nigelloring

Is there a good site with information on this? Specifically I'm looking for safety information for single women, since my girlfriend wants to travel the railroad for a month this summer and I can't join her.

Thanks!

bcmatt

There are several sites which might be of help. A good start would be:
http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm
http://www.waytorussia.net/TransSiberian/
http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/me...entid=0&from=1
and for a brutally honest description of what the journey might be like
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article...travel.russia1

You might also want to look in your local library or bookshop for a copy of the Trans-Siberian Handbook published by Trailblazeer.

Personally I don't think your girlf need worry about travelling alone - plenty of Russian women or gap-year tourists do! She could buy up a whole first class compartment to herself of she wants to be alone or share with 3 others in a second class compartment. Hanging out with strangers is half the fun (there is nothing else to do on the train after all)! Of course her enjoyment might also depend on whether she speaks Russian and how used she is to travelling.

schmare

I traveled the trans siberian this past summer, and I didn't find safety and security to be a huge issue - I probably felt safer on the train than I have felt walking alone in some cities.

The biggest concern for a single female traveler is that you don't have control over who your compartment mates will be, and with very close quarters that can be a problem. I found that on all legs of my journey I was in a compartment with a mix of foreigners and Russians, and everyone got along really well.

nigelloring

Would you suggest, as far as personal safety goes, that she gets a compartment with herself or with other people? And if with other people, and given that she won't have any control over who they will be, what is the optimal (safest) number of roommates?

schmare

I'd suggest getting a compartment with other people - a second class 4 berth sleeper. I suppose that a solo cabin may be safer, but honestly I can't imagine the boredom of being alone in a cabin for days at a time (is she doing the whole trip in one shot? Or stopping along the way?).

What age is your GF? There is a company called Vodkatrain which has semi-organized transsib tours, which may be a good idea if she's feeling uncomfortable about traveling alone. This company books the train tickets for you, and has a local guide in each stopover city. I'm not sure whether accomodations in stopover cities are included or exactly how it works - but I met a bunch of Vodkatrain passengers this past summer, and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. The age range appears to be mostly 20s-30s, so it may not be the ideal option for older travelers.

apoivre

There's not a single solo compartment on Russian trains, AFAIK.

bcmatt

True, but some people do buy both places in a first class compartment or all 4 places in a second class compartment to get it to themselves.

However, I tend to agree that it would be very isolating and boring to to that on a long trip!

nigelloring

27

bcmatt

Then she might want to consider the Vodka Train (http://www.vodkatrain.com) aimed at 18-35 yo, as suggested above, if you are really worried about her safety on her own. But too be honest it is not a major issue to worry about IMO.

You mention she wants to spend a month travelling on the route - is that a trip all the way to Vladivostok or Beijing and back again, or lots of stops on the way? If she wants lots of stops on the way (e.g. Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Ulan Ude etc) she cannot just buy one ticket and hop on and off, she'll need different ones for each section. This might also influence planning and deciding whether taking a group tour is easier.

phb

The best book (in my opinion of course) is the Trans-Siberia Handbook by Bryn Thomas. It seems to go in and out of print, but is worth acquiring.

There is another thread on the journey, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=301448

I wouldn't recommend 1st class solo simply for security. As has been previously stated, a lot of the fun is mixing with other passengers, western or otherwise. To get the most from the journey, you need to spend time on the rest of the train. No cabin on the train can be really considered secure while you're out of it.

GregWTravels

I've done it. Generally the people are pretty nice. There was a cabin of Russian soliders who drank and gambled the entire time, they were a bit loud and scared me a little bit, but they kept to themselves and never bothered me. In general, though, I always felt safe, and the ladies who work on the train (what are they called again) are usually pretty omni-present, so there's always someone around.

I wrote up a trip report after I did it. You can find it here: Trans-Mongolian Trip Report. I did it in 2 weeks. I think that a month is the minimum amount of time I would consider again, and I wouldn't do more than a day or two on the train at a time. You go completely stir crazy. I spent one 4 day stretch on the train, and was SO ready to get off when I did: I wrote about it on my blog.

basia

I used to take Russian overnight trains a lot in the early 1990s, not sure how much has changed but basic informal etiquette probably hasn't. Unlike night trains I took in other places (e.g. Poland) Russian trains are not separated to gender. If you book "magkoe", i.e. double/first class room there will be an elaborate shuffle before departure with travelers switching around to get a compartment-mate of their own gender. She doesn't even have to initiate this, chances are if she is booked with a single guy he will start a search off his own bat.

With a four-person compartment this isn't done (logistics too complex I imagine) but usually all the guys in the compartment will step out after departure to give the ladies time to get ready for the night. Couldn't figure this out my first trip back in 1990, and as this was on the "Red Star" train SPb-Moscow and I wanted to watch the departure I must have caused no small discomfort for my fellow travelers!

driftings

Info on overnight trains in Russia:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=719818