Trans-Siberian Railway

Planning to do the rail trip from Beijing to Moscow and Saint Petersburg, departing Beijing in December with stopovers in Ulan-Bator, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg.

Most of the books/websites ( incl. LPTT) offer advice and suggested itineraries for trips in the "warmer" months but there's not much information for winter travelers, particularly regarding available activities at the enroute stops. If any TTers have done this trip in winter, I'd appreciate any advice and/or suggestions re itinerary, suggested stops and things to do in the cooler months.

Thanks/HY

Hi,
This is about the trip in reverse...but since it's from a valued and trusted rail travel advisor I'm sure you'll learn things from him...
http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm
Lots of photos and maps!

Thanks sfgirl42,
Lots of good info there.
Rgds/HY

i have travelled on the transsib from moscow to vladivostok (and after that onward to harbin) in january and absolutely loved it. this was more then 10 years ago however, so my info is not really up to date. on the other hand, i dont think that a lot has changed since.

obviously it does get pretty cold (i remember getting of the train in irkutsk, with 35 celsius minus, and a local commenting "you are lucky, today its quite warm"). the train itself is heated and very warm, the temperature difference between inside the train and outside is huge.

as i was not on the trans mongolia route, i didnt stop in ulan bator. also, i didnt stop in novosibirsk and yekaterinburg unfortunately. i did stop in ulan ude, which i very much enjoyed. i stayed with a local family there, visited a buddhist temple near the city, an opera show, and was probably the only foreigner in the city. i also stopped in irkutsk, and that is of course a must stop on the transsib. i would spend 1-2 day in the city, and 1-2 day in a village on lake baikal (listvjanka is the most "famous" one). this is how you imagine siberia to be in winter. the lake is frozen, you can walk on it, even trucks can drive on it. yes, it is very cold, but its also really special.

Thanks for the info, nathalie2 .. much appreciated.
We're planning enroute stops at Ulaanbaatar, Irkutsk and Yekaterinburg and then continuing on from Moscow to Saint Petersburg.
One more question regarding food. Did you buy your meals on the train, at the enroute stops and/or take your own supplies? What would you recommend?
Regards/HY

your most welcome.
food wise, i did a combination - i brought some supplies (mostly fruit, but also noodle soup, russian bread (that keeps well for a couple of days). what you definitely want to bring is a stainless cup, and tea or coffee (and sugar and creme if you like your tea/coffee sweet/white). in each carriage there is a large samovar where you can get hot water.

i also bought food enroute. in some stations locals will set up small "stalls" on the platform. they sell local, homemade food, and that is a great opportunity to taste cheap and tasty food. if you like dumplings, try pierogi, large dumplings with either a savoury filling (can be meat, cheese, potatoes, sauerkraut, cabbage etc.) or a sweet filling (fruit, jam, sour cream).

and i also went to the restaurant in the train 2 or 3 times. the food there was tasty, but the main reason to go there (for me) was to have a change from being in the carriage.

Thanks again for your advice Nathalie2,
We depart in a few weeks.
Regards/HY