Any train route suggestions from Moscow to London or St. Petersburg to London?

Hi Jo,

I've got a few ideas:

Direct from Moscow-Paris, + Eurostar

Until recently getting from Moscow or St. Petersburg to London was a bit complicated, and usually involved a stop over in Berlin or Warsaw. However, since Dec 14th last year there is a new service called the 'Trans-European Express' that links Moscow to Paris in both directions, 3 times a week in winter, 5 times in summer.

It's almost 2000 miles, and takes 37 hours which is pretty epic but the train is comfortable so you should be pretty happy. It goes via Germany, Poland and Belarus so it's really important that you get a Belarussian transit visa before you go.

This costs around €330 one-way for an adult sharing a 3-bed couchette, or €230 for youths.

By train with stops en-route (via Belarus)

There are plenty of trains operating between Moscow/Minsk/Warsaw & Berlin. These are the most frequently used routes, and from Berlin you'd be aboard the Trans-European Express for the last leg of the journey. Personally I have a bit of soft spot for Warsaw - for a day at least, or take a few days and go to Krakow. Also Berlin is amazing, especially if you'll be there during summer. Any of these options via Belarus will still require the transit visa.

By bus and train (avoiding Belarus)

From St. Petersburg there are regular buses to Tallinn and Riga, operated by Eurolines mainly I think, but there may be others. And from both of those cities there are onward trains to Warsaw, where you can pick up the train again if you like. Tallinn was a personal favourite for me. It's a cool little town and on the outskirts there's a huge collection of Soviet era statues which I thought were fascinating!

There are lots of ways you can do it. Let us know how you get on!

Awesome, thanks for the brilliant suggestions. Probably do the slower route as I want to stop in places...