Trans-Siberian Express 2012 

St Pancras is your starting point for the world's greatest overland adventure, covering more than 8,000 miles. The entire journey to the Sea of Japan can be made by rail, allowing you to sit back and enjoy the ever-changing landscape as we head for Siberia. Your Great Rail Journey commences in the beautifully restored station at St Pancras, travelling on the Eurostar service through the Channel Tunnel to Brussels. We change trains in Brussels and continue by high-speed train to Cologne, where we board the Jan Kiepura sleeper train. Our overnight journey takes us across Germany and through what was once the 'Iron Curtain' into Poland.

Today we arrive in Warsaw, a beautiful and remarkable city full of historic Stalinesque buildings, wide imperial avenues and glorious parks. A sightseeing tour of Warsaw includes colourful Castle Square and the beautiful Old Town, so much of which was painstakingly rebuilt to the last detail after being comprehensively destroyed by bombing raids in World War II. Our journey continues on the morning of Day 3 as we board the Ost-West Express sleeper train, travelling across the east of Poland and over the border to the Republic of Belarus, a former Soviet state. We continue through Belarus and across the border into Russia, arriving in Moscow on the morning of Day 4. We transfer to the 5-star Marriott Royal Aurora Hotel for a welcome reception and dinner. On Day 5 we spend a full day touring Moscow and its famous sights, including the Kremlin, Red Square and the magnificent St Basil's Cathedral. We later transfer to the station to join the luxurious Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express for the first of 12 nights on board as we cross some of the northern hemisphere's remotest areas on our way to Vladivostok.

Our first stop is Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan on the River Volga. The city is renowned for its ornate buildings, including the colourful onion-domed cathedral, the inspiring Kul Sharif Mosque in the grounds of the impressive Kazan Kremlin, and the classical style buildings of the university. On Day 7 we cross the Europe-Asia divide and arrive in Yekaterinburg, capital of the Urals. Here we visit the poignant site, now a memorial church, where the Romanovs were murdered in 1918 by the Bolsheviks. We also call at the Military History Museum and and the Urals Mineralogical Museum. On Day 8 we arrive in Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia, for a guided tour. Here we see the grandiose Opera and Ballet Theatre, the largest opera house in the world, and visit Lenin Square, dominated by a statue of Russia's most famous revolutionary leader.

Day 9 is a leisurely day spent on the train and on Day 10 we arrive in Irkutsk, founded by the Cossacks in the mid 17th century. Following a sightseeing tour of the town, famed for its classic Siberian carved-wood architecture, we enjoy a private concert in the Decembrist House Museum.

On Day 11 the Trans-Siberian Express skirts the shores of vast Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world. We stop for a lakeside barbecue lunch including freshly smoked fish and continue on to visit the small village of Listvyanka, nestled at the foot of the surrounding hills. We arrive in Ulan Ude on Day 12, capital of the Buryat Republic, where we visit a Buddhist temple and the Village of Old Believers. Here we enjoy a concert featuring local dancers and musicians accompanied by a traditional meal.

On Day 13 we arrive in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia and home of the Mongolian leader Genghis Khan. During our day here we gain a unique insight into the typical way of life of the Mongolian nomads and their humble existence on the vast plains of one the world's largest but lesser-known countries. We enjoy an authentic lunch in a yurt, a round felt-covered tent traditionally used by the nomads. Your afternoon is free to explore or to join an optional excursion to nearby Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. Later, we rejoin the train for dinner as we travel back into Russia. Day 14 is spent relaxing on board as we travel across the beautiful and remote landscape of Siberia.

The train follows the Shilka and Amur Rivers close to the Chinese border throughout Day 15 - this is Siberia at its most dramatic and remote. During our last full day on the train, we reach the most easterly point of our journey, passing Khabarovsk, where we cross the River Amur. As we head towards the Pacific coast and approach the end of our journey, we celebrate with a farewell dinner on board.

Having travelled more than 8,000 miles across almost half of the globe entirely by train, we arrive in Vladivostok, a military city situated on the western shore of the Sea of Japan. We enjoy a coach tour of this fascinating city, with its blend of European and Oriental cultures, and take a boat cruise on the Golden Horn Bay, a natural deep water harbour. We also visit the Arsenyev History Museum before transferring to the modern Hyundai Hotel for an overnight stay. On Day 18 we transfer to the airport for our return flight, which is via Moscow to London.

Due to the popularity of our Trans-Siberian tour, we are delighted to offer a version which starts with a flight from London to Moscow to join the main tour on the evening of Day 4. Although shorter in length (15 days), this Trans-Siberian adventure includes all the splendour of Moscow, plus the classic rail journey across the wild landscape of Siberia to Vladivostok.

The outbound flight option is not available to book online, so if you are interested in flying out to Moscow to join the group, please call one of our Tour Advisors who will be happy to help you.

Our Tour Managers have been taking customers on the Trans-Siberian Express for many years now. Read about their experiences on the tour by clicking the link below.

The Trans-Siberian Express with Great Rail Journeys.