Compare Trans-Siberian Golden Program by Travel All Russia vs The Golden Ring - Classic Group, 2023 Classic Group by Insight Vacations

Day 1: Arrival in Moscow

Transfer

Welcome to the gorgeous capital of Russia - Moscow! Your driver meets you at the airport and transfers you to your centrally located hotel for check-in.

The rest of the day is free so you can relax in your cozy room, dine in one of the nearby restaurants or start exploring the charming city center on your own.

Optional pre-tour extension available: Begin your journey with an exploration of the legendary Venice of the North and the brilliant Northern capital of Russia - St. Petersburg. Contact your travel specialist for details.

Day 2: Exploring the Kremlin, Armoury Chamber & the Heart of Moscow

Meals: Breakfast

City tour

This day is dedicated to the exploration of one of the most outstanding Moscow icons - the Kremlin and the heart of Moscow - the Red Square.

Following breakfast you meet your guide at the hotel lobby and walk to the Kremlin territory where you have a chance to explore the gems hidden behind the Kremlin walls such as the Cathedral Square and the Assumption and Annunciation cathedrals.

Then you visit the famous Armoury Chamber that houses a unique collection of crown jewels, stunning coronation finery, hand-forged armor and weapons, royal carriages and sleighs, and world-famous Fabergé eggs.

After a short break for coffee you take a walk through the beautiful Red Square, go inside the colorful St. Basil's Cathedral and explore the famous GUM department store.

After the tour you walk back to your hotel and have the rest of the day free.

Day 3: Visiting the Tretyakov Gallery & Moscow Subway Ride

Meals: Breakfast

Museum

City tour

This morning is free for you to continue exploring the magnificent Moscow city center on your own. In the afternoon you check out from your hotel, meet your guide and enjoy a guided tour of the world-famous treasure trove of the Russian fine art, the Tretyakov Gallery, where you have amazing time viewing the gems of its collection, including the famous masterpieces of Ivan Aivazovsky, Mikhail Vrubel, and Viktor Vasnetsov.

After the tour of the Tretyakov Gallery you have a quick subway ride to explore the most beautiful stations of Moscow Subway, which is known to be one of the most beautiful and efficient metro systems in the world. Then you see the spectacular Cathedral of Christ the Savior and learn the story of its destruction and reconstruction.

Today you also have a chance to enjoy one of the best city views at Sparrow Hills and see the grand building of Moscow State University, the highest of seven Stalinist skyscrapers of Moscow.

After the tour you are transferred to the train station where you board your train and start your amazing journey across Eurasia!

Note: 2019 small group tour itinerary includes 2 program days with a sightseeing tour of Kazan and a day trip to Sviyazhsk. Two nights at the Kazan centrally located hotel are also included.

Day 4: Arrival in Ekaterinburg

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer          

In the evening you arrive in Yekaterinburg. Your driver meets you at the train station and transfers you to your centrally located hotel for overnight.

Day 5: Last Days of Russian Imperial Family Tour in Ekaterinburg

Meals: Breakfast

City tour

During the tour you take a walk through the historical city center, visit Ural Craftsman Lane where you can buy some traditional hand-made souvenirs, see the magnificent architectural ensemble of the Rastorguev - Haritonov’s House and take a trip to the famous Europe-Asia monument where you can happily experience being at two places at once putting one foot in Europe and the other in Asia.

The second part of your tour is dedicated to the last days of the Russian Imperial Family. You visit the Church on Blood built on the site of the notorious Ipatiev House, where the last Russian Emperor, Nicolas II, and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

The last stop for today is the first burial place of the tsar’s family - the Monastery Complex “Ganina Yama” that now consists of seven chapels - one for each member of the royal family.

After the tour you return to your hotel to take some rest before you are transferred to the station and board your train to Irkutsk.

Day 6: On Board the Train

Meals: Breakfast

You spend this day on board the train enjoying fantastic scenery passing by your window and a company of your fellow travelers from all over the world.

Day 7: On Board the Train

You spend this day on board your train enjoying fantastic scenery passing by your window and a company of your fellow travelers from all over the world.

Day 8: Listvyanka Village Tour & Lake Baikal Cruise

Meals: Lunch

City tour

Museum

In the morning you arrive to Irkutsk. Upon arrival, you are transferred right to the Lake Baikal shore and check in to your hotel. On the way you make a stop at a local cafe for breakfast (not included).

After some rest you enjoy a guided tour around Listvyanka Village. During the tour you visit the Baikal Limnological Museum and Aquarium that houses an interesting display of the unique flora and fauna of the lake.

Then you take a chair-lift to the nearby viewpoint to take some magnificent panoramic pictures of Baikal, view the Chersky Rock and visit the 19th century wooden St. Nicolas church and spend some time at a local fish market where you see a great variety of fish and different ways of cooking it.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we invite you for an exclusive experience - a private 3-hour cruise on Lake Baikal. Together with the guide you board a ship that takes you to one of the first Baikal railroad stations. After you get ashore, you walk to the tunnels of the old railroad and take magnificent pictures. On the way back you relax on the open-air deck with a cup of hot Siberian tea and local candies, listening to the stories about the life of locals.

After the cruise you return to your hotel and have the rest of the day free.

Day 9: Trip to Taltsy Village & Irkutsk City Tour

Meals: Breakfast

City tour

Day tour

After breakfast you check out from your hotel and say "Good-bye" to Lake Baikal! Your guide and driver take you on a trip to the open-air museum of wooden architecture located in Taltsy Village.

This reconstructed Siberian village consists of a number of buildings that were threatened with flooding when the Irkutsk Dam was constructed on the Angara River. All the buildings at the Taltsy museum were rescued from the rising waters and brought here to serve as models of Irkutsk regional architecture.

Your driver takes you then to Irkutsk for a guided tour around the most remarkable city's attractions.

You first walk along Angara River embankment - the most popular meeting place among the locals - to an eternal flame and the monument to explorer Yakov Pohabov, the founder of the city. You proceed to the only Catholic Cathedral in Irkutsk, the beautiful Polish Roman Church, located in the historical part of Irkutsk.

You are then driven to one of the main monasteries in Siberia - Sigh Monastery also known as the Znamensky Monastery. You also explore the Kazan Church, which with its Byzantine style decorations looks like a fairy tower, and Block 130, the historical zone with many colorful wooden houses and buildings constructed in the 17th century.

After the tour you are transferred to centrally located hotel for check-in.

Day 10: On Board the Train

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer

After breakfast, you check out from your hotel, and your driver transfers you to the train station. You board a train that takes you to the final destination of your Trans-Siberian tour - Ulan Bator.

You spend this day on board your train enjoying fantastic scenery passing by your window and a company of your fellow travelers from all over the world.

Day 11: Visiting the Gandan Monastery & Trip to Gorkhi-Terelji National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day tour

In the morning you arrive in the capital of Mongolia - Ulan Bator. Your driver meets you at the train station and takes you to your hotel to freshen up and have breakfast.

Later you meet your guide and explore the legendary Mongolian Buddhist Gandan Monastery in Ulan Bator. You then depart from the capital and in about 1.5 hours arrive to the camp and enjoy traditional lunch.

Later you take the tour of the picturesque Gorkhi-Terelji National Park and visit its most popular attractions, including the famous Turtle Rock and the Aryabal Temple located on a steep hill. At the entrance to the temple’s grounds there is a long walking path leading to the set of 108 steep stairs that symbolize the elephant’s elongated trunk. You can rise up to the temple and admire the magnificent view of surrounding valleys.

In the evening you enjoy a 1-hour pony riding and have dinner at the camp. You spend this night in a traditional Mongolian yurt.

Day 12: Meeting a Nomadic Family & Exploring the Genghis Khan Statue

Meals: Breakfast

Day tour

Following breakfast at the ger camp you meet your guide and start the day with a visit to a nomadic family to learn more about their culture, authentic lifestyle and traditions.

You continue to the banks of the Tuul River where an iconic 40-meters tall equestrian statue of Genghis Khan is located. During the tour you explore the interiors of the statue, see a replica of Genghis Khan’s legendary golden whip and walk through the chest and neck of the statue's horse up to its head. At the top you enjoy an excellent view of the complex area and the surrounding scenery.

After a break for lunch you make your way to the famous Zaisan Hill which offers the best panorama of Ulan Bator and then to the cashmere factory where you learn how raw materials are being transformed into thread and then into clothing.

Later you are transferred to your hotel in Ulan Bator and have the rest of the day free.

Day 13: City Tour & Folk Show in Ulan Bator

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

City tour

Show

After breakfast you meet your guide at the hotel lobby and go on a walking city tour around the most interesting attractions of Ulan Bator.

During the tour you visit the National Museum of Mongolia, one of the leading museums in the whole country and the one which is responsible for preserving Mongolian cultural heritage. You also stroll along the main streets of the city, see the Parlament house and walk through the central Sukhbaatar Square formerly known as Genghis Khan Square.

After the tour you return to the hotel to take some rest or continue exploring the city center on your own. In the evening you attend an amazing Mongolian folk show at the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (the show venue is located within the walking distance from your hotel). After the show you are invited to the restaurant to have a farewell dinner with your fellow travelers.

Day 14: Departure from Ulan Bator

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer

This is the final day of your amazing Trans-Siberian train tour! Following breakfast you check out from the hotel and your guide transfers you to the airport for your flight back home. We wish you a safe flight and hope to work on your future trips!

Optional post-tour extension: Continue your journey further to Beijing and spend 4 days exploring this Chinese gem or to Vladivostok to visit one of the most significant Russian ports located on the western shores of the Sea of Japan. Contact your travel specialist for details.

Day 1: To Sergiev Posad, Rostov-the-Great and to Yaroslavl

At 07:45 meet your Travel Director at the Radisson Collection Hotel, Moscow and depart for Sergiev Posad. Visit some of the colourful churches of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. Journey to Rostov-the-Great and explore its ivory towered Kremlin and the Museum of Enamel. Continue to Yaroslavl where a delicious dinner is served at a riverside restaurant.

Day 2: Kostroma and Suzdal Experience

During your sightseeing of Yaroslavl, see the domed Church of Elijah the Prophet and the Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Travel to Kostroma to see the fabulous Trinity Cathedral. Continue to charming Suzdal.

Day 3: Exploring Suzdal

Explore Suzdal with Insight Choice. Choose to meet an Orthodox priest and learn about the ancient art of icon painting. Alternatively, visit the Monastery of the Saviour St. Ethimius. Dine like a local as you enjoy an authentic Home-hosted lunch with a meal typical of the region.

Day 4: On to Vladimir and return to Moscow

Journey to Vladimir to see the carved stone walls of the Cathedral of St. Demetrius, and visit the Museum of Crystal and Varnished Miniatures. Visit a Matryoska doll-making workshop and try your hand to decorate your own. Return to Moscow where you are at leisure for the rest of the day.

Day 5: Farewell Moscow

Departure transfers will arrive at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport at 05:00, 08:00 and 11:00 and at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport at 05:00, 10:00 and 13:00.