Trans Siberian Express

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Murt10

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The SSIA money is starting to burn a hole in my pocket. I'm thinking of taking the young fella on the Trans Syberian Express for the holiday of a lifetime (for his Dad anyway).

Anyone ever done it, how did they get there and home, who did they book through, what sort of price, did they enjoy it etc.

Any advice at all appreciated.


Murt
 
Re: Trans Syberian Express

Dont know much about it sorry but it sounds like an interesting once off trip I hope someone comes back with some info
 
Re: Trans Syberian Express

We were considering this, but discounted it after we realised that while it might be the trip of a lifetime it involves *very long* times spent on trains and while as adults we might the appreciate taking in the vastness of the whole EurAsia thing, it might appear slightly boring from the perspective of a kid. Just something to consider - depends on the age and outlook of Murt Jr. It might be worth doing a bit of it instead of the whole thing. A good starting place is http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm - or the whole http://www.seat61.com site if you are flexible in terms of classic journeys to take. You could fly to Beijing and get the train as far as Ulan Bator which should give Murt Jr a good experience, or better again fly to Tokyo, make your way to Fushiki, get the boat to Vladivostok and *then* get the train to Ulan Bator.

The 2 people I know who have done it did enjoy it, but they were single individuals who didn't have to deal with keeping a kid entertained after the first 4 hours of excitement had worn off and a further 120 hours remained,

There were some websites out there when we googled "trans siberian with children", but it was a while ago so I can't recommend any in particular.

z
 
Will be watching replies to this one, would LOVE to do this. Would agree it would be long for the kids, but not impossible. I would consider it when my kids are around 8-12...
Have you done any long-haul flights with them before?
have they been away from "western" countries before?
If not, I'd suggest you take a holiday in Japan/Philippines/Malaysia/somewhere where you can get both "5 star" and "native" experiences, and see how they cope, if you get to enjoy it at all or are just worried about malaria/tummy bugs etc etc.

Read a great book by Tim Severin about Mongolia and Genghis Khan, would recommend.
[broken link removed]
 
I'd just be worried some of the places you pass thru would be 'dodgy'. Any thoughts? Or is it safe enough
 
Depends on your definition of dodgy. If they were inherently dangerous I don't think you would find package tour operators bringing delicate Western tourists through there regularly. There will always be places that are dangerous from time to time, but if you are considering the whole cartoon images issue of recent days then you had better get your crystal ball all shiney and let us know the answer when you find out.

z
 
sorry should have been clearer I meant in a dangerous sense (not as in food, etc.) Thats a good point they wouldnt run tours for westerners if it was generally unsafe, would definitely love to do it some day
 
Did it last summer from Moscow to Ub (Mongolia), brilliant trip all 112 hours of it. Not sure if kids would enjoy, you have to be content looking out the window talking, sleeping, reading... We didn't stop anywhere overnight but did get off the train a few times a day to wander around the stations.
Its quite safe and the mjority of travellers are westeners and the whole thing is very social. It also cheap my ticket was about $250 including a berth in a 4bed. We booked through an agent in Russia and it seemed to work out ok. If you have any questions to ask, go ahead.
 
I did it last August. We got the ferry from Japan to Vladivostok. Bought the tickets at the station for the next night (on both occasions), did it in two sections. Vladivostok - Irkutsk and Irkutsk - Moscow. Tickets were cheap for 4 berth. about 300 dollars. We had the berth to ourselves for first section, shared with russians on the second. The train journey times were 71 hours for the first section, 84 for the second. We didnt get the quickest trains though or the touristy ones (train no's 1/2 or 7/8- those with a single digit), but we didnt care.

Its probably the most relaxing thing I have ever done in my life. Bring lots of books, scrabble, backgammon etc. The train stops pretty much every 2 hours or so for 10 mins and can stop for upto 45 mins at big stations. You can print off timetables in English from a website.
The lonely planet forum is excellent for all info on the trans siberian. http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=19
Also we had bryn thomas's guide for the trans siberian which was excellent http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1873756704/ref=pd_bxgy_img_b/104-6305180-9030367?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Food wise, we found the food off the train excellent. Great thing was if you were looking for food in the morning, there seemed to be bread, salami etc. In the evening the people selling food would have prepared meals (meat, veg, spuds) for like 2 dollars or something. We brought loads of salami, olives and general nice deli bits. you can buy all the staples at the stations when it stops.

As for dodginess, moscow is a bit sketchy but like anyplace when you travel, keep your eyes open. irkutsk was fine, a small city. Vladivostok was also fine.

I would have reservations bringing kids. There were lots of russian kids on the trains and they whiled their time away running up and down and getting off at the stations, but it does involve alot of time looking out the windows/reflecting, which kids aren't particularly good at.

We continued the train ride Tto germany which is only two extra nights stoping of in st>petersburg and riga which is well worth it> then get your ryanair flight from wherever!
 
Thanks for the replies so far. Keep them coming. The links are great.

I'm beginning to believe this is less than a pipe dream and is do-able. As I said, it is a future plan (depending on a windfall SSIA or INBS). To me & Junior, it certainly sounds more exciting than Disney

Was not having language much of a problem?
What form of money was best, dollars, Euros, Rouples?
Was VISA & MC acceptable or were travellers cheques better?
Do you have to keep your rucksack with you the whole time or just your valuables or was there safety deposit box on the train?
Again, with only english, was it difficult to get the ferry from Japan to Vladivostok.

The prospect of sharing a berth with strangers is a little bit daunting?

Murt
 
This was featured on BBC Holiday programme this week and last, see:



and part two



you might find something useful.
 
Language was a bit of a problem, but you will have that in most European countries. Learn the basics of Russian and how to read the alphabet, that will help you a lot, before you go.

For money, on the train you need some roubles for buying stuff off the train, but you won’t need to carry much. Always carry dollars as an emergency backup in two different places for each person (if you are super safe). There are ATM’s absolutely everywhere in Russia. No problems getting roubles. Credit cards are accepted widely in major cities (so Moscow, irkutsk, Vladivostok, st.petersburg). Travellers Cheques in my opinion are a complete waste of time. They are tricky to exchange, just bring your atm card

I found it very safe on the train. One of two of us was always in the cabin. At night you can lock the door which discourages those on the outside. Of course, you have the people on the inside to contend with, but that’s not a problem. People on these trains that we met were extremely friendly. Getting on and off the trains is probably the sketchiest part, as you have lots of dodgy looking geezers hanging around stations.

http://www.bisintour.com/
This is the website for the ferry company that goes from Japan to Vladivostok. We picked up our tickets in Tokyo, they have an agency there. We booked about a month in advance and were the only foreigners on the trip. Its full of Russian car dealers. It’s a 2 night journey, we ended up having a large 4 person cabin to ourselves which was great. All food was included and after the amazing flavour of Japanese food, it’s a major shock. Food was stodgy and wholesome, but bland. Trip cost about $250 each. By the way, the picture on the website might show a swimming pool. We were all excited about this, but when we got there, they had already parked 3 cars in it.
 
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