• 1st class railway tickets for the route Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod-Ekaterinburg-Novosibirsk-Irkutsk (superior trains throughout the tour). 2-berth compartment. Please note that Russian railways might occasionally amend train schedule and carriages.

• Accommodation in selected hotels based on your custom-made itinerary. In this sample: 2 nights Moscow, 2 nights Nizhny Novgorod, 2 nights Ekaterinburg, 1 night Novosibirsk, 2 nights Irtusks, 1 night Listvyanka

• Round-trip transfers in the cities

• Guided tours as per itinerary

• Russian visa supporting documents

• 24/7 support line in Russia

• Breakfasts in hotels

Trip of a Lifetime - Seeing Russia as it Really Is - Bruce C, AUSTRALIA

I went with Discovery Russia on their 20 day tailored Tran-Mongolian Railway Tour from Sydney, Australia. On this trip, I visited Beijing, Ulaan Baatar, Listvyanka, Irkutsk, Yekaterinburg, Moscow and St Petersburg using the Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Siberian Railway.

I've travelled by myself to multiple countries in the past and I'd be happy to say that Discovery Russia offers a unique service at an affordable price. Not only do they have prompt visa advisory services (they helped to expedite all three of my visas in three weeks after I decided to do the trip with short notice) but they also have passionate and extremely knowledgable local private guides who will show you the many gems hidden in towns across Russia and with their partner company in Mongolia.

They were prompt in ensuring that all my transfers are covered and that my trip went with a minimal amount of hiccups. In fact they even helped me arrange a Russian SIM card (price included in the trip) so that I could communicate back home in Australia. They also have an extremely friendly 24hr help line with your own private trip organiser, so if anything goes awry, there was an extremely reliable safety net.

As a result of this trip, I have made many friends abroad and I have no hesitations to return back to Russia a second time again with this tour operator. The tour guides themselves are so friendly and speak English well - the local knowledge they have you simply cannot find in guide books.

Russia is not the easiest country to navigate (especially with its language barriers and sponsorship issues for tourists) but with its richness culturally, it is a place that is extremely worthwhile to visit at least once in your lifetime. I would recommend this company with its extremely friendly and helpful staff and guides - they really helped me to fall in love with a part of the world which I was quite apprehensive about before I went.

Indeed, two thumbs up and thank you to the team at Discovery Russia for helping me realise my dream in travelling across the full breadth of Asia!