Customer Reviews

Trans-Siberian Handbook, 5th: Includes Rail Route Guide and 25 City Guides

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For passengers on traveling on all or most of the Trans-Siberian Railway and visiting the cities along it, there are only two English-language travel guides. The Lonely Planet guide appeared in 2003 with a second edition in 2006, while Bryn Thomas updates his guide almost yearly and in 2007 it reached its seventh edition. I'm a two-time veteran of the Trans-Siberian, using the 1st edition of the Lonely Planet on the eastbound Trans-Manchurian route, and the 2nd edition on the eastbound Trans-Mongolian. When I recently discovered Bryn Thomas' guide in the local library, however, it struck me as the guide that I wish I had had on the trip.

The Lonely Planet guide and Thomas' have much in common. Both include a history of Russia in the Trans-Siberian era and general information about culture. They both give sightseeing guidance and lodging listings for the cities along the way. The LP sticks to the three traditional routes between Moscow and Beijing or Vladivostok, but Thomas has now added Yakutsk, soon to be accessible by rail) and other possible rail terminus cities like Prague and Hong Kong.

What makes Thomas' guide real special is his enthusiasm for the train journey itself. Unlike the LP guide, he gives timetables for the route, truly equipping the reader to prepare for the trip without having to look for too much information outside the book. Thomas discusses in detail the layout of carriages, specifics of what the carriage attendant can do for those under her charge, and things to look out for at kilometre markers along the way. The LP guide has little about the journey itself, and what little interesting information it did have in the first edition disappeared in the second.

Thomas' tone is also much more pleasant to read than in the common guidebooks for independent travelers. He doesn't try to sell you places you have already decided to visit with an overuse of words like "vibrant" and "spectacular". I also admire that he succeeds in writing for a general audience. While some of the accomodation listings are pricey, it doesn't feel like he is dismissing backpackers like certain sell-out guidebook lines.

I don't think I will ever travel the Trans-Siberian all the way again. While still fairly low considering the distance, fares are rising and I usually have the three free weeks needed to hitchhike from Europe to Ulan-Ude or Vladivostok. Nonetheless, I'd certainly recommend this to travelers planning a trip that is well-worth doing at least once.

without this book, most of the sights will pass by. The times, station breaks, kilometre breakdown are essential for getting the most out of the journey. there is nothing else out there that combines the knowledge and tables as well as this publication. It does lack sufficient maps though so bring your own

I used this book while traveling along the Trans-Siberian railroad and in planning my trip beforehand. It provides a great amount of quality information for planning purposes, but it is not complete. For example, when it lists the time table of trains, please note that it is only a sample of the most popular "tourist" trains. We found hundreds of trains going along the route, leaving at all times of day and night (of course we figured this out once we got there).
The translations were useful if you do not know the Russian alphabet. The pronunciation guide is good.
The best part of the guide was the section which gave you fun facts along the kilometer markings of the railroad. These made up a great portion of our entertainment while riding the train (4 days of sitting and looking out the window, chatting with other travellers, etc.). The little tidbits were very interesting!
The city guides within the book were an okay start to get familiar with the cities, but as with any guidebook which tries to cram it all in, it was not nearly complete.
My only con of the book was the large size of it. It is very thick, but I guess it must be (it has sooooo much info inside!)
I would recommend buying it if you are traveling along the railroad, or just as a great reference!

Have just finished the trip - this guide is fantastic the trip would have been a lot less without it. Every one around us borrowed it

I found this book to be of great help in planning my Trans-Siberian trip. It is organized and contains information that will definitely be indispensible along the way: basic translations of common terms, general info on departure cities other than Russia and things I would never think of adding to a travel guidebook.
I would recommend this guide to anyone aspiring to travel by train in Russia.
J

I used this excellent guide during my journey, and I have to say it helped 100% with planning both before I left home, and during the journey. A BIG thank you to the author, Bryn Thomas!

My friend and I did part of the trip last summer, and the guide was simply invaluable. We were in the major cities decribed in the book, and we took the train Irkutsk--Ulaan Baator. The book was very helpful both when we were planning the trip (has train schedules) and on the spot, directing us to places of interest. Overall, gives you a good idea what to expect. Start reading the guide at least half a year before the planned trip. You'll need good 4 to 5 months to arrange everything.

I have used this book multiple times while traveling the Trans-Siberian. During my first trip, it helped me to get my bearings and to plan the practicalities. On subsequent trips, I was able to enjoy the detailed maps and information about stops along the way. It is very accurate and detailed. I still found a previous version useful several years after publication. It does focus primarily on stops directly on the route. For those who with to travel further afield, I wrote the book ROAMING RUSSIA: An Adventurer's Guide to Off The Beaten Track Russia and Siberia. The Trans-Siberian Handbook is an essential book for Siberian rail travelers. I highly recommend it.

I recently used this on a three-week trans-siberian trip. It attempts to cover the major cities along 10,000 km of Russian rail, as well as prepare the reader for the ride experience. It explains how to get a visa, how to buy train tickets and get by on the train, and details the sights of Siberia. Like any travel guide, numerous details on locations are outdated (addresses off by a number, hotel costs), but that's unavoidable. There's a section devoted to buying a ticket in russian by handwriting your request, which proved invaluable at the stations. The maps were extremely convenient for the different cities, though the multipaged one for Moscow is a bit tricky. The brief russian phrase section was surprisingly helpful for ordering food at restaurants.

Some minor complaints... The book doesn't mention the official russian rail website [...], which shows the complete train schedules in english. This lets you request a specific train at a specific time, instead of attempting a QA with the ticket cashiers (very difficult unless you're fluent in russian). There's not enough winter tourist information. For shoes, "sturdy trainers" should actually be "lightweight, waterproof, hiking boots," unless you like trenchfoot. Frozen-over Lake Baikal can be amazing. There aren't enough pictures. How do platskartny, kupe car classes etc. differ? Not enough information on flying into Russia. Flying to or from Moscow is obvious (DME airport), but departing from Siberia can be cheaper taking a local airline (S7) back to Moscow, rather than leaving from Vladivostok to the US.

Various notes... Contrary to what the guide says, amateur photography in the Moscow Metro IS allowed according to the official Metro website: [...] (scroll to the bottom). Long-distance train tickets were considerably more expensive than what the guide mentions (I did it in the off-season, but my tickets were for trains just days in advance), costing more than a plane ticket for the same distance (though they are sleeping cars). I also recommend going east-to-west (Vladivostok to Moscow). It's easier to adjust to the days getting longer, and the smaller cities you visit on the way will prepare you for the grey bazaar that is Moscow.

I bought both the lonely planet book and this one but ended up using this book more than the other one. I used the book for anything from finding places to stay, things to see and also to keep track of the next stations coming up when I was on the train. If I take another trip like this I will bring the book again. Highly recommended.