Thread: Trans-siberian Railroad

Zdrasst'! For my gap year(s) I'm planning an enormous train journey to Vladivostok and back, and I would like to know (roughly) what I'm getting myself into as for prices etc. I wanted to go from Vladivostok-Ulaanbaatar-Irkutsk-Moscow (which I know is possible), but I just can't get the prices. I found the official Russian site for the tariffs, but for some idiotic reason you have to pay to see those prices...
So I wanted to know; has anyone of you (either Russians or foreigners) ever travelled by Trans-sib? How much did it cost? How long did it take?
If someone could answer these questions I'll be much obliged.

(mind you, when the time comes I will gather my own information, but for now I only need a rough estimate)

Thank you,
Jasper

http://www.sv-agency.udm.ru/sv/rutrains.htm

They quote Moscow-Vladivostok at $162, 2nd class.

http://train.mza.ru

You can see the availability, and, when you request details on the train, you can see the tariffs. For example: February, 1st; Vladivostok-Moscow, yields two results: train number 001M and train number 251Э. Total travel time is 150 hours for the first, and 173 for the second. The tariffs: 4060.9, 6091.3, 7111.3, 13308.7, 15342.7 for the first one, and 1922.6, 4060.9 for the second. All costs in rubles, 1922.6 is 3rd class, 4060.9 - 7111.3 2nd class, 13308.7 - 15342.7 - 1st class.

Thank you, bad manners! I'll bookmark those.

Edit: That is incredibly cheap, btw. I mean, how far is it from Moscow to Vladivostok? 9500-10000 km? If I were to travel 10000 km in Holland (i.e. 20 times up and down the country ), I'd have to pay 1250-1800 dollars!

Take me with you, Jasper, we can pratice our Mongolian with the friendly people we meet in Ulaanbataar.

Yep train travel is both cheap and incredibly reliable.
Maybe we should thank Stalin for that?
Apparently there's one rather annoying thing about the Trans-Sib that you should remember. You can't have 'stopovers', if you want to stop in one town for a few days you have to buy separate tickets for each leg of the journey.. well that's what I read anyways
But good luck Jasp, it's a great idea. I'm not sure I'll ever do it, but so far I've clocked up about 4 days on Russian trains and I really liked it .. except for the toilets, yuck.

Actually you have a right to make one stop in your jorney for no more than 10 days. Though I haven't heard of anyone who have actually used this option.

@Pravit: I was trying to be amazingly original and answer your request with a couple of Mongolian phrases, but there is no Mongolian dictionary on the web that works.

@waxwing & roxfan: I am going to stop on the way, so maybe I'll have to buy separate tickets then. How far in advance do you have to order them? Can I travel to Irkutsk, buy tickets for the next bit as soon as I get there, stay a couple of days, collect the tickets and move on to Ulaanbaatar? Or do you have to book them months in advance?

Originally Posted by Jasper May

@waxwing & roxfan: I am going to stop on the way, so maybe I'll have to buy separate tickets then. How far in advance do you have to order them? Can I travel to Irkutsk, buy tickets for the next bit as soon as I get there, stay a couple of days, collect the tickets and move on to Ulaanbaatar? Or do you have to book them months in advance?

You don't have to book them in advance, but if you don't, you might find them sold out and yourself stuck in Irkutsk or Ulaanbaatar If this indeed happens, you can try doing what the Russians do when they cannot buy tickets but have to go anyway, which is bribing the conductor and spending time in toilets, corridors and the restaurant car. Lots of joy, that.

Is it possible to find out in advance which trains have cockroaches and which ones haven't?

Bi chamd khairtai, girl I saw at Wal-Mart.

Zoo gear, Jasper, I found a little Mongolian phrase thing. Although I had to search "Mongolian tourist phrase" in google to find it.

...
Pravit's approval rating of Pravit has dropped 5 points.

Originally Posted by Jasper May

Zdrasst'! For my gap year(s) I'm planning an enormous train journey to Vladivostok and back, and I would like to know (roughly) what I'm getting myself into as for prices etc. I wanted to go from Vladivostok-Ulaanbaatar-Irkutsk-Moscow (which I know is possible), but I just can't get the prices. I found the official Russian site for the tariffs, but for some idiotic reason you have to pay to see those prices...
So I wanted to know; has anyone of you (either Russians or foreigners) ever travelled by Trans-sib? How much did it cost? How long did it take?
If someone could answer these questions I'll be much obliged.

(mind you, when the time comes I will gather my own information, but for now I only need a rough estimate)

Thank you,
Jasper

Очень рекомендую включить в свое путешествие Байкало-Амурскую магистраль (БАМ). Хотя бы небольшую часть, например от Северобайкальска до Тынды.
http://bam.railways.ru/

@Bad Manners: Ok then. But is the Transsib that popular? Where do Russians get the money to travel to Ulaanbaatar or China? And you can't sit on the roof of the train, like in Sudan or India?

@Pravit: I did see that phrase, but didn't know how to use it. Good to see how original some people on this board still are. But isn't it amazing how a whole country can have next to no internet-presence at all?

@Alexander: Spasibo, a dumayu chto ya predpochitayu poezhat' po Transsibu, potomu chto ya khochu takzhe poexat' v Irkutsk i Ulaanbaatar, i mozhet byt' dazhe cherez Ulan Ude, Beijing i Harbin v Khabarovsk. I eto ne mozhno po BAMu.

Originally Posted by Jasper May

@Bad Manners: Ok then. But is the Transsib that popular? Where do Russians get the money to travel to Ulaanbaatar or China?

I believe the Russians are much less fascinated by the lengthy journey than you are. It is fun for you, and business for them. Well, there might be some who do it for fun, though.

And you can't sit on the roof of the train, like in Sudan or India?

I don't think so. There is no way up the roof from a car, and the doors are locked when the train is in motion.

Have a look here. First hand experience.

http://www.expat.ru/forum/showthread.ph ... eadid=5124

You should make a thorough research because usually they will charge you higher price for the same train tickets if you are a foreigner.

Maybe I could pretend to be a poor Mongolian...

Originally Posted by MasterAdmin

You should make a thorough research because usually they will charge you higher price for the same train tickets if you are a foreigner.

supposedly, those days are over...but of course the person at the ticketcounter could always try to take a little for himself. Whenever i bought train tickets, i went to the main train station (never travel agents) and it was pretty easy. In petersburg at the main station they have touch screens with every ticket offered in the country practically, all the times, and dates.