An incredible predominantly steam-hauled 7,000km journey during the Russian "White Nights" travelling from Moscow to Imperial St Petersburg and onto Murmansk, inside the Arctic Circle. Followers of rail travel will delight to the sight and sound of steam engines and the re-creation of a bygone era of rail travel combined with modern-day onboard facilities and comfortable accommodation on this unique voyage. This special tour features our special guest speaker, the best selling author and travel writer, Paul Theroux.

Day 01: Saturday 13th June - Moscow
Afternoon flight arrivals into Moscow, transfer to hotel for one night. Welcome dinner. (D)

Day 02: Sunday 14th June - Moscow
A full day’s city tour of Russia’s vibrant Capital City includes visits to Red Square and The Kremlin. Early evening transfer to Moscow’s Leningradski station to join our private sleeping car train that will be our home for the next 13 days. The train will be hauled from Moscow by Europe’s largest operating steam locomotive, GWT’s P36.0032 Russia’s most modern express steam locomotive design (a 4-8-4 design of 1954). Welcome reception and introduction to the train staff in the bar car, followed by dinner, as we depart north towards Saint Petersburg and the Arctic Circle; be warned, there will not be many hours of darkness in the next two weeks as this is the time of year the Russians call ‘White Nights’ (B, L, D)

Day 03: Monday 15th June – Pavlovsk & St Petersburg
After breakfast we alight in Pavlovsk and visit Catherine’s Summer Palace in Pushkin, including a visit to the Amber Room. Lunch at the Podvorye Restaurant (a typical Russian Log House) after which we continue to St Petersburg hauled by Russia’s oldest working steam locomotive Ov. 324 running built in 1905. There is an afternoon tour of the city of St Petersburg before we rejoin the main train for dinner as we head southwest out of the city. (B, L, D)

Day 04: Tuesday 16th June – Pskov & Novgorod
In the morning we tour Pskov with its ancient and well restored centre on the Latvian border and in whose station Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on 15th March 1915, before continuing to Novgorod, one of the oldest towns in Russia with its five-doomed Cathedral. Dinner as we head back north and head for the Arctic Circle. (B, L, D)

Day 05: Wednesday 17th June - Petrozavodsk
This morning we are in Petrozavodsk where we board a hydrofoil to Kizhi Island on Lake Onega to view the world famous 22-domed wooden cathedral. On our return to Petrozavodsk we will tour this pleasant lakeside resort before rejoining our train for lunch and continue our journey north.(B, L, D)

Day 06: Thursday 18th June – Arctic Circle
Overnight we have arrived at the end of the Sofporog branch line and spend an enjoyable morning steaming back to the mail line at Louki, where our P36 will be waiting to take us to the Arctic Circle, where we will arrive shortly after lunch. During the afternoon we will enter the Kola Peninsula and around midnight we arrive in the city of Murmansk. (B, L, D)

Day 07: Friday 19th June - Nikel
Early morning we will arrive at Nikel, on the border with Norway. The station is close to the Nikel smelting plant which in part has caused the devastation to the surrounding countryside that will have been evident for the 20 miles before our arrival. An eerie place but has been one of the highlights of our previous tours. We retrace our steps to Luostari where we may take the branch north to Pechenga, the world’s most northerly passenger railway station, if the line is still open to passenger traffic. On previous trips we have not been allowed to Pechenga as it passes through a highly sensitive military area. We will tour Murmansk later in the afternoon if we are unable to go to Pechenga. (B, L, D)

Day 08: Saturday 20th June - Solovetsky
After breakfast in Kem we transfer to a small boat bound for Solovetsky Monastery on Solovetsky Island in the White Sea. The Island is also famous for its ‘Special Purpose Camp’ set up by Stalin and is the location used as the basis for Solzhenitzyn’s Gulag Archipelago. (B, L, D)

Day 09: Sunday 21st June - Archangel
We spend the morning touring Archangel, a pleasant town on the White Sea and in the afternoon continue along the branch line to Kapagory, arriving late evening on the longest day of the year. There is an extra-cost option to spend the whole day in Archangel, staying in a hotel overnight and rejoining the train in the morning. (B, L, D)

Day 10: Monday 22nd June - Onboard
Mid-morning we pass through Archangel and spend a relaxing day on the train heading south. (B, L, D)

Day 11: Tuesday 23rd June - Vologda
After breakfast we arrive in Vologda, a pleasant city on the Vologda River. We will visit the beautifully restored Kremlin and the adjacent Saint Sophia’s Cathedral and Belltower. During the afternoon we continue heading south. (B, L, D)

Day 12: Wednesday 24th June - Uglich
After lunch we arrive in Uglich on the Volga River and spend the afternoon in this pleasant town viewing the buildings same dating back to the 14th century. Uglich is also home of the Library of Russian Vodka. This is an interactive library and visitor participation is encouraged. A farewell train dinner will be served to those still standing upon departure. (B, L, D)

Day 13: Thursday 25th June - Moscow
Our final morning on the train sees us speeding down the St Petersburg - Moscow mainline with a light lunch being served before we arrive at Moscow Leningradski station. Free time in the afternoon before the tour farewell dinner is served in the hotel. (B, L, D)

Day 14: Friday 26th June - Moscow
Breakfast in the hotel brings the tour to a close and airport transfers are provided for departing flights. (B)

Technical details :
The tour will cover 4,200 miles (6,760 kms) of which about 75% is scheduled to be steam hauled using eight different historic locomotives of classes P36 (4-8-4), Su (2-6-2), L (2-10-0), SO (2-10-0) Er (0-10-0), Eu (0-10-0) and Ov (0-8-0).

Departure Dates
2009 English Speaking Departures Jun 13
Inclusions
Tour Price Includes Tour Price Does Not Include Accommodation aboard our private trains (number of nights in accordance with itinerary) International airfare or surface transport to the point of joining/leaving the tour (except where stated otherwise) Hotel accommodation in accordance with itinerary Charges of a purely personal nature (laundry, telephone, bar account, photography at certain museums etc.) All meals (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner) including a generous allowance of wine, local beer or soft drinks and water Any optional trips or pre- or post-tour extensions Arrival/departure transfers, provided you arrive/depart on the tour start/end dates in the tour start/end cities Alcoholic and soft drinks in the bar outside of meal times Guided off-train tours according to itinerary Visa or Excess Baggage Charges, Airport Departure Taxes, Vaccination or Medical Costs The services of an experienced Tour Manager, with local guides for scheduled off-train touring Insurance (it is a booking condition that passengers have adequate insurance) Complimentary tea, coffee and mineral water round the clock from your car attendant   Gratuities to local guides, drivers, tour management and train staff   Detailed route guide, itinerary and information pack   A Doctor who will travel with the train throughout the tour
Tour Price
We accept payment in US $ (US Dollars), CA $ (Canadian Dollars) or equivalent EURO (for clients outside North America). Bestway Tours & Safaris offers conversion rate protection. Once full payment has been received, and no modification has been made to the tour itinerary, we will honour that rate. For complete payment procedures, please download Bestway_Payment_Info.pdf Note: to read this file you must have Adobe Acrobat.
Departure Double Occupancy Single Room Supplement Gold Class US $ 15795  US $ 6400 Silver Class  US $ 12795  US $ 5700 Heritage Class  US $ 7995  US $ 4000 Special notes: Deposit for this particular tour will be $2500.00 per person for the Gold & Silver Class or $1500.00 per person for the Heritage Class. Final tour payment is due no later than 120 days prior.
Estimated International Airfare - International airfare is NOT included in this tour
Canada - West Coast N/A USA - West Coast US $ 2000 Canada - East Coast N/A USA - East Coast US $ 1800
Participants
Please call for details 1-800-663-0844 or email: bestway@bestway.com
Notes
Customised Itinerary If you would like to have a tour on dates other than the above ones or with a customised itinerary, please contact us and we will be happy to work out an exclusive program for you. Foreign Language Departures Please contact us for information on French, German, Italian and Spanish speaking departures. You may e-mail us at bestway@bestway.com or call us at 604.264.7378. Residents of U.S.A./Canada may call us toll free at 1.800.663.0844.