Everyone has different questions about the Trans Sib. Because staff at Travel Nation have actually done this trip, we can answer your queries with first hand knowledge. Our customers tell us that this makes all the difference.

When you have booked your trip with us we will also give you a complete dossier of information - including detailed explanations of all the points below.



------- Select a Question ------ Is the Trans Sib boring? Can I hop on and off? Getting all the visas sounds like a hassle? Do I need to book months in advance? Will I meet other foreigners? How much money will I need? Family Stay or Hotel - which do I choose? The stops appear very expensive to me? Is the Trans Sib safe for women ? Is Russia a Gay friendly destination? Is there a catch to the advertised £399 trip? How do I wash on board the train? What are 1st and 2nd class? What is the food like? What about my privacy on the train?










No ! Apart from the many stopover options that break the journey, most people love train life. You can watch the scenery, read, play cards / board games, eat, relax, drink some beer and vodka and best of all, socialise. No one is going anywhere! Making friends with other Westerners and locals is easy.

That said, it would be fair to say that if you go for the budget option and go straight through for 7 days, you would be ready to get off at the end ! Stopping en-route brings this trip alive.



That's not quite how things work out there ! Visas are city and date specific and the train is usually full. You have to sort out your stops in advance. We are here to help you with this. There are dozens of options to choose from.



We do this for you.
We use an overnight courier service to return your passports and final documents to you. The documents must be signed for, although not necessarily by yourself. If you work full time please specify your work address as the delivery address. If you need us to return your passport before the booking is complete (e.g. for other unrelated visas) we are happy to do so, but there will be a charge to cover the extra courier costs.

Living outside the UK? Not a problem!
We can process visas here in London much quicker than private individuals going to your local Embassies. Courier or secure-airmail your documents to us, and one delivery can do ALL your visas. There will be a charge to courier them back to you. Sorry but we cannot trust ordinary international mail to deliver passports. We usually use DHL who charge approx. £30 for deliveries in Europe.

Click here to download the visa application forms.





Not necessarily. We will however need at least 4-6 weeks to process your visas. Some trips can be prepared more quickly than that, although there might be express fees from the Consulates concerned. If you want to travel over the peak months (June-Sept) we would recommend booking further in advance to be sure of getting your first choice of dates.

You will often find other Russia Experience passengers on your train, or in your hotel, especially during the busy summer months.

At Lake Baikal the village is very small. Often if there are plans for a picnic or other activities you will be asked if you wish to join up with other clients. Our Mongolian staff will do the same, especially at the Ger camp or if there is the possibility of organising evening entertainment. You are of course under no obligation to do so, but we usually find that as friendships have already been formed on the train people do prefer to link up and impromptu parties are a regular occurrence - the staff there like to party too!

Moscow is around London prices, St Petersburg a little less - but after that there is little to buy on the train except meals. Our Siberian stops include all meals, and our Mongolian stops include 2 meals - so it can be cheap if you want it to be. Don't cheat yourself on visiting the Kremlin (GBP7/US$11) or the Hermitage (GBP6/US$10) - do you really need that pizza more than all that culture?

Mongolia and China are relatively low-cost destinations, although both take the opportunity to try to charge a "western-level" price for attractions of specific interest to foreign visitors. When you book, you receive an Info Pack. This has a whole page on money questions.

We recommend the Family Stays. They give you an insight into how Russians live. Breakfast and evening meal are included so you also get to taste some real Russian food. When choosing family stays our local partners take into account the standard of the accommodation, proximity to a metro station and of course the friendliness and honesty of the family. Whilst some of our families speak fluent English, many do not, but we feel that the other factors are more important. We get great feedback from clients about our Family Stays and often new and lasting friendships are made. We even celebrated a marriage this year!

If, however, you want to sample St Petersburg and Moscow's wild nightlife, test the strength of the vodka and party the night away then we recommend you stay in a hotel. It also prevents a situation where our families sit up all night worrying about you. They all have jobs to go to and we would ask you not to stagger in during the early hours, taking out the best china in the process!

They only seem that way. The non-stop fare (only) is regulated by an international agreement which the Chinese stick to and the Russians cannot break (although they want to). Trips with stops are more expensive not because of the huge cost of the accommodation at the stops - but because the ticket-set for the journey costs more.

Levels of sexual aggression towards women are remarkably low in Russia. The train carriages are unisex so if you are travelling alone, we would recommend that you don't travel in first class as you will be sharing with one other person.

Whilst you can try to change to an all female compartment when you board, if you are travelling in a pair and don't want to share with men, you would have to book in first class or book out a whole 4 berth second class cabin.





We have had no negative feedback from gay couples who have done the Trans Sib. The hotels and stop-over hosts we book certainly don't get sniffy about requests for double beds.





Of course! This is based on the budget trip, for this you get:

Arrive Moscow ...Transfer on arrival to ONE STAR HOTEL ROOM ONLY 2 nights.
Make your own way to station on third day.
Then take Trans Manchurian (No Mongolia) straight to Beijing... 7 nights on train where you emerge from the station with no transfers or accommodation booked.

£399 price is valid for groups of 3 - 9 people.
This trip costs £439 per person if there are 2 of you and £469 for solo travellers.

We could make it cheaper than this by cutting out the transfers on arrival, but this would be a false economy as a cab will set you back $50. And don't expect to negotiate the fare in English!

Though there aren't any showers to speak of, it is possible to stay clean with a little ingenuity. The bathrooms have a WC and a washbasin. If you take along a flannel and a towel, you will emerge 30 minutes later a new person ! The bathrooms are constantly kept clean by the train guards.

The classes on-board are 1st class (2-berth) and 2nd class (4-berth). All our trips are based on 2nd class, but we can upgrade you. There's another difference - certain trains have higher-category status (applying to the whole train, not just 1st or 2nd class), called "firmenny" trains. They have on-board Security, better conditions and newer rolling-stock. 1st class prices vary according to the itinerary and the prices are not necessarily logical!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: There is limited availability in 1st class and during the peak summer months it is difficult to obtain. We cannot always guarantee a place - but we'll try our best. If we cannot get 1st class we can usually offer to buy out a 2nd class compartment to guarantee you privacy. 1st class cannot be confirmed more than 30 days prior train travel dates. We only book "firmenny"-category trains ("higher-category") unless no other is available (in which case we mention this specifically in the itinerary).

As you would expect in Moscow and St Petersburg, there are plenty of good places to eat. If you stay with a family, you will sample some old fashioned Russian home cooking - which is wholesome if plain.

On board, in addition to taking pleny of snacks and treats, the food served in the restaurant cars can range from simple and filling to mouth wateringly delicious.

Is this trip a vegetarian's worst nightmare?
No. But since vegetarianism isn't well understood in this part of the world you will need to be prapared for the occasional slightly odd or dull meal! Take along a bottle of your favourite condiment.





Standard class accommodation means 4 people to a decent sized compartment (about the same size as a first class compartment on a train in the U.K.).

If there are 2 of you travelling, you can pay between £265 and £400 extra per person to upgrade to a compartment that is the same size, but only has the two of you in it.