Korean Job Discussion Forums

[drama_addict]

I'm in the midst of planning my Summer Vacation. As an SMOE PS teacher, I'll get at least two weeks this summer for travel. I really want to do Lake Baikal, Irkutsk, and other parts of Siberia if possible.

I bought a Lonely Planet Guide on Russia, and their section on Siberia was informative, but pretty bare bones. I'm basically just asking if anyone here has been before? How are hotels? Food? Are they Cheap? Expensive?

I'm hoping to do Irkutsk for five days, and the rest exploring Lake Baikal. Maybe Ulan Ude, too, if I still have time.

Any help or advice is appreciated.

[madtownhustl]

bump. i'm interested too!

[soviet_man]

Anecdotally, in the past 12 months a lot of foreigners applying for Russian visas in Korea have had them rejected.

I think this is partially true, in so far as it has become more difficult. I do not however think that it is impossible.

But certainly independent travel in eastern Russia has never been easy.

In the peak of summer, flying Korea to Russia is incredibly exorbitant.

For example, a 1 hour flight from Incheon to Vladivostok would set you back up to (and beyond) 1 million won in June/July. I remember in the summer of 2006, Korean Air were charging 1.8 million return for that flight and there was a 6 week waiting list to get on it!

Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno Sakhalin --- all the same.

Basically in order to do it at a sane price, you will need to find a tour agency and generally from China. If you wanted to do the train you would be looking at probably using monkeyshrine.com and doing it ex-Beijing. There are slightly cheaper operators like Vodka train, and others which can be found at waytorussia.net

Either that or take the ferry www.dongchunferry.co.kr if you fancy getting off in Зару́бино, then going by train to Vladivostok and Irkutsk, although you would have to basically bribe your way through checkpoints and significant visa red tape regarding invitations.

In summary, sign up to a package tour with monkeyshrine where it is all laid out for you.

[drama_addict]

[RufusW]

Down here in Busan I know a couple of Canadians who got Russian visas in 45 mins simply by going to the embassy.

Occasionally the ferry does go direct to Vladivostok I believe.

[travel zen]

It's fairly simple ...from Mongolia. Many people go from Ulaan Bataar to Lake Baikal and beyond. If you want to find people going, about half the foreigner population is in transit to/from Siberia.

If you have a US Passport, prepare to wait 3-4 weeks for prosessing!

[partialtone]

[drama_addict]

Just a quick update for those who are interested:

I decided to try flying to Vladivostok and then take the Trans Siberian from there to Irkutsk. I went to Vladivostok Air's offices in Jong Ro-gu and found a decent return ticket for about KRW500K from Busan.

I'm just looking into train tickets now... If I can nail down the ticket then I'll submit an appliation for a Russian Visa before the end of this month.

[travel zen]

500 K ?? That's very cheap

[bradshaw]

I just paid 700 000w for a return flight Incheon to Vladivostok on Vladivostok Air. I'd been watching the fares for the last year or so, and generally, Vladivostok Air was cheaper than Korean Air.

I also just secured a Russian visa and had no problems. I went through Xanadu Travel (despite not booking my ticket through them). They tack on an extra 20 000w charge for arranging your visa, but it was well worth-it considering they dealt with the invitation letter you need, etc. I believe I paid around 120 000w for my visa (I'm a Canadian) and my British friend paid 170 000w.

Good luck!

[Katie26]

Hi,

Afraid I can't offer much advice about the flight but unless you're in the sticks I wouldn't bother going through a travel agent for your Russia Visa. I went to the consulate in Busan and paid 88k won for my visa which was done in 1 week (British). My Canadian friend did the same (hers was 78k won)

If you want to save some money do it yourself-really not difficult.

[joeyjoejoe]

http://www.greatbaikaltrail.org/index_en.html

[ThingsComeAround]

When I went, the biggest problem was getting my Russian visa. However I decided to DIY and if you don't get there early, you will wait while travel agents talk amongst themselves with BAGS FULL of passports

If you have the time, I recommend going to Russia via rail from Beijing. Cheaper, more scenic, lots of fun.

http://www.seat61.com/Russia.htm

[drama_addict]

I'm looking into applying for the Russian Visa next week.

I've researched threads here on Dave's and the consesus seems to be going to the Russian Embassy is far more cheaper than getting a Visa through a Travel Agency.

Anyone know the prices for US citizens? I expect it's probably ridiculous, like China's price.