Beijing to UB train pre-booking?

I remember reading somewhere on the TT that it was a good idea to pre-book the trans-mongolian ticket when going "the other way" - i.e Beijing to Ulan Bataar.

I don't know how long I'll stay in Beijing (have to fix a few visas), it might be 3 or 10 days. But since the train only leaves once a week (so I've heard, is this really true???) I'd like to book a ticket if possible.

Do I do this through a travel agency or any official place?

Do I have to pay when booking? Since I don't know how long I'll stay in Beijing I'd really like to avoid this.

And how much would the ticket be when bought in Beijing?

Thanks,
Micke

Email Richard Tian at richards@public3.bta.net.cn to sort you out.
Cheers!

You can find all china international train info through Adventure China Trip.

Cheers

Train #23 only leaves once a week at this time of year. It is almost always sold out. At the last minute it is very unlikely that you will be able to purchase a ticket, but of course, one never knows. If you could the absolute cheapest ticket is about 80 USD for a berth in a 4 person compartment.

Which visas are you trying to arrange? I seriously doubt that you will be able to arrange more than one visa in 3 days as most require that you present your passport and most take more than 3 days to obtain.

I think Richard Tian charges about 95 USD for a ticket Beijing to UB.

Try contacting Richard Tian, whose email is oceantravelcn@yahoo.com.cn or richards@public3.bta.net.cn. Reportedly he is quite reliable about obtaining the tickets at a fair price and delivering them during the day to your hostel or hotel in Beijing. Be sure to add him to your address book so that your spam filter does not "Eat" his response.

Ruth

Thanks for the replies!

I'll get the Uzbek and Kyrgyz visas in Beijing. I've got the uzbek LOI from stantours, who also told me they'll probably give me the visa straight away, no processing time. According to stantours again, the Kyrgyz visa is possible to get after 24h for an additional fee...

So 2-3 days is how fast everything goes if I'm really lucky. However... I might just as well have to wait a week for each visa I guess. I'd like to be prepared for it anyhow. So that's why I wanted to book the train in advance...

Which day does the #23 leave?
Thanks for the link to Richard Tian, I'll try contacting him when I've decided about the ticket. If you buy it from a travel agent here, it's almost double the price.

Micke

Where is here? It is almost always cheaper to get train tickets through local agencies in the country in which you plan to travel than outside the country.

#23 currently departs on Saturdays but in June the schedule changes and the changes aren't usually posted until sometime in May.

Ruth

Thanks a lot for all the help!

"here" is Sweden. The travel agent (Kilroy) that I bought my air tickets from would charge me 145 Euros for the Beijing-UB train ticket.... expensive :p

They also told me I might have trouble flying into China without an onward ticket.... is this true? I've got a (multiple) visa for China already.

What about the K3 train I read about at the "Adventure China Trip" link above, does it function when I'm i Beijing (which is late may/early june)?

Micke

#6, the only trouble that you might encounter with flying to China without an onward ticket is your airline. They have to bear the cost of flying you back out if for some reason (and I've not known this to happen) the Chinese immigration doesn't let you into China. They're just covering their own butt. You won't have any other problems otherwise.
Cheers!

Generally speaking you can't take the K3 from Beijing to Ulan Bator. Tickets are usually only sold Beijing to some point in Russia. If you want to stop in UB, people take the K23 which departs on Saturdays until some time in June. Summer schedule is usually posted sometime in late May.

Travel agencies often tell you that you need a ticket out but lots of people leave China by train to Vietnam, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia or overland to Tibet and Nepal, or Kyrgyzstan, etc. They don't have plane tickets out of the country. This is simply a ploy by travel agents to sell you something that you don't need.

I can't get the Adventure China Trip page to load so I can't comment.

Ruth

I am working with Richard on this same thing right now. It is $95 for hard sleeper (4 beds), $140 for deluxe (2 beds). It leaves Saturday at 7:40, gets in the next day at 1:30pm.

coonass - You may need to prebook the return depending upon when you are planning to travel. In the period just after Naadam (11-13 July) you will need to prebook as there are lots of travelers passing through and out of Mongolia then. #24 train departs on Sunday, Thursday and this summer on Saturdays. Try contacting Legendtour.ru which is based in Ulan Baotr. Also try contacting Ocean Travel (Richard Tian or his assistants) while based in Beijing they have an office in UB as well. The email is oceantravelcn@yahoo.com.cn or richards@public3.bta.net.cn. Reportedly Richard and his company are quite reliable about obtaining the tickets at a fair price and delivering them. Be sure to add him to your address book so that your spam filter does not "Eat" his response.

Ruth

Question about buying tickets from Ocean Travel ....

I have been trying to pre-book my tickets with Ocean Travel, exchanging e-mails for the past couple of months. We are supposed to be leaving Beijing for UB on Aug. 7th, but they still have not confirmed actually getting the tickets yet. So far, they are quick to respond to my e-mails, but keep saying the tickets aren't available yet. I was wondering when these tickets actually go on sale, as I am starting to get a little nervous!

Thanks,

speselk

Tickets don't go on sale until either 30 or 45 days prior to departure for international trains.

Ruth

They got mine just a week before. I asked several times when they would be purchased and they said not until about a week before. Sure enough, a week before, I got an email confirming they had purchased them. I picked them up in their offices in Beijing the day before I left.

Like you, I was EXTREMELY nervous...but they came through just fine. Probably 5-10 others on my train had purchased their tickets via Ocean Travel...they have an office in UB also and can help with onward tickets...