UPDATE – This page seems to be getting quite a lot of traffic at the moment. I have added hyperlinks to each stage of the journey to the post I wrote about it. There is a lot more information and pictures on these posts.

If you want to start from the trip from the beginning click here.

Any questions or if you would like me to write a post about another topic (safety, what to pack, visa’s, highlights ect) just drop a comment. Please share the blog!

Happy Travels, Tom Woods – Woodlands to Woking

There is no direct train from Singapore to Europe yet, so booking the trip takes a little bit of organisation. I have a summarised the route I took, time, cost and where I bought the ticket below.

+ Woodlands, Singapore to Butterworth, Malaysia – 2nd Class – BORDER CROSSING – 13.5 hours – SG$60 – On the day from the ticket office.

+ Butterworth, Malaysia to Bangkok, Thailand – Soft sleeper – BORDER CROSSING- 23 hours – MYR 104 – The day before at the ticket office.

+ Bangkok, Thailand to Aranyapratyet, Thailand – Open ticket – 6 hours – Thai baht 48 – On the day at the ticket office.

BORDER CROSSING

+ Poipet, Cambodia to Siem Reap, Cambodia – Private taxi – 2 hours – US$48 – On the day at the ticket office.

+ Siem Reap, Cambodia to Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Bus – 6 hours – US$10 – The day before through my hotel.

+ Phnom Penh, Cambodia to HCMC, Vietnam – Bus – 6 hours – BORDER CROSSING – $12 – The day before through my hotel.

+ HCMC, Vietnam to Hanio, Vietnam – 4 berth soft sleeper – 33 hours – US$115 – A week before through http://www.vietnamimpressive.com

+ Hanoi, Vietnam to Beijing, China – 4 berth soft sleeper – 38 hours – BORDER – CROSSING – US$403 – A month before travel through http://www.vietnamimpressive.com

+ Beijing, China via Mongolia and Lake Baikal to Moscow, Russia – 1st Class 4 berth – 130 hours – BORDER CROSSINGX2 – US$925 – A month before travel through http://www.cits.net

+ Moscow, Russia to St Petersburg, Russia – 3rd Class sleeper – 8 hours – Roubles 1681 – The day before e-ticket through my hostel.

+ St Petersburg, Russia to Helsinki, Finland – 2nd class – 3.5 hours – BORDER CROSSING – €88 – The day before online, e-ticket bought at http://www.vr.fi

+ Helsinki, Finland to Turku Harbour, Finland – 2nd class – 2 hours – €33 – on the day at the ticket office

+ Turku Harbour, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden – 2 berth interior cabin – 10 hours – BORDER CROSSING – €49 – A month before travel e-ticket through http://www.vikingline.com

+ Stockholm, Sweden to Cologne, Germany – 4 berth Soft sleeper – 17 hours – BORDER CROSSINGX2 – €112 – A month before online but posted ticket from http://www.bahn.de

+ Cologne, Germany to London, England – 2nd class – 5 hours – BORDER CROSSINGX2 – £79 – A month before travel online e-ticket from http://www.eurostar.com

+ London, England to Woking, England – 2nd class – 30 min’s £8 – On the day at the ticket office.

In total the cost of my transport from Woodlands to Woking was:

£1360

€1617

US$2162

SG$2726

I travelled mainly second class, but I always had a flat bed to sleep on for the twelve nights on the train. On the one night on the boat I had private en-suite cabin. I think that the total cost offers good value for money. It could have been considerable cheaper if I had booked trips earlier or had a little more flexibility.

If you are planning a long distance train ride I recommend the wonderful resource that is www.seat61.com. A great website I relied upon in the planning and duration of my journey.

I would also recommend the company I used to organise my visa’s, www.RealRussia.com who were very efficient and professional.