London to China & Japan

Above:  A 1st class 2-bed compartment on the Moscow-Vladivostok 'Rossiya'.

• Overview of the 3 Trans-Siberian routes

• How to plan your trip:  A step-by-step guide...

• Route map

• How much does it cost?

• How to buy tickets - eastbound

• How to buy tickets - westbound

• Visas

• Travel tips - security, food, 1st or 2nd class, stopping off...

• A trip on the 'Rossiya' Moscow-Vladivostok

• A trip on train 4 Moscow-Beijing

• A brief history of the Trans-Siberian Railway

• Across Siberia by luxury charter train

On other pages...

• Photo gallery

• Trans-Siberian timetable - summary of key trains

• How to travel by train from London to Moscow

• Ferry Vladivostok - Japan

• Ferries Shanghai - Japan

• Connecting trains in China

1.  Decide on your final destination.  Vladivostok?  Beijing?  Tokyo?  Hong Kong?  Shanghai?  Even Saigon, Bangkok or Singapore!  The route map below shows you the places you can get to by Trans-Siberian Railway, and there's an overview of the three Trans-Siberian routes on the right.  Vladivostok is an interesting place for a day or two, but not in itself worth 7 days travelling from Moscow unless you're taking the ship to Japan.  But Beijing is a wonderful destination, with Shanghai or Xian just an overnight train ride away.  How about Japan?  There are passenger ships from both Vladivostok to Japan and Shanghai to Japan.  You can even reach Hanoi in Vietnam by twice-weekly train from Beijing (see the Vietnam page), then travel onwards by train and the occasional bus to Saigon, Bangkok & Singapore (see the Cambodia & Thailand pages).

2.  Do you want to make the whole trip in one go, or to stop off on the way..?  Travelling to Vladivostok in 7 days without stopovers can be tedious, and it is better the break up the journey and see something of Siberia.  On the other hand, the more varied scenery and camaraderie on board the direct Moscow-Beijing trains makes non-stop travel on these trains a thoroughly enjoyable option, and maximises your time in China.  If you'd like to stop off, the most usual stopovers are Irkutsk in Siberia and Ulan Bator in Mongolia.  Ekaterinberg and Ulan Ude are also worth a stop.

To help decide if and where to stop off, buy a copy of Bryn Thomas' excellent Trans-Siberian Handbook, with journey planning information, town guides, the history of the line, and best of all, a mile-by-mile guide to the sights you can see from the train, to help you get the most from your trip. The Lonely Planet guide to the Trans-Siberian Railway is also excellent.

3.  What time of year to go?  What class of sleeper to use?  What's Trans-Siberian travel like?  First, see the Trans-Siberian travel tips on this page.  Then see Travelling Moscow-Beijing on train 4, Travelling Moscow-Vladivostok on train 2, and the Trans-Siberian picture gallery.

4.  Plan your Trans-Siberian trains:  There is no such train as the 'Trans-Siberian Express' but a whole range of trains across Siberia, including many Russian domestic trains plus a handful of direct international trains to Mongolia and China.  Plan your trains using the Trans-Siberian Timetable page.  Within Russia, there are both faster quality trains and slower cheaper trains.  Fares are shown in the fares section.

5.  Plan your itinerary and budget.  How much will a trip like this cost..?  Do I need a 6 month sabbatical or is 2 weeks off work enough..?  It all depends on what you want to do.  The only way to know is to plan out your trip and work out a budget.  How to plan an itinerary & budget.

6.  Book your Trans-Siberian train.  When you have planned your journey, decide how you are going to buy your Trans-Siberian tickets.  There are several ways to buy tickets, some cheaper but more effort, others easier but more expensive.  The how to book section below explains the options.

7.  Book connecting trains, ships & flights.  Now book any onward trains in China or ferry to Japan.  You may also need a one-way flight.

8.  Arrange visas.  Once you have booked the Trans-Sib train, you need to arrange your visas.  See the visa section below.  You can usually only get visas within 3 months of travel.

9.  Book your train from London to Moscow.  Finally, arrange train travel from London to Moscow to connect with the Trans-Siberian, see the London to Russia page.  Bookings for European trains open 60 days before departure, you cant book until reservations open, so do this bit last.

Moscow - Vladivostok:  Every second day, the 'Rossiya' ('Russia', train number 2 eastbound, train 1 westbound) leaves Moscow on its seven day journey to Vladivostok.  This is almost the longest train ride of them all - 9,258 km or 6,152 miles. This train has 2nd class 4-berth compartments (called kupé) and 1st class 2-berth compartments (called spalny wagon or 'SV') and a restaurant car.  One-way fares start at about 9,226 rubles ($320 or £190) in a 4-berth sleeper or 18,200 rubles ($630 or £370) in a 2-berth sleeper. There's a brief account of the journey below.  From Vladivostok there is a weekly ship to Japan, taking 36 hours (2 nights).

Moscow - Beijing:  The main Trans-Siberian line runs from Moscow to Vladivostok, but most western travellers head for China on one of two branches, the Trans-Mongolian line (completed in the 1950s) or the Trans-Manchurian line (built around 1900) - see the route map.  There are two direct trains a week from Moscow to Beijing (Peking), one via Mongolia with Chinese rolling stock and one via Manchuria with Russian rolling stock.

Moscow - Beijing via Mongolia:  This is arguably the most interesting Trans-Siberian route to take.  The weekly Trans-Mongolian train (train 4 eastbound, train 3 westbound) leaves Moscow for Beijing every Tuesday night.  The 7,621 km (4,735 mile) journey takes 6 days.  This train crosses Siberia, cuts across Mongolia and the Gobi desert, then enters China.  This train uses Chinese rolling stock and has deluxe 2-berth compartments (with shared shower), 1st class 4-berth compartments & 2nd class 4-berth compartments.  Fares start at around $420 (£220) one-way in 2nd class 4-berth or $695 (£345) in 1st class 2-berth.  There's a brief account of the journey below.

If you want to stop off on the way, there's a second weekly train from Moscow to Ulan Bator (train 6 eastbound, train 5 westbound), or there are daily trains from Moscow to Irkutsk and a daily train from Irkutsk to Ulan Bator (train 263/264).  There are 2 or 3 trains a week from Ulan Bator to Beijing.  Details are on the Trans-Siberian timetable page.

Moscow - Beijing via Manchuria: The weekly Trans-Manchurian train (the 'Vostok', train 20 eastbound, train 19 westbound, using Russian rolling stock) leaves Moscow on Friday nights for Beijing via Manchuria, taking just over six days to cover the 8,986km (5,623 miles).  There are 2-berth 1st class compartments (spalny vagon) and 4-berth 2nd class compartments (kupé).  Prices are similar to the Chinese train.

Other Trans-Siberian trains:  These aren't the only Trans-Siberian trains.  Far from it!  Many other trains run over parts of these routes, including the excellent 'Baikal' (train 9/10) every second day from Moscow to Irkutsk, and some slower, lower quality trains.  There's even a daily Moscow-Vladivostok slow lower-quality train, not one you'd like to get on by mistake...  See the Trans-Siberian timetable page.

London to Moscow by train...

Flying to Moscow to pick up the Trans-Siberian Railway is like agreeing to run a marathon then accepting a lift in someone's car for the first mile...  Don't cheat..!  If you're going to go overland to the far East, do it properly, starting at London St Pancras and staying firmly on the ground.  It's easy to travel from London to Moscow by train, click here for train times, fares and how to book.

Other European cities to Moscow...

You can also travel to Moscow by direct sleeping-car from Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Helsinki, Amsterdam and many other places.  To find train times, use http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de.

The passenger ship 'Rus' of the Far East Shipping Co. (FESCO) sails from Vladivostok to Fushiki in Japan once a week all year round, taking 36 hours (2 nights).  Fares start at US$400 one-way in 4-berth cabin, meals included in the fare.  See the Trans-Siberian timetable page for sailing dates, times and how to book.  You can confirm these at the FESCO website www.bisintour.com.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to travel via Beijing, there are also weekly ships year-round between Shanghai in China and either Kobe or Osaka in Japan.  See the China page for sailing dates, approximate fares and how to book.

Above:  Crossing the sea of Japan takes 36 hours.  The crew are welcoming and helpful.  As the only non-Russian aboard, I even qualified for my own announcements after the ones in Russian:  "Mr Smit', your meal is now ready in the restaurant.  Bon appetit..!".  The crossing to Japan was the most enjoyable and relaxing part of the 14-day London to Tokyo journey.

The good news is that a Trans-Siberian journey needn't be expensive if you travel independently and not with an inclusive tour.  It's a regular railway with regular fares, not expensive tourist fares.  For over 5,000 miles of travel, a bed for 5 to 7 nights and a world-class experience, it's a bargain!  However, what you pay will vary enormously, depending on:

• which class you travel in.  Most western travellers go 2nd class 4-berth (kupé).  3rd class (platskartny open-plan bunks) is a bit basic for most western travellers though more adventurous types may enjoy it, and 1st class 2-berth (spalny vagon ) is nice, but twice as expensive as kupé so only worth it if you are not on a budget.

• whether you travel independently (cheaper) or book an all-inclusive tour (more expensive).

• if travelling independently, whether you buy your ticket through a Russian travel agency (cheaper), a western travel agency (more expensive), or at the ticket office (cheapest, but not always practical, see below).

• if booking through an agency, which agency you use.  Demand for the direct Moscow-Beijing trains exceeds supply, and Russian railways sell off blocks of tickets to travel agencies before bookings open to the public.  These agencies then sell tickets for these trains at whatever price they can get for them.  So shop around!

• for journeys wholly within Russia, whether you travel on a 'Firmeny' fast quality train such as trains 2 (the 'Rossiya') and 10 (the 'Baikal') or a slow ordinary unnamed lower-quality train such as trains 240 or 340, which have cheaper fares.  As a general rule, low train numbers are quality trains, slower low-quality trains have three-digit train numbers.  When you contact an agency, make sure you know what train number you're being quoted a fare for!

If you buy tickets at the ticket office in Moscow...

Buying tickets for domestic Russian journeys at the ticket office is a practical option for most Russian domestic journeys, such as Moscow-Irkutsk or Irkutsk-Vladivostok or even Moscow-Vladivostok, especially if it wouldn't upset your plans to have to take a different train or travel a day later than planned if your first choice of train was fully booked.  However, if you have limited time and a definite itinerary, pre-booking your trains via an agency is a better option, see the next section.  Demand for the direct Moscow-Beijing and Moscow-Ulan Bator trains exceeds supply and these particular trains get fully-booked months ahead.  This means you'll almost certainly have to use an agency if you want to travel on these direct trains. 

How to buy tickets yourself at the ticket office in Moscow

If you buy tickets from a Russian travel agency...

Unless you have lots of time and can afford to take pot luck when you get to Moscow, you'll probably want to book your trains in advance.  Russian Railways sell tickets online, but only in Russian, so most westerners buy tickets through a travel agency, either a local Russian agency (cheapest) or a specialist western agency (more expensive).  Different agencies charge completely different prices for the same journey, but give you a very rough idea, here are the sort of fares you can expect to pay if you shop around and book through the cheapest Russian agency.  Depending on the agency, you may need to add a courier fee or a credit card charge (up to 12%) to these fares.  How to buy tickets from Russian travel agencies.

If you buy tickets from a western travel agency...

There are various western agencies who specialise in Trans-Siberian travel.  They will arrange a tailor-made tour for you, but will sell you just a train ticket if you like.  Their prices vary enormously, so shop around.  More information about arranging your trip through a western tour agency.

If you buy tickets in Ulan Bator...

A Ulan Bator to Irkutsk ticket costs about 33,000 togrog ($30) if bought at the station.  More information about buying tickets in Ulan Bator.

If you buy tickets at the station or through China Travel Service (CITS) in Beijing...

You can buy tickets in person at Beijing main station or via CITS (the Chinese state tourist agency).  You can check fares at www.cits.net (click China Train then International Train Fare).  More information about buying tickets in person in Beijing or by email via CITS.

Children...

• In Russia, children under 5 sharing a berth with an adult go free, children 5 to 10 travel at half the adult fare. 

• On the Trans-Manchurian and Trans-Mongolian international trains (trains 3, 4, 19, 20), children under 4 go free if they share a berth, children 4 to 11 (inclusive) travel at 75% of the adult fare. 

• For journeys wholly within China, children under 110cm tall travel free, 110-140cm tall travel for half fare, over 140cm tall pay full fare.

Option 1:  Buy tickets in person at Beijing...

The absolute cheapest way to buy westbound Trans-Sib tickets is in person at one of the reservation offices in Beijing.  However, the two weekly Beijing-Moscow trains get booked up well in advance, so buy tickets as far in advance as you can.  Westbound trains are easier to get berths on than eastbound trains, and winter is easier than finding a place than the peak summer season from May to September.  Train 3 to Moscow via Mongolia is often fully booked a couple of weeks in advance especially in summer, although it can be easier to get a berth on train 19 via Manchuria, which occasionally has berths available even a few days before departure (but not always!).  The basic message is this:  If you positively have to be on a specific train on a specific date, forget booking at the ticket office, you should pre-book via CITS or some other agency and pay their extra fee.  But if you're living in Beijing, or plan to be there for some time before leaving, and can be a bit flexible about exactly what date you leave, booking in person can be a good option.  You can buy Trans-Siberian train tickets in person in Beijing at:

• the international train booking office on the ground floor of the Beijing International Hotel.  This is about five minutes walk north of Beijing main station on Jianguo Men Nei Dajie, open 08:30-12:00 & 13:30-17:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-11:00 & 14:00-16:00 on weekends and holidays.  The staff speak basic English and leaflets are available with international train times in English.  See the section above for fares. 

• Beijing main station (metro Bejingzhan), in the ticketing office for foreigners.  This is on the north west corner of the 1st floor, accessed via the soft seat waiting room, open 05:30-07:30, 08:00-18:30, 19:00-23:00.  It's now reported (2008) that this office no longer sells international tickets.

• BTG Travel & Tours, on Fwai Dajie between the New Otani and Gloria Plaza Hotels, open 08:00-20:00.  They have a desk for Trans-Siberian tickets, with information in English.

Option 2:  Buy tickets by phone or email with China Travel Service (CITS)...

CITS are the official Chinese state tourist agency, and this is probably the cheapest way to buy westbound Trans-Sib tickets starting in Beijing, other than buying in person at the ticket office.  You can book trains from Beijing to Moscow, Irkutsk or Ulan Bator by emailing support-en@cits.com.cn (you can check details on the CITS website, www.cits.net) or by calling CITS on + 86 10 6512 0507 or + 86 10 6512 0503).  It was reported back in 2005 that CITS had stopped taking email or phone bookings, but they are now taking bookings by email again.  Expect to pay by bank transfer rather than credit card.  Reports also suggest they can't book Beijing-Irkutsk tickets, only Beijing-Krasnoyarsk and beyond, so by all means ask for Beijing-Irkutsk, but be prepared to accept an offer of a Beijing-Krasnoyarsk ticket and simply get off in Irkutsk (though their website shows Beijing-Irkutsk fares!).  They will still be the cheapest way to buy tickets!  Further feedback on the CITS booking situation is very welcome, to help keep this page updated.