Can I go abroad by train?

Trains are one of the means of transportation in our modern society. We usually choose to go to far away places, such as trains, high-speed trains, high-speed rails, and airplanes. Not only are train tickets cheap, choosing to take the train is also a great experience. It's not like taking a train. On the train, you can feel the scenery along the way and marvel at the different beauty of the world. So where can I go by train? Can I go abroad by train? The editor below will answer your questions one by one.

It is now possible to travel abroad by train.

On the train (international train K3), six days and five nights passed in sequence (I will only write about the major stations):

In China: Beijing (departure)-Zhangjiakou-Erenhot ( Departure)

In Mongolia: Zamyn-Uud (entry)-Ulaanbaatar.

In Russia: Ulan-Ude-Irkutsk-Malinsk-Novosibirsk-Tyumen-Moscow (arrival)

The golden autumn scenery seen along the way is really Make me cry anytime.

Lake Baikal, I still can’t forget the day when the train drove by the lake.

[Certificate Preparation]

1. Passport (nonsense): Guaranteed to have a validity period of six months to more than one year and a certain number of blank pages. You can check again for specific requirements.

2. Russian visa: The team is only exempt from visa, independent travelers must sign, and the invitation letter is mandatory (in fact, there is no situation where customs, hotels, and police check the invitation letter), and it can be applied one and a half months before departure. . At first, I also tried to use the hotel email to communicate the invitation letter, but they can only provide invitation letters within your check-in date. To be on the safe side, I ended up looking for Taobao. In short, the price of Russian visa fluctuates greatly, ranging from 500-800. Finding a Taobao agent is a way that you may not necessarily save money but definitely save effort.

In addition, keep the immigration card you filled out when entering Russia and do not lose it, because all hotels will require you to present your passport and immigration card at the same time when checking in, and the customs will take it back when you finally leave Russia.

3. Mongolian transit sign: This is a special case for the entry of international trains (K3). Because the train will leave Erenhot and enter Mongolia, you must provide the Mongolian transit sign. Anyway, I'm in Beijing and I think Taobao's agency price is not worth it. I went to the embassy to deliver it myself, filled out the form, posted photos, and paid. For details, please refer to this travel guide: Mongolia transit visa - the Beijing Embassy issues it yourself. Now you do not need a Xiaohuang health certificate to enter Mongolia, so don’t be fooled.

[Transportation]

1. Train tickets: International train tickets can only be purchased through offline agents, located on the first floor of Jianguomen Beijing International Hotel. It is recommended to book tickets 2-3 months before departure, especially for high-end packages. There are only two carriages and 30 tickets in total. Quantity is limited, book early and be assured. Friends from other places can ask friends in Beijing to order and pick them up. When booking a ticket, just leave your passport number, contact information and the berth you want to book. If you have a ticket, the agent will call you and ask you to pay a deposit of 100 yuan. At the same time, you will be given a deposit slip, and you can collect your tickets according to the time written on it. When picking up tickets, only cash will be accepted.

(I saw a friend say that Ctrip can book international train tickets. We didn’t think about this channel at the time, but after searching around, it seemed that we could only buy round-trip trains to a few European countries, such as Germany. Fafayi, etc. So we don’t have a deeper understanding.

The train ticket is so long, a pile of paper will be collected when you get on the train, and it will be returned to you when you get off.

There are several types of train sleepers. We are two girls traveling. For safety and comfort, we bought a high-priced 2-bedroom, nearly 5,600 yuan per person. If there are more people, we can also buy a hard sleeper, 4-person room, and domestic specifications. The price of a soft sleeper box is about 3,500 yuan per person. For details, please refer to this Zhihu post: What is it like to take a train from Beijing to Moscow?

In addition, remember to check the departure times of different trains if you don’t take time off. , then it’s not cost-effective.

2. Air ticket: Take Air Astana from Moscow to Beijing, Moscow-Almaty (stopover)-Beijing. I never thought that I would be there. I set foot in Kazakhstan in my lifetime and covered my face. The whole journey lasted nearly 11 hours, although it was a pity not to fly on Aeroflot in Astana

3. Moscow-St. Petersburg round-trip high-speed rail ticket: There’s not much to say. The high-speed train itself is more comfortable and spacious than domestic high-speed trains, but the speed is less than 200km/h, but the process of buying tickets is very tortuous. For details, please refer to this Honeycomb post: How to buy Russian train tickets - high-speed train tickets. , Russia. Very detailed, but the only problem is that the official website in Russia has been revised.

Just look at what the high-speed rail looks like

4. Metro bus: in Moscow. and St. Petersburg, we mainly rely on these two public transportation. Before going, M and I were immersed in the fear of the lack of English signs in the Moscow subway. First, the subway lines are not as complicated as Moscow. The station names are both in English and Russian. Not to mention the buses, which are very convenient in St. Petersburg. However, the subway exits are often mixed with the underground passages, so it is recommended to check the direction before going. Easily pushed.

In addition, you can buy multiple tickets for the Moscow Metro (such as 10 times, 20 times), and two people can use one ticket. You can only swipe your card when entering the station, but not when leaving the station.

5. Legs: Going out for fun requires a lot of legs, but you can often see different scenery, such as trees with gradually changing colors on the roadside and chickens walking around randomly.