If you've always dreamed going on an epic journey, then the Trans-Siberian Railway which crosses Russia and Siberia to Vladivostok, or the Trans-Mongolian from Moscow to Beijing should be top of your list. In the summer the weather in this region of the world can be quite warm with temperatures in the mid to high twenties. In the winter the story is quite different with freezing cold temperatures and a landscape of ice and snow outside the window. Whatever time of year you chose to undertake this incredible adventure, you will be amazed by the wonderful sights along route, the fantastic architecture, monuments, parks, city life and history that graces this intriguing part of the world. To assist you on planning your adventure we've put together a guide of Lonely Planet chapters that you can download instantly on all the major stops on both train routes. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
Top 7 Ultimate Guides to the Trans-Siberian Railway!
1. Trans-Mongolian Route - Trans-Siberian Railway (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
This is the Trans-Mongolian Route chapter from Lonely Planet’s Trans Siberian Railway guidebook.
2. Trans-Siberian Railway - St Petersburg (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
This is the St Petersburg chapter from Lonely Planet’s Trans Siberian Railway guidebook.
3. Trans-Siberian Railway - Ulan-Ude to Vladivostok (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
The Trans-Siberian’s last leg covers 3650km – that’s more than the Moscow–Ulan-Ude journey alone – as it rolls into Russia’s ‘wild east’. The people, like the countryside, are a bit wilder and more rugged than their Western brethren.
4. Trans-Siberian Railway - Lake Baikal (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
If you’ve made it this far from Moscow or Beijing, this 1500km ribbon of rail and sleeper is where things get interesting. Arguably the most varied stretch of the line, bid farewell to your provodnitsa (carriage attendant) along its length for some of the most memorable experiences Siberia has to offer.
5. Trans-Siberian Railway - Moscow to Yekaterinburg (Chapter)
For travellers, this section of the journey across European Russia will often be accompanied by the excitement of departure from the capital. It is a relatively densely populated section that has three main routes.
6. Trans-Siberian Railway - Moscow (Chapter) Lonely Planet
Moscow is an exhilarating and confounding contrast to the rest of Russia. Soak it up. Examine the art and move to the music; splurge on a ritzy restaurant; stay out till sunrise; get lost in the crowds. Once you get on that train, you may not get to do it again.
7. Russian Far East - Russia (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
This is the Russian Far East chapter from Lonely Planet’s Russia guidebook.
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by Chris Raven & Simon Raven
The legends of Jason and the Argonauts, Noah’s Ark and a tribe of fierce female warriors known as the Amazons all originate from the Black Sea. Gripped by curiosity, Simon and Chris fire up their twenty year old Volvo that looks, “as rustic and weather-beaten as a Cold War tank” and embark on a quest to drive full circle around this ancient body of water at the birthplace of civilisation.
Driving the Trans-Siberian
by Simon Raven & Chris Raven
Ever had the desire to jump in your car and keep driving? Well, that is precisely what overland travel writers, Chris Raven and Simon Raven, decided to do whilst stacking boxes of frozen oven chips in a -30 degrees freezer. Not being petrol heads and having zero knowledge of the internal combustion engine, the brothers fired up their rusty Ford Sierra Sapphire and headed east. After clocking up over 11,000 miles, quite literally living in the car, they miraculously arrived in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok in Siberia on the Sea of Japan. What they had in fact done was to drive the entire length of the new Amur Highway before it was finished, which crosses Russia and the notorious Zilov Gap in a 6,200 mile swath of cracked tarmac and potholes. Along the way our trusty heroes drink vodka with Chechen criminals, escape highway robbery, trade banana flavoured condoms with Russian cops, meet the eccentric and plain weird at truck stops in darkest Siberia, endure torturous road conditions and have a race to the finish with the Germans.