Préparant mon voyage en transsibérien, je suis devant quelques interrogations.
1. J'ai prévu de m'arrêter à Kazan puis de prendre l'Ural pour rejoindre Ekaterinburg, où je ne reste que la journée pour récupérer le Rossiya le soir-même directement Irkutsk.
Bon, sur le papier c'est faisable. Mais quid de l'hébergement à la gare d'Ekaterinburg ? J'ai bien vu une solution proposée par RZD (dortoirs avec différents services), est-ce bien ? Dispose-t-on d'un endroit sécurisé pour laisser de gros bagages ?
2. D'Irkutsk à Ulan-Ude, un trajet de 6h30, mais seulement voilà. S'il part à 16h30 pour arriver à 23h, horaires de Moscou, ça rend les choses un peu plus compliquées en horaires locales pour gérer l'hôtel.
Ca fait du 4h du matin à l'hôtel, et un départ 3 jours après à 3h30 du matin pour récupérer le Rossiya direction Vladivostok.
C'est géré comment par l'hôtel ?
3. En regardant le site de RZD aujourd'hui, je vois que toutes les places en kupe sont déjà réservées 45 jours à l'avance. Or, il n'est pas possible de réserver avant les fameux 45 jours... Comment faire ?
(je pars mi-septembre donc probablement moins de monde, mais ne pas pouvoir réserver mes billets m'inquiète un peu)
- Lorsqu'on arrive a Sheremetyeva, cela prend combien de temps pour sortir ? Car pour la reservation de l'Aeroexpress, le laps de temps est seulement de 30 minutes, ca me semble un peu court.
- De meme, l'AeroExpress n'officie apparemment plus a Vladivostok. Il n'y a donc plus de liaison ferroviaire entre le centre et l'aeroport ?
2. D'Irkutsk à Ulan-Ude, un trajet de 6h30, mais seulement voilà. S'il part à 16h30 pour arriver à 23h, horaires de Moscou, ça rend les choses un peu plus compliquées en horaires locales pour gérer l'hôtel.
Ca fait du 4h du matin à l'hôtel, et un départ 3 jours après à 3h30 du matin pour récupérer le Rossiya direction Vladivostok.
C'est géré comment par l'hôtel ?
J'ai plutôt une autre question : pourquoi prendre ces trains aux horaires impossibles ? Il y a des trains qui font Irkutsk-Ulan Ude à des horaires plus normaux, sans te faire arriver au milieu de la nuit. La gare d'Ulan Ude n'est pas à côté du centre-ville, il te faudra donc prendre un taxi pour rejoindre ton hôtel. Si tu ne parles pas russe, ça n'est pas simple, surtout au milieu de la nuit : tu ne seras pas en position de force pour négocier. Quant à savoir ce que te facturera l'hôtel, seul lui le fait, mais je suppose que tu paierais 100% de la nuit de ton arrivée.
3. En regardant le site de RZD aujourd'hui, je vois que toutes les places en kupe sont déjà réservées 45 jours à l'avance. Or, il n'est pas possible de réserver avant les fameux 45 jours... Comment faire ?
(je pars mi-septembre donc probablement moins de monde, mais ne pas pouvoir réserver mes billets m'inquiète un peu)
Si tu pars en septembre, alors on est à plus de 45 jours : les billets ne sont même pas ouverts à la réservation, pas de panique. 🙂
Pour le premier (Ikutsk-Ulan-Ude), c'est le plus rapide, 6h30, le 008H precisement.
Effectivement, le Moscou-Pekin (004щ) n'est pas tres loin, a 7h13 de trajet pour un depart a 2h50 du matin heure de Moscou, soit 7h50 heure d'Irkutsk.
Ca peut sauver un peu les meubles, certes.
Par contre pour le depart d'Ulan-Ude, a direction de Vladivostok, je n'ai pas le choix. C'est le 002й (Rossiya) et il ne passe qu'a cet horaire la (soit 4h18 heure locale).
Alors oui, je pars en septembre, et je sais aussi qu'on ne peut reserver que 45 jours avant. Mais je regarde les reservations actuelles et je ne comprends pas pourquoi quasi-aucune place n'est dispo a 45 jours avant, sinon en supposant qu'ils vendent les places avant les 45 jours a des agences de voyages ou par un autre biais.
Autre question pour la vie dans le transsib.
Quel est l'espace pour les bagages ?
Sachant que je me permets de prendre un gros sac de voyage (type grosse valise a roulettes, mais plus souple), est-ce que ca passe ? Moi et mon amie seront en kupe ou CB donc on prendra toujours les 2 couchettes d'un cote ou de l'autre.
Là comme ça, difficile de te dire si ton bagage rentre ou pas. Si tu es sur une couchette du bas, l'espace à bagage est situé sous la couchette. Pour te donner une idée, le gros sac à dos classique du backpacker y entre sans souci. Si tu es sur une couchette du haut, l'espace pour les bagages se trouve au-dessus. Même topo pour les sacs à dos.
Si vous êtes 2 (et sans vouloir vous inquiéter), le kupe n'est pas forcément la meilleure solution. J'imagine (et je comprends) votre besoin d'intimité, mais selon les gens avec lesquels vous voyagerez, le trajet peut être hyper sympa, chiant ou pénible. C'est la loterie. L'avantage du platzkart, c'est que le contact y est beaucoup plus facile et les relous peu nombreux. Ceux qui veulent picoler (et je parle bien de picoler, pas juste de boire quelques shots de vodka) préfèrent s'enfermer en kupe, où ils sont plus tranquilles.
Pour te preciser l'idee, bon, c'est surtout pour mon amie que pour moi.
On fait :
Moscou - Kazan (CB, compartiment 2 couchettes)
Kazan - Ekaterinburg (kupe obligatoire, le train prevu "Ural" n'a que kupe ou platzkart)
Ekaterinburg - Irkutsk (a priori kupe dans le "Rossiya" si les places sont disponibles, sinon il faudra faire un choix entre CB ou platzkart)
Irkutsk - Ulan-Ude (kupe pour 6h30)
Ulan-Ude - Vladivostok (CB, on se fait plaisir, 1ere classe dans le "Rossiya" pour les dernieres 61heures de voyage)
Comme on passe au Japon pour 2 semaines apres, on sera relativement charges (au moins un gros sac de voyage, un sac a dos journee en plus pour chacun). Le kupe nous permet d'avoir un peu plus de place.
Bon, vu les trains que vous avez choisis, vous n'aurez pas de problème de cohabitation avec des ivrognes 🙂 Du coup, faites l'expérience du platzkart, ne serait-ce que pour voir ce que c'est !
kupe = compartiment fermé de 4 couchettes , correspond à la 2e classe.
Rossiya = le train n° 2 Moscou-Vladivostok. Plus le numéro du train est bas (numéros pairs au départ de Moscou), plus le train est prestigieux.
CB = SV en caractères cyrilliques, soit "spalnyi vagon", wagon-lits. C'est la première classe, compartiments avec deux lits.
platzkart = voiture-dortoir, compartiments non fermés de 6 couchettes, 4 perpendiculaires au couloir (les meilleures, plus longues) et 2 parallèles au couloir, plus courtes et moins confortables, car directement exposées aux va-et-vient du couloir. C'est pratiquement la 3e classe. Pas d'intimité, mais plus grandes facilités de contact.
All Daag, lo geet mueres mäi Wecker. Äls éischt, gin ech da bei den Bäcker. Léif Madame, maacht mir séchs Mötchen dran. S'il vous plaît, parlez-vous pas français ?
Hi! I’d like to make stops across France, starting from Reims, and travel by train using the Intercités. I want to discover the landscapes and picturesque villages, and make some stops along the way. Could you give me some tips? Thanks!
I’m planning our very first trip to mainland France in January 2027. There’ll be 2 adults and 2 kids, and we’ll mostly be traveling by train.
Here’s our itinerary:
Paris
Rouen (Normandy)
Lyon
Aix-les-Bains (with day trips to Annecy and Geneva)
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains (with Chamonix and a day in Aosta)
Back to Paris
Do you think this itinerary is well-balanced? Any tips, must-see spots, or mistakes to avoid for a first-time visit?
I can’t seem to complete the payment for my trip on the IRCTC (Indian Railways) site. No matter which payment method I choose, my Visa card isn’t accepted.
Has anyone here managed to do it, and if so, could you share the method you used?
Thanks in advance!
Charlie
I’m planning a family trip in a year. Our goal: traveling to China (and maybe Hong Kong) by train.
I’m all set with the route up to eastern Turkey.
However, I’m just starting my research for the rest of the journey—namely the Caucasus (no trains as far as I know, so buses and/or ferries), then Central Asia and China.
So, I’d love to hear any info or tips (general and forward-looking at this stage) about the train route through Central Asia and China to reach the east coast.
I’m particularly interested in details on:
- How far in advance to book / any potential difficulties with reservations
- Whether there are PASS systems (or equivalent) between countries and/or if some tickets allow stopovers, meaning you can hop on and off as you please
- Day trains vs. night trains (the latter option lets you explore cities between two legs of the journey)
- A rough idea of ticket costs
...
A huge thank you to anyone who can share some info or experiences. It’s also a great opportunity to chat about adventure after (way too) many years away from this forum.
I’m planning a trip around Italy using only trains or public transport in October (hoping the weather stays nice!).
I’d obviously like to see some tourist destinations, but I also want to get off the beaten path a bit, and I’m hoping to find some help here? I don’t plan to linger too long in the cities.
Starting in the north, I’d like to visit Lake Como or Lake Orta, pass through the Cinque Terre for some hiking, spend a few days in Naples and Rome, then head down to Sicily.
Hi there,
I’ll be traveling to Japan this coming August. We’ve finalized our itinerary and booked our flight tickets. Now I’m at the stage of buying train tickets for the few segments we’ll need to cover:
Tokyo - Hakone
Hakone - Kyoto
Kyoto - Osaka
Osaka - Tokyo
Here are my questions:
a) Is it possible to buy train tickets for these segments from Canada?
b) If so, which website should I use to do this?
c) And if it is possible, will we be able to print our tickets from Canada?
d) If it’s not possible, where in Tokyo should I go to buy these tickets when I arrive?
Hi everyone, I wanted to take the Paris-Berlin overnight train with a sleeper berth, the new service operated by European Sleepers.
24/05/2026 17:45 Paris-Nord (actually 16:00 from Paris Bercy Seine) -> 25/05/2026 9:59 (actually 7:30 in Berlin)
05/06/2026 18:31 Berlin (actually 20:00) -> 06/06/2026 10:00 Paris Nord (actually 12:30)
Part of the journey was operated by bus instead of the promised overnight train.
For 2 people: 340 € round trip
A total disaster. Never again. I was really looking forward to taking the overnight train, but we faced last-minute changes and truly unpleasant travel conditions. Here are the details:
1) 2 days before departure: email announcing a change of departure station for the outbound trip—Bercy Seine bus station instead of Gare du Nord.
2) Change of schedule: 4:00 PM from Bercy instead of 5:45 PM from Gare du Nord.
3) Change of transport mode!! A bus from Paris to Brussels, then an overnight train from Brussels to Berlin. No functional toilets on the bus. No children under 4 allowed on the bus.
4) On the sleeper train at 9:30 PM: no functional toilets in our carriage, so we had to go to other carriages, even in the middle of the night, to find working ones.
5) The onboard staff, though very friendly, were as lost as we were. In particular, they didn’t know how to handle the lower berths, so people using them had less space (armrests and backrests). Berth numbers weren’t respected, so some passengers had to move. The staff also didn’t know who was supposed to join the compartment during the journey.
6) Arrival at 7:30 AM in Berlin instead of 10:00 AM. No arrival announcement. Passengers had to search for staff to get breakfast and ended up with just a coffee (breakfast = 15 €, not bad for just a coffee).
7) Return trip: drastic schedule change announced by email on 26/05/2026—departure at 7:30 PM instead of 6:30 PM, with arrival between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM in Paris instead of 10:00 AM. No change in transport mode announced.
8) Change in transport mode announced by email on the same day (05/06/2026)!! Overnight train from Brussels to Berlin, then a bus from Paris to Brussels. No functional toilets on the bus. Children under 4 banned from the bus, and families in this situation were asked to find another way—after being notified the same day.
9) The overnight train arrived at Berlin station with a 30-minute delay on top of its initial delay (scheduled for 6:31 PM, then 7:30 PM, finally arriving at 8:00 PM). The heating was blasting in the compartment with no way to turn it off. No functional toilets in the carriage. From that point on, customer service stopped responding to my messages.
10) Woken up at 5:00 AM with an announcement in all carriages about arrival in Liège.
11) Woken up again at 6:00 AM to be told we’d arrive in Brussels at 7:00 AM.
12) Arrival in Brussels at 7:00 AM and a one-hour wait for the bus to Paris. No functional toilets on the bus.
13) Arrival at Paris Nord at 12:30 PM, so 2.5 hours late compared to the originally scheduled time.
14) The overnight trains used are very old—I recognized the carriages from 20 years ago!! No functional power outlets, no Wi-Fi, no air conditioning. Five people per compartment is a bit cramped, but I consider these conditions expected (especially the air conditioning), so I’m not complaining about that. There’s already plenty to gripe about with the travel conditions.
I have little hope of getting even a partial refund. Customer service emails acknowledge the discomfort but only offer to reimburse the cost of a coffee on board if we send them the receipt... a bit weak.
I’m sharing this experience in the hope it might help others.
Hi there,
I’d like to take the Train of the Clouds from Lima to Huancayo.
I’ve heard it only runs during certain periods.
Does anyone have info on this?
Thanks!
HuancayoHuancayo
As part of my professional thesis, I’m conducting a study on the evolution of long-distance rail transport in France, particularly since it opened up to competition.
I’ve put together a very quick (about 5-minute) and completely anonymous questionnaire. Your answers will help me better understand users' expectations regarding pricing, frequency, and environmental impact.
We’re planning a 15-day trip to Uzbekistan in March—classic independent itinerary: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva. We’d like to take the train between each city, but I don’t want to lock down the whole trip before we leave.
So, my question is: is it absolutely necessary to book train tickets before departure, whether for the high-speed trains or the regional ones? Is booking really essential for the regional trains?
Hello,
We’re traveling as a family with two boys aged 10 and 12 to Cairo in February. During our trip, we’re planning to take an overnight train (with or without a sleeper) for the Cairo-Aswan route.
Do you know how I can book this remotely?
Also, I’m looking for:
- A local contact to sail the Nile by felucca for 3 days from Aswan
- A contact to guide us in Cairo
Looking forward to your tips, and thanks in advance!
Marie
Hi everyone,
I first traveled solo to Japan in 2019, exploring the Kyushu region (28 days), and I’m planning to return with my daughter (she’s an adult and it’ll be her first time in Asia) from April 25 to May 9.
I’m reaching out on this forum to ask for route ideas—this time north of Tokyo, but without heading to the Sapporo island (I’m saving that for a future trip).
I’d love to take advantage of the cherry blossom season and its festivities.
I’m looking to create a route that’s a little off the beaten path while staying within 5-6 hours by train from Tokyo to avoid spending too much time on transfers.
Thanks in advance for sharing your suggestions and experiences!
Michael
I'm heading to MEXICO IN NOVEMBER 2025. Since private guides and drivers are really expensive—over 300 € per day—I'm thinking of exploring the Yucatán by train. CAN YOU SHARE ANY INFO ON THIS? Thanks
Hi there!
We’re planning to visit Serbia (1 week) and then Montenegro (2nd week) with our kids from April 18 to May 4. We’d prefer to travel by train (overnight if possible), but we’re not sure which platform to book on or when to do it (is it too early?). If anyone has any tips, I’m all ears!!
I wanted to know if it’s possible to go from Tashkent to Almaty by train without passing through Kyrgyzstan. I’ve heard the border is often closed 😕 between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Thanks in advance!
Olivier
Hi there!
We’re planning to head back to Istanbul next year—obviously by plane—and then take the train from Istanbul to Antalya. Has anyone here already made this trip by train with TCDD?
I’d love any tips or info that could be useful for us!
I'd like to go to Montserrat on my own from Barcelona. Share your suggestions with me.
Which train should I take, where to get off, what to see once I arrive, etc.
I need to take a sleeper train from Bangkok to Vientiane in January.
I found some ticket options on 12Go Asia, but booking doesn’t seem possible at the moment. I’ve tried simulations for several dates, but no luck.
I’m wondering if it’s already fully booked, if they’ve stopped selling tickets… yet 12Go still features it every day 😕
Has anyone else run into this issue?
Can I find tickets on another site? (I tried Baolau, but no sleepers left for January 8th.)
Hi there,
I’m a bit late to be worrying about this, but hopefully someone can help me before I leave.
Tomorrow afternoon, I arrive at Lyon Part-Dieu on the TGV at 5:50 PM and take the TER to Mâcon at 6:16 PM. Is a 26-minute transfer doable? Are the TGV and TER on the same departure board? And are they on the same platforms too?
I’ve been to Lyon before but never had to make a connection after arriving.
Thanks
Starting November 15th, I’ll be arriving in Thailand, and during my stay, I plan to visit the north, around the Chiang Mai area, then head south to the Krabi region.
After Krabi, I’m planning to take an overnight train to Bangkok. I was wondering if there’s a train that leaves from Krabi or Trang, or if I absolutely have to go to Surat Thani?
Also, which official website can I use to book my ticket?
Next, since I’ll be arriving at dawn in Bangkok, I’ve planned to spend 2 days in Kanchanaburi. What’s the most convenient way to get there—bus or train? And if you know any companies or websites, that’d be great.
Hi there,
Does anyone know if there’s a bus from Luang Namtha to Boten to catch the train coming from China to Vientiane? If so, what’s the name of the company? Also, how long does the bus take to cover that distance? What’s the condition of the road like?
Thanks for your help!
Tom
I just realized there’s only one payment method accepted for booking the Mombasa-Nairobi express train ticket online: M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer service used in Africa. Would it be impossible to book as a European?
I’d love to know if any of you have recently eaten on the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
We’ve always ordered food on the train, and it was really good (and super convenient).
But in 2022, we ended up feeling like total idiots (with our 4-year-old daughter...) when we boarded the train only to find out that this service was no longer available... (It was the first time we’d traveled right after COVID.)
That’s also when we saw once again how kind Thai people are—they all offered to share their food with us, even though we were mortified. In the end, we managed to buy some instant noodles, which was better than nothing. Anyway, that’s the little story behind it.
In the following years, we’ve always brought our own meals.
I’ve read online that meal trays are back in service (could you confirm this, please?), but that the quality is really poor. I’ve also seen multiple reports that, even though you can eat well everywhere in Thailand, the train meal was the worst food travelers had during their trip...
Could you give me a recent opinion on this?
We’ll be departing from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Station—do you know if there’s anywhere to buy a meal there before boarding the train?
Thanks so much for your help,
and have a great Sunday!
We’re heading to Thailand in February 2026 and we’d like to take the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Can we book two first-class tickets? I’m only seeing second-class options.
Hi everyone,
For traveling in Rajasthan by train and bus, could you give me some info: where to buy tickets, cost, purchase locations, websites, etc.?
Any tips you have would be super helpful.
Thanks
We’re traveling to Java on October 23, just the two of us.
I’ve read that it’s best to book train tickets in advance on tiket.com.
Is that true, and how far ahead do you recommend?
Are the tickets changeable?
Hi everyone,
I’m planning to travel from Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk by train this summer but I’m a bit worried about crossing the borders. How does it work? Could anyone share their experience? (I’ve found quite a few accounts of people going *from* Russia *to* Mongolia, but entering a country is never the same as leaving it—especially in this context!)
