in each continent!), explore Ganina Yama monastery in the forest, and spend some time wandering the lively city center. Recommended stay: 2 days
Krasnoyarsk: A great stop if you’re interested in hiking. Spend a day hiking in Stolby National Park with epic views and few tourists. Recommended stay: 2 nights (to give you a full day of hiking at the park)
Irkutsk: Here is where you’ll find the famous Lake Baikal, which is a must-see on your Transsiberian Railway trip. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake and the deepest lake in the world. In warmer months, it’s green and sunny, while in winter months (particularly February and March) the lake freezes over into meters-thick splintered ice. Visiting Olkhon Island is a highlight, filled with interesting Siberian and Shamanist culture and stunning viewpoints. Or pay a visit to the lakeside town of Listvyanka (hike or take the Islend Ski Lift to the “Kamen Cherskogo” viewpoint, and go to Sval for thecharcoal grilled Baikal fish). Recommended stay: 4+ days for Olkhon Island; 2-3 days for Listvyanka
Ulan Bataar: From Irkutsk you’ll make your way across the border into Mongolia, a highlight of the Transsiberian Railway! I recommend a long stop-off here, giving you plenty of time to hire a driver and explore the epic Gobi Desert. Don’t just stay in Ulan Bataar, because you’ll miss the heart of Mongolia — the other-worldly landscapes, the starry midnight skies, and the nights spent sleeping in traditional yurts. Recommended stay: 6-7 nights
Beijing: From Ulan Bataar, the next major stop isn’t until your final destination in Beijing. The journey from Ulan Bataar to Beijing takes about 31 hours, but this train is usually quite a bit nicer and cleaner than the trains you’ll take in Russia! Give yourself a few days to explore bustling Beijing, see the Great Wall and Forbidden City (book tickets weeks in advance!), or take some time to travel around to other cities in China once your train trip is finished. Recommended stay: 4 nights (or take a month exploring all of China like I did!)
Sunset at Lake Baikal, Irkutsk
Take the ski lift up to the “Kamen Cherskogo” viewpoint near Listvyanka
Step 4: Book Your Train Tickets
When planning a Transsiberian Railway trip on your own, you’ll need to book each leg of your train ride individually. The trains don’t stop for more than a few minutes (up to an hour in a few cities) at different stations, so this isn’t a kind of “hop-on-hop-off” train ride.
Rather, for each city you want to explore, you’ll need to book an individual train ticket to that destination, and another ticket out of that destination onto the next stop. At each stop you want to explore, you’ll need to take all your luggage off the train with you.
How to book tickets online:
Websites I used to book train tickets include:
RealRussia.com
RussianTrain.com
You can reserve different classes or single- or mixed-gender cabins, can specify top or bottom bunks (read below for my recommendation), and can leave a note to make sure you’re booked in the same cabin as your travel buddies.
Both of these booking agencies had excellent English-speaking customer service, even in the middle of the night!
Things to keep in mind when booking train tickets:
Note the refund/cancellation policy: Many tickets are non-refundable (which can be stressful when booking so far in advance, even before getting your visas approved), and tickets between countries are almost never refundable. Some tickets can be changed for a fee, but only before the train has left the station of origin (which can be several days before you’re actually supposed to get on the train).
1st/2nd/3rd class: We only stayed in 2nd class cabins on our Transsiberian Railway trip. Although we wanted a 3rd class experience, many of the trains we took didn’t have this option — but expect a dorm-like train car with a dozen or so bunk beds separated by panels.
2nd class includes two bunk beds, but on our entire trip from Ulan Bataar to Beijing, the remaining two beds were never occupied so we had the cabin to ourselves.
In a 2nd class cabin, you may end up sharing the room with other travelers or commuter. On several trains, we ended up having the cabin to ourselves as no other passengers had booked the remaining two bunks.
1st class includes just one bunk bed but is much more expensive and not really any “nicer” than 2nd class. If there are three of you traveling, you might consider just booking out the fourth spot in your 2nd class cabin so you won’t need to share it with a stranger.
On the Chinese trains, the classes are often referred to as “soft-sleeper” (1st class) and “hard-sleeper” (2nd or 3rd class) beds.
A 1st class cabin on the Ulan Bataar - Beijing train
Top vs. bottom bunk: Most of your time on the train will involve sitting in your cabin and reading, drinking tea, chatting with travel buddies or new friends, or sleeping. It’s generally expected that the bottom bunks are free reign for anyone wanting a spot to sit, so if you book the bottom bunks, expect strangers to use your bed as a bench during the day.
I recommend booking top bunks — you can then avoid strangers sitting on your bed, and can take a nap whenever you want without having to kick someone out. Plus there is generally extra storage available to the top bunks, and less light that trickles in through the window at night.
A 2nd class cabin on the Ulan Bataar - Beijing train
Single vs. mixed gender cabins: This is completely up to your personal preference and obviously depends on whether you’re traveling with someone of the opposite sex. It is an option to book single gender cabins which is especially preferable if you’re a woman traveling solo!
Book in advance during peak season: In the summer months, when the Transsiberian Railway is most popular among travelers, I recommend booking your tickets in advance. Some of the longer legs, such as the one from Ulan Bataar to Beijing, only run every few days, and not being able to get on your intended train could cause serious visa issues. The smaller inter-city train legs generally run a few times per day and can be booked more last-minute, but this was my experience traveling in September (it will certainly be more difficult in summer months).
Step 5: Know What To Pack
Okay, realistically, there are a probably a few steps before this, like booking your flight to Russia and reading up on all the exciting things to do while at your stops across Siberia. But this is one of the most common questions about planning a Transsiberian Railway trip, and I want to share what I wish I had (and hadn’t) packed for my trip!
Things To Bring for your Transsiberian Railway Trip:
Food/Water
Lots of food! Some trains don’t have restaurant cars, and even if they do, it’s not unusual for the restaurants to not have available 95% of the things on the menu. You may be able to hop off the train at some longer stops and grab some food, but this depends on what time of day you reach these stops. I recommend bringing plenty of meal bars, tea bags, bread/cheese, fruit, and other healthy snacks that will make you feel a bit “fresher” on the long train journeys, and that don’t require refrigeration for a few days.
A reusable water bottle: Please avoid using single use plastic of any kind, anywhere in the world. Our earth and our oceans are dying, people — take it seriously. Especially on the train, it’s completely unnecessary to buy plastic water bottles because there is a drinking water dispenser! On some trains the drinking water is only hot, but I just filled my water bottle with hot water and let it cool off for an hour or so.
Electronics
A local SIM card: keep in mind as soon as you cross the border into a new country, it won’t work any more. And I’d say 80% of the time you won’t get any cell service on the trains, anyway, But there is no WiFi on the trains, so even getting some cell service every so often is helpful to stay connected to the outside world.
A downloaded offline translation app: Having the Russian language downloaded to my Google Translate app meant it was available (and life-saving) even without any cell service. You won’t be able to download Mongolian to Google Translate, unfortunately, but you can find another translation app with this feature available.
Camera: The views are amazing, and you’ll want to capture all these memories!
Power bank (fully charged): Some trains don’t have outlets in the rooms, and even if there is an outlet, you’ll need to share it with your cabin mates. Make sure your power bank is fully charged the night before your train journey!
clothing
Cozy clothes: You’re going to spend many many hours stuck on this train, going from your cabin to the restaurant car and back to your cabin. Bring clothes you can layer and that are comfortable to wear for long periods of time!
Warm clothes: Unless you’re traveling during summer months, Siberia gets cold. Check the weather for your different stops to know exactly what kind of clothing you’ll need to bring, but in the colder months, long underwear, warm socks, and outerwear/footwear that can keep you warm in snow might be necessary.
Comfortable slip-on shoes: You do not want to walk around these trains barefoot, trust me.
Comforts/toiletries
A day bag/backpack: If you bring larger luggage, it can be a pain to try to get into it after you’re on the train. I recommend moving anything you’ll need for the train ride into that smaller day bag and keeping this bag accessible, while storing your larger luggage under the beds.
A pillow: Definitely not necessary, but if you have a thing for pillows, bring one you love. Those on the trains are not necessarily comfortable, but you won’t die if you don’t bring your own.
Biodegradable body wipes: You won’t be able to shower on the trains, so these wipe were life-savers to feel human again throughout the day or in the mornings on the train. Normal body wipes take up to 500 years to decompose, so please stay far away from these. Opt for the biodegradable ones, please, available in most supermarkets!
Dry Shampoo: A serious game-changer.
Toilet paper: Because sometimes the trains run out of it… yikes.
Hand sanitizer: Don’t count on finding soap in the bathrooms
entertainment
Books, downloaded podcasts/movies/TV shows: Or anything else to keep you entertained.
Deck of cards/compact games: Nothing more quintissentially “Transsiberian Railway” than playing a game of cards with Russian strangers in the train dining car.
Necessities
Printed copy of your passport: This is always a good idea when traveling. Keep it in a separate bag from your actual passport if possible.
Different forms of currency: If you plan to purchase items on the train, be sure to have a form of currency that is accepted. Some trains will allow you to purchase food with a credit card, and others won’t. Generally currencies from wherever the train stops will be accepted (Russian and Mongolian money, or Mongolian and Chinese money, depending on which leg), and sometimes US dollars and Euros as well.
Things not to pack:
Mugs or cups: The train staff will provide these for you if you ask.
Drinking water: Every train will have drinkable water dispensers on board, so don’t worry about stocking up on bottled water (and PLEASE do not use disposable plastic bottles).
Linens or towels: The trains provide sheets, blankets, pillows/pillowcases, and a small hand towel to all passengers.
A lot of luggage: Trust me, it is such a pain to drag a giant suitcase on and off these trains.
A portable WiFi device: 95% chance you’ll spend a lot of money on one and it won’t work at all on these trains. But if you really want to give it a try, go for it!
Train food is hit-or-miss — sometimes trains have no restaurants cars or have no food in stock. You’ll be able to find instant noodles on every train, however… although I recommending bringing your own food for some healthier, more interesting options.
Costs
Generally speaking, the Transsiberian Railway is an affordable way to travel and see many different cities and countries. Your most significant costs will be visa expenses and train tickets, and if you decide to book a tour in Mongolia.
Food in the cities in Russia (other than Moscow city) and on the train is rather cheap. You can easily find meals for about $4.
A $4 Greek salad from the train restaurant car. Most meals were relatively cheap on board and at the various towns where you’ll stop along the way.
Train ticket costs:
Train ticket costs will vary depending on several factors including:
which class of cabin you choose
the time of year (whether peak-season or off-season)
time of day of the train rides (leaving in the middle of the night is sometime more affordable)
whether you’re traveling mid-week or on the weekend
how many stops you do (the more stops, the less cost-effective the train ride becomes)
how far in advance you’re booking
These are the average costs of train tickets when traveling during shoulder season (not off-season, not peak-season) in 2nd class cabins.
St. Petersburg - Moscow: $75
Moscow - Kazan: $55
Kazan - Ekaterinburg: $70
Ekaterinburg - Krasnoyarsk: $150
Krasnoyarsk - Irkutsk: $70
Irkutsk - Ulan Bataar: $160
Ulan Bataar - Beijing: $260
Visa Costs:
Visa costs will vary depending on several factors including:
which country’s passport you hold
in which country (or city) you’re applying for the passport
whether you go through an agency or are applying on your own
whether you’re applying for expedited visa processing
My visa expenses were extra high because I was applying while abroad. I spent $235 for my Russia visa and $275 for my China visa. For most Americans applying from within America (on non-expedited basis) the costs should be lower. You can check with a company like iVisa to see what your visa costs will be.
Mongolia:
Mongolia will be one of your most expensive stops, because you’ll likely need to hire a driver and guide to help you navigate the unpaved and unmarked dirt “roads” in the Gobi Desert. Split between two people and staying in local yurts (rather than luxury desert camps), the cost of our 5-day Gobi Desert tour with a hired driver/guide was $550 per person.
For more information on planning your Mongolia Gobi Desert trip, check out my blog post (coming soon!).
Let’s Go.
The Transsiberain Railway really is the adventure of a lifetime. Planning the trip takes a considerable amount of time and effort, but it will all be worth it once you’re watching the epic scenery roll past the train window, watching the sunset from a skyscraper in Yekaterinburg, taking a swim in Lake Baikal, seeing the Milky Way from the Mongolian desert, or hiking up the epic Great Wall of China.
I hope this Ultimate Transsiberian Railway Planning Guide helps answer all those questions you have about the trip, and can make the planning process much easier for you!
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Have any more questions about planning a Transsiberian Railway trip? Let me know in the comments below!