Travel | Preparing For Trans-Siberian Railway Journey

Planning for the Trans-Siberian Railway trip can be quite challenging but where there is a will there is a way some people said. Yes it’s true that it can be quite challenging sometimes but it can be done. You just need to follow through, never give up. With little bit research here and there, you’re done.

Anyway I’m not planning to write an in depth on “how to” plan for Trans-Siberian Railway because I believe there are thousand of them have been written already, more or less are almost the same and I had been reading quite a lot of blogs post about Trans-Siberian few years before planning this trip and religiously reading about Trans-Siberian Railway few month before my personal trip.

It is not that difficult as you might think, all you need is to apply for Russian Visa (Most Countries need to have Russian Visa) before they can visit Russia and for Malaysian, yes, we need to apply for Visa, then depending on your country you also need to apply for Mongolian Visa and China Visa if you are planning to visit those countries (Malaysian don’t need to apply for Mongolian visa).

“My Heart is Warm With The Friends I Make,
And Better Friends I’ll Not be Knowing,
Yet There isn’t a Train I Wouldn’t Take,
No Matter Where it’s Going.”

-Edna St. Vincent Millay –

Among the trickiest part about applying for Russian Visa is that you need to have “An Invitation Letter” or sometimes they call it as “Visa Support” in order to apply for Russian Visa.

You might asked then, “Who wanted to invite me to visit Russia?” Actually you really don’t need someone to invite you, you just need the “Invitation Letter” and there are few ways where you can have it, among others is to asked your hotel in Russia that yo are planning to stay to send it to you, either by mail or by email.

But the most popular option  is through agency like Real Russia or Way To Russia , with a small fees from $20/30 USD  you can have your visa support email it to you within 24 hours. I’ve shared with you my Visa Support which I apply from Real Russia above. Once you have your Visa Support, just download Visa form from Russian Embassy website and apply for your visa at Russian Embassy in your country.

I’ve done it myself, I mean I did not go through any travel agency to apply for my Russian Visa, I just use other agency just to get the “Visa Support”. If you plan to use agency to arrange and apply for your Russian Visa, be prepared to pay quite an expensive price for the convenience. I just paid MYR 164 or approximately $45 USD, for my Russian Visa which I apply directly from Russian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the visa ready within one week. 

I’ve read somewhere that some people find it hard to get Russian Visa even though they have all the document ready,luckily  I don’t have any problem, one thing for sure is that you need to write down your itinerary clearly, if you plan to travel to Russian for Trans Siberian Railway, write it down, also list down all the city that you wanted to stop along the way.

The more details your itinerary, the better. Make sure you have all the documents ready also, like hotel bookings form, inbound or outbound flight tickets, sometimes they need to have a look at the documents, sometimes they don’t need, but be prepared, if they want it, then, you have it.

You don’t need to show them all the train tickets that you have book or buy, just show them your entry point, lets say, you fly direct to Moscow, show them the tickets and then show them the outbound tickets, like if you wanted to visit Mongolia by train, just show them your confirm train ticket from Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude to Ulaanbatar Mongolia.

Just to let them know, how long you will be in Russia, it is not necessary but it is great if you have it, for me I prepared everything but once I show them everything, they just need my “Visa Support” letter and the Russian Visa Form and my Passport off-course, that’s it, they don’t want my hotel booking and train ticket to be attached together with the Visa Form. Other people experience may differ though.

After I got my Russian Visa a week later, I head straight to China Visa Centre to apply for China Visa because I’m planning to travel all the way from Saint Petersburg Russia to Beijing China.

Once my Visa is ready, then only I bought other train ticket online. Russian Railway RZD website only sells ticket online within 45 days prior to departure, you cannot buy earlier than that unless you are using other travel agency, but then, you will have to pay more for the tickets.

How much to pay for the train tickets (Approximately) :

• 1. Trans-Siberia – Moscow – Vladivostok : USD 243  (RM865) 3rd Class
• 2. Trans-Siberia/Trans-Manchuria (Moscow – Beijing) : USD 627 (RM2,230) 2nd Class
• 3. Trans-Siberia/Trans-Mongolia (Moscow – UlaanBator – Beijing) : USD 688 (RM2,448) 2nd Class

You can cut cost if stop along the way for one night or more. Above price is for direct route without stopping anywhere. Below price with few stops :

• 1. Saint Petersburg – Moscow | (4 hour Sapsan USD 74 | Fast Train) 8 Hour Normal Train RM110 | USD 30.48
• 2. Moscow – Kazan | 12 hour RM93.55 | USD 25.92
• 3. Kazan – Irkutsk | 67 hour RM262.49 | USD 72.73
• 4. Irkutsk – UlaanBator | 32 hour  Train No 362 (2015 RM558) USD 154.61
• 5. Ulaanbator – Beijing | 28 hour Train No 24 – RM512 | USD 141.87
• 6. TOTAL Approximate : RM1536.00 | USD 425.60

If you asked me, which place or city to stop along the way, I could not answer it for you, simply because our priority and interest might be different. You need to do some research for yourself based on your interest, be it for historical value, a beautiful places or anything that might interest you. I use Trailblazer Trans-Siberian Railway handbook by Bryan Thomas to plan for my journey, you can also use Trans-Siberian Railway from Lonely Planet, they are more or less are almost the same.

Spending few days on the train might not be a cup of coffee for everyone, but for me I will definitely do it again in a heartbeat. Actually planning for the Trans-Siberian Railway Trip is an adventure in itself. Who doesn’t like adventure?