Zarengold: From Moscow to Ulan Bator with Optional Beijing Extension

Day 1. Moscow

Upon arrival at the airport in Moscow, you will be greeted by your friendly tour guide and accompanied to your hotel. In the evening you will take part in the welcome dinner at which your guide will be introduced to you. Our City of Lights tour shows you around the exquisitely illuminated Russian capital. You stroll across the famous Red Square with your guide and take a short trip on the subway to marvel at two of Moscow’s particularly spectacular metro stations.

Overnight: InterContinental Tverskaya (or similar) (D)

Day 2. Moscow Tretyakov Gallery

After breakfast, you visit the Tretyakov Gallery, one of the most important art collections in the country, with almost 150,000 works by Russian painters and sculptors. After lunch in a city restaurant, the afternoon is at your disposal. Please ask us about arrangements for the evening, like a visit to the Bolshoi Theater (dependent on the schedule) or a dinner cruise on the Moscow River. (BL)

Overnight: InterContinental Tverskaya (or similar) (BL)

Day 3. Moscow from Its Most Beautiful Side

Your exciting Moscow city tour starts in the morning with a visit to the impressive Kremlin grounds and its magnificent cathedrals from the Tsarist era. After lunch in a city restaurant, the afternoon is at your disposal. How about a stroll through the Arbat, Moscow’s famous pedestrian street? The most beautiful souvenirs can be found here! In the evening, you are welcomed aboard your private train. A relaxed get-together in the dining car offers the chance to meet your fellow travelers and learn more details about your private train.

Overnight on board (BLD)

Day 4. Kazan

In the morning, you arrive in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. You take a tour of the Kazan Kremlin (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), which has a wonderful panoramic view over the Volga River, where you learn about the turbulent history of the relationship between the Tatars, the Cossacks, and the Russians. Your train resumes its journey east in the evening.

Overnight on board (BLD)

Day 5. Yekaterinburg

Your train stops around noon in Yekaterinburg, the historical capital of the Urals. The city is remembered as the place where Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered in 1918. During a brief tour, you see the Church on Blood, built in 2003 in commemoration of that tragic historical event, and the city center, beautifully restored in 2009. Back on board, you continue your journey through the vast steppes of Western Siberia.

Overnight on board (BLD)

Day 6. Novosibirsk

You arrive in Novosibirsk, the heart of Siberia, where you are welcomed in the traditional Russian way, with bread and salt. During a short city tour, you experience the most Soviet of all cities during your journey. You see the enormous Trans-Siberian Monument and the mighty Ob River.

Overnight on board (BLD)

Day 7. Krasnoyarsk

On a city tour in Krasnoyarsk, you see the huge railroad bridge over the Yenisei and the Art Nouveau houses in the city center. From the Slyznevsky cliff with the bizarre Tsar-Fish Monument, you enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the almost 2,200 miles (3,500 km) long Yenisei. Here you see the enormous dimensions of the Krasnoyarsk Dam. Then take a guided walk through the national park in the middle of the taiga. There are more than 600 species of plants, 178 species of birds, 50 animals, and 20 kinds of fish! In the evening, your private train continues its journey towards Irkutsk.

Overnight on board (BLD)

Day 8. Irkutsk

Today, your train arrives at the station in Irkutsk, the capital of Eastern Siberia in Tsarist times. During your city tour, you marvel at quaint Siberian wooden houses and the Tsar’s monument at the former site of the Trans-Siberian Obelisk, replaced in 2003. You visit a typical Russian dacha and learn from the locals how they spend the summer there and which fruits and vegetables grown there are best for making preserves for the harsh winter. Tonight, you stay at a hotel in Irkutsk.

Overnight: Hotel Irkutsk (or similar) (BLD)

Day 9. Irkutsk

After lunch, you have the opportunity to take a trip to the open-air museum of Life and Work in Ancient Siberia, where you learn about the history of the region. In the afternoon, you can take a short walk along the Angara River and have time to explore Irkutsk on your own. In the evening, your private train rolls on towards Lake Baikal.

Overnight on board (BLD)

Day 10. Panorama Route on Lake Baikal

In the morning, you arrive in Port Baikal. From this Siberian village on Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater reservoir in the world, a boat takes you over the deep waters of the lake to Listvyanka in about 1 hour, where you can tour the village and taste smoked specialties at the fish market. Your tour guide tells you about the native omul, an endemic species of whitefish salmon in Lake Baikal. Return to Port Baikal by ferry. The journey continues on the original tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railroad for several hours directly along Lake Baikal. Your train makes a long stop at a particularly beautiful location so you can really enjoy the majestic tranquility of this unique natural wonder. If the weather is good, your dinner is served as a cheerful picnic on the shores of Lake Baikal.

Overnight on board (BLD)

Day 11. From Lake Baikal to Ulan Ude and on to Mongolia

Your journey takes you again along the shores of the seemingly infinite Lake Baikal, into the breathtaking valley of the Selenga, and on through the wild, lonely mountain steppes of Eastern Siberia. Stopover along the way in Ulan Ude with a city tour. The day ends with a charming dinner. The border formalities when crossing the Russian-Mongolian border are quick and simple—they take place on board.

Overnight on board (BLD)

Day 12. Ulan Bator

Early risers can experience beautiful natural landscapes in central Mongolia with their colorful yurt camps and horses and riders in the idyllic mountain landscape. In the morning, you arrive in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia. During your city tour, you will see the impressive Buddhist Gandan Monastery and the bizarre Chojdschin Lama temple with its unique and extreme depictions of the agony of hell for Buddhists who stray from the path of virtue. Beer gardens are very popular in Mongolia—your guide will show you the best in town. In the evening, you also have the opportunity to attend a performance of traditional Mongolian folklore with throat singing, horsehead fiddles, national costumes, and dances (admission approx. $15/€14, to be paid on site). Today you have the choice: Either stay in a centrally located, good mid-range hotel in Ulan Bator or, for an extra charge ($40/€35), in a yurt in the gorgeous landscape of the Mongolian Alps. Please let us know upon booking. This is a rare experience and a dream come true for nature lovers.

Overnight: Hotel Ramada (or similar) (BLD)

Day 13. Ulan Bator and Mongolian Mountains

Those who have stayed at the hotel in Ulan Bator can go straight to the beautiful landscape of the Mongolian Alps after breakfast. Guests who stayed in a yurt last night are already there. In the midst of the unique tent settlements of the nomadic cattle ranchers, among herds of horses and shaggy yaks (Tibetan wild cattle), a small Mongolian horse show is held especially for you. You enjoy your lunch as a picnic in beautiful surroundings. Afterward, you visit a nomad family. In the afternoon, you head back to the capital of Mongolia and enjoy the last evening of your delightful journey. You
spend the night in the centrally located, good mid-range hotel in Ulan Bator.

Overnight: Hotel Ramada (or similar) (BLD)

Day 14. Farewell, Trans-Siberian!

Your journey ends with the transfer to the airport after your breakfast at the hotel. (B)

Post-tour to Beijing

If you choose to travel further than Ulan Bator, you can fly to Beijing on Day 14.

Day 14. Flight to Beijing

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and flight to Beijing, where your tour guide accompanies you to your hotel.

Overnight: Capital Hotel (or similar) (BL)

Day 15. Beijing City Tour and Forbidden City

Today’s city tour lasts several hours, and even that’s barely enough time to see all the sights. But of course, the photogenic Temple of Heaven with its park and the huge Tiananmen Square are part of your tour, as well as contemporary architectural achievements such as the new Olympic Stadium, which has become famous as the Bird’s Nest, and some of the futuristic skyscrapers. In the afternoon, you can look behind the gates of the Forbidden City, the former imperial palace, and discover all the temples and halls that had long been hidden from the people.

Overnight: Capital Hotel (or similar) (BL)

Day 16. Great Wall and Peking Duck

Today you take part in a full day trip to the Great Wall, the Eighth Wonder of the World. The gigantic wall stretches over 3,70 miles (6,000 km) across the country. On the way, you visit a pearl farming station and the Ming tombs, the final resting place for thirteen emperors of the Ming dynasty, with the impressive Avenue of the Animals. In the evening, enjoy a classic Peking duck as a farewell dinner in a themed restaurant in Beijing.

Overnight: Capital Hotel (or similar) (BLD)

Day 17. Farewell, China!

The post-tour ends with the transfer to the airport after your breakfast at the hotel. (B)

(B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner

Rates Include

• Journey with guaranteed lodging in the booked category aboard the exclusively chartered train
• Travel for several hours along the Trans-Siberian Railroad panoramic route directly on the shores of Lake Baikal, with photo stops
• Tour director with pertinent knowledge of the traveled route throughout the journey
• Competent tour guides for each group of no more than 26 guests throughout the tour
• Experienced local tour guides
• All transfers and bus trips according to the itinerary
• All excursions and sightseeing according to the itinerary, including all entry fees
• All meals according to the itinerary
• Drinks (except premium beverages) during meal times on board the train for guests traveling in Bolshoi and Bolshoi Platinum categories
• Porter service at all train stations
• Vodka tasting with traditional Russian snacks
• Concise informational talks on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, regional geography, culture, and history of the countries along the route
• A physician on board the train from the Moscow to the Chinese border
• Shower facilities on board
• Informational booklet about the region and the private train for each compartment booked
• 2 overnights in a high-end hotel in Moscow
• 1 overnight in Irkutsk in mid-range hotel
• 2 overnights in Ulan Bator in a good, centrally located mid-range hotel

With optional Beijing post-tour

• Economy class flight from Ulan Bator to Beijing
• 3 overnights in a high-end hotel in Beijing
• City tour and Peking Duck dinner

Hotels Planned

Moscow: 2 nights, InterContinental Tverskaya/Grand Marriott
Irkutsk: 1 night, Hotel Irkutsk
Ulan Bator: 2 nights, Ramada Hotel

Optional Beijing post-tour
Beijing: 3 nights, Capital Hotel

Not Included

• Visa fees
• Gratuities
• International flights
• Personal expenses
• Optional evening performance in Ulan Bator (Day 10): tickets are €14/$15 (to be paid on site)
• Optional overnight in a yurt in the Mongolian Alps (Day 10): supplement of €35/$40 (upon request, please let us know upon booking)

Entry Requirements

• Passport and visas required
• No vaccinations are prescribed

Important Notes

• This journey is generally not for guests with limited mobility or who depend on CPAP machines. Please contact us for more information about your specific requirements before booking
• Minimum number of tour participants: 120