Chita Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Kadala airport (338 404) is 18km west of central Chita on marshrutka 12 or 14. Limited flights connect to Moscow (R7000), Krasnoyarsk (R5900) and Yekaterinburg. AviaEkspress (371 288; www.aviaexpress.ru, in Russian; ul Lenina 55; 9am-7am Mon-Sat) sells tickets from anywhere to anywhere else with sharp discounts for purchasing three weeks ahead.

The main train station is Chita 2. For China the Vostok (train 020) runs to Beijing (R2950, 56½ hours) very early Wednesday morning while trains to Manzhouli (R1100, 25 hours) depart on Thursday and Saturday evening. Alternatively, take the nightly service to the border town of Zabaikalsk (R660 to R940, 14 hours) then bus hop into China.

Other destinations include Blagoveshchensk (train 250, R1470, 34½ hours, odd days), Tynda (train 078, R1250, 27 hours) and several Ulan-Ude services (R700, eight to 12 hours), some overnight. For R72 commission, the helpful service centre (Chita 2 train station; 8am-noon & 1-7.30pm) issues tickets while you relax on comfy settees.

From near Chita 2 train station buses and marshrutky run to Olovyannaya (R220, 8.30am) and Aginskoe (R120, three hours, hourly), shared taxis (R180 to R200) taking up any slack. Buy bus tickets in advance from the kiosks opposite. For Alkhanay use services to Duldurga, Uzon or Aksha.