Trans-Siberian Route

When all tour participants have arrived, we meet for a welcome greeting and refreshment, with introductions. The evening’s program is getting to know each other and we eat dinner together in true Russian style. Those who are not tired after the long journey may go to a local bar nearby.

(Explorer & fun day)

Moscow walking tour. We visit the Kremlin and the Red Square, GUM, metro, and many other interesting places. On this day we also exchange money, buy local sim cards, prepare bikes, buy rain suits and other supplies if you forgot something.

(Driving day 1: 580 km/362 miles)

We start the day by driving to the famous Red Square, where we capture the beginning of the tour group photo. Thereafter, we leave Moscow and make several stops along the way until we reach one of the Golden Ring cities located on the banks of the Volga River. On our way, we visit Vladimir, a little town where we make a stop to see the Dormition (Assumption) Cathedral, a great architectural wonder of the 12th century. In Nizhny Novgorod we will walk along the Volga embankment, we will visit Novgorod Kremlin and we have dinner at a local restaurant.

(Driving day 2: 460 km/288  miles)

We start the day by visiting the national museum in Kozmodemyansk. We drive Kazan, an ancient city known as the third capital of Russia (after Moscow and Saint-Petersburg). We will visit the Kazan Kremlin, which is the second largest in Russia. Its origins date back to the 10th century. In the evening we will have a delicious dinner with local food.

(Driving day 3: 540 km/338 miles)

Today we will ride curvy back roads and a small off-road stretch before we reach Kalashnikov’s hometown. This is where the famous AK-47 is produced. We will visit the armory museum and shooting range where you get the chance to try shooting an AK-47 on your own. Thereafter, we drive to the local home-style hotel with interesting and delicious regional food.

(Driving day 4: 710  km/444 miles)

This will be a long riding day with lots of spectacular roads and scenery, oil production plants, and farm fields of the Perm region. We eat a second breakfast from a local store, forest berries, apples, and other fruits and finally shot of vodka in Yekaterinburg.

(Explorer & fun day)

Explorer day in Yekaterinburg according to your own preference. We recommend a city walk with a local guide. You will see the 1905 Square, Oktyabrskaya Square, Church on the Blood, Historical Square, Garden of Stones, and the Obelisk at the border between Europe and Asia.

(Driving day 5: 400  km/250 miles)

We start with a morning visit to Ganina Pit, where the last Russian emperor was buried. Today it is a memorial complex and monastery. We continue to Irbit, the motherland of the Russian motorcycles Ural. We visit the factory, the museum, and make a Ural motorcycle test drive. It will be a memorable experience. After lunch in the local canteen, we take off for Tyumen and arrive in the city in the evening. We leave the bikes in the parking lot and explore Tyumen on foot. We walk along the embankment and the pedestrian bridge over the Tura River and visit Znamenskiy Cathedral. We will also bathe in the hot springs in the city center, before having dinner at the restaurant nearby.

(Driving day 6: 630  km/394 miles)

A calm road to Omsk is waiting for us. On our way, we visit Ishim, a small city with a well-preserved architecture of the 19th century. In Omsk, we will a walking tour of the city and visit the main places of interest.

(Driving day 7: 650  km/406 miles)

We drive a peaceful and beautiful road to Novosibirsk, the biggest city on the Trans-Siberian route. Today this is the 3rd largest city in Russia, the cultural and scientific capital of Siberia. In the evening and next morning, we will have a walk in the city center.

(Driving day 8: 300  km/187 miles)

This will be a “short” riding day, but still full of interesting places and people. We will visit our friends in Urga, a small city in the center of Siberia. We have lunch, walk around this small provincial city, and have some free time. In the second half of the day, we drive to Kemerovo, the coal industry center of Russia. We visit several museums and spend the evening in a country house hotel in the forest.

(Driving day 9: 630  km/394 miles)

We head back on the Trans-Siberian route and drive to Krasnoyarsk, another big Siberian city. The city is situated on the Yenisei River, one of the biggest rivers in the world. We explore the city center on foot.

(Explorer & Fun day)

Today we take a rest, service our bikes, and visit Krasnoyarsk National Park “Stolby”, where you will see taiga nature (optional). It will be at least a half-day walk with climbing hills and mountains. In the evening we have dinner at a cozy restaurant with local food.

(Driving day 10: 650  km/406 miles)

Today we ride through many small villages on the roads to Tulun. Among the most interesting places is the Taishet bike guesthouse with Igor Shalygin. We spend the night in Tulun in a country hotel with Russian banya (sauna) on the banks of the river.

(Driving day 11: 620 km/388 miles)

A spectacular ride on the final leg to the great Baikal Lake await you!

(Explorer & fun day)

Today is dedicated to lake Baikal and Olkhon Island. We will go to the island by ferry with a local guide and see the local attractions.

(Driving day 12: 260  km/163 miles)

We drive to Irkutsk, a large city near lake Baikal. In the evening, we will walk through the center of this old city.

(Driving day 13: 540  km/338 miles)

We ride to Ulan-Ude along the Baikal shore. A long time ago Ulan-Ude was a Mongolian city, now it is Russian. Thus, lots of different nationalities live here: Buryats, Barguzin Jews, Evenks, Mestizo, among others. There are many Buddhist temples in the city. At the restaurants, we have a chance to try the traditional local food and famous Baikal fish – omul.

(Driving day 14: 640  km/400 miles)

We start our driving leg to Vladivostok. The first city on our way is Chita, where the Decembrists were sent after they tried to make an uprising in 1825. The city has a Museum of the Decembrists.

(Driving day 15: 780  km/488 miles)

Today will be a long driving day. We drive to Yerofey Pavlovich, a town named after the famous Russian entrepreneur, traveler, and explorer. In the 17th century, he charted the Amur River and built a fortress somewhere nearby. Unfortunately, it is not preserved. This is a small town “in the middle of nowhere”, we spend the night in a local motel because in this area there is no other hotel within a few hundred kilometers.

(Driving day 16: 760 km/475 miles)

We ride to Blagoveshchensk, the 5th biggest city in the Far East. It was established in the middle of the 19th century to guard the borders of the Russian Empire. The Amur River is a borderline between Russia and China. Locals often visit China to drink Chinese beer, buy souvenirs, and have a nice lunch. The journey to China takes only half an hour.

(Driving day 17: 700  km/438 miles)

Khabarovsk is probably the most beautiful city in the Asian part of the Trans-Siberian route. The Amur River is wide here, hills are beautiful, plentiful of forests. The city has lots of Chinese markets and restaurants, and we have a chance to check them out.

(Driving day 18: 750  km/469 miles)

We start our last driving day, and head for our destination point, Vladivostok. The city is located at the southern extremity of the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula and surrounded by the sea from three sides. After checking into our hotel, we get a massage for sore muscles, before having dinner and celebrate a great journey together.

(Explorer & fun day)

We rest after a long journey and do a sightseeing tour of the city. You will see the seaport, an embankment, the bridge to Russkiy Island, and many other interesting places.

We say goodbye to Vladivostok and Russia and return home. Thanks for a great ride, good times, and sincerely thank you for choosing to tour with Explorify. We wish you a safe trip home and hope to see you again on one of our other tours in the US, South America, Asia, Oceania or Europe.

Note: This program is a guideline for activities and experiences on the tour. Deviations may occur, but we guarantee that our positive tour leaders will do their utmost to execute the program as described – as far as it is feasible and circumstances allow. We are continually working to improve the program, thus you may experience positive surprises.