Bonjour,
j'aimerais me rendre de Mongolie à la région du Tibet par voie terrestre. Est-ce possible, et si oui, comment?
Merci d'avance pour votre aide précieuse,
Claire
Original post
Relier la Mongolie-sud de la Chine par voie terrestre?
by Hyboo19
This discussion is in French, the community’s main language.
Bonjour,
Ce voyage est tout à fait possible en train, mais attention, il faut une autorisation spéciale EN PLUS du visa chinois pour se rendre au Tibet. Les conditions d'obtention de cette autorisation semblent être variables suivant les époques.
A titre d'exemple, j'ai fait ce voyage (nous étions deux) en juin dernier dans les conditions suivantes: Départ d'Ulan Bator le dimanche matin à 8 h 05 par le "train chinois" n°4 venant de Moscou (d'où il était parti le mardi précédent...): très confortable en classe "molle" (la première classe locale, pour 190 €, repas compris sur le parcours chinois, grand compartiment pour deux avec cabinet de toilette séparé), La classe "dure", environ moitié moins chère, est très correcte. La traversée de la Mongolie par les steppes à yourtes puis le désert de Gobi est pittoresque à souhait, et le lendemain on a déjà un bon aperçu de la campagne du nord de la Chine. Arrivée à Pékin le lundi à 14 h 10 avec...six minutes de retard!!
Il y a des trains directs certains autres jours, parfois moins pratiques ou moins rapides, et également, tous les jours je pense, la possibilité de prendre un train intérieur mongol jusqu'à la frontière puis un bus chinois jusqu'à Pékin.
Nous avons ensuite fait un petit séjour à Pékin: ville facile à visiter en individuel, car depuis les JO de 2008 on peut se faire comprendre en anglais dans la plupart des hôtels et même parfois dans la rue, et le métro est bilingue, les trajets valent environ 0, 20€; en revanche, il vaut mieux se faire écrire les adresses en chinois si on utilise les taxis, très bon marché aussi.
Il nous fallait aussi le temps d'obtenir la fameuse autorisation pour le Tibet: cela fut très facile pour cette fois, mais ne l'est pas toujours: il est bon de se renseigner avant le départ. En tout cas, le correspondant local de la "Maison de la Chine" (excellente agence parisienne) est francophone et très efficace.
Attention: d'après notre expérience, la fameuse autorisation est d'ordre plutôt commercial; on nous demande si nous ne sommes pas journalistes, mais aucune vérification n'est faite ensuite (nous n'étions pas journalistes...), et trois jours après, nous pouvons partir pour Lhassa.
MAIS: à condition obligatoire d'être passés par cette agence: tout est payable d'avance (voyage, hôtel, repas, guide, voiture avec chauffeur, entrées dans les monastères et au Potala...sauf les consommations personnelles); ces conditions imposent une dépense un peu supérieure à ce que l'on pourrait dépenser en voyage individuel (choix d'hôtels par exemple), mais il faut aussi considérer que le service est très bon et que les entrées dans les monuments sont chères; et puis, de toutes façons, nous n'avions pas le choix!
Nous sommes repartis de Pékin le jeudi soir à 21 h 30 dans le très confortable train quotidien vers Lhassa (environ 115 € en classe molle, compartiments à quatre avec de vrais lits, mais là aussi la classe "dure" est correcte et ne doit pas coûter plus de 60 €. En plus, les repas au wagon-restaurant sont corrects, assez peu variés mais très bon marché, et le personnel confectionne des plateaux repas distribués dans les compartiments pour environ 2 €); voyage de 45 heures mémorable, en particulier le second jour quand on traverse le plateau tibétain. Il y a des distributeurs d'oxygène en cas de difficultés respiratoires, car le train roule plus de treize heures entre 3500 et 5072 mètres d'altitude.
Nous avons ainsi pu passer quatre grandes journées et cinq nuits au Tibet, dans de très bonnes conditions de confort, avec excursion en "province". Lhassa est une ville bien agréable et le climat y semble bien meilleur qu'à Pékin, Xian ou Shanghai, où nous sommes allés ensuite.
Voilà, j'espère que ce petit récit vous sera utile; à votre disposition pour de plus amples informations, mais en sachant que tout change extrêmement vite en Chine!
Ce voyage est tout à fait possible en train, mais attention, il faut une autorisation spéciale EN PLUS du visa chinois pour se rendre au Tibet. Les conditions d'obtention de cette autorisation semblent être variables suivant les époques.
A titre d'exemple, j'ai fait ce voyage (nous étions deux) en juin dernier dans les conditions suivantes: Départ d'Ulan Bator le dimanche matin à 8 h 05 par le "train chinois" n°4 venant de Moscou (d'où il était parti le mardi précédent...): très confortable en classe "molle" (la première classe locale, pour 190 €, repas compris sur le parcours chinois, grand compartiment pour deux avec cabinet de toilette séparé), La classe "dure", environ moitié moins chère, est très correcte. La traversée de la Mongolie par les steppes à yourtes puis le désert de Gobi est pittoresque à souhait, et le lendemain on a déjà un bon aperçu de la campagne du nord de la Chine. Arrivée à Pékin le lundi à 14 h 10 avec...six minutes de retard!!
Il y a des trains directs certains autres jours, parfois moins pratiques ou moins rapides, et également, tous les jours je pense, la possibilité de prendre un train intérieur mongol jusqu'à la frontière puis un bus chinois jusqu'à Pékin.
Nous avons ensuite fait un petit séjour à Pékin: ville facile à visiter en individuel, car depuis les JO de 2008 on peut se faire comprendre en anglais dans la plupart des hôtels et même parfois dans la rue, et le métro est bilingue, les trajets valent environ 0, 20€; en revanche, il vaut mieux se faire écrire les adresses en chinois si on utilise les taxis, très bon marché aussi.
Il nous fallait aussi le temps d'obtenir la fameuse autorisation pour le Tibet: cela fut très facile pour cette fois, mais ne l'est pas toujours: il est bon de se renseigner avant le départ. En tout cas, le correspondant local de la "Maison de la Chine" (excellente agence parisienne) est francophone et très efficace.
Attention: d'après notre expérience, la fameuse autorisation est d'ordre plutôt commercial; on nous demande si nous ne sommes pas journalistes, mais aucune vérification n'est faite ensuite (nous n'étions pas journalistes...), et trois jours après, nous pouvons partir pour Lhassa.
MAIS: à condition obligatoire d'être passés par cette agence: tout est payable d'avance (voyage, hôtel, repas, guide, voiture avec chauffeur, entrées dans les monastères et au Potala...sauf les consommations personnelles); ces conditions imposent une dépense un peu supérieure à ce que l'on pourrait dépenser en voyage individuel (choix d'hôtels par exemple), mais il faut aussi considérer que le service est très bon et que les entrées dans les monuments sont chères; et puis, de toutes façons, nous n'avions pas le choix!
Nous sommes repartis de Pékin le jeudi soir à 21 h 30 dans le très confortable train quotidien vers Lhassa (environ 115 € en classe molle, compartiments à quatre avec de vrais lits, mais là aussi la classe "dure" est correcte et ne doit pas coûter plus de 60 €. En plus, les repas au wagon-restaurant sont corrects, assez peu variés mais très bon marché, et le personnel confectionne des plateaux repas distribués dans les compartiments pour environ 2 €); voyage de 45 heures mémorable, en particulier le second jour quand on traverse le plateau tibétain. Il y a des distributeurs d'oxygène en cas de difficultés respiratoires, car le train roule plus de treize heures entre 3500 et 5072 mètres d'altitude.
Nous avons ainsi pu passer quatre grandes journées et cinq nuits au Tibet, dans de très bonnes conditions de confort, avec excursion en "province". Lhassa est une ville bien agréable et le climat y semble bien meilleur qu'à Pékin, Xian ou Shanghai, où nous sommes allés ensuite.
Voilà, j'espère que ce petit récit vous sera utile; à votre disposition pour de plus amples informations, mais en sachant que tout change extrêmement vite en Chine!
Tashi delek Alto,
Je suppose que les tarifs avec cette agence étaient salés ou c'était abordable car avec les lodges de Chengdu, c'est assez bon marché nous sommes en partance pour Mongolie Chine Tibet népal et hésitons entre train Pékin Lhassa ou Chengdu Lhassa ce serait sympa d'avoir des tarifs approximatifs (ils ne répondent pas à nos mails d'infos)
merci d'avance
Je suppose que les tarifs avec cette agence étaient salés ou c'était abordable car avec les lodges de Chengdu, c'est assez bon marché nous sommes en partance pour Mongolie Chine Tibet népal et hésitons entre train Pékin Lhassa ou Chengdu Lhassa ce serait sympa d'avoir des tarifs approximatifs (ils ne répondent pas à nos mails d'infos)
merci d'avance
La plus grande des misères est de ce sentir misérable
Proverbe tibétain
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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...
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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.
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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.
Thanks
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.
Thanks
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
Hi there,
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?
Thanks for your help!
Nicole
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?
Thanks for your help!
Nicole
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!)
Thanks in advance! 😊
Thanks in advance! 😊
Hi
Can anyone tell me how to book train tickets online? We're planning to travel from HANOI to HO CHI MINH CITY by train, making several stops along the way. I'd also like to find the schedules and the stations where the trains stop.
There are four of us, and we've already planned stops in HANOI / DONG HOI / HUE.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
Mounette74
Can anyone tell me how to book train tickets online? We're planning to travel from HANOI to HO CHI MINH CITY by train, making several stops along the way. I'd also like to find the schedules and the stations where the trains stop.
There are four of us, and we've already planned stops in HANOI / DONG HOI / HUE.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
Mounette74
Hi everyone,
I’m heading to Japan for the second time with my 20-year-old son. During our first trip, we spent two weeks in Tokyo and Kyoto (plus the surrounding areas). This time, we’re planning to stay in Tokyo for at least 4-5 days and then head to the island of Naoshima. I’m looking for suggestions and advice: Is getting to Naoshima from Tokyo complicated? If so, do you have any recommendations for a stopover somewhere? Given that we’d prefer not to move every day, we’d rather settle in one place and then explore on day trips... Do you think it’s possible to do something like this: 5 nights in Tokyo (Shinjuku) 3 nights in Kyoto 2 nights in Naoshima (or is one night enough??) and if one night is enough, where could I spend a second night on the way back to Tokyo? 2 nights in Tokyo (I’d love your advice on staying in a different neighborhood—last time we stayed near Ueno Park)—keeping in mind we’re flying out of Narita.
I’m considering maybe skipping Kyoto, which I love but has apparently become *very* touristy... Not really keen on Osaka... since we’ll already have done Tokyo as our "big city." I’d prefer towns where nature is present... (a bit like Kyoto, which offers all that...)
For info, we’ll be traveling by train. Thanks in advance for all your suggestions and help!
I have one last little question: Is cash still widely used in Japan, or not at all anymore?
Thanks so much,
Karine
I’m heading to Japan for the second time with my 20-year-old son. During our first trip, we spent two weeks in Tokyo and Kyoto (plus the surrounding areas). This time, we’re planning to stay in Tokyo for at least 4-5 days and then head to the island of Naoshima. I’m looking for suggestions and advice: Is getting to Naoshima from Tokyo complicated? If so, do you have any recommendations for a stopover somewhere? Given that we’d prefer not to move every day, we’d rather settle in one place and then explore on day trips... Do you think it’s possible to do something like this: 5 nights in Tokyo (Shinjuku) 3 nights in Kyoto 2 nights in Naoshima (or is one night enough??) and if one night is enough, where could I spend a second night on the way back to Tokyo? 2 nights in Tokyo (I’d love your advice on staying in a different neighborhood—last time we stayed near Ueno Park)—keeping in mind we’re flying out of Narita.
I’m considering maybe skipping Kyoto, which I love but has apparently become *very* touristy... Not really keen on Osaka... since we’ll already have done Tokyo as our "big city." I’d prefer towns where nature is present... (a bit like Kyoto, which offers all that...)
For info, we’ll be traveling by train. Thanks in advance for all your suggestions and help!
I have one last little question: Is cash still widely used in Japan, or not at all anymore?
Thanks so much,
Karine
Hi everyone,
We’re planning this *very* last-minute—I know! But we’d love to spend 4 days soon (within the next 10–12 days) on a city getaway with our young adult kids. Ideally by train, and for this short trip, we’d prefer not to spend more than 4–6 hours in transit, leaving from Lausanne (Switzerland). We’ve been considering Milan, Strasbourg, or Freiburg im Breisgau, but I’ll admit I’m feeling a bit lost...
Venice was our original plan, but the connection changes in Domodossola or Milan are making the travel time longer this year.
It’s peak summer, so there’ll be tourists and it’ll likely be hot, but oh well...
Any suggestions? We love wandering around, taking photos, exploring cities on foot, trying out restaurants, and keeping things low-key.
Thanks to anyone who wants to chime in! :o)
We’re planning this *very* last-minute—I know! But we’d love to spend 4 days soon (within the next 10–12 days) on a city getaway with our young adult kids. Ideally by train, and for this short trip, we’d prefer not to spend more than 4–6 hours in transit, leaving from Lausanne (Switzerland). We’ve been considering Milan, Strasbourg, or Freiburg im Breisgau, but I’ll admit I’m feeling a bit lost...
Venice was our original plan, but the connection changes in Domodossola or Milan are making the travel time longer this year.
It’s peak summer, so there’ll be tourists and it’ll likely be hot, but oh well...
Any suggestions? We love wandering around, taking photos, exploring cities on foot, trying out restaurants, and keeping things low-key.
Thanks to anyone who wants to chime in! :o)