Beijing to Moscow by Train

The train trip from Beijing to Moscow crosses some fascinating territory--China, Mongolia, Siberia, the Ural Mountains and into western Russia. It runs part-way along the path of the TransSiberian Railway, but the route is a lot more varied than just travelling across Russia.

It is possible to do this trip on one's own, but there is a lot of work involved. For my money, it would be worth paying a little extra for somebody else to work out the details. One company that has an interesting itinerary for this route is www.intrepidtravel.com.

They offer a 16 day trip that includes a stay in a Mongolian ger, a stop in Ulan Ude, capital of the Buryat Autonomous Republic, and a stop at Perm in the Urals for a visit to the Kungur Nature Reserve.Ulan Ude is known, among other things, as the city that has the largest head of Lenin anywhere. The cost of the itinerary is as low as $3,056 Canadian, which includes lodging, the rail trip in a four-bed compartment, some meals and tours.

One good thing about Intrepid is that they run small group tours where those travelling alone do not need to pay a single supplement. You will be paired up with another traveller of the same gender, or sometimes several other travellers. In a ger, of course, a large number of people may be snoozing together.

This is just one of Intrepid's many offerings, and the company provides several different types of trips from those for the rugged outdoors types to more comfortable alternatives. Generally the prices seem reasonable.