{"id":4542,"date":"2015-07-04T15:00:27","date_gmt":"2015-07-04T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelstoriesfromyworld.com\/?p=4542"},"modified":"2017-03-21T17:25:11","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T14:25:11","slug":"trans-siberian-railway-the-procedure-eng-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/trans-siberian-railway-the-procedure-eng-version\/","title":{"rendered":"TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY: THE PROCEDURE"},"content":{"rendered":"

My first Trans-Siberian series post<\/a><\/u> went up last week – it was a pretty explanatory guide of the train and its overall route. If you read it, loved the idea but began to worry about all the details of the trip – tickets, travel documents etc. – then, worry no more! Keep reading to find out everything concerning the trip and the necessary procedures – it’s easier than you thought.<\/p>\n

\"tstories-preparation\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Step 1 – Passport<\/strong><\/p>\n

Passport is essential for entering all 3 countries the Trans-Siberian crosses. In order to issue a new passport – if you don’t already have one – you have to pay an administrative fee of 84.50 euros, file an application form, take photos and visit a Passport Office to finally get your booklet. (Estimated time of issue; 8 working days)<\/p>\n

My option?<\/strong> I just clicked here<\/u><\/a> and learned everything there is to know.<\/p>\n

Step 2 – Airplane tickets<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before taking this step, you have to pick a route first. Moscow – Vladivostok or Moscow – Beijing? Or is it gonna be Beijing – Moscow? I would strongly recommend you pick the latter. Flying to Beijing first, seems a better choice as it leaves a short 3-hour flight from Moscow to Athens at the end of your trip when you’ll most probably be exhausted after the whole Trans-Siberian experience.<\/p>\n

I chose to fly to Moscow and travel all the way to Beijing for 2 reasons;<\/p>\n

1) In order to attend the Nadaam Festival taking place at Ulan-Bator from 11 to 13 July – a triathlon-like festival where the locals compete in archery, wrestling and equitation. I had to arrange my trip likewise to be there in time – it is an UNESCO World Cultural Heritage that can’t be missed.<\/p>\n

2) I chose to end my trip at Beijing – and not Vladivostok. This way, my trip will be across all 3 countries (Russia, Mongolia, China) and not just Russia.<\/p>\n

My option?<\/strong> Flight to Moscow; 120 euros with Aegean Airlines<\/a> (a 4-month pre-booking saves you a lot) and Beijing to Athens with Aeroflot<\/a> – 503 euros.<\/p>\n

\"tstories-preparation\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Step 3 – Travel Insurance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Long-distance trips call for a travel insurance. China and Mongolia don’t consider it mandatory but Russia does. They ask for a copy or your travel insurance before proceeding to issuing your Visa. Make sure you either contact your life or car insurance company or do your own search.<\/p>\n

My option?<\/strong> I opted to get the Mondial Assistance<\/a> Globy travel insurance. I looked it up online without reaching out to a travel agency for the first time – and I was pretty proud I discovered it by myself with a single Google search. Depending on the trip and your destination, you can choose between Globy Classic or Super Globy.<\/p>\n

Step 4 – Visa Invitation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Travel insurance and passport aren’t enough to enter these countries, unfortunately. You must prove you’ve been invited there. What you should do – if you don’t have any friends or relatives living in Russia or China, you have to get an invitation copy from a local travel agency.<\/p>\n

My option?<\/strong> After days of searching, I chose Monkeyshrine.com<\/a> which is based in Hong Kong and specializes in Trans-Siberian trips.<\/p>\n

\"tstories-preparation\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Step 5 – Hotels<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mandatory step before issuing your Visa, as they ask you for the exact hotel or local residence adress beforehand. So, book a room, print your reservation in order to keep it with you to get your Visa.<\/p>\n

Step 6 – Visas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russian Visa<\/strong>: Keep in mind that it isn’t necessary to have an appointment in order to file for a Visa – in contrary with what you’ll probably read in many sites. You don’t even have to go to the Russian Embassy. Yes, that’s right. All you have to do is pay a visit to the Russian visa Handling Service<\/a>\u00a0in Greece, file the necessary documents, pay the 56 euros fee and after a short period of 4 days you’ll have your Visa printed on your passport.<\/p>\n

Mongolian Visa<\/strong>: Changes and alterations concerning the Mongolian Visa are made annually. For 2015, Greece and a few other countries are on a non-Visa list – a Visa isn’t required to enter the country. You can check out the list by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chinese Visa<\/strong>: Passport, invitation and a photo are necessary to issue a Visa for China, as well as this<\/a> application form. The fee for a Visa is 30 euros – you can’t pay for it at the Embassy though. After filing your papers and your passport, you need to make a deposit at a National Bank branch. After 4 days, you need to show proof of deposit in order to receive both your passport and your Visa. To find out more; you can read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My option?<\/strong> Well, I din’t really have an option, let’s be realistic! I had to follow the rules in order to travel to these countries. If I could offer one tip though, that would be to file your papers early in the morning – getting at the Embassies and the related offices at 9 o’clock was my most clever move. No waiting at all!<\/p>\n

Step 7 – Trans-Siberian Tickets<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can buy your tickets directly from the Russian Railways site or the RZD. Alternatively, you can get them through a Trans-Siberian specialized travel agency such as Real Russia, TransSiberia Express & MonkeyShrine.<\/p>\n

My option?<\/strong> I opted for the choice number 3.<\/p>\n

After this extensive step-by-step guide, it’s about time I leave you.<\/p>\n

The 3rd Trans-Siberian series post will follow – it’ll be all about the trains, as well as some packing tips for the trip!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My first Trans-Siberian series post went up last week – it was a pretty explanatory guide of the train and its overall route. If you read it, loved the idea but began to worry about all the details of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[1194,1183,1206,1186],"tags":[165,217,690,841,926],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4542"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18582,"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4542\/revisions\/18582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}