“S Priezdom” Welcome to St. Petersburg. Our driver will be there to meet you from whichever flight, train or boat you arrive. You’ll then be transferred to the Vesta 3★ Hotel. (We can obtain rates for superior hotels ask a member of the reservations team for details.) Your complimentary InfoPack is full of ideas for getting the most out of your free time.

After breakfast one of our local experts will meet you at your hotel in the lobby for a three hour walking and familiarisation tour. The rest of the day is your own.

A full day for you to pack in the best of the rest. Own transfer this evening to Moskovsky Station where you will board the Moscow bound train.

Early morning arrival in Moscow. You’ll then be transferred to the Panorama 3★ Hotel. (We can obtain rates for superior hotels ask a member of the reservations team for details.) One of our local expert staff will meet you at the hotel around 10am 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. The rest of the day’s your own.

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. 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?

Transfer to Yaroslavsky Station where you will board the Irkutsk bound train.

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!

Arrival in Irkutsk, transfer to U Ozera 3★ Hotel situated in Listvyanka Village (70km) travelling by road through the forest. The Hotel is set just 50 metres from the shores of Lake Baikal.

It’s all included in the trip price! You’ll need to inform us of your choice before commencing your journey, so that we can have the right staff on hand for when you arrive.

(A) Siberian trek

(B) Circum Baikal picnic

(C) Taltsy wooden museum

(D) Port Baikal excursion

After breakfast transfer back to Irkutsk city. Check-into The Angara 3★ Hotel. The Angara Hotel is located on the Kirov Square, in the heart of Irkutsk city. Our local staff will provide a map and some recommendations of interesting places to visit. Some of our top suggestions (please check opening times/days before setting off) Decembrist Museum, Volkonsky House and The Epiphany Cathedral.

Early morning transfer to the station where you will board the Ulaanbaatar bound train.

Our driver and guide 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 Zaya Hostel with a chance to freshen up and have breakfast, before departing to the enormous monument to Genghis Khan (aka Chinghiiskhan.) It may not be quite traditional in style (since it’s made of stainless steel) but it’s an astounding edifice and a testament to Genghis’s place in Mongolian culture (astonishingly the Communists tried to write him out of official history text-books). Taking the elevator to top of this 10 metre high monument you visit the exhibition hall from where you will have an excellent panoramic view over the complex area and the scenery beyond. Then set off for Khustai National Park. (Around 155km West of Genghis Khan Statue) . This is the perfect location to see the and also feel the beauty of Mongolia with its unique landscape of mountains , steppe, sand dunes and river wetlands. The national park is home to the “Takhis” the famous wild horse and 46 other species of mammals including deer, wild boar, white-tailed gazelle, grey wolf, Eurasian lynx to name but a few. Also if you are an ornithologist there are over 161 species of birds including Eagles and Cranes. Supper and overnight at the tourist Camp.

After breakfast head for Tsenkher Hot Springs. (around 2 hour drive) If you are feeling a little bruised or achy from your travels, bouncing over Mongolian roads, then an hour or two in the springs is just the ticket for you. Time to relax and enjoy your surroundings.

This morning an early start and drive to the lost capital of Genghis Khan at Karakorum (approximately 2 hours) and visit the magnificent Erdene Zuu Monastery, where you will see a distinct mixing of the styles of Mongolian and Tibetan Buddhism. Karakorum was once the heart of the Mongol Empire and today, you’ll still see remnants of the long standing walls that encircle the city. Also in the afternoon, visit the newly established Karakorum Museum. Overnight in Hotel.

After breakfast, head for Elsen Tasarkhai Depart for Elsen Tasarkhai, enjoy a picnic lunch, or if you prefer with a local family? Opportunity experience Nomadic life style and ride a camel or horse, (at your own expense) Elsen Tasarhai literally means “an isolated torn-off piece of sand” and it is a small sequence of real desert in the midst of green steppes.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT NOMAD STAYS: When we say “nomad stay” it means exactly that – you are sharing the lives of herdsmen who live on the Mongolian Steppe. There’s often no electricity, they don’t speak English, and there isn’t any plumbing!

Around 2pm you make the return trip to Ulaanbaatar. On arrival to Ulaanbaatar your city tour will include; Sukhbaatar Square and the National History Museum. Check into Hotel Nine 3★ Hotel. This evening why not visit Peace Avenue or pick-up some snack food for the train in one of the many supermarkets? There is a wide range of traditional and new style Mongolian eateries as well as European restaurants . Or maybe go to see a Folklore concert this evening?

Early morning transfer to the station for the Beijing bound train. Time to leave the Capital On The Steppes – today’s train journey meanders through amazing sun parched scenery of the Southern Gobi. Later that evening there comes the Chinese border formalities, after which you are free to get some sleep.

Don’t oversleep today as it’s possibly some of the most spectacular scenery of the entire route, as you leave the desert scenery behind and pass by mountains and rice paddy fields. Arriving into Beijing Central Station at the end of your Trans-Siberian journey.