Trans-Mongolian Stops

Hi Guys,

I'm looking at doing the trans-mongolian next summer and am debating stops along the way to break up the trip.

St Petersberg, Moscow and Irkutsk are all certs. Just need a couple stops in between to break up the train journey and to capture some different Russian cultures along the way.

I've been looking at Yekaterinberg, Omsk and Novosibirsk for a day or 2 each in. Plan is to arrive early morning and leave the following night so have 2 days in those locations.

Are there any others that would stand out to any of you that you would recommend.

Cheers

Dan Reply to this

I did this journey in the opposite direction in December 2007, breaking up the Irkutsk->Moscow section with stops in Krasnoyarsk and Yekaterinburg. I only spent a couple of days in each place, so got little more than a brief impression, plus the wintry weather restricted my options in a way you shouldn't encounter in the summer. Krasnoyarsk has a few churches but otherwise there didn't seem to be much to see. Yekaterinburg has some interesting history (in particular the whole Romanov story), which merits a visit.

I most regret not having the time to visit some of the places in the Golden Ring such as Sergiev Posad, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, etc, which are famous for their churches and architecture. Though I don't think these are on the main Trans-Sib route, you could visit them from Moscow. Reply to this

I didn't find Krasnoyarsk or Ekaterinberg that interesting. I would have said the best places to stop, if you have time, are Tobolsk and Tomsk. They are far more beautiful and impressive than Ekaterinberg and Krasnoyarsk and very historic. The places mentioned above in the Golden Ring are well worth a visit too. In terms of Russian cultures, you can find plenty of it in little villages around the shore of Lake Baikal. Reply to this

I would concur with Ed, Tobolsk and Tomsk and the Golden Ring cities. Of course neither Tobolsk nor Tomsk are on the line. I think Yaroslav is, but not sure anymore maybe it was Vladimir (it was 17 years ago that I did this trip). In any case you could opt to take local trains instead of the actual Trans Siberian/Mongolian line. If you are breaking up the journey it wouldn't make that much difference anyway I would think. Just take trains in a general easterly direction and you will eventually end up in Irkutsk where you can catch a train down to Mongolia and futher. This gives you the freedom to pick and choose as many or as little cities along the way as you like and to take a slightly different route than usual, sometimes diverting from the main line if you want to. Reply to this

Hello All,

Thanks for all the nice tips as well. I was actually wondering if that is possible to just take local trains and have freedom of going whereever?? Cause some of the distances are like 8h and we dont need a sleeping place for that so why pay more? and then I spoke with my Russian friend she told there are only sleeping ones on that route but maybe she meant the actual trans-mongolian route??

anybody knows??

thanks,
B&T Reply to this

We are just beginning some research into Russia and the railway systems so this info will get us pointed in the right direction.

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