Trans-Mongolian East-West: Beijing - Mongolia - Baikal - Yekaterinburg - Moscow - St. Petes (TS-17)

Our guide will meet you at the airport. In the evening we will visit an old part of Beijing - hutong and enjoy a guided ride by rickshaw.

We will visit the magnificent Summer Palace, the famous Forbidden City and Tiananmen - the largest city square in the world.

We will tour the Great Wall - a symbol of Chinese civilisation, on our return to the hotel we will also visit the Olympic Park.

Early in the morning we board our international train to Mongolia.

We will drive to Chinggis Khaan monument and explore Terelj National Park. We stay for overnight in a traditional ger.

Return to Ulan Bator. After a guided city tour and visit to the National History Museum we start our trip to Russia by comfortable train.

We continue our journey to Russia.

Our guide will meet you upon arrival in Irkutsk and transfer to Listvyanka village on the shore of Baikal. Enjoy your free time.

Free time in the village.

We will visit the Wooden Architecture Museum and have a guided city tour around Irkutsk. In the evening we continue our train journey.

We continue our train journey to Western Siberia.

Arrival in Yekaterinburg. Our driver will transfer you to the hotel.

We will explore the place of execution of the last Russian tsar and his family. We will also visit the obelisk "Border of Europe and Asia".

In the morning we board our overnight train to Moscow.

After a short rest at the hotel we will start exploring Moscow and visit the Red Square, Lenin's Tomb and St. Basil's Cathedral.

We will explore the Kremlin and the Armoury. We will also have a tour of the Moscow Metro. In the evening we board our train to St. Petersburg.

We start our discovery of St. Petersburg with a guided city tour by car.

We will have a guided tour of Yusupov Palace.

A guided tour of the Hermitage - one of best museums of the world.

Transfer to the airport.

Arrival in Beijing. Our driver will meet you in the arrivals sector. Transfer to the hotel. We will start with a 'Hutong by rickshaw’ guided tour in one of the oldest parts of Beijing. ‘Hutong’ generally mean a city area with narrow streets, today many hutongs were demolished to make way for new modern roads and buildings. However, some hutong areas have been protected. The rickshaw will also take us to the famous Shichahai Lake and the Drum Tower in the centre of old Beijing. You can also take an optional boat trip. (D)

Today, you will see many of Beijing’s key tourist sights. We start with a guided tour of Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world, covering 440 thousand square metres. Then it is on to the famous Imperial palace and the Forbidden City, listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. We end at the Summer Palace, 15 kilometres (9.4 miles), from central Beijing. (B, L, D)

A highlight of the whole trip – a guided tour of the Great Wall of China – a symbol of Chinese civilisation and one of the wonders of the world. We will visit the Badaling Great Wall situated in Yanqing County, approximately 70 kilometres (44 miles) north of Beijing, which is very well preserved. Next, we will visit the Olympic Green, constructed in Beijing for 2008 summer Olympics. (B, L, D)

Today, is an exciting travel day where you will travel by ‘train K3’, one of the most popular ways of getting from China into Mongolia. You will find more foreigners than local people on this train. There are first class (two berth compartments with one lower and one upper berth) and second class (four berth compartments with two lower and two upper berths) carriages on the train. First class compartments also feature an armchair, a small table and a toilet with a shower shared between two neighbouring compartments. Second class compartments do not have private facilities. Hot boiled water is available in carriages and train attendants provide thermos kettles. (B)

Our guide will meet you at the railway station then we will drive to the Chinggis Khaan monument located at Conjinboldog on the banks of the Tuul River, 33 miles east of Ulan Bator. It is a 40-metre tall statue of Chinggis Khan on horseback, the biggest equestrian statue in the world. Next, we go to Terelj National Park for a guided trip. The dramatic Mongolian landscapes are breathtaking. Terelj National Park is famous for its unique granite rock formations, pristine alpine scenery and diverse flora and fauna. We will explore Turtle Rock and after lunch at the camp we will hike to Aryabal monastery. We will stay overnight in a traditional Mongolian ger (means "home") - a sturdy wood and felt type tent. In winter we stay in a wooden lodge. (L, D)

Our driver will meet you at your accommodation. Transfer to Ulan Bator for a city tour to see the Gandan Hiid Monastery, the country’s largest remaining monastery, Sukhebaatar square and the Museum of Natural History, where you will see real dinosaur remains. Also, a visit to the National Museum of Mongolian History, one of the leading museums in Mongolia. Tonight, we leave Mongolia and start our trip to Russia by a comfortable train. (B, L, D)

Our guide will meet you with a signboard upon your arrival in Irkutsk. Transfer to Listvyanka village (approx. 70 km). Enjoy your free time at the lake, at St. Nicolas Russian Orthodox Church and Baikal Lake Museum.

Enjoy your free time in Listvyanka village. (B)

Our guide will meet you at your accommodation. Transfer to Irkutsk. On our way to Irkutsk, we will stop to visit the open air Wooden Architecture Museum in Taltsy which conveys the lifestyle of 16th – 19th century Russia. Afterwards, we will have a guided city tour around Irkutsk, taking in 18th century churches, brightly painted shutters and log houses. Later, our driver will transfer you to the railway station where you board the comfortable train to Yekaterinburg. Arrival in Yekaterinburg in the evening two days later. (B)

Our driver will meet you at the carriage with a signboard with your names. Transfer to the hotel.

We will visit the majestic Memorial Cathedral on the Blood in the name of all Saints, which was built on the place where the last Russian tsar Nikolay II and his family were slain. Then continue to “Ganina Pit” the unique orthodox monastery. We will also have an excursion to the obelisk that marks the "Border of Europe and Asia". (B)

Our driver will meet you at the hotel lobby with a signboard. Transfer to the railway station. Board the fast train 015, which departs Yekaterinburg at 09:19 and arrives in Moscow at 09:23 next day (all times are local). (B)

Arrival in Moscow. Our driver will meet you with a China & Beyond sign board at the beginning of the platform. Transfer to the hotel. Today, many of the key cultural and historical points in Moscow will be covered in a walking tour. We will visit Lubyanka Square (the world-famous KGB centre) and the Teatralnaya Square next to the Bolshoi Theatre. Then we will continue our walk through the small central streets and on to Tverskaya Street – the busiest street in Moscow – before ending with guided tours of the Red Square, the brightly-domed St. Basil's cathedral, Lenin’s Tomb and the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.

A brilliant guided day of Moscow sightseeing, taking in the Kremlin grounds, cathedrals, museums and Underground. Starting at the Kremlin, the former residence of the Tsars, the tour moves on to the Armoury Museum - home to invaluable weapons and other works made of precious metals and stones. Lastly, you will get to explore the Moscow Underground – one of the masterpieces of the Soviet era created in the Socialist Realism style. Transfer to the railway station. Our driver will meet you with a China & Beyond sign board at the lobby of the hotel. We will be travelling by the Grand Express overnight train, a hotel on wheels that features spacious sleeping compartments with toilets, showers, air-conditioning, wide sofas, LCD TV, DVD-players and WI-FI. (B)

Arrival in St. Petersburg. Our driver will meet you with a China & Beyond signboard at the beginning of the platform. Transfer to the hotel, then onto the St. Petersburg City Tour. One of the most beautiful cities in the world, it is the second largest city in Russia and unlike the busy capital Moscow, it is more of a museum-city. Here, you will explore the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Church of Christ's Resurrection (The Saviour of the Blood). You will also see the Aurora; the ship whose canon gave Lenin’s signal for the beginning of the Great Social Revolution. (B)

A very special guided tour of Yusupov Palace, once home to the Yusupov noble family. Rich with murals, carvings, marble and mirrors, the palace retains its genuine interiors and is also linked to the scandalous Grigory Rasputin who is believed as having influenced the later days of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. (B)

A guided tour of the world-famous Hermitage, former residence of the Russian Tzars and one of best museums of the world. Home to an amazing 3,000,000 works of art, including works by Leonardo Da Vinci and Titian as well as an outstanding collection of coins and Tsar’s jewellery. (B)

Transfer to the airport. Our driver will meet you with a China & Beyond sign board at the hotel lobby. (B)