Day 1
Thursday - Moscow
Arrival in Moscow. Overnight Flight to Irkutsk
Today we'll check in for our domestic flight to the Siberian city of Irkutsk, an overnight flight of around six hours.
Day 2
Friday - Irkutsk – Listvyanka
Lake Baikal
Our guide will meet you with a sign board upon your arrival in Irkutsk to take you to pretty Listvyanka village, approximately 70 km away. There you'll have time to fully appreciate the beautiful lake setting, take a boat trip onto Lake Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake, or perhaps explore the village's church and museum.
Day 3
Saturday - Listvyanka
At Leisure at Baikal
Today you'll have more time to soak up the atmosphere in this charming lakeshore village. Why not have a wander in the village market or visit the Nerpinariun to take in a seal show.
Day 4
Sunday - Listvyanka - Irkutsk
Wooden Architecture Museum in Taltsy. Exploring Irkutsk
Our guide will meet you at your accommodation for your transfer to Irkutsk. En route, stop off at the open Air Wooden Architecture Museum in Taltsy. It's a fascinating insight into 16th to 19th century life in these parts. You can take a look inside a Russian fort and 15th century watchtower, find out more about the Buryat and Evenk people and take a closer look at a shaman's yurt. Back in Irkutsk, you will take a guided tour of the city known as the Paris of Siberia and admire its unusual cottages with their wooden lacework embellishments.
Day 5
Monday - Irkutsk
Departure to Mongolia
Our driver will deliver you to the railway station for your onward train to Mongolia.
Day 6
Tuesday - Ulan Bator - Terelj
Arrival in Mongolia. Chinggis Khaan Statue. Enjoy Terelj National Park
Following our overnight train, the guide will meet you at the railway station. You'll transfer to Terelj National Park. We make a brief stop to admire the world's largest equestrian statue in the form of Chinggis Khaan on horseback, the statue oriented to point at his birthplace. There are incredible views from the top over the surrounding countryside. On reaching Terelj National Park, we'll explore the unique granite rock formations including Turtle Rock. After lunch at the camp we will enjoy hiking to Aryabal monastery and visit a nomad family to help milk the cows. Tonight we overnight in either a traditional felt tent known as a ger, or, when the weather is colder, a cozy wooden lodge.
Day 7
Wednesday - Terelj - Ulan Bator
Ulan Bator City Tour. National History Museum
Our driver will meet you at your accommodation. You'll transfer to Ulan Bator where you'll visit the Gandan Hiid Monastery, the country’s largest remaining monastery, Sukhebaatar Square and the Museum of Natural History. There you will see real dinosaur remains as well as other archeological findings from the Mesozoic Era dug up from the Gobi desert. Finally, we will stop at theNational History Museum for a guided tour where you can find out about the country's cultural heritage and political history.
Day 8
Thursday - Ulan Bator
Departure to China
Today our driver will collect you from your hotel and see you onto Train 24, a comfortable weekly train to China popular with foreign visitors. Opt for either first class accommodation (two berth compartments with armchairs and semi-private shower facilities) or second class carriages (four berth compartments with shared toilet and washbasin facilities). There's an onboard restaurant and bar where you can purchase meals and drinks in addition to the boiling water provided from the carriage attendants.
Day 9
Friday - Beijing
Arrival in China. Exploring Old Beijing (Hutong Area)
After our arrival in the Chinese capital and included hotel transfer, we will take a guided rickshaw tour to one of Beijing's surviving hutongs. These are old neighborhoods characterized by narrow alleyways dating from the 13th century and are very atmospheric. The rickshaw driver will then carry you to Shichahai Lake. Home of the Drum Tower, this part of central Beijing has princes' houses to admire and well preserved courtyards. Your evening will be free for you to explore this part of Beijing further or, if you prefer, return to the hotel with our driver.
Day 10
Saturday - Beijing
Tiananmen Square. Forbidden City & Summer Palace
No visit to Beijing would be complete without a trip to the Forbidden City. Located to the north of Tiananmen Square, infamous as the place where government troops stopped pro-democracy protesters in 1989, the Forbidden City houses the Imperial Palace. This UNESCO World Heritage Site contains the largest collection of ancient wooden structures in the world and was the base for the Imperial court during the Ming and Qing dynasties. To round off the day we'll tour the Summer Palace, set on a lake and surrounded by elegant landscaped gardens.
Day 11
Sunday - Beijing
Badaling Great Wall. Visit to the Olympic Green
We're saving the best until last, as today we take a trip out to Badaling, the most accessible and well preserved section of the Great Wall of China. Another of China's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, it's unmissable on any China itinerary. Lastly, on our way back to the city, we will stop at the Olympic Green and view the venues built for the 2008 Olympic Games, including the Beijing National Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Green Hockey Field
Day 12
Monday - Beijing
Departure for the Airport
Our driver will meet you with a sign board at the hotel lobby for your airport transfer.
Tour Dates & Prices
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All our hotels and traditional accommodation at lake Baikal (a guest – house) and in Mongolia (a ger) have been carefully selected and personally tested by Go Russia product development team. They have been chosen for their central location, available facilities, tastefully designed interiors, and friendly service and customers’ feedbacks. Most of the hotels on your tour will have a 4* rating. Please note all our hotels are recommended on Tripadvisor and have above average reviews. Please view hotels details below.
Mayak Hotel Listvyanka 4*
The Hotel Mayak in Listvyanka occupies an enviable waterfront position giving its guests panoramic views over Lake Baikal. Many of the rooms have large windows from which you can watch boats come and go at the boat dock. The hotel itself is well equipped with the facilities you would expect from a property of its class, with a pool, sauna and Russian banya for guests. There’s free WiFi throughout the hotel, room service and assistance with document registration.
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Hotel Angara 3*
The Angara Hotel was named after the great Siberian River and is situated right in the heart of business and financial life of Irkutsk - on the Kirov Square. There are 285 comfortable standard rooms, semi-deluxe and deluxe rooms equipped with a private bathroom, safe, color TV, mini-bar, hairdryer, air-conditioner and Internet access. The hotel has two restaurants, post office, currency exchange office, massage room, sauna with a pool, gym, casino and billiards.Learn more
Terelj Lodge Ger Camp
Ger camps we use on our tours are slightly modified for Western travelers, however they do offer a genuinely authentic experience and most of them are situated in picturesque areas. The gers are made of a wooden frame that is covered with felt. Inside they are generally brightly painted and feature two or four single beds, a small table, chairs, a lamp, electricity sockets and a stove for heating. Learn more
Hotel Platinum Ulan-Bator 4*
Located in the Sukhbaatar district of central Ulan Bator, the Platinum Hotel is a comfortable 4* hotel which has proved popular with guests. Its proximity to Sukhbaatar Square ensures guests are based at the very heart of the Mongolian capital, and premier attraction such as the National Museum of Mongolian History, the Mongolian Theatre Museum, Presidential Palace and the Chinggis Khan Gardens are just a short stroll away.
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Hotel Qianmen’s Jianguo Beijing 4*
Qianmen’s Jianguo Hotel is a popular four star choice located in the heart of central Beijing, a short drive from major sights such as Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven. Boasting over 400 rooms, accommodation at this well-equipped hotel features flat screen television, air conditioning, a kettle and a minibar. Each room is en suite, providing a hairdryer and complimentary toiletries.
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We thrive on feedback! We are very happy to have served thousands of happy customers
who travelled with us. Please browse our guestbook below, read our clients' feedback on
Tripadvisor and also watch a short
customer's interview sharing her travel experience
with Go Russia. To respect our clients' privacy all names are encoded.
Russia excellent on all things, Mongolia outstanding on all things, I would do the trip again for Mongolia. The guide and driver were the best. Train great fun.
—
Zoe Perkins
The guides were all excellent and spoke very good English. The accommodation and food was very good. The tours were all extremely interesting.
—
Gillian Holway
Everything went according to plan; transfers and transport all completed exactly as specified. Hotel accommodation generally clean and comfortable. The food and guide/driver in Mongolia were brilliant and tours really excellent. The China part of the tour was also very good, the sites visited were fantastic.
—
Richard Foster
The guides had a very good level of english and could communicate easily. This was important as we could ask questions relating to the social and cultural aspects of the country that we were visiting. It was a pleasure to deal with your company.
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Ashley Norman
The guides were superb in Irkutsk, Ulan Bator and Beijing. The whole experience was something we will look back on for years.
—
Ora Horton
I’m very pleased to let you know that I have just received my passport at 8.45 a.m. this morning. Thank you so much for expediting the process. I am so relieved and will sing your praises and those for GoRussia for a long time to come. It is very refreshing to work with people who are efficient and can be depended upon.
—
Rosamaria Wahl
I would just like to say a big thank you for organising a fantastic experience for me. I must say that I was extremely impressed with all of our tour guides and particularly Normi in Mongolia (you have already forwarded a thank you email for me) and Daniel in Beijing.
—
Nicolas Griffith
The guide and accommodation in Mongolia at the Ger Camp was superb! We felt very much at home in our tents and would have liked to stay much longer :)
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Ruth Hopkins
I don't think I've ever dealt with a better organized or more efficient tour operator. At each phase we were met at exactly the time an place appointed. The accommodations were as advertised. The food was very good and mostly arranged to give us examples of local cuisine. The guides were helpful and flexible. You responded to all my questions quickly so there were no unpleasant surprises. Thank you very much for helping to make our trip as enjoyable as it was.
—
Ron Wallace
We had a super trip and everything went off well, there was always someone to meet us at the station and the tour guides were good, especially in Mongolia which was my favourite destination. So we really had a fascinating trip and really would not have changed much, thank you so much for all your assistance.
—
Janice Reed