Big Ticket - 19 day tour

Welcome to Russia’s vibrant capital city. Arrival transfer from Moscow Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo airport to your hotel. The remains of days 1 and 2 are free for you to explore the sights of Moscow. On day 2 there is the option to travel to legendary Red Square by Metro for a guided walking tour where you will see brightly coloured St Basil’s Cathedral, the impressive GUM department store and Lenin’s Mausoleum. If open you can pay your respects to Lenin himself! Rest of the day is free - consider a visit to the mighty Kremlin.
Overnight: Moscow  |  Breakfast x 1

Moscow - Yekaterinburg. Explore the city independently today. This afternoon transfer to rail station to board the train to Yekaterinburg.
Overnight: Train  |  Breakfast

Yekaterinburg. On the evening of day 4 the train pulls into Yekaterinburg. Transfer to your hotel. On day 5 there is an optional city tour, which takes in the new monastery that marks the site of the Romanov family’s execution in 1918 and Ganina Yama - a beautiful monastic complex built on the site where their bodies were discarded and later found. The guided tour also takes you to the Europe/Asia border where you can stand with a foot in each continent!
Overnight: Yekaterinburg  |  Breakfast x 1

Yekaterinburg. Today you can choose from the optional activities on offer or spend the day at leisure. This evening relax at the hotel before your transfer to the station to board the train to Irkutsk.
Overnight: Train  |  Breakfast

Yekaterinburg - Irkutsk. Relax on board and enjoy the views as you travel through Siberia en route to Irkutsk.
Overnight: Train

Irkutsk. Morning arrival into Irkutsk, a town with the Asiatic influences of nearby Mongolia and China and curious architecture - a legacy of Siberia's exiled aristocrats. Spend the next three days at leisure exploring the town. Or choose one of the following optional excursions:

Listvyanka and Lake Baikal: Spend two relaxing days in the village of Listvyanka by beautiful Lake Baikal, where you can independently explore or opt to also add-on our Lake Baikal Discovery package to include guided sightseeing.

Irkutsk Summer Trek & Camp: Enjoy an overnight trekking excursion through the scenic taiga of the Primorsky Mountain to Lake Baikal, camping overnight in a picturesque bay.
Overnight: Irkutsk   |  Breakfast x 2

Irkutsk - Ulan Ude - breakfast. Spend day 12 at leisure in Irkutsk before your evening departure for the overnight train to Ulan Ude. Very early the following morning arrive into Ulan Ude and transfer to your hotel. Day 13 is free for you to independently explore the city or take an optional Ulan Ude city tour. Thanks to its proximity to Mongolia and China, the indigenous people of the region, the Buryats, clung on to their Tibetan-Buddhist faith through the Communist era. The guided city tour visits Ivolginsky Datsan - a centre of Buddhist culture and the open air Ethnographic Museum, dedicated to the lives of local people and architecture through the ages.

On day 14, the morning is free before your midday transfer to rail station for the train to Ulaan Baatar.
Overnight: Train - days 12 & 14, Ulan Ude - day 13  |  Breakfast x 1

Ulaan Baatar. Morning arrival (subject to border formalities and inevitable delays) into Outer Mongolia after crossing the border in the very early hours of day 15, transfer to your hotel in Ulaan Baatar. Mongolia is a country of unspoilt natural beauty, with endless steppe, nomadic tribes people, stunning Terelj National Park, double-humped (Bactrian) camels and wild Przewalski horses. Due to its high elevation, located 1350 metres above sea level Ulaan Baatar is the coldest national capital in the world, so make sure you wrap up warm! Enjoy free time exploring the National History Museum, Bogd Khan’s winter palace, the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet and Sukhbataar Square. Spend the following 3 days at leisure or book an optional two night excursion to Terelj National Park:

Optional Terelj National Park & ger camp: Upon arrival on day 15 transfer to nearby Terelj National Park, stopping for lunch and a visit to Turtle Rock en route. With scenic alpine surrounds this protected area is host to diverse flora and fauna and famous for its unique granite rock formations. Spend two nights camping out in a Mongolian ger on the steppe. On day 17 transfer back to Ulaan Baatar stopping to visit a nomadic family en route.
Overnight: Ulaan Baatar  |  Breakfast x 2