Visas for Russia, Mongolia and China

johnp

I guess you intelligent folk out there will work out from the title that I'm planning on doing the TransMongolian train trip, and organising it ourselves.

So, if anyone's been to any of these places, what's the craic with Visas?

From what I can gather the Chinese one can be done by filling the form, getting the money and queuing up outside the embassy, or if you want post it to them.
The Mongolian one will require a trip to London (don't think they accept postal applications now). Again, queue up with the form/cash.
The Russian one is a little funny. I need accommodation first, then get a letter of recommendation from them? Then apply with that? Also, I seem to remember when people were going to Moscow last year for the Champions League Final there was something about having 45 days from application (or receipt of the visa) to enter the country or the visa is void? Is this the same with the other visas?

The whole trip would be 3 weeks, so obviously less than a month in each place.

Anyone help?

Bacchus

I can only give advice on the Chinese one.

You are right in what you say but you should be aware that they are quite strict. They may want information on where you are staying (for the first few nights anyway) and proof that you will leave the country at the end of the visa (in the form of flight out of China or some sort of travel itinerary).

I'm not sure that you can post the application. I think you must go in person. That said, I went through Trailfinders and they cut out a lot of the hassle for me so I may be wrong. It might be worth calling the embassy and finding out for sure. That's if you can even get through to anyone there :rolleyes:

johnp

Bacchus wrote: »

I can only give advice on the Chinese one.

You are right in what you say but you should be aware that they are quite strict. They may want information on where you are staying (for the first few nights anyway) and proof that you will leave the country at the end of the visa (in the form of flight out of China or some sort of travel itinerary).

I'm not sure that you can post the application. I think you must go in person. That said, I went through Trailfinders and they cut out a lot of the hassle for me so I may be wrong. It might be worth calling the embassy and finding out for sure. That's if you can even get through to anyone there :rolleyes:

Thanks for the help.
If I apply now, how long does it last for, or do you know?
Might take a look at Trailfinders as well.

Clarehobo

Did this a few years ago - Links to everything you need are below.
The easiest way to do all of these is to have all the forms filled in and printed out before going to the embassies.


Russia:
Easiest way to get the visa support letter is by booking into a hotel for the first night or two: that'll be sufficient proof. Otherwise, I have enclosed a link of a service that one of my friends used ~ it was €20ish at the time.
I got my visa in London because I was living there at the time. Apparently they have outsourced it now so I couldn't advise you where it is.
There was a time limit on entering the country alright but I don't remember how long, you might be better off ringing the embassy to confirm stuff like that.
When you get to Russia, you have to register within 3 days of being in the country ~ that's why a hotel is the handiest thing because they'll do it for free for you.

Russian Embassy Dublin
Visa Support Letter Link

The Mongolian one - I just popped into the embassy down in Kensington & they got the visa done the same day. Straight forward enough.
Mongolian Embassy Dublin


I got the Chinese visa in Dublin: no hassle there either.
Chinese Embassy Dublin

The best website for info is the UK foreign affairs site:
UK Foreign Office
If you need any basic pointers or info on the rest of the trip, I can PM you some stuff.Good Luck!

johnp

Clarehobo wrote: »

Did this a few years ago - Links to everything you need are below.
The easiest way to do all of these is to have all the forms filled in and printed out before going to the embassies.


Russia:
Easiest way to get the visa support letter is by booking into a hotel for the first night or two: that'll be sufficient proof. Otherwise, I have enclosed a link of a service that one of my friends used ~ it was €20ish at the time.
I got my visa in London because I was living there at the time. Apparently they have outsourced it now so I couldn't advise you where it is.
There was a time limit on entering the country alright but I don't remember how long, you might be better off ringing the embassy to confirm stuff like that.
When you get to Russia, you have to register within 3 days of being in the country ~ that's why a hotel is the handiest thing because they'll do it for free for you.

Russian Embassy Dublin
Visa Support Letter Link

The Mongolian one - I just popped into the embassy down in Kensington & they got the visa done the same day. Straight forward enough.
Mongolian Embassy Dublin


I got the Chinese visa in Dublin: no hassle there either.
Chinese Embassy Dublin

The best website for info is the UK foreign affairs site:
UK Foreign Office
If you need any basic pointers or info on the rest of the trip, I can PM you some stuff.Good Luck!

Fantastic, thanks a million!

Bacchus

johnp wrote: »

Thanks for the help.
If I apply now, how long does it last for, or do you know?
Might take a look at Trailfinders as well.

The visa lasts for 3 months I believe and the max you can stay for on it is 30 days.

johnp

Bacchus wrote: »

The visa lasts for 3 months I believe and the max you can stay for on it is 30 days.

Perfect! Cheers!

Isobar

I'm actually in the process of getting these visas at the moment.

Russia: As stated above you'll need a visa support document to get the russian visa. I got this document for free from http://www.realrussia.co.uk as I booked my ticket through them.

Mongolia: I'm actually just applying for this visa at the moment. I'm doing this through realrussia too, filled out the form on line and am posting them my passport, and they'll sort the visa out in London.

China: Still havn't got this yet but as previous posters have said you seem to be able to get this in Dublin if the paperwork is correct.

When are you planning to go? Might see you on along the way.

johnp

Isobar wrote: »

I'm actually in the process of getting these visas at the moment.

Russia: As stated above you'll need a visa support document to get the russian visa. I got this document for free from http://www.realrussia.co.uk as I booked my ticket through them.

Mongolia: I'm actually just applying for this visa at the moment. I'm doing this through realrussia too, filled out the form on line and am posting them my passport, and they'll sort the visa out in London.

China: Still havn't got this yet but as previous posters have said you seem to be able to get this in Dublin if the paperwork is correct.

When are you planning to go? Might see you on along the way.

Thanks for the reply!
I had looked at realrussia.co.uk for booking, but didn't realise they can help with visas too! That sounds perfect!

Have you any idea on how long the visas are valid for?

We have it provisionally planned to go in July, but not sure. Think that will be peak season and incredibly hot, so not 100% on that.
When you going yourself?

jackbhoy

johnp wrote: »

Thanks for the reply!
I had looked at realrussia.co.uk for booking, but didn't realise they can help with visas too! That sounds perfect!

We used Real Russia for Mongolian/Chinese as we were pushed for time, they were really excellent and got both back within 10 days. They can also make up bookings for you with local hotels etc to smooth visa application.
Wish we had used them for Russia too as Russian embassy in Dublin is nightmare, least it was back in September, had to take 2 days off work to queue.

I wouldn't use them to buy tickets though as way overpriced. People we met in Irkutsk had paid twice as much to RR as we paid at station in Moscow.

moncai

Hey guys,
Myself and two mates did this trip last year, we started in Vilnius in Lithuania and headed to St. Petersberg and onwards into the east. Its a fantastic trip but i'd advise you to be relaxed about your train travels plans..., we just arrived in a place and decided after a few days when to move on etc.

Anyway regarding the visa's...

We got our Chinese Visa first, straight from the embassy, its was done in 5 days and all very straight forward, although there is quite a queue for teh visa office so bring an umberella! They do ask you for your travel plans once in China, but to be honest you dont have to know exactly where you're going, just jott down all the big cities like shanghai, beijing, Xi'an and Chengdu. Remember that Hong Kong is a seperate zone to China regarding your visa and if you go to hong kong you have effectively ended yout stay in China, so if you plan on visiting there you'll either have to apply for a new chinese visa while in HK or else get a multiple entry one when you apply in Dublin. China definitely will occupy you for as much time as you give it.. I stayed there for 6 months

We had heard the Russian visa was difficult to get, all that stuff about getting an 'invitation' and stuff was annoying.. but we bought ours online for 10 quid, printed it off in an internet cafe and went to the embassy to try out luck anyway.
We arrived late and ended up at the back of a long queue, at teh top of which was a young woman who ended up having a huge fight with the visa desk dude! She got thrown out of the embassy! This all kicked off while the 3 of us are standing there with what we thought were forged documents for the application... we were rather nervous.
But as it happened the guy was so annoyed and tired by the time we got to his desk he just glanced over everything and stamped our passports right there and then! We had expected a wait of 5 days minimum so we were delighted! the annoying thing about the russian visa is that you've to specify your entry and exit dates, my advice is to give yourself a full 30 days till you exit, you can exit earlier if you wish.

Funnily enough we never organised our mongolian visa before we left! I suppose we kinds thought we might go all the way to vladivostock and then head south into china or sumthin but as it happens we did go and it was a fantastic part of the trip...
We organised our visa in the Mongolian Consulate in Irkutsk, it was a very simple process and only took 2/3 days i think.
Because of the proximity of Lake Baikal we had lots to do while staying there so its not a problem. They speak english in the embassy, which was a suprise after the previous few weeks in Russia! When in Mongolia my advice is to stay at teh Golden Gobi hostel and go on one of their expeditions out to teh desert. We went on a 17 day trip, living in tents and a van. We were smelly ans unshaven at teh end of it from riding camels and horses, but it was an excellent way to see the desert etc. Ulan Bataar is probably the most dangerous city i've ever been in, petty crime against westerners is rife so watch out. Plus its Damn cold! It was minus 25 when we were there in November... It'll prob be 40+ degrees during the summer tho!

If you decide to change plans and go to a different country than expected, it shouldnt prove to difficult to get a visa from teh nearest embassy or consulate, although its now impossible to get a russian visa in any country other than your home country afaik...

Enjoy the Adventure.

johnp

jackbhoy wrote: »

We used Real Russia for Mongolian/Chinese as we were pushed for time, they were really excellent and got both back within 10 days. They can also make up bookings for you with local hotels etc to smooth visa application.
Wish we had used them for Russia too as Russian embassy in Dublin is nightmare, least it was back in September, had to take 2 days off work to queue.

Yeah, that's why it sounds appealing. All 3 visas cost £260, but if we have to take days off work and go to London to get the Mongolian visa, maybe it's worth the cash.

jackbhoy wrote: »

I wouldn't use them to buy tickets though as way overpriced. People we met in Irkutsk had paid twice as much to RR as we paid at station in Moscow.

Think we'll be going in July-ish, it's gonna be busy then, right? I've heard that you should pre-book during busy times, so not sure we can go on spe.

johnp

moncai wrote: »

Hey guys,
Myself and two mates did this trip last year, we started in Vilnius in Lithuania and headed to St. Petersberg and onwards into the east. Its a fantastic trip but i'd advise you to be relaxed about your train travels plans..., we just arrived in a place and decided after a few days when to move on etc.

Anyway regarding the visa's...

We got our Chinese Visa first, straight from the embassy, its was done in 5 days and all very straight forward, although there is quite a queue for teh visa office so bring an umberella! They do ask you for your travel plans once in China, but to be honest you dont have to know exactly where you're going, just jott down all the big cities like shanghai, beijing, Xi'an and Chengdu. Remember that Hong Kong is a seperate zone to China regarding your visa and if you go to hong kong you have effectively ended yout stay in China, so if you plan on visiting there you'll either have to apply for a new chinese visa while in HK or else get a multiple entry one when you apply in Dublin. China definitely will occupy you for as much time as you give it.. I stayed there for 6 months

We had heard the Russian visa was difficult to get, all that stuff about getting an 'invitation' and stuff was annoying.. but we bought ours online for 10 quid, printed it off in an internet cafe and went to the embassy to try out luck anyway.
We arrived late and ended up at the back of a long queue, at teh top of which was a young woman who ended up having a huge fight with the visa desk dude! She got thrown out of the embassy! This all kicked off while the 3 of us are standing there with what we thought were forged documents for the application... we were rather nervous.
But as it happened the guy was so annoyed and tired by the time we got to his desk he just glanced over everything and stamped our passports right there and then! We had expected a wait of 5 days minimum so we were delighted! the annoying thing about the russian visa is that you've to specify your entry and exit dates, my advice is to give yourself a full 30 days till you exit, you can exit earlier if you wish.

Funnily enough we never organised our mongolian visa before we left! I suppose we kinds thought we might go all the way to vladivostock and then head south into china or sumthin but as it happens we did go and it was a fantastic part of the trip...
We organised our visa in the Mongolian Consulate in Irkutsk, it was a very simple process and only took 2/3 days i think.
Because of the proximity of Lake Baikal we had lots to do while staying there so its not a problem. They speak english in the embassy, which was a suprise after the previous few weeks in Russia! When in Mongolia my advice is to stay at teh Golden Gobi hostel and go on one of their expeditions out to teh desert. We went on a 17 day trip, living in tents and a van. We were smelly ans unshaven at teh end of it from riding camels and horses, but it was an excellent way to see the desert etc. Ulan Bataar is probably the most dangerous city i've ever been in, petty crime against westerners is rife so watch out. Plus its Damn cold! It was minus 25 when we were there in November... It'll prob be 40+ degrees during the summer tho!

If you decide to change plans and go to a different country than expected, it shouldnt prove to difficult to get a visa from teh nearest embassy or consulate, although its now impossible to get a russian visa in any country other than your home country afaik...

Enjoy the Adventure.

tbh, it sounds like you had loads of time to do you trip! I wish we could afford the time and just go on spec, but I don't think that'll be an option for us
But cheers for the help anyway!

moncai

johnp wrote: »

tbh, it sounds like you had loads of time to do you trip! I wish we could afford the time and just go on spec, but I don't think that'll be an option for us
But cheers for the help anyway!

We had very little time to organise our trip, we were gone 3 weeks after we decided to go, but yes as regards actual time spent away we were all gone for at least 10 months. I man is still standing, he hasnt been home for nearly 2 years!

johnp

moncai wrote: »

We had very little time to organise our trip, we were gone 3 weeks after we decided to go, but yes as regards actual time spent away we were all gone for at least 10 months. I man is still standing, he hasnt been home for nearly 2 years!

Wish I could go back to those carefree days :sigh:

Fair play to you though, that's the perfect way to do it.

Tazzer

Sorry for the dragging up of an old post!

I'm doing the trans-siberian in Sept.

I'm in the process of getting the Russian and Chinese Visa. Lots of paperwork, but so far so good..


Regarding the mongolian visa do you have to do it through the Embassy in the UK? Or is there some other Embassy in Ireland that would do it....I vaguely remember somewhere that the Chinese Embassy could facilitate?

jackbhoy

We had to send to London anyway, be very surprised if Chinese embassy would get involved in processing other countries visas.

johnp

Tazzer wrote: »

Sorry for the dragging up of an old post!

I'm doing the trans-siberian in Sept.

I'm in the process of getting the Russian and Chinese Visa. Lots of paperwork, but so far so good..


Regarding the mongolian visa do you have to do it through the Embassy in the UK? Or is there some other Embassy in Ireland that would do it....I vaguely remember somewhere that the Chinese Embassy could facilitate?

No you don't have to go to the UK anymore. There is a Honorary Consul for Mongolia in Dublin. They are in Chapelizod. Check this link:
http://www.embassyofmongolia.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=54&lang=en

But the great thing is they also have someone working in the Dublin School of English on Wellington Quay, next door to the Clarence Hotel. Just go to reception.
http://www.dse.ie/
Drop in your form, visa and cash to them and they will sort it out for you. I left him in on a Wednesday and had it back on the Monday.

johnp

Tazzer wrote: »

Sorry for the dragging up of an old post!

I'm doing the trans-siberian in Sept.

I'm in the process of getting the Russian and Chinese Visa. Lots of paperwork, but so far so good..


Regarding the mongolian visa do you have to do it through the Embassy in the UK? Or is there some other Embassy in Ireland that would do it....I vaguely remember somewhere that the Chinese Embassy could facilitate?

Oh and be careful with the Russian forms. There seems to be loads of "Russian Embassy" websites for Ireland :eek:
We figured they were all the same, printed the form, filled it out and went to the embassy. I was told "wrong form" and had it ripped up in front of me
IIRC the correct on is on ireland.mid.ru and fill out the online form.

Tazzer

thanks a million johnp - thats great news! no more worrying about posting to London. As I've said before, where would we be without Boardies advice

now just to fill in the rest of the forms.....

johnp

Tazzer wrote: »

thanks a million johnp - thats great news! no more worrying about posting to London. As I've said before, where would we be without Boardies advice

now just to fill in the rest of the forms.....

No worries. Yeah, not having to go to London is superb, saves a bunch of cash and time.

We're off next week and I can't wait :pac:

Tazzer

johnp wrote: »

No worries. Yeah, not having to go to London is superb, saves a bunch of cash and time.

We're off next week and I can't wait :pac:

oh you will have to let me know how you get on (and hopefully send a few tips)....hope you have a great time! which route are you taking.

johnp

Tazzer wrote: »

oh you will have to let me know how you get on (and hopefully send a few tips)....hope you have a great time! which route are you taking.

Yeah, I'll do my best to remember to post some tips when I get back.

We're starting in St Petersburg, then Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, UlanBator and Beijing.

biZrb

Just in case some one makes the same mistakes as I made this morning, to get the Chinease visa you need to go to 118 Merrion Road (not 40 Ailesbury Road)
Also as I am entering China through Mongolia, they won't process the visa until I get my Mongolian visa.

I tired ringing the Mongolian consulate today but no one answered. Is it ok to leave my visa application and passport in the Dublin School of English reception? Will they know who its for? Also does anyone know how much it is?

johnp

biZrb wrote: »

Just in case some one makes the same mistakes as I made this morning, to get the Chinease visa you need to go to 118 Merrion Road (not 40 Ailesbury Road)
Also as I am entering China through Mongolia, they won't process the visa until I get my Mongolian visa.

I tired ringing the Mongolian consulate today but no one answered. Is it ok to leave my visa application and passport in the Dublin School of English reception? Will they know who its for? Also does anyone know how much it is?

Yeah, had problem ringing them too. Just drop into the DSE. Saying your applying for the visa and they'll look through your details and take them off your hands. Think it was €65.

biZrb

Thanks for that!

Tazzer

biZrb wrote: »

Thanks for that!

Hi biZrb.

did you get sorted in the dublin school of english for the mongolian visa? just filling in the application now.

biZrb

I sure did, handed in my €65, my application form and my passport in to the reception, they just gave a quick glance over the application form to ensure everything was filled in and that my mobile number was on it. Handed it in on a Friday afternoon, got a call the following Wednesday afternnon that it was ready for collection. So its pretty easy and straight forward!

I'm going to go to the Russian Embassy next week, not looking forward to that at all after all the stories I've heard!

Tazzer

ah grand - ill do it tomorrow so...

Russian embassy is grand, once you have everything in order - proper visa form submitted on their website (with the barcode) and cheque and photos.

I went on the 25th of june, got there around 8.45am, they open at 9. was seen to at 9.40 and out by 10. got my visa on the first of july. so very quick.

Tazzer

Hi biZrb

sorry for annoying you again.....

when im filling in the form and the section where it says "Mission where you will obtain visa", which one did you choose?

biZrb

Sorry being late replying to you, I didn't know what to put down for that so I think i selected the London, UK option. I don't think that matters too much what you pick.

The whole visa form filling in thing wrecks my head big time!

Tazzer

ah thanks for that- thats what i thought, but just wanted to double check.

yep, know the feeling, such a pain filling in these forms!

pobyrne2000

Hi,
I see a few people here seem to have done this trans-mongolian trip. I am doing this trip in september myself, and then continuing through china on to SE asia.
My question is about appying for the visas in the UK. Work is sending me to London untill I finish with them on August 28th.
Can I appy for these visas in embassies in London or do I have to appy in Ireland?
from what i've been reading online I dont have to apply for any of the visas in person I can just send the required documentation via post or courrier or have someone drop it in for me, i.e a friend.

anyone done this before or any ideas on the best approach to get this sorted?

How long do the visas take to get sorted. I dont leave ireland untill Septeber 9th so I woud have some time when I come back, but that would be a last resort obviously.

any help is apprectiated.

Thanks

Tazzer

Hi pobyrne2000

You should be ok if you are getting someone to drop them in for you. I've been doing mine and my partners and have no problems.

Regarding doing them in London, I couldnt tell you if that would be ok - but I would have thought that it wouldnt be a problem. As you can probably see, up until recently you had to send your passport to London for the Mongolian Visa.

Time-wise, I dropped my Russian Forms in on the 25th of June, and they were ready on the 1st of July

I only dropped my Mongolian Forms in today and they said they would ring me during the week to let me know when to collect them.

I havent applied for the Chinese one yet, maybe someone else could let you know?

johnp

The Chinese one was back within the week for us.

For the Russian and Chinese you can send anyone in to drop them in and pick them up. They give you a receipt to collect.
The Mongolian one seemed a little less formal. I just dropped it in, and was told to come back. Think they face checked me when I returned (against the passport), but can't be too sure.

I'd be confident enough that you can apply in another country. I heard of people who only got the Mongolian visas when they were in Russia.
Give the embassys a call to be sure.

Tazzer

Well Johnp - are you back in one piece?

how did you get on? was it all you expected?

johnp

Tazzer wrote: »

Well Johnp - are you back in one piece?

how did you get on? was it all you expected?

Yeah, just got back yesterday. Absolutely superb holiday.

Before I went I thought the train might be boring and I'd be getting tetchy, but it was incredibly relaxing and I wasn't bored at all. Just just have a snooze when you want, play cards, chat to others on the train, drink beer/vodka, hop off at the stops....... the time flew by. I brought 2 book, and only finished 1, and I had to push myself to read it!
One think I'll say is that the train doesn't have much of a view until you get to Siberia-ish. They lined the route with trees, and where there are no trees it's very flat.

But, that said everywhere we stopped had something different from the other places.
Ok, so St Petersburg and Moscow were fairly similar from a architectural point of view, but they were incredible cities.
Lake Baikal (and Olkhon Island) are defo worth a visit. Get a tour around the island too.
Ulan Bator is a crazy city, there doesn't seem to be any road rules, they are just trying to dodge the potholes. But do get out of the city and see the countryside. We went to Terelj NP and it was a beautiful place.
Beijing is an amazing city. So much going on and so much to see.

Some points though.
Be prepared not to have a shower. Even though we were stopping off in places we managed to go 6 days without a shower! That said, the shower at the end of those 6 days was fantastic!
Bring hand/face wipes.
Be prepared to go to the loo in a hole in the ground.
Bring bog roll! Some of the trains have some, but you dont want to be caught out. Oh, and you'll need it for the hole in the ground!
We didn't bother with sleeping bags, just got a sleeping bag liner (for about €15). They give you blankets on the trains, but we didn't need them as it was warm enough.
Did I mention the bog roll?

If yis have any questions, ask away. I'll do my best to answer.

Tazzer

Sounds great....so glad you had a great time.

Thanks for all the tips. We have booked trips to Lake Baikal ,Olkhon Island and Terelj NP, so delighted you say they are great places to see.

One question, regarding spending money. What type of currency and approx how much would you need on the train, and when you stop off at Irkutsk and UlanBator. Did you bring cash and/or credit cards.

Ive heard there isnt that much to spend on the train, as you should bring food and drink with you. Is this correct?

I know people spend diff amounts while away, but I havent a breeze how much stuff costs etc.

johnp

Tazzer wrote: »

Sounds great....so glad you had a great time.

Thanks for all the tips. We have booked trips to Lake Baikal ,Olkhon Island and Terelj NP, so delighted you say they are great places to see.

One question, regarding spending money. What type of currency and approx how much would you need on the train, and when you stop off at Irkutsk and UlanBator. Did you bring cash and/or credit cards.

Ive heard there isnt that much to spend on the train, as you should bring food and drink with you. Is this correct?

I know people spend diff amounts while away, but I havent a breeze how much stuff costs etc.

Are you going with UB Guest House to Terelj? And staying there?

Russia was all Rubles. tbh, I didn't find it particularly cheap, slightly cheaper than Ireland.

For Mongolia, bring US dollars, especially is you are staying in UB Guest House. Mr Kim likes to deal in dollars! You'll want Tugs too for local shops and getting in to see some of the sights. Also, Mongolia didn't seem to like my AIB card, even though its Cirrus. So we had to use credit cards at the ATMs. But it's a fairly cheap place, so the money goes a long way.

China was all Yuans. Also it was the cheapest place. We were getting two courses (of superb food!), 2 beers each for €10 (€5 each).

As to bringing money on the train, as you say it's hard to say. Buying stuff on the trains is defo more expensive than at the train stops. But as an example a beer (Baltika 7 was our tipple of choice) was 35 rubles (about a euro) at the stops. Some of our trains were service included (so we got the meals included), but some others we brought some noodles and stuff, and at times bought the meals on the trains. You can always buy noodles etc at the stops. All the trains have a samovar which gives out hot water, so great for your tea, coffee and noodle type quick meals.

I'd say we always had the equivalent of tops 50 euro in our wallets getting on a train, just to be safe. Some of the stops have ATMs, but don't count on stopping long enough to get cash, sometimes the stops are shorter than you expect.

Tazzer

johnp wrote: »

Are you going with UB Guest House to Terelj? And staying there?

no - we are staying in The Golden Gobi and going with them.

Thanks for that info, it really helps!

I have a few dollars, so might get a bit more just in case

johnp

Tazzer wrote: »

no - we are staying in The Golden Gobi and going with them.

Thanks for that info, it really helps!

I have a few dollars, so might get a bit more just in case

No probs. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best!

When you going? Where you stopping off?

Tazzer

johnp wrote: »

When you going? Where you stopping off?

Not going till Sept. BUT only 8 weeks away!
Heading to Moscow on the 12th, leaving on the 14th to Irkutsk - there for a day and night.
Then 2 days around lake baikal.
Back to Irkutsk for a day/night, then train to Ulan Bator.
Staying in Ulan Bator for one day/night.
Off then to Terelj for 2/3 days, then back to Ulan Bator for another day/night.
Back on the train to Beijing, where we are staying 7 nights.

Phew, when I put it like that, its seems alot in 3 weeks.

johnp

Tazzer wrote: »

Not going till Sept. BUT only 8 weeks away!
Heading to Moscow on the 12th, leaving on the 14th to Irkutsk - there for a day and night.
Then 2 days around lake baikal.
Back to Irkutsk for a day/night, then train to Ulan Bator.
Staying in Ulan Bator for one day/night.
Off then to Terelj for 2/3 days, then back to Ulan Bator for another day/night.
Back on the train to Beijing, where we are staying 7 nights.

Phew, when I put it like that, its seems alot in 3 weeks.

Sounds good! Enjoy!

biZrb

I'm off on the Vodka Train in two and a half weeks, flying into Riga, getting the train to St. Petersburg and starting from there. I'll have a few days to travel around China after it. Really looking forward to it, but I'm so unprepared, only got one visa so far, haven't got a backpack yet or done much research on any of the places I'll be going, but I'm sure it'll all come together!

johnp - thanks for the info about cash and bog roll!

biZrb

I was dreading my trip to the Russian Embassy, but I have nothing but good to say about them now.
I went yesterday morning, had to queue for ages, especially since the guy at the hatch kept disapearing for 5-10 minutes every few minutes, but when it was my turn my form and invite were in order, I wanted my visa to be processed within 3 working days, so i paid €100, i told the guy this, and then he told me to wait for a receipt. 10 minutes later I get my receipt and he tells me to wait when i asked him when could I pick it up. Another 10 minutes later I called up and got given my passport back with my visa in it, so I was pretty happy that I got it there and then. Despite the limited communication from the guy at the hatch I'm pretty impressed with them!

johnp

biZrb wrote: »

I was dreading my trip to the Russian Embassy, but I have nothing but good to say about them now.
I went yesterday morning, had to queue for ages, especially since the guy at the hatch kept disapearing for 5-10 minutes every few minutes, but when it was my turn my form and invite were in order, I wanted my visa to be processed within 3 working days, so i paid €100, i told the guy this, and then he told me to wait for a receipt. 10 minutes later I get my receipt and he tells me to wait when i asked him when could I pick it up. Another 10 minutes later I called up and got given my passport back with my visa in it, so I was pretty happy that I got it there and then. Despite the limited communication from the guy at the hatch I'm pretty impressed with them!

When I was at the the hatch he said I "must wait 5 minutes".
He came back 5 minutes later with a massive cup of tea for himself He then looked at my docs and said everything was ok and gave me the receipt

juanace

I'm off on the Vodka Train in two and a half weeks, flying into Riga, getting the train to St. Petersburg and starting from there. I'll have a few days to travel around China after it. Really looking forward to it, but I'm so unprepared, only got one visa so far, haven't got a backpack yet or done much research on any of the places I'll be going, but I'm sure it'll all come together!

me and a mate are doing something similar. Were getting ferry's and trains to riga then into st.petersburg. Wer a bit worried bout the visa's especially russian one as you have to state the day you enter the country. Was this the case for you? Did you have to show proof of entryt and exit from russia?

Were not 100% sure the day were goonna enter yey, and we plan buying our transiberia in moscow - hoping to wing it as much as we can! Any advice?? Thanks a lot!!!

carlosinto

juanace wrote: »

me and a mate are doing something similar. Were getting ferry's and trains to riga then into st.petersburg. Wer a bit worried bout the visa's especially russian one as you have to state the day you enter the country. Was this the case for you? Did you have to show proof of entryt and exit from russia?

Were not 100% sure the day were goonna enter yey, and we plan buying our transiberia in moscow - hoping to wing it as much as we can! Any advice?? Thanks a lot!!!

I'm doing pretty much the same thing myself - interrail through Europe and then hopefully buying the trans-sib in Moscow. Everthings been left a bit last minute as I'm hoping to leave in about three weeks and have no visas yet. Does anyone know if they're strict on exact date of entry i.e. can you arrive a few days before/after?

biZrb

With the Russian visa, you need an invite from every place you are staying with for every night you will be there, your visa is then issued for these nights only, so its going to be hard to wing it in Russia, unless you find a organisation (maybe on the internet?) that will issue you invites for whatever days you like then you'll be able to get your visa but it'll still be for those days on the invite you just won't need to book accomadation (i think).

I didn't have to show proof of entry or exit from Russia but my invite was for a specific set of days (outlined on my invite form) and my visa was issued for these days only so if I arrive early or leave late I'm in trouble!

So I don't think its going to be easy to wing it in Russia, I think you'll have to plan a bit for it. Definitly get your visas sooner rather than later, it takes awhile to sort out the forms, get the invites etc.

johnp wrote: »

When I was at the the hatch he said I "must wait 5 minutes".
He came back 5 minutes later with a massive cup of tea for himself He then looked at my docs and said everything was ok and gave me the receipt

Haha thats gas, so thats what he was doing everytime he left the hatch, making tea!
At least you got a sentence out of him, when he gave me my receeipt he just told me to 'wait', he wouldn't tell me anything more!

juanace

Were travelling into russia overland and wont be buying the train tickets until we get to moscow to save money!

Will this make it difficult getting the visas in Dublin beforehand, especially regarding proof of exiting countries..like do we need proof of exiting russia, mongolia and china??

tywy

biZrb wrote: »

With the Russian visa, you need an invite from every place you are staying with for every night you will be there, your visa is then issued for these nights only, so its going to be hard to wing it in Russia, unless you find a organisation (maybe on the internet?) that will issue you invites for whatever days you like then you'll be able to get your visa but it'll still be for those days on the invite you just won't need to book accomadation (i think).

I didn't have to show proof of entry or exit from Russia but my invite was for a specific set of days (outlined on my invite form) and my visa was issued for these days only so if I arrive early or leave late I'm in trouble!

So I don't think its going to be easy to wing it in Russia, I think you'll have to plan a bit for it. Definitly get your visas sooner rather than later, it takes awhile to sort out the forms, get the invites etc.

When I did the Transib I bought an invite off waytorussia.net, it was $20 and I didn't need an invite from every place I stayed in the country. I have my visa here and it was valid for a month. I just put in the day I'd be arriving and then left it fairly open ended. I was leaving Russia for Mongolia at the end of August but I still applied for a visa into September in case anything went wrong. Make sure you get your invite for that length of time too I suppose.

It doesn't take long at all to get the invites. You pay the $20 with your credit card and then they email you an invite pretty much the next day. I think the visa takes about 2 weeks to process but you can pay more to get it processed quicker.

If you are planning on travelling through Mongolia, make sure you spend a week there! Well worth it! To get the visa you'll need to send your passport to the embassy in London. That takes about 2 weeks as well. I think the Chinese embassy was the quickest.

Because you need so many visas for the Transiberian you would want to start applying at least 8 weeks before you plan on going to be safe. Although I have to admit, I bought my train tickets at the beginning of July and we left for St Petersburg on the 10th of August, so we only took 6 weeks to get our visas I suppose.

If you want advice on buying train tickets, let me know. You're better buying them off a travel agent in Russia rather than a British travel agent. It's a hell of a lot cheaper!