The cost of the whole trip on the Trans-Siberian depends on many factors. First of all it obviously depends on the type and class of the train and the duration of your trip. The cheapest tickets that you can find are on the official Russian Railways website - rzd.ru. You can book tickets on this site up to 60 days before the trip. All other companies and travel agencies will take a fee for booking train tickets (from 5% to 50%). You can easily buy tickets on rzd.ru as the site is in English, although it does not accept some western bank cards. The cheapest train ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok in 3rd class ("platskartny" open wagon) costs around RUR 7000 (USD 130) - this is train No. 100, which takes 162 hours. We do not however recommend travelling this cheaply, unless you are just travelling a short distance between cities.

TICKETS

  Russian Railways' pricing calculations are very complicated but the main rule is that the longer the distance then the cheaper in price per kilometre. So it will be cheaper just to buy one ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok than to buy tickets from Moscow to Irkutsk and then from Irkutsk to Vladivostok, for example. Also the earlier you buy tickets the cheaper they will be for second class. 60 days is the earliest you can buy tickets. Although some travel agencies offer to book your tickets a year ahead, actually they still wait and buy your tickets 60 days before departure. This has a risk as schedules and the price can change.

  There are normally two classes in Russian trains along the Trans-Siberian: third class ("platskartny" open wagon) and second class ("kupe" wagon with several 4-berth compartments). However premium trains also have a first class (a wagon with 2-berth compartments) which is normally double the price of second class. Have a look here for more information on booking train tickets for your Trans-Siberian trip. 

ACCOMMODATION

  If you want to make a stop in some cities along the route you should include in your budget an accommodation cost. This expenditure can be quite significant in comparison with train tickets, especially in big cities such as Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and others. Check-in at most hotels in Russia is around midday, so if you have an early arrival you should wait until check-in or book a room for half a day, although some hotels in Russia have a floating check-in time depending on your time of arrival. The average price in a three-star hotel is around USD 70 with breakfast. You can make your trip cheaper by travelling on overnight trains and spending just the daytime to see attractions in the city, although for some big cities one day is of course not enough. There is a wide range of accommodation along the route: hostel, homestays, Soviet-era hotels, business hotels and five-star hotels of international chains. 

FOOD

  Almost all long distance trains have a restaurant wagon, but these can be overpriced - for example a salad can cost about USD 10 and a hot meal approximately USD 15. It might be a fun experience but the food will probably not be amazing. Another option is to buy ticket with services - which can include up to three meals a day. This variant is cheaper, but still means approximately an additional USD 65 on top of the ticket price. The cheapest way is to take food with you but this is of course not possible if you are travelling for seven days on one train. You can buy food at large stations and there are always lots of local people selling food - from pies (usually meat, potato or cabbage), fruit, dried fish, vareniki and pelemni and even soup such as borsch - at lots of stations on route. There is of course no guarantee of the quality of the ingredients or the sanitary conditions of the premises where it was prepared, but in most of cases it’s quite tasty and safe.

  If you make a stop in large cities such as Kazan, Yekaterinburg or Novosibirsk be ready to pay around USD 50 a day for restaurants and cafe. The further east you go the higher prices for food.

MUSEUMS

  For most museums, the entrance fee for an adult is about USD 3-10, children under 18 do not need to pay an entrance fee for state museums. In most museums you can order an excursion but the vast majority of museums in Russia do not have English speaking guides.

EXCURSIONS

  It is always cheaper and more reliable to order excursions in advance, but sometimes it is possible to buy them upon arrival. For the most touristic places, such as Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal or excursions around Moscow, it is quite easy to find daily group excursions during the high season. To order an excursion somewhere deep in Russia you need to contact a tour agency, although a foreign language speaking guide can’t be always guaranteed. A standard private walking three-hour city tour for two people costs around USD 80, with transport costs an extra USD 60-70. Group tours start from USD 18 depending on the number of people and the language.

TAXI

  You should expect prices for taxis to be higher for foreigners than for locals, and sometimes much higher. Even if you can speak Russian it is better to find out the average price for routes around the city and the cost per kilometre if you go outside of the city. Special taxi apps for smart phones are now available for many cities. A popular taxi app in Russia is Yandex Taxi which has a large coverage.

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