“S Priezdom! Welcome to Moscow!” Our driver will be there to meet you from whichever flight, train or boat you arrive. You’ll then be transferred to the Irbis 3H Hotel. The facilities available at this hotel include a Restaurant, Lobby Bar, Lobby Wi-Fi access, Luggage Room, Safety deposit boxes and an ATM machine. At check-in, (after 2pm) the hotel reception will advise you they will need your passport for
visa registration. This process takes 1–2 hours. Your complimentary InfoPack is full of ideas for getting the most out of your free time.
Please check out our " St. Petersburg Add On" if you wish to commence your trip in St. Petersburg No Meals.
Day 2 - Around Moscow
After breakfast one of our local expert staff will meet you at the hotel to take you on a three hour walking tour round the highlights – you’ll use public transport around the centre to avoid the traffic jams and get the hang of the system for when you come to use it independently. Our staffers are full of ideas for this walk but are flexible about other ideas if you have your own. Your walk ends in the city centre around lunchtime. If you haven’t pre-booked any of our range of city excursions the rest of the day is your own to explore further. Some of our top suggestions (please check opening times/days before setting off) would include visiting the Moscow Kremlin, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, or a boat trip along the Mosvka River… perhaps locate some tickets for ballet, opera, circus or a concert this evening? As well as famous classical music traditions Moscow features on the touring schedules of world names in jazz, rock, pop and world music.
Breakfast.
Day 3 - Depart Moscow
You’ll need to check out of your room by 12 noon today but the hotel offers a left
luggage service for a small fee. Your day is free until 8pm when a driver is scheduled to take you to the station. This morning you can continue sightseeing – the Lenin Mausoleum is only open in the mornings, and getting there early (it’s in Red Square) helps beat the queues. Although there’s a restaurant car service on board your train you may want to supplement this with some snacks, treats, and fresh fruit that you could buy today. Your transfer from the hotel to Yaroslavsky station is scheduled for 8pm, so please be at the hotel reception where your driver will meet you and
will assist your boarding of the Ulaanbaatar bound train.
Breakfast.
Day 4 - 7 - On board the Trans-Mongolian Express
On board The Trans-Sib… The dining car is the heart of social life on the train. It functions as bar, lounge, and take-out snack store, as well as a café serving reasonably priced meals. It is a great place to meet fellow travellers and locals alike, sharing your experiences of your journey so far with a few drinks, which no doubt will include some Vodka – and maybe smoked salmon and caviar too! Along the way
you’ll see astonishing Siberian scenery as the deciduous forests of the Ural Mountains slowly give way to Siberian pine forests. The major landmarks are the great rivers you cross, including the River Ob at Novosibirsk (one of the most famous bridges on the route), and the gigantic Enisei River (at Krasnoyarsk). Finally you make a circumnavigation of Lake Baikal, passing through the Buryat capital Ulan-Ude before branching southwards to cross the Russian/Mongolian border during the night, and continue towards the Mongolian capital. (nb no meal service from midnight until arrival to Ulaanbaatar – the dining car is unhitched at the border). No Meals.
Day 8 - Arrive Ulaanbaatar
Early morning arrival in Ulaanbaatar. Our driver
will meet you at the end of the platform and
will be holding a meeting-board with your
name on. Transfer from the station to a hotel
with a chance to shower and have breakfast.
This morning you will depart for your city tour
at 10.30am. This includes the Gandan
Monastery ceremony. After lunch you will
depart Ulaanbaatar for the Bayangobi region.
Evening arrival at a herdsman encampment.
Tonight you are the guests of the herdsmen,
and you’ll stay in a nomadic ger tent. Breakfast, Supper.
Day 9 - Nomads
Depart after breakfast for a day trip through the countryside of Övörkhangai Province in the direction of Harhorin (two hours off-road driving each way). Our route takes us into the Orkhon Valley, a World Heritage Site, which can be called the birthplace of Mongolian civilisation – the sites of the earliest metal working (which created the weapons that made the Mongolian empire great) are located here. We stop for a picnic lunch amid the stunning scenery. This afternoon we arrive at modern Harhorin – the settlement Genghis Khan would have known as Karakorum. It was here at the legendary gathering of clans that they declared Genghis the Great Khan, and his military campaigns of conquest began. Nothing is left of the ancient settlement, but on its site is the (rather later) monastery of Erdene Zuu, one of the most important Buddhist centres in Mongolia… and on the grounds of the monastery is the single turtle statue that remains of Genghis’s great Royal Court. Come back to our nomadic host family and have a traditional communal supper with them. Breakfast, Lunch, Supper.
Day 10 - Nomads
This morning see how a nomadic family milks
their live stock and learn how they produce
dairy products using the traditional Mongolian
method, and also participate in bringing the
herd into pasture. Free time to explore the
Bayangobi area, maybe take a walk along the
sand dunes. This evening we stay with our
nomad host family, will have supper with them
and learn traditional Mongolian games. Breakfast, Lunch, Supper.
Day 11 - Elstei Ger Lodge
This morning depart to our tourist Ger Lodge.
Evening arrival at Elstei Ger Lodge. This is a
different experience from staying with
nomads, as Elstei is purposely set up for
foreign visitors. This evening, chill out and
relax after the long journey. Breakfast, Lunch, Supper.
Day 12 - Free Day
With no specific activities planned you can
choose to chill out, read, sunbathe, go walking,
or (for a small payment made directly to them
locally) you can go horse riding with local
nomad horsemen. A relaxed evening in the bar
after supper there are occasional impromptu
performances of live Mongolian music, where
you might hear the Morin Khuur (horse-head
lyre), the cimbalom, or native Mongolian
throat-singing. Breakfast, Lunch, Supper.
Day 13 - Return to Ulaanbaatar
Around 10am you make the return trip to Ulaanbaatar. Check into the Bayangol 4Hhotel. This is a great centrally located property and facilities include 5 restaurants (including a real Indian-run restaurant managed by Mr Baboo and his wife), fitness centre, sauna and a minimarket. The balance of today is free to explore more of the city. You can choose to return to the heady atmosphere surrounding the Gandan Monastery (which you’ll have already visited when you were in the capital last time), or visit the Choijin Monastery Museum, or the Bazaar… log on and pick up your email in one of the numerous internet cafes on Peace Avenue, have a latte and French pastries in the new generation of new-age coffee stores, go souvenir shopping in the peculiar grandeur of the Central Department Store, or pick-up some snack food for the train in the Store’s food department… in the evening a wide range of traditional and new style Mongolian eateries are vying with European style places, Irish pubs and German beer halls to enjoy, usually with live music later on.
Breakfast.
Day 14 - Depart Ulaanbaatar
You’ll need to check out of your room by
12 noon today but the hotel offers a Left
Luggage service for a small fee. Your day is
free and it will easy to keep yourself amused
as there is so much still to see and do. We
recommend you take this opportunity to
purchase provisions for the next leg of your
journey, as often this service has no dining car.
Be back at the hotel at 8pm where your driver
will meet you at reception. You will then be
transferred the short distance to Ulaanbaatar
station where we will assist you boarding of
the Huhehot bound train. Breakfast.
Day 15 - Arrive Huhehot
Spectacular scenery that’s worth waking early
for this morning as you trundle through the
Southern Gobi. There’s a layover at the border
while they change the train-bogeys to Chinese
gauge – they don’t rush themselves for this
job, so it’s worth getting out to wander
around, even if the surroundings are not
especially interesting. Another layover once
you reach the Chinese side, for passport
control (you are usually not allowed out of the
station, as you have not yet cleared Chinese
passport-control). (It is worth pre-planning
your use of the bathroom today, as it will be
locked during these stops!) Late evening
arrival in Huhehot, the capital of Inner
Mongolia. Our driver will meet you at the end
of the platform where he will be holding a
meeting-board with your name on. Transfer to
the Pearl hotel, which is located in the city’s
shopping and business district, and is
equipped with more free toothbrushes, combs
and soaps than you know what to do with. No Meals.
Day 16 - Around Huhehot
After breakfast your guide will meet you at
reception, where you will depart for a full day
city of Huhehot, which will include; Zhaojun
Tomb, Dazhao Temple and The Five Pagoda Temple. Expect to return to the hotel late
afternoon. Our recommendation for this
evening; treat yourself to a slap up Chinese
meal – Huhehot has a super selection
featuring both local Mongolian (you can even
eat in a Mongolian cart-drawn war-ger) and
traditional Beijing-style cuisine. Breakfast, Lunch.
Day 17 - Depart Huhehot
You’ll need to check out of your room by
12 noon today but the hotel offers a Left
Luggage service for a small fee. Your day is
free to participate in a little extra shopping or
sightseeing. Own transfer to the station for the
Beijing bound train. Breakfast.
Included in the trip: TRAIN: 2-Class 4-berth rail for complete journey. MOSCOW: Transfer on arrival/departure. Two nights 3* Hotel, breakfast included. 3 hour personalised walking tour with local expert. MONGOLIA: One night 3* centrally located hotel, includes breakfast. All transportation. Three nights camping with Nomads, full board. Two nights tourist Ger Camp, full board. Sleeping bags are provided. One night 3* centrally located hotel in Ulaanbaatar, including breakfast. Optional walking tour of Ulaanbaatar. HUHEHOT: Two nights 3* hotel, includes breakfast. Guided City tour.
Trip Price Guide (per person):
1 person
2 people
3-9 people
Outer & Inner Mongolia
$3674
$2879
$2798
Spicing it up
Extra Night Moscow
$177
$111
$111
Upgrade 2-berth rail
$790
$790
$790
Due to the nature of these destinations all prices are subject to change. Contact us to confirm exact price.
these are the dates when this itinerary works:
2012 - 18 days
May 03, 10, 17, 24, 31
June 07, 14, 21, 28
July 04, 11, 18, 25
August 02, 09, 16, 23, 30
September 06
Booking Flights?
We have a range of airline tickets which fit in well with our trips. Run your flight requirements past us before confirming your flight arrangements.
