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Trans
Siberian Railway, the longest in the world
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Moscow
– Yekaterinburg - Irkutsk – Vladivostok extended
18
days / 17 nights
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Grade
of difficulty: easy (sightseeing)
Land
cost: available on request.
The price includes: Accommodation
(9 nights in hotels B&B, 8 nights in a trains); Train
tickets Moscow-Yekaterinburg, Yekaterinburg-Irkutsk, Irkutsk-Vladivostok
; Transfers according to the itinerary; All excursions, entrance
fees and tours according to the itinerary, including city
tours in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Listvyanka, Vladivostok
(except Khanka lake reserve – it can be arranged separately
if you are interested); Lunches and dinners according to the
itinerary: 3 dinners (1 in Moscow, 2 in Yekaterinburg), 3
lunches (2 in Listvyanka and 1 on the way from Vladivostok
to Gaivoron).
Airplane tickets, Insurance, Visas, Tips
are
not included.
*Schedule of the sightseeing
train down the Round Baikal railway is subject to changes
so some changes in Irkutsk section of the itinerary may be
required. Otherwise you can choose the same tour without Round-Baikal
Railway — it is 2 days shorter.
**Note that if you have more
time than 18 days, you can continue your adventure. You can
take the advantage of the fact that Vladivostok, the final
point of your journey, provides easy access to many coastal
destinations: you can go to Kamchatka or Chukotka with Wild
Russia, or we can organize shorter tours to some of the numerous
Far East nature reserves so that you can spent a day or two
in famous Ussuriland taiga. Optionally you can just rest in
a wooden cottage and experience true Russian banya — being
one of the famous Russian extremes, it is a real fun, especially
in winter. |
This
route is essentially the same as 16-days option but adds
2 more days at the Lake Baikal during which you will travel
down the famous Round-Baikal Railway and visit the museum
of the Lake Baikal.
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Yekaterinburg— 19th century gold-rush
city
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The Romanovs in Yekaterinburg — the last
dwelling of the last Russian Tzar
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Irkutsk — capital of east Siberia
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Folklore village – Russian and Buryat
architecture
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Lake Baikal boat trip
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Travelling by Round Baikal Railway
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Visit to Amur tigers — endangered inhabitants
of Far East taiga and biggest cats in the world
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| ITINERARY |
| Day
1. Arrive to Moscow. Transfer to 3-star hotel.
Check-in. Free time to relax. Guided sightseeing city tour:
Red Square in front of Kremlin that symbolizes the most dramatic
pages of the Russian history, Vorobievy Hills and Poklonnaya
Gora — best places to take panoramic photos of the city, Manezh
Square that ranks among ten most expensive shopping streets
in the world. In the evening you will have free time to explore
the city. Possible starting point is Arbat street — Moscow analogue
of Monmartre — a popular hangout for local artists. Overnight
in the hotel. |
| Day
2. After
breakfast guided sightseeing tour: Kremlin (Armor Chamber, Diamond
Fund). Lunch. Free time for you to explore the city — you can
visit Tretyakovskaya gallery or Russian History museum or other
places of interest by yourself. Dinner. Overnight in the hotel. |
| Day
3. Breakfast,
free time. After lunch transfer by car from the hotel to the
railway station and board the train to Yekaterinburg. Overnight
in the train.
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| Day
4. Whole
day in the train. Arrive to Yekaterinburg in the afternoon.
Transfer to hotel, check-in, free time to relax. Overnight in
the hotel. |
| Day
5. Breakfast.
Guided tour: Treasures of Ural Mountains – gold and emeralds,
that were discovered in late 18 century, caused a kind of Golden
Rush that transformed the city into the largest industrial center.
Dinner. Overnight in the hotel. |
| Day
6. Breakfast. Guided tour: «The Romanovs
in Yekaterinburg». This tour will give you an insight
into the dramatic pages of Russian revolution: the last Russian
czar, Nikolai the Second (Nikolai Romanov) was kept imprisoned
with all his family in 1918 in Yekaterinburg and later assassinated.
Optionally you can take a sightseeing tour with a picnic on
the border between Europe and Asia. Dinner at the restaurant.
In the evening transfer to railway station and board the train
to Irkutsk. Overnight in the train. |
| Day
7-8. Travel from Yekaterinburg to Irkutsk
via Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk. 2 lunch boxes. Cross the Irtish
river in Omsk, the Ob river in Novosibirsk and the Enisei river
in Krasnoyarsk. |
| Day
9. Arrive to Irkutsk early in the morning. Transfer
from the railway station to the hotel, check-in. Free time to
relax, guided sightseeing tour: historical center of the city,
19th century architecture, wooden cottages, houses of Russian
noblemen who were exiled after 1825 rebellion and lived there
after years of hard labor in even more God-forsaken places.
Overnight in the hotel. |
| Day
10. After breakfast transfer to Slyudyanka (with its
one-off railway station built entirely from white marble) where
guided trip down the Round-Baikal Railway begins. Travelling
along the Baikal lakeside (if the weather is good you will see
Khamar-Daban mountain range on the opposite side of the lake)
by sightseeing train*, you will explore this 100-years old railway
with its famous tunnels and bridges. Cross the Angara river
by ferry and arrival to Listvyanka village. Accommodation in
the lodge. |
Day
11. Full day in Listvyanka. Guided boat trip with
lunch, Lake Baikal sightseeing. Overnight in the lodge.
NB!
If the weather is bad boat trip might be substituted by some
other activity. |
Day
12. After breakfast, return to Irkutsk. On the way
you will visit folklore village “Taltsy” (Russian and Buryat
wooden architecture). Lunch. Free time to explore the city.
Transfer to the railway station, board the train and departure
to Vladivostok. |
| Day
13-15. Travelling by train to Vladivostok via Ulan
Ude and Khabarovsk. Several hours (soon after departure from
Irkutsk) the train runs along the Lake Baikal. Cross the Amur
river in Khabarovsk. |
| Day
16. Arrive to Vladivostok it the morning. Transfer
to hotel. Check-in. Guided sightseeing tour around the city
starting from the Golden Horn Bay — a place around which the
city was built. You will have a chance to enjoy the best view
of Vladivostok from the top of the Eagle's Nest Hill, the highest
point of the city (214 m, or 702 feet). See the fascinating
panorama of Golden Horn. In the afternoon guided underground
walking tour along tunnels of unique fortification line “Vladivostok
fortress” built in early 20th century. Return to the hotel. |
Day
17. Early in the morning transfer to Gaivoron village
nearby Khanka lake nature reserve that presents a unique opportunity
to observe many bird species during their seasonal migration
NB!
Naturally they don’t migrate every day, so if this option
is important for you your journey should be scheduled accordingly
(mid-autumn or mid-spring).
You
will visit Amur tiger sanctuary where a tiger family lives
in its natural habitat. This is safe way to make acquaintance
with these big (actually biggest) cats sometimes called “Lord
of Taiga”, and also learn about them as the trip is guided
by the professional biologist who travels all around the region
to study and protect these endangered animals. Lunch. Transfer
back to the hotel. |
| Day
18. Breakfast. Departure from Vladivostok**. |
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Wild
Russia / Neizvedanny Mir Company
Saint Petersburg, Fontanka embankment, 59
+7
812 703-3215
+7
812 703-3216
+7
812 703-3249
Email:
info@wildrussia.spb.ru
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