Day 1: Arrival
Welcome to Vladivostok - one of the most significant Russian ports located on the western shores of the Sea of Japan! Your driver meets you at the airport, port or station and transfers you to your centrally located hotel for check-in.

The rest of the day is free so you can relax in your cozy room, dine in one of the nearby restaurants or start exploring the charming city center on your own.

Day 2: Vladivostok City Tour
Following breakfast you check out and have morning at leisure. After lunch you meet your guide in the hotel lobby and enjoy an exciting sightseeing tour around the most interesting city attractions.

You first explore the Eagle's Nest observation point to get a magnificent bird’s-eye view over the city and Golden Horn Bay.

You then drive across the Russky Bridge, the world's longest cable-stayed bridge, to reach Russky Island. An integral part of the Vladivostok's history, the island attracts numerous tourists with charming Primorye nature, dozens of picturesque bays,
majestic coastal rocks and a number of unique military fortifications. While being on the island, you have a great chance to visit one of them - «Novosiltsevskaya battery» fortification. Beautiful panoramic view of the bridge opens from there.

You continue with visiting Submarine S-56 which successfully fought against a fascist’s fleet during WWII. You end the tour with exploring the Vladivostok Railway Station that is the terminus of the Trans-Siberian railroad.

After the tour you have some free time. In the evening you are transferred to the railway station to board a private car to Khabarovsk.

Day 3: Khabarovsk City Tour
In the morning your train arrives in Khabarovsk. 

Upon arrival you meet your private guide and driver and set off on a wonderful sightseeing tour of Khabarovsk. You start sightseeing from the Monument to Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky, a Russian general, statesman and diplomat. Continue to Amur Cliff which offers exciting views on the Amur River and hills. The river had a special historical significance as a route much used by the Russians when exploring and opening up eastern Russia. Nowadays it forms a part of the Chinese–Russian border.

You then make a riverside walk along picturesque Nevelsky Embankment, witness the Spaso-Transfiguration Cathedral, the third tallest church in Russia, and see the eternal flame memorial.

Finally you ride across Khabarovsk Bridge. The railway bridge over the Amur River is the longest, at 1.6 km (5,250 ft), on the Trans Siberian Railway. The bridge, as well as Muravyov-Amursky Monument, is famous for being depicted on a 5000-ruble banknote.

After the tour you are transferred to your hotel for check-in and have the rest of the day free.

Day 4: Departure
In the morning you check out from the hotel and your driver takes you to the train station to board a private car to your next destination.

Day 6: Arrival
Upon arrival, your driver meets you at the railway station and takes you to your centrally located hotel for check-in. You have the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 7: Exploring Ulan Ude
Following breakfast at your hotel you meet your guide and driver in the hotel lobby and start a tour around the most interesting landmarks of the city and its environs.

You first head for Ivolginsky Buddhist monastery complex, considered as the center of Buddhism in Russia. Located 40 km from Ulan-Ude in the picturesque valley of the Ivolga River, the complex is home to the Buddhist institute Dashi Choinkhorlin, translated from Tibetan as “the land of happy learning”. Here monks, the future lamas, study oriental and Tibetan culture, medicine, Old Mongolian and Tibetan languages and philosophy of Buddhism. During the tour you make a sacred circle (“goroo”) around the territory, enter the temples, see the altar with many golden statues of Buddha, Buddhist stupas, Buddhist books, tankas and even the sacred Bodhi tree.

Upon arrival back to Ulan Ude, you enjoy the views from Rinpoche Bagsha Datsan rising high above the city (if time and weather conditions allow), see the world’s largest head statue of Lenin, take a walk at Lenin Street abundant in former merchant houses, explore Soviet Square and admire at beautiful Odigitria Cathedral.

After the tour you return to your hotel and have the rest of the day free.

Day 8: Departure
In the morning you check out and take a transfer to the train station where you board a private car to Irkutsk.

Day 8: Transfer to Lake Baikal
In the afternoon your train arrives in Irkutsk. Upon arrival, you are transferred right to the Lake Baikal shore and check in to your hotel.

Day 8: Transfer to Baikal & Lake Baikal Cruise
After lunch at a local restaurant we invite you for an exclusive experience - a private 3-hour cruise on Lake Baikal. Together with the guide you board a ship that takes you to one of the first Baikal railroad stations. After you get ashore, you walk to the tunnels of the old railroad and take magnificent pictures. On the way back you relax on the open-air deck with a cup of hot Siberian tea and local candies, listening to the stories about the life of locals.

After the cruise you return to your hotel and have the rest of the evening free.

Today you have a chance to attend a traditional Russian banya or sauna (at your choice) at the hotel.

Additional meals: lunch

Day 9: Listvyanka Village Tour & Trip to Taltsy Village
Following breakfast  you check out, meet your guide and driver and enjoy a tour around Listvyanka Village. During the tour you visit the Baikal Limnological Museum and Aquarium that houses an interesting display of the unique flora and fauna of the lake.

Then you take a chair-lift to the nearby viewpoint to take some magnificent panoramic pictures of Baikal, view the Chersky Rock and visit the 19th century wooden St. Nicolas church and spend some time at a local fish market where you see a great variety of fish and different ways of cooking it.

Then you say "Good-bye" to Lake Baikal and take a trip to the open-air museum of wooden architecture located in Taltsy Village.

This reconstructed Siberian village consists of a number of buildings that were threatened with flooding when the Irkutsk Dam was constructed on the Angara River. All the buildings at the Taltsy museum were rescued from the rising waters and brought here to serve as models of Irkutsk regional architecture.

After the tour you are transferred to Irkutsk.

Please note: chair-lift is not available on Monday

Day 9: Arrival
Upon arrival, you check in at the centrally located hotel and have the rest of the day free.

Day 10: Irkutsk City Tour
After breakfast you check out from your hotel and have morning at leisure. After time for lunch (lunch not included) you meet your guide and driver in the hotel lobby and have a guided tour around the most remarkable city's attractions.

You first walk along Angara River embankment - the most popular meeting place among the locals - to an eternal flame and the monument to explorer Yakov Pohabov, the founder of the city. You proceed to the only Catholic Cathedral in Irkutsk, the beautiful Polish Roman Church, located in the historical part of Irkutsk.

You are then driven to one of the main monasteries in Siberia - Sign Monastery also known as the Znamensky Monastery. You also explore the Kazan Church, which with its Byzantine style decorations looks like a fairy tower, and Block 130, the historical zone with many colorful wooden houses and buildings constructed in the 17th century.

After the tour you are transferred to the train station, board your private train car and continue your Trans-Siberian journey. 

Day 12: Arrival
Upon arrival in Yekaterinburg, your driver meets you at the train station and transfers you to your centrally located hotel for overnight.

Day 13: Exploring the Highlights of Yekaterinburg
After breakfast you meet your guide and enjoy a sightseeing tour around the most remarkable city landmarks.

During the tour you take a walk through the historical city center, visit Ural Craftsman Lane where you can buy some traditional hand-made souvenirs, see the magnificent architectural ensemble of the Rastorguev - Haritonov House, admire Sevastyanov's House - the symbol of the city, and take a trip to the famous Europe-Asia monument where you can happily experience being at two places at once putting one foot in Europe and the other in Asia.

The second part of your tour is dedicated to the last days of the Russian Imperial Family. You visit the Church on Blood built on the site of the notorious Ipatiev House, where the last Russian Emperor, Nicolas II, and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
Your guide also takes you to the first burial place of the tsar’s family - the Monastery Complex “Ganina Yama” that now consists of seven chapels - one for each member of the royal family.

The day is crowned with a visit to Boris Yeltsin Center, a modern high tech complex where you explore the museum dedicated to the first Russian president and learn about the contemporary history of Russia starting with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the period often described as “the wild 90s”.

After the tour you return to your hotel and have the rest of the day free.

Day 14: Departure
In the morning you check out from your hotel and your driver takes you to the train station, board your private train car and head for Moscow.

Day 15: Exploring the Kremlin, Armoury Chamber & the Heart of Moscow

In the morning your train arrives in the legendary capital of Russia - Moscow. Your driver meets you at the train station and your tour leader takes you to a centrally located hotel to leave luggage and have breakfast. 

You then say good-bye to the tour leader, meet a local guide in the hotel lobby and go to the Kremlin territory where you have a chance to explore the gems hidden behind the Kremlin walls such as the Cathedral Square and the Assumption and Annunciation cathedrals.

Then you visit the famous Armoury Chamber that houses a unique collection of crown jewels, stunning coronation finery, hand-forged armor and weapons, royal carriages and sleighs, and world-famous Fabergé eggs.

After a short break for coffee you take a walk through the beautiful Red Square, go inside the colorful St. Basil's Cathedral and explore the famous GUM department store.

After the tour you return to the hotel and have the rest of the day free.

Day 16: Visiting the Tretyakov Gallery & Moscow Subway Ride

Following breakfast you meet your guide and driver and enjoy a tour of the world-famous treasure trove of the Russian fine art, the Tretyakov Gallery, where you have amazing time viewing the gems of its collection, including the famous masterpieces of Ivan Aivazovsky, Mikhail Vrubel, and Viktor Vasnetsov.

After the tour of the Tretyakov Gallery you have a quick subway ride to explore the most beautiful stations of Moscow Subway, which is known to be one of the most beautiful and efficient metro systems in the world. Then you see the spectacular Cathedral of Christ the Savior and learn the story of its destruction and reconstruction.

Today you also have a chance to enjoy one of the best city views at Sparrow Hills and see the grand building of Moscow State University, the highest of seven Stalinist skyscrapers of Moscow.

After the tour you are transferred to your hotel and have the rest of the day free.

Day 17: Departure
Following breakfast you check out from your hotel, and your driver transfers you to the airport. We wish you a safe flight and hope to work on your future trips!

Optional post-tour extension available: continue your journey further to the legendary Venice of the North and the brilliant Northern capital of Russia - St. Petersburg. Contact your travel specialist for details.