Olkhon Island Holiday Planner. Tailor-made Holidays to Olkhon Island in Russia

Day 1: Moscow

Welcome to Moscow and the start your thrilling Trans-Siberian adventure of a life time! Your guide will be waiting in the arrivals hall to receive you and then transfer you to your hotel along the way pointing out and explaining anything of interest. This evening we will be taking you to a great restaurant for a welcome dinner in true Russian tradition.

Day 2: Moscow

Start the day with a guided walk of Kitay-Gorod (one of the oldest parts of Moscow) and Lubyanka area. You'll see ancient churches and buildings and the outside of the FSB (successor to the infamous KGB) as you head to the highlight of your walk - the impressive Red Square. Here we enjoy a guided tour of the Kremlin and the armoury. Finishing up in the late afternoon early evening enjoy some free time before having dinner together with your guide at the hotel.

Day 3: Moscow - Trans Siberian train

Today your guide will meet you and take you on a Metro station tour to see the different stations which can easily be mistaken for an Art Museum. Your guide will then take you out to the suburbs to see how Moscow residents live away from the tourist hot spots in the city. Returning back to your hotel we have an official briefing for the upcoming train journey before your transfer to a supermarket to stock up on supplies prior to boarding the train to Yekaterinburg.

Day 4: Trans Siberian train - Yekaterinburg

Enjoy the view and journey today -- This evening the train pulls into Yekaterinburg station. Here, your friendly local guide will be waiting to take your to your hotel.

Day 5: Yekaterinburg

Founded in 1723 to exploit the mineral riches of the surrounding Urals and Siberia, is Yekaterinburg. It was here in the cellar of a house, where now the beautiful Church on the Blood stands, that Tsar Nicholas Romanov II and his family were executed in 1918. Our tour takes us to the Church where you’ll see a sculpture dedicated to the Tsar and his family and the area of execution. Out of town, we visit Ganina Yama - the monastic complex set in Taiga forest, where the Romanov family remains were unceremoniously dumped and later discovered.

Day 6: Yekaterinburg - Trans Siberian train

Today we enjoy a full day trip into the back country of Russia we will make stops to visit real villages and have a wander around. We will find ourselves in the Ural mountain ranges here we will enjoy horse back riding to take in the scenery for around 1 hour. Return in the evening to your hotel. Later in the wee early hours of the morning we will transfer you to the station for the onward train heading to Irkutsk.

Day 7: Trans Siberian train

Sit back and enjoy the journey and views of Siberia and general life on board.

Day 8: Trans Siberian train

Sit back and enjoy the journey and views of Siberia and general life on board.

Day 9: Trans Siberian train - Olkhon Island

Morning arrival into Irkutsk, a town with the Asiatic influences of nearby Mongolia and China and curious architecture - a legacy of Siberia’s aristocratic exiles. 07:30 am Arrival to Irkutsk. Transfer with guide to Olkhon Island (350 km). Accommodation at Nikita's guest house. Lunch. Dinner

Day 10: Olkhon Island

The island is covered by grass and aromatic plants on the side facing the coast (steppe), and by small pine trees (taiga) on the side facing the middle of the lake. It’s about 70 km long, and 15 km wide. Today is free time to opt and go hiking or rent bikes to see the parts of the island that are not populated. The area is simply stunning I am sure you will enjoy the ambience if not partaking on any activity as such.

Day 11: Olkhon Island - Trans Siberian train

Today we return back to Irkutsk for the evening train to Ulan Ude.

Day 12: Trans Siberian train - Ulan Ude

Arrival transfer to your hotel. Thanks to its proximity to Mongolia and China, the indigenous people of the region, the Buryats, clung on to their Tibetan-Buddhist faith through the Communist era. The guided city tour today visits Ivolginsky Datsan - a centre of Buddhist culture and the open air Ethnographic Museum dedicated to the lives of local people and architecture through the ages. Evening at leisure.

Day 13: Ulan Ude - Trans Siberian train

Free time until our mid afternoon transfer to rail station for the train to Ulaan Baatar.

Day 14: Trans Siberian train - Terelj National Park

Upon arrival in Ulaan Bataar we will transfer to nearby Terelj National Park, stopping for lunch and visiting Turtle Rock en route. With scenic alpine surrounds this protected area is host to diverse flora and fauna and famous for its unique granite rock formations. Spend two nights camping out in a Mongolian ger on the steppe.

		1 GBP = 47.81 RUB
		1 CAD = 30.55 RUB
		1 ZAR = 3.34 RUB
		1 AUD = 30.56 RUB
		1 EUR = 40.39 RUB
		1 USD = 31.38 RUB
		1 NZD = 25.37 RUB
last updated - 18 May 2013 3:05 PM

Olkhon Island Holidays

Sample Itinerary - REF TRANS-SIBERIAN 12