When Scheduling Your Flights
This program is offered in cooperation with the Djoser, Netherlands.

When you book your flight, please keep in mind to the estimated times of arrival and departure of the Dutch participants. You should plan to arrive prior to the Dutch travelers.  

DJOSER Means “FREEDOM & CHOICE”
Our day-to-day program is not strictly regimented but is determined by collaboration between the guide and participants. The guide will organize and accompany many activities but will also make suggestions so that you can explore and dine, safely, on your own.

Moscow

Day 1 - Moscow
Day 2 Moscow
Day 3 Moscow, train to Kazan

We arrive in the capital of the former empire, where we will stay 3 days. The oldest part of Moscow is still rich with historical buildings. Especially in the oldest parts of the Kremlin, there are many churches and palaces. Moscow is a vast city, but can be conquered easily by their excellent metro system.  Some of the stations are quite beautiful. There are many restaurants throughout the city you will always find kiosks to buy something to eat or drink.

An initial exploration of the city brings you naturally to the famous Red Square, the most famous place of Moscow and Russia. Previously there were grand military parades in the square. The Lenin mausoleum holds the well-preserved body of the former Soviet leader.

Do not forget to spend time at the museums to see the priceless art from many former private collections. The Pushkin Museum has a wonderful collection of 19th-century Western European Impressionists, the Tretjakow Gallery is famous for the old icons and offers an overview of the Russian paintings to the present. The elegant Nowodewitsji Monastery is also worth a visit.

At the cemetery, we find the graves of many Russian celebrities, generals, politicians, writers and actors. In Gorky Park, you can see observe the Russians, themselves. The stately park with its fountains, water organ, merry-go-round and Ferris wheel come from the Soviet time, but has also been upgraded with two roller coasters. There is a garden with statues of Soviet heroes that hold their place on the central squares of Moscow.

During free hours, you can stroll on the Arbat, a pedestrian promenade with shops, restaurants and many souvenir stalls. Besides T-shirts you can find many typical items such as Russian icons and wooden matriosjka (nesting dolls).  Today, modern versions are also for sale with all the rulers of Russia in the twentieth century, from Nicholas II (the smallest inside) to Putin (the outer). Here you are certainly struck by the difference between the young people in modern clothing, and the older women (babushka) in their coats and headscarves.

It is a fun evening to go to a concert, opera or a ballet performance. The decor of such performances alone is worth the trip. Keep in mind that the theater season in Russia in the summer is the downtime. The famous Russian circus is fun and lively and open during the summer months.


Kazan

Day 4 arrive Kazan
Day 5 Kazan, train to Jekaterinburgg

After the stop in Cheboksary we travel on to Kazan. In the 13th century, Kazan was the capital of the Tatars and in the 15th and 16th century, capital of the Mongol empire of the Golden Horde. Kazan is now the capital of the autonomous republic of Tatarstan, whose wealth is derived primarily from the oil. Both Christianity and Islam are practiced here. One of the main icons of Maria was found undamaged here after a fire in 1579, and in 1801 the first Qur'an in Russia was printed here.

You  should definitely visit the Kremlin, with addition of buildings such as the largest mosque in the country. The Kremlin, as in most cities in Russia, lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka. The current case dates back to the 16th century, after the destruction in 1552 by Ivan the Terrible. The Blagoveshenskiy church from 1562 is the oldest building.

After a night in Kazan we travel again by trainso you can get to know another way to travel in Russia. The train is the way for Russians to come into contact, because each passenger has some provisions with them to share and you meet each other in specified samovar car where you get hot water for tea, soup or noodles. The Russians often offer something stronger, such as local champagne or vodka, which of  course will help you get acquainted with your neighbors!

Jekaterinboerg

Day 6 Jekaterinboerg
Day 7 Jekaterinboerg, train to Irkutsk
Day 8 train to Irkutsk

We travel from Kazan to Jekaterinburg, the capital of the Urals, where we spend the last days of this trip. In this city you will find a number of buildings from the imperial period, including the university and the Governor's Palace. The city has the sinister association with the 78-day imprisonment in Ipatiev House and ultimate assassination in 1918 of Czar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and his family. In Ganina Yama, their bodies were discovered in the vast forests in Jekaterinburg.

Forty miles outside the city is the border between two worlds where you can literally put one foot in Europe and another in Asia.

We move on to the Trans-Siberian rail eastwards to Irketsk. Here the time outside the train is three hours ahead of Moscow time. Then the train crosses the vast Barabinskaja-steppe, where we see only grasslands on the horizan. We come to Novosibirsk just before the train crosses the River Ob via a 700 meters long bridge. This dates from the early days of railway construction. In the quarters at the station in Novosibirsk, you have the time to watch the grand building.

The train then enters through vast birch forests, marked by the white obelisk at 3932 km, indicating that you are are halfway on your journey from Moscow to Beijing.  Especially the huts of the village Minino at 4070 km are especially picturesque. Shortly afterwards there is a stop in Krasnoyarsk. Because of the nuclear industry, in Soviet times it was forbidden to foreigners. The train crosses over the wide Yenisei then follows a hilly area with many bridges.

Irkutsk, Lake Baikal

Day 9 train to Irkutsk
Day 10 arrival Irkutsk
Day 11 Lake Baikal (Irkutsk / village of Listvyanka)
Day 12 Lake Baikal (Irkutsk / village of Listvyanka)
Day 13 Lake Baikal - Ulan Ude
14 day train trip to Vladivostok

We stay for a few nights near and around Lake Baikal. After 5185 km we arrive in Irkuts. In the year 1651 it was created as a garrison town and also served as a tobacco trading post. The trade in hides and tobacco made the city prosperous and many of the old homes still exude the wealth of that time.  The churches, like the 18th-century Spaskaja, are among the oldest stone buildings in Siberia. The White House has been here since 1800 built in classical style built for the fur trader Sibirjakow. Later it was the residence of the governor, and now houses the university library. The old wooden houses of Irtkusk still exist.

After a night in Irkutsk we move to the nearby village of Listvyanka, situated on the Baikal Lake, the largest freshwater reservoir in the world. Nearby is a museum with wooden houses. Also we stay in Ulan Ude, the third largest city in eastern Siberia. Ulan-Ude is a junction on the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian Railway. Along the banks of the river you will see cathedrals and monasteries. There is an opera house and the largest statue of Lenin in Russia. In the  Old Town many houses are decorated with beautiful carvings.

From Ulan Ude we go back to the train station, where we again take the train. The trail splits here: the south bend is the line leading to  Mongolia and China (Trans-Mongolia). We travel east to Vladivostok. Here we travel through rougher, less populated areas.

Vladivostok

Day 15  train to Vladivostok
Day 16  train to Vladivostok
Day 17 arrived in Vladivostok
Day 18 Vladivostok
Day 19 Vladivostok - Moscow
Day 20 Moscow

In the early morning we arrive in Vladivostok. What is immediately striking is sea smell . You are now on the outskirts of Eurasia on the Sea of Japan. Vladivostok has grown from the port where the Russian Pacific fleet moored. For a long time the  port was incommunicado. Today there are established foreign companies here. Here you have a half day at leisure. You can visit the Museum of the Pacific Fleet take a walk along the coast.

Vladivostok we fly back to  Moscow where our trip began.  We stay overnight in this bustling city before the next afternoon when the program comes to an end.