Way to Russia Talk Lounge

bwolf · Just Starting Joined: 08 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

We are a group of about 4 people traveling from Beijing to St. Petersburg. We want to purchase train tickets beforehand, making stops in Ulan Bataar, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Moscow, and finally St. Petersburg, leaving around July 9 and traveling for one to two weeks. Does anyone know the best and cheapest place to purchase train tickets beforehand? Also any comments on our itinerary are welcome! Thanks

treadie53 · Just Starting Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 4

Hi
As far as I know you cannot get on and off the International trains eg Trans-Mongolian/Trans-Siberian unless you book your whole trip through a company such as Monkey Shrine (semi-independent travel) . This option may be convenient but is certainly not cheap. Other companies are even more expensive. The other complication is that since this is the Summer of the Olympics, train tickets from Beijing cannot be confirmed until a few days (I heard 3 days) prior to intended travel. Even if you book through an agency, there will be no guarantee you will get tickets. CITS is reportedly the cheapest place to buy international tickets (and they're usually not cheap) out of Beijing. You cannot buy them yourself directly. You have mentioned a number of stop overs so you may have to buy them in single legs, but you are very limited with time, so that may not be an option for you.I'm doing the trip solo and I can't risk not getting tickets (time restrictions on visas) , so I am taking the local option to the Chinese border, then local across the border and again to UB and beyond. I have details if you want to pm me. With 4 of you it may not be an option. Also I have no idea from where you are travelling. I also have no idea about what your idea of "cheap" is. If you want a more helpful reply, you may need to give more specific info.
Not sure if this post has been helpful or not! Anyway, good luck- this summer will be mayhem so I hope you are able to organize your trip soon!
Regards
Sue Smile