Day 1 – Arrival to St. Petersburg

You’ll check in to your Terrace 1-Bedroom Suite at Four Seasons Lion Palace. You’re probably tired from your travels so this afternoon will be spent at your leisure, later enjoy dinner at hot-spot Receptoria.

Day 2 – St. Petersburg

Today you’ll have a private, English-speaking driver guide you through St. Petersburg’s main sights – Nevsky Prospect, Palace Square, the Admiralty and Vasilevsky Island, Yusupov Palace, Church of the Resurrection of Christ, etc. In between, you’ll grab lunch at the cozy, Teplo and you’ll spend your evening on a private boat through the city’s canals while enjoying traditional Russian cuisine on board.

Day 3 – St. Petersburg

Early this morning will be spent out of the city -you’re heading to the summer estate of Peter the Great on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, for a private visit before opening hours. Return to St. Petersburg by boat.

Later is Afternoon tea & canapes with local well-known artist Yuri Petrochenkov & his wife in their home with a private showing of Yuri’s collection of portraits, antiques, unique art, and candid stories about life in St. Petersburg.

Tonight, you’ll revel in Vodka & Russian Caviar tasting at Xander Bar, Four Seasons.

Day 4 – St. Petersburg

Spend your morning at leisure for a spa treatment, or local shopping. Later you’ll have a private tour of The Hermitage Museum, one of the most famous in the world today with over 3M pieces of artwork from the stone-age to modern times. Lunch will be at leisure and you’ll have dinner at the traditional & upscale Staraya Tamozhnya.

Day 5 – Depart St. Petersburg for Moscow (by air)

Now you’ll be staying at the Ritz Carlton Moscow, in the Carlton Suite. Once you’re all settled, you’ll spend the afternoon visiting the Kremlin & Red Square.  Dinner will be at the cool Café Pushkin.

Day 6 – Moscow

Travel out of the city center with your private English speaking driver-guide to Sergiev Posad, one of the most beautiful monasteries in all of Russia / center of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Dinner is planned at the stylish restaurant Bon, followed by a performance of the world famous Bolshoi ballet.

Day 7 – Moscow

This morning at leisure until departure for the Golden Eagle Train to begin your 12-day Trans-Siberian Journey. You have an afternoon arrival to Moscow Kazansky Rail Station for Russian champagne, canapes, and a military brass band as you mix with the other guests and are welcomed by the train staff. Your Golden Eagle Train, accommodation will be in the Imperial Suite Class private car.

Day 8 – Kazan

Take in the picturesque and historic capital of Tatarstan, at leisure; wander the pedestrian side streets for shopping and sight-seeing. This is also the birthplace of one of Russia’s most famous opera singers, Feodor Chaliapin, you’ll get to enjoy a  private concert of his music.

Day 9 – Yekaterinburg

Capital of the Ural Mountains –this is the natural border between Europe & Asia, where the two cultures meet culturally, architecturally, with a cosmopolitan landscape. You’ll experience all of this on your walking tour of the city.

Day 10 – Novosibirsk

This is a very modern Soviet city; arts and science dominate this area, in the heart of Russia. You’ll especially be visiting Lenin Square and the Opera House.

Day 11 – On-board

Today will be a day to unwind, watch the ever-changing landscape as it unfolds.

Day 12 – Irkutsk

‘Paris of Siberia’, you’ll be exploring the classic wooden architecture. The afternoon will be with a local Chef in his home for a private cooking class.

Day 13 – Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, also know as the ‘Pearl of Siberia’. The train is hauled by a Soviet-era steam locomotive through tunnels along cliff hugging tracks above the lake with a vista of snow-capped peaks. You’ll get to stop for a swim in the ice cold waters, and then continue to the end of the Baikal line. Leave the train and travel by boat on the lake to Listvyanka, a small Baikal settlement. Dinner is prepared on the shore of Lake Baikal.

Day 14 – Ulan Ude

There is ethnic and cultural diversity within the Buryat Republic. The welcoming Buryat people will treat you to a concert featuring local traditions and singing.

Day 15 – Ulaan Baatar Mongolia

Once the center of an enormous empire led by Genghis Khan, Ulaan Baata Mongolia is surrounded by beautiful landscapes and inhabited by nomadic people while also rich in culture and history. The area is famous for its endless green steppes, grazing livestock, and white nomadic yurts dotted across the countryside.

Tour the Gandan Monastery, one of Mongolia’s most important Buddhist Monasteries, housing a community of over 500 monks.

Drive out of the city to Gorkhi-Terelj National Park to see wild Mongolia, having the opportunity to visit a traditional yurt and meet a nomadic family.

Day 16 – On-board

Watch the beautiful landscape of the Russian Far East.  You may wish to attend one of the on-board lectures today too.

Day 17 – On-board

Watch the landscape follow the Shilka and Amur Rivers, close to the Chinese boarder. this is Russia at its most dramatic and remote.

Day 18 – On-board

Passing directly north of Seoul, Darwin, and Osaka.  This is the most easterly point of this journey, and the last full day on-board the train.

Day 19 – Vladivostok

The Golden Eagle Train pulls into its final destination on the Sea of Japan. And now, time for your departure flight back home.