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Transsiberian Express – The Complete Guide

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Transiberian Train

Before getting started

The purpose of this article is to share my experience and offer all of the practical information necessary for you to enjoy an unforgettable trip on the Trans-Siberian railway.

If you’re looking for specific information on Trans-Siberian tours,click here to read our guide. You can also fill out this form to get a free budget.

If what you’re interested in is knowing how much Trans-Siberian train tickets cost, click here, select the day, departing city and destination and you will get the prices of tickets (use the city names in English).

Last of all, if you’re looking for a story about the experience of traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway, I suggest that you read this story.

Transsiberian Train Trip Guide – Index

  1. Trans-Siberian myths and incorrect beliefs.
  2. Why should you take the Trans-Siberian Express?
  3. Where to buy the tickets for the Trans-Siberian Railway
  4. Railcar and train classes
  5. To get a tour or to travel by myself?
  6. Which route should you choose?
  7. Where to stay? Our suggestions for hotels in Moscow, Irkutz, Ulan Bator and Beijing
  8. Russian, Mongolian and Chinese Visa requirements
  9. Things you should bring with you
  10. Essential information and tips

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Mongolian Visa: The Complete Guide

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mongolian visa

This article is a complete guide to getting a tourist visa for Mongolia. Keep on reading to find out the answers to the following questions:

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The Best Hotels in Ulan Bator, the Capital of Mongolia

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Finding a good hotel in Ulan Bator is not an easy task. Most hotels are overpriced, if you take a close look to the services they offer, and some of the cheap hotels have unacceptable infrastructures. In this page you’ll find a list of the best hotels in the Mongolian capital, just choose the one that match your budget and relax after the extenuating trip to reach this city.

Reviews of Luxury Hotels (5 Star) in Ulan Bator

Shangri-La Hotel Ulaanbaatar


Shangri-La Hotel Ulaanbaatar is located in the Sukhbhaatar area of Ulaanbaatar, situated in the middle of the city center. The hotel is an ideal stay option for leisure and business travelers, featuring many business and recreational facilities. The hotel has 290 elegant guestrooms overlooking Great Chinggis Khan Square and Nayramdal Park. All the rooms and public areas are Wi-Fi equipped to keep you stay connected to the world throughout your stay. Relax and rejuvenate at the hotel’s spa, sauna, steam bath, Jacuzzi, and eat to your heart’s content at its three restaurants serving delicious Chinese and western specialties. Some of the facilities offered by the hotel include car hire, meeting facilities, business center, executive floor, currency exchange, express check-in/check-out, coffee shop, smoking area, and facilities for disabled. The hotel’s is 13.4 km away from the Ulan Bator airport and a 20 minute drive away from the train station. You will not have any difficulty in speaking to the staff as the hotel’s staff not just speaks fluent English but can also converse in Malay, Filipino, Russian, Vietnamese, and Korean.

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My trip on the Transsiberian Express (Mongolia, Part 2)

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Mongolian Transsiberian

This is the second article of a series of three where I tell about my trip from Moscow to Beijing through the Transsiberian railway (actually the Transmongolian, to be precise). Here you find the first part of the story.

Ulan Bator and its outskirts

Even if in Ulan Bator there are a few things to see, we aren’t interested on stay in a town. Thus we head directly to the Golden Gobi Hostel, which organizes cheap tours. Within two hours we are in a minivan with a driver and a guide. Where are we going? Into the Steppe, of course! [Read more…]

From Italy to Mongolia in a Fiat Panda (Part 2)

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travel from Italy to MongoliaA wading in Mongolia.

Today we continue the interview to Pietro, which in 2011 crossed in a Fiat Panda the sixteen thousand kilometers that divide Italy from Mongolia. Here you find the first part of the interview.

Mongolia and China

Mongolia is often described as a “very poor” country. What’s your take on this subject?

The word “poor” has a western connotation. The Mongolian population that doesn’t live in Ulaan Baator (the capital of the country) is simply nomad. We think that they are poor because their difficult life conditions are completely out our standards.

Poverty as we intend it is increasing because of all the people that are moving to Ulaan Baator giving life to whole neighborhoods of gher (the nomad tenths). Now that the nomads left their natural environment we can define them as “poor,” but only in a urban context. [Read more…]

From Italy to Mongolia in a Fiat Panda

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From Italy to MongoliaThe heroine of this adventure.

Pietro contacted me a couple of weeks ago because he’s playing with the idea of moving to China. In one of the emails that we exchanged he told me that last year he traveled from Italy to Mongolia by Fiat Panda.

Wait, wait…

…in Mongolia with a Panda?

I got curious and asked him some more questions. He even wrote a short book about its adventure (you can download the pdf of the book here but is only in Italian).

This interview is the result of our discussion (don’t blame Pietro for the English, I translated from Italian both my question and his answers). [Read more…]