Epic Trans-Mongolian: St. Petersburg - Moscow - Yekaterinburg - Irkutsk - Baikal - Mongolia - Beijing (TS-15)

Arrival in St. Petersburg. Our driver will meet you in the arrival sector with a Go Russia sign board. Transfer to the hotel.

It is impossible not to fall in love with St. Petersburg, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and after you visit it, you can understand why. The most European of all Russian towns and cities, St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia. Unlike the busy capital Moscow, it is however calm and unhurried, just as a real museum-city should be.

Start your discovery of St. Petersburg with a guided city tour by car that will take you around the stunning "Venice of the North"; you will see the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Church of Christ's Resurrection (The Saviour of the Blood). You will also see the famous cruiser Aurora; the legendary ship whose canon gave the signal, on the order of Lenin, for the beginning of the Great Social Revolution more than 90 years ago.

A guided tour of the Hermitage, former residence of the Russian Tzars (famous Winter Palace) and one of best museums of the world. This stunning palace, an architectural masterpiece in itself, contains a collection over 3,000,000 works of art re presenting the development of world culture and art from the Stone Age to the 20th century. The collection includes works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Titian, Raphael, French impressionists, sculptures and treasures icons, coins and Tsar’s jewellery. The Hermitage is an unforgettable place to visit.

Transfer to the railway station. Our driver will meet you with a Go Russia sign board at the lobby of the hotel.

For demanding travellers who prefer to travel in particular comfort, Russian railways now offer a luxury travel option to discover a style fit for a Tzar! The introduction of a new train, the “Grand Express”, on the Moscow-St. Petersburg line is changing current assumptions about comfortable rail travel which is comparable in standard to that of a good hotel. Indeed, the “Grand Express” is a real hotel on wheels that features spacious sleeping compartments with toilets, showers, air-conditioning, wide sofas, LCD TV, DVD-players and WI-FI. “Grand Express” train also has standard 9 compartments carriages of 1st and 2nd class.

Arrival in Moscow. Our driver will meet you with a Go Russia sign board at the beginning of the platform. Transfer to the hotel.

A guided walking tour around major cultural and historical points in Moscow. You will see one of the famous “Seven Sisters” skyscrapers built during Stalin's last years and initially thought as elite housing. We will visit Lubyanka Square – the world-famous KGB centre of the Soviet epoch, Teatralnaya Square next to Bolshoi Theatre. Then we will continue our walk through the small central streets and lanes where every building has its own unique and interesting story. Most of them currently represent Russian theatres, hotels, museums or state institutions. We will also visit Tverskaya Street – the main and the busiest street in Moscow – with lots of shops, restaurants and unique combination of old, Stalin and modern architecture. We will finish our tour on the pedestrian Old Arbat Street, famous for its souvenirs and street dancers and artists. After the guided tour you will have some free time to browse among the shops selling merchandise and enjoy various Arbat cafes or restaurants.

Guided tour of Moscow Underground – explore one of the masterpieces of the Soviet era created in the Socialist Realism style. Moscow Metro with its stations decorated with marble, mosaics, stained glass panels and bronze sculptures looks like a vast art museum. It was one of the proudest achievements of the Soviet era and it’s still beating many other European underground system with its extremely reliable services.

We will visit the Red Square arguably one of the most famous squares in the world. It’s got its name from the Russian word for "red", which many centuries ago meant "beautiful". Each building here is a legend: you will see brightly-domed St. Basil's cathedral, the world - renowned Lenin Mausoleum, expansive facade of the GUM department store, Kazan Cathedral and Kremlin towers. During the Soviet period the Red Square used to be associated with images of stone-faced communist party leaders standing in the cold atop Lenin's Mausoleum and watching military parades. Today, Red Square is a popular tourist attraction and it is often used for rock and pop concerts including high-profile participants like Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd and others.

You will discover the interior of the Kremlin - the former residence of the Tsars and now the residence of the Russian president. You will also visit the Kremlin’s beautiful orthodox cathedrals. The Cathedral Square still retains the aura of early Tsarist Russia, where the spirits of Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, and the early Romanovs loom large.

The fist mentioning of Armoury recorded in 1508 and it started to function as the storehouse for the Kremlin weaponry. However, within a few decades the structure had gained the added function of a workshop and a repository for all sorts of treasures of the Imperial court. In 1813 the Armoury building became an exhibition hall and a museum. The collection of the Armoury is overwhelming. It contains such exhibits as the chalice of Yuri Dolgorukiy, the helm and armour of Boris Godunov, collection of over fifty Faberge eggs, golden and silver works of applied art by Russian, European and Oriental masters, invaluable weapons and other works made of precious metals and stones.

Transfer to the railway station. Our driver will meet you with a Go Russia sign board at the lobby of the hotel.

Comfortable fast train to Yekaterinburg.

Arrival in Yekaterinburg in the evening.

Our driver will meet you at the carriage with a sign board with your names. Transfer to the hotel.

We will visit the majestic Memorial Cathedral on the Blood in the name of all Saints, which was built on the place of execution of the last Russian tsar Nikolay II and his family. Then continue to “Ganina Pit” the unique orthodox monastery built on the place of the initial burial place of imperial remains. We visit six wooden churches in the heart of a centuries-old pine forest.

Excursion to the obelisk "Border of Europe and Asia". A tour to the column established on a geographical joint of two parts of the world. According to an old tradition, tourists drink a glass of champagne on this place and take it home. On the way to the borderline, we can stop for a visit to the Memorial honouring the victims of the Stalin’s repressions of the 30-50s.

Our driver will meet you at the hotel lobby with a sign board with your names. Transfer to the railway station.

We board our train late in the evening. Arrival in Irkutsk early in the morning three days later.

Arrival in Irkutsk in the morning.

Our guide will meet you with a sign board upon your arrival in Irkutsk. Transfer to Listvyanka village (appr. 70 km).

Enjoy your free time in Listvyanka village. We suggest spending some time at the lake, visiting the St. Nicolas Russian Orthodox Church and the Baikal Lake Museum where you will learn Siberian traditions, history, flora and fauna of the deepest freshwater lake in the world.

Our guide will meet you at your accommodation. Transfer to Irkutsk.

On our way to Irkutsk, we will stop to visit the open air Wooden Architecture Museum in Taltsy, which is located in a picturesque forest on the bank of the river Angara. This museum is an open-air museum that has a large collection of original wooden houses equipped with old-style furniture and domestic utensils, and “wooden tents” belonging to the various ethnic groups which inhabited this region. They were brought from several local villages. The museum conveys the lifestyle of 16th – 19th century Russia. Here you can learn about the various aspects of village life, see the interiours of a Russian fort and a 15th century watchtower, as well as glimpse at the lifestyle of the Buryat and Evenk people and see a Shaman yurt and other interesting things. You can observe the interiors of a Russian fort and the 15th century watchtower, a Siberian izba (house) and a chapel, a Shaman yurt and other interesting things.

We will have a guided city tour around Irkutsk, a beautiful town known as the "Paris of Siberia". During the tour, we will see the 18th century churches, brightly painted shutters and log houses decorated with wooden lacework, as well as examples of modern Russian architecture.

Our driver will meet you at your acommodation with a sign board with your names. Transfer to the railway station.

We leave the warm hospitality of the Siberian Russians and start our trip to Mongolia by comfortable train.

Our guide will meet you at the railway station. Transfer to Terelj National Park.

Famous as the home of Genghis Khan, Mongolia is one of the most mystical destinations on earth. It was the homeland of the brilliant, tough, well-drilled horsemen who, for over 500 years from the 13th century, occupied lands and cities from the river Yellow to the Danube. The dramatic Mongolian landscapes are breathtaking. Terelj National Park is famous for its unique granite rock formations, pristine alpine scenery and diverse flora and fauna.

We will explore Turtle Rock and after lunch at the camp we will enjoy hiking to Aryabal monastery. We will have an opportunity to visit a real Nomad family and see its traditional way of living exploring their lifestyle by learning how to milk the cows and preparing the dairy products. We stay for overnight in a traditional Mongolian ger (means "home") - a sturdy wood and felt type tent. In winter we stay in a wooden lodge.

Our driver will meet you at your accommodation. Transfer to Ulan Bator.

The city is situated on the bank of the river Tuur, surrounded by four mountains that local people believe to be sacred. We will visit Gandan Hiid Monastery, the country’s largest remaining monastery, Sukhebaatar square and the Museum of Natural History, where you will see real dinosaur remains as well as other archeological findings from the Mesozoic Era found in the Gobi desert.

The National Museum of Mongolian History is one of the leading museums in Mongolia displaying Mongolian cultural heritage. You will learn about ancient states period (Hunnu, Turkish and Uighur), the Mongolian Empire of 13th-14th centuries, Mongolian traditional lifestyle, their clothing and jewellery, as well as current democratic reforms and modern state of affairs.

Transfer to the railway station. Our driver will meet you with a sign board at the lobby of the hotel.

Comfortable train to Beijing.

Arrival in Beijing. Our driver will meet you with a sign board at the beginning of the platform. Transfer to the hotel.

We will visit an old part of Beijing – hutong neighbourhood by Shichahai Lake. Hutongs generally mean a city area with narrow streets or alleys and the word dates back to the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century. Due to rapid development of the Chinese capital many hutongs were demolished to make way for new modern roads and buildings. However, some hutong areas have been designated protected status to preserve Beijing’s cultural heritage.

We will enjoy a guided ride by rickshaw through narrow and curved alleys of this unique old part of Beijing.

The rickshaw will also take us to the famous Shichahai Lake and the Drum Tower in the center of old Beijing. Enjoy fantastic views of the lake, and the area around which is surrounded by former princes' houses and well preserved Chinese courtyards. You can also take a boat trip (optional) on the lake.

There are plenty of small restaurants, cafes and bars. Relax and enjoy free evening in this old part of Beijing or return to the hotel with a guide. If you decide to stay in the hutong area you can get back to the hotel by taxi or go by metro which is very efficient. Your local guide will explain the easiest way.

Located in the centre of Beijing, Tiananmen is the largest city square in the world with an area of 440 thousand square metres. Besides of its cultural significance it was also the site of several key events in the Chinese history. One of the recent and probably the most important events was in 1989 when the government troops stopped pro-democracy protesters there.

We will visit the famous Imperial palace and the Forbidden City which is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Forbidden City is located to the north of Tiananmen Square and it was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

We will visit the magnificent Summer Palace located 15 kilometres (9.4 miles) away from central Beijing. The Palace represents an outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design and is included on UNESCO World Heritage List.

Guided tour of the Great Wall of China – a symbol of Chinese civilisation, one of the wonders of the world included on UNESCO World Heritage List. We will visit the Badaling Great Wall situated in Yanqing County, approximately 70 kilometres (44 miles) north of Beijing, which is the most well-preserved section of the Wall.

We will see the Olympic Green – Olympic park constructed in Beijing for 2008 summer Olympics which hosts Beijing National Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Green Hockey Field and many others objects specially constructed for the world sporting event.

Transfer to the airport. Our driver will meet you with a sign board at the hotel lobby.