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The Essentials
Day 22. Vladivostok Once a top-secret naval base of the Soviet Union, Vladivostok was sealed off from the outside world. Now its doors are open for business and the city is booming as Russia's gateway to the Far East. For 100 years this has been the legendary eastern terminus of the Trans Siberian Railway, its historic railway station recently restored to its former grandeur. Discover the city and port at the end of the railway before we board our ferry to take us to Japan. Day 23. Ferry to Japan We mingle amongst the guests on board this ferry to Russia, often businessmen travelling between the neighbouring countries and we start to adjust to the change in culture and language allowing time to contemplate what we have already seen and wonder what is still in store on this adventure. Day 24. Arrive Kanazawa Our first tantalising destination in Japan is Kanazawa where we will visit Kenrokuen, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, once the outer garden of the citys castle. We marvel at the horticultural creativity and the contrast to what we have seen in wilds of Russia and Mongolia. Day 25-26. Kyoto and day trip to Nara Kyoto, one of Japans oldest capitals unlocks her treasures of the Golden Temple, the Geisha district of Gion and Kiyomizudera temple set on a hillside overlooking the city. The possibilities are endless and there is never enough time to explore everything. We also journey to Nara, the first permanent capital of Japan to Todaiji Temple, reputedly the largest woodent building in the world housing the Great Buddha. We have time to explore the surrounding deer filled park before returning to Kyoto. Day 27-28. Kyoto and to Takayama After the hustle and bustle of Kyoto take the time to relax in this town of wooden houses and have the opportunity to stay in a traditional ryokan where samurai would have stayed. We wander the streets and the lattice bayed windows entice us in to sample some sake or view the wooden and china handicrafts traditional of the region. You will perhaps catch a glimpse of one of the many colourful festival floats that are paraded through the streets in spring and autumn. We visit the Hida Heritage Folk Village full of hand thatched farmhouses and take a step back in time. Day 29. Tokyo We take the express train to Nagoya and from there the shinkansen whisks us away from the tranquillity of Takayama to end our adventure in the exhilarating capital city. We take in a highlights tour of Tokyo, a modern city of awe inspiring skyscrapers, an impressive modern metro system and limitless technology and take time to reflect on all that we have seen and done. Day 30. Tokyo The last day has arrived too soon. The adventure is complete, the legendary rail journey that started many days ago has taken you across Asia, through lands and cultures literally worlds apart.
7 St. Petersburg Moscow RUSSIA Lake Baikal Ulan Ude 4
Group Size
15 maximum, plus Group Leader.
Prices
Low Season
(16 Sep - 14 Apr)
Accommodation
Hotels - 12 nights (twin share) for this tour we will be using 3-4 star hotels. Mongolian Ger - 1 nights (shared) Siberian Guesthouse - 1 night (shared) Trains - 11 nights (4 berth) Ferry - 2 nights (4 berth) Ryokan - 2 nights (traditional Japanese Inn dating from the Edo period (16031868).
GBP EUR AUD NZD USD CAD
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£3,650 ¬5,380 $9,120 $10,390 $7,290 $7,660
High Season
(15 Apr - 15 Sep)
Meals
19 in total. Breakfast (17), dinner (2).
Travel by
Train: Comfortable 4 berth sleepers. There are 5 rail sectors on this journey St.Petersburg to Moscow to (1 night), Moscow to Irkutsk (4 nights), Irkutsk to Ulaanbaatar (2 nights), Ulaanbaatar to Ulan Ude (1 night) and Ulan Ude to Vladivostok (3 nights). Other: For Scheduled Sightseeing we generally use a small minibus, and for City Exploring we use local taxis, public transport, underground metro and go on foot.
GBP EUR AUD NZD USD CAD
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£3,840 ¬5,660 $9,590 $10,940 $7,680 $8,060
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Local Payment
(See Essentials)
USD - $300
2 Berth Rail
(Optional - See Essentials)
2 Berth Rail (Optional)
Available for a supplementary price only when two people book and travel together. Available on all rail sectors between Vladivostok and St.Petersburg.
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Sightseeing
Scheduled Sightseeing is part of the itinerary and includes all transport, entrance fees and English speaking local guide. This journey enjoys a greater number of included sights that others within this brochure. St.Petersburg: City tour, Palace Square, Hermitage Museum. Moscow: City tour, St.Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Kremlin, Armoury Chamber. Irkutsk (Siberia): City tour, Museum of Wooden Architecture, Limnological Museum, Lake Baikal. Ulaanbaatar: Zaisan Memorial, Natural History Museum, Gandan Hiid Monastery, Terelj National Park. Ulan Ude: Ethnographical Museum, Ivolginsk Datsun. Vladivostok: City tour and museums. Kanazawa: Kenrokuen Garden. Takayama: Hida Folk Village. Nara: Todaiji. Kyoto: Kinkakuji, Sanjusangendo, Kiyomizudera, walk of Gion. Tokyo: City tour. City Exploring is further sightseeing outside the itinerary guideline but with the Group Leader.
GBP EUR AUD NZD USD CAD
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£1,085 ¬1,600 $2,710 $3,085 $2,165 $2,275
Dates
St.Petersburg to Tokyo
(code TSGS) 2008 Start Finish 04 Aug - 02 Sep 08 Sep - 07 Oct
Irkutsk
2009 Start Finish 10 Aug - 08 Sep 14 Sep - 13 Oct
Ulaanbaatar MONGOLIA Vladivostok CHINA Kanazawa J A PA N
Tokyo to St.Petersburg
(code TSGJ) 2008 Start 19 Apr 17 May 12 Jul 23 Aug 06 Sep Finish 17 May 14 Jun 09 Aug 20 Sep 04 Oct
Reverse Itinerary Tokyo to St.Petersburg (29 days)
Kanazawa Kyoto
Takayama Tokyo
JA
PA
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Day 1 - Tokyo Day 2 - Tokyo Day 3 - Takayama Day 4 - Takayama Day 5 - Kyoto. Day trip to Nara Day 6 - Kyoto Day 7 - Kanazawa Day 8 - Ferry to Russia Day 9 - Arrive Vladivostok Day 10 - Trans Siberian Railway Day 11 - Trans Siberian Railway Day 12 - Arrive Ulan Ude Day 13 - Trans Mongolian Rail Day 14 - Arrive Ulaanbaatar Day 15 - Terelj (ger stay) Day 16 - Ulaanbaatar Day 17 - Trans Mongolian Rail Day 18 - Irkutsk (Siberia) Day 19 - Lake Baikal (Siberia) Day 20 - Trans Siberian Railway Day 21 - Trans Siberian Railway Day 22 - Trans Siberian Railway Day 24 - Moscow Day 25 - Moscow Day 26 - St.Petersburg Day 27 - St.Petersburg Day 28 - St.Petersburg Day 29 - St.Petersburg
Local Payment
Your Local Payment is the final balance payment of your tour price and is to be paid directly to your Group Leader at the Pre Departure Meeting on day 1 of your tour. The Local Payment is utilised by your Group Leader to pay for various locally provided services.
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Nara
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3
Visas
9
2009 Start 25 Apr 23 May 11 Jul 29 Aug 12 Sep
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Finish 23 May 20 Jun 08 Aug 26 Sep 10 Oct
Required for Japan (depends on nationality), Mongolia & Russia. Sundowners will provide all required invitation letters and full visa support including detailed visa guidelines.
Trip Dossier
Our trip dossier provides further information about this journey and is available on request. Call Sundowners or your travel agent, or visit www.sundownersoverland.com
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