Requesting information about Siberia

[Link]

I would appreciate any advice, tip or recommendation about how to get to Siberia particularly to the cities of Barnaul and Novosibirsk. Also any advice regarding those cities is welcome.

[Vaughn]

Link - while you're awaiting responses, you could PM Turboguy - his wife
hails from Barnaul...

Vaughn

[OlgaH]

I would appreciate any advice, tip or recommendation about how to get to Siberia particularly to the cities of Barnaul and Novosibirsk. Also any advice regarding those cities is welcome.

From US to Moscow and from Moscow to Novosibirsk (or to Barnaul) by airplane
http://www.aeroflot.ru/eng/main.aspx

From Novosibirsk to Barnaul by bus.
http://novosibirskguide.com/news/bus_schedule

From Barnaul to Novosibirsk by bus (could not find the bus schedule but you can ask about it being in Barnaul)

Check for trains Novosibirsk-Barnaul and Barnaul-Novosibirsk
http://www.russiantrains.com/?gclid=CIvy0tDeqZwCFRNinAodjiXtkg

You also can google the city guides
http://www.waytorussia.net/Siberia/Barnaul/Guide.html

[Turboguy]

It is a 4 hour flight so don' even think about a train or bus. There are two flights to Barnaul. Both leave about 11 pm and arrive about 5;30 am. Aeroflot flies from SVO and S7, Siberia Air from DME. Fare should be about $ 400 each way

[boaterguy]

It is a 4 hour flight so don' even think about a train or bus. There are two flights to Barnaul. Both leave about 11 pm and arrive about 5;30 am. Aeroflot flies from SVO and S7, Siberia Air from DME. Fare should be about $ 400 each way

I just checked recently and the fare was $400-$500 round trip to Novosibirsk on aeroflot.

[Blues Fairy]

Transaero may fly a bit cheaper than Aeroflot or S7 but their planes are crap.

[Turboguy]

As I think aboutit more, I said that was one way and should have said RT. My wife just made that trip a month ago.

[GQBlues]

No matter what you decide to do, if at all possible use the same airline company start to finish. Sometimes trying to save a couple hundred dollars by looking for bargain flights involving more than one carrier can cause you thousands in the end...

...or even saving a couple of hundred by flying with two or more layovers is NOT worth it for me either...

It's a long flight and it takes you a long way away from home. IMO, there are other ways to save money and this isn't one of them for me...I learned my lesson.

[Faux Pas]

No matter what you decide to do, if at all possible use the same airline company start to finish. Sometimes trying to save a couple hundred dollars by looking for bargain flights involving more than one carrier can cause you thousands in the end...

...or even saving a couple of hundred by flying with two or more layovers is NOT worth it for me either...

It's a long flight and it takes you a long way away from home. IMO, there are other ways to save money and this isn't one of them for me...I learned my lesson.

Man this is so true. Penny pinching and airline hopping is bound to leave one with problems eventually. If you did it once or a couple of times without problems consider yourself extremely lucky. Besides the extra time involved somewhere there will be extra expense and cost the front end savings you once made. I have to use 2 separate airlines to reach Siberia from my location. Sometimes it costs a bit more. I've seen several routes I could take and save a few bucks but then it's 3-4 airlines. I don't see it worth the gamble.

[JR]

No matter what you decide to do, if at all possible use the same airline company start to finish. Sometimes trying to save a couple hundred dollars by looking for bargain flights involving more than one carrier can cause you thousands in the end...

Amen to that! Someone just posted this scenario and I think it wound up costing them three days lost on their itinerary.  Oh yeah, it was and AM carrier and LOT airline. The name of the guy escapes me but he was posting about his trip from years ago when he went to St. Pete. His seven day trip wound up being four due to airline SNAFUs.

[I/O]

As usual, I disagree. Use any and every airline you can marry together and give the  pr!cks no more than you have to. I'll swap carriers through an airport for anything more than $50 saving (and have Mrs 150% support to do so). The 'Murican boys are too spoiled with their direct flights into Moscow and Kiev or far wealthier than we poor souls from down under who need to do it in about 1/2 dozen flight legs.

BTW, UTAir (Hahn Air) fly out of Moscow to various Siberian cities. Used them a few times recently and was pleasantly surprised. S-7 are fine but they have gotten a little dearer (Usually) than UTAir or Aeroflot Nord for these trips....................

[MatryoshkaMan]

I learned a big lesson on my January trip to Puerto Rico! No more 1 hour transfers..1 missed flight (your fault, weather, airlines) can cause a cascading s*itstorm that wil break over your head. On my way to PR I spent 2 full days and 4 flights to get there, all caused by my Vancouver-Chicago flight leaving an hour late. And to top it off I had 2 seperate tickets booked (bought at different times) so the flight which I missed to PR does not owe me squat because the delay was the fault of the other airline. For my trip to Moscow in September I have it on 1 ticket with a big fat layover in Amserdam. Flying lessons are learned the hard way!

Oh I just remembered 1 almost disaster. Wife flew out of Seattle on her way to Moscow. When we married they translated my last name to English (from Russian) but they dropped a letter. Instead of 4 letters (my last name) her's had 3. So her offical sur-name was slightly different than mine (again 1 letter was missing). Anyways we were not paying attention when we bought the ticket. We used my last name with my spelling (as she does for everything including banking). After buying the ticket never gave it another though. UNTIL we go to check in and she hands over her passport and of course the name in the passport does not match the ticket. BIG PROBLEM!! We had to literally BEG for her to get on the plane as they were insistant that no match = no flight...

Oh and then there was time time she missed her flight to Moscow because her Russian visa came just a bit too late (always get travel insurance)..

The list goes on and on...

[TwoBitBandit]

As usual, I disagree. Use any and every airline you can marry together and give the  pr!cks no more than you have to. I'll swap carriers through an airport for anything more than $50 saving (and have Mrs 150% support to do so). The 'Murican boys are too spoiled with their direct flights into Moscow and Kiev or far wealthier than we poor souls from down under who need to do it in about 1/2 dozen flight legs.

BTW, UTAir (Hahn Air) fly out of Moscow to various Siberian cities. Used them a few times recently and was pleasantly surprised. S-7 are fine but they have gotten a little dearer (Usually) than UTAir or Aeroflot Nord for these trips....................

You're the outlier here.

Nothing in the FSU ever works right.  I've had airlines (S7, Aeroflot and one other pissass airline I forget the name of) just cancel flights because they didn't sell enough seats on it to make a profit.  When those events coincide with a Soviet-era customer service mentality, you've got a recipe to be scratching your ass in random airports for days on end (as I have).

I'll pay hundreds more if I can take a western carrier all the way to my destination.

[Faux Pas]

As usual, I disagree. Use any and every airline you can marry together and give the  pr!cks no more than you have to. I'll swap carriers through an airport for anything more than $50 saving (and have Mrs 150% support to do so). The 'Murican boys are too spoiled with their direct flights into Moscow and Kiev or far wealthier than we poor souls from down under who need to do it in about 1/2 dozen flight legs.

BTW, UTAir (Hahn Air) fly out of Moscow to various Siberian cities. Used them a few times recently and was pleasantly surprised. S-7 are fine but they have gotten a little dearer (Usually) than UTAir or Aeroflot Nord for these trips....................

I/O you are welcome to it. To save a few bucks, miss a connector and likely your luggage. Adding hours to flight time going well out of the way and as TBB mentioned, an extended stay in an airport. I should add that my rewards program has been adding up nicely. There are enough places where one has to fly alternative airlines. I see no point in forcing the issue where it's not necessary unless the savings are too great, which does happen as well. You seem to like catchy cliches. One that seems to fit here is "Penny wise and pound foolish".

Hopefully, I won't find myself in a position where a couple hundred bucks makes a difference in my trip but, if I ever do I won't hesitate to take advantage of airline hopping. 

[Fashionista]

I would appreciate any advice, tip or recommendation about how to get to Siberia particularly to the cities of Barnaul and Novosibirsk. Also any advice regarding those cities is welcome.

Being from Novosibirsk originally and travelling back and forth quite often I would suggest for a new person who never did this long a flight before to make a little stay on a half way, say - in Moskow. Two days stay. You can do it in one 29-hour leap, but the trip itself is exhausting, and at the end the jet leg will finish you off.

[Link]

Being from Novosibirsk originally and travelling back and forth quite often I would suggest for a new person who never did this long a flight before to make a little stay on a half way, say - in Moskow. Two days stay. You can do it in one 29-hour leap, but the trip itself is exhausting, and at the end the jet leg will finish you off.

I can imagine, I remember how exhausting was the first trip I made to western Russia from Mexico.

[Fashionista]

I can imagine, I remember how exhausting was the first trip I made to western Russia from Mexico.

And how long did it take you to get used to the time change? Sometimes it ruines the whole week for me.

[SANDRO43]

Have you ever tried taking a couple of pills of melatonin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin)? Works wonders to re-establish a normal sleep cycle .

[Fashionista]

Have you ever tried taking a couple of pills of melatonin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin)? Works wonders to re-establish a normal sleep cycle .

Don't believe in it.  Nothing works better than red wine!

[BC]

And how long did it take you to get used to the time change? Sometimes it ruines the whole week for me.

The body can usually absorb +- 1 hour time difference per day so if you fly to a destination with 6 hour difference you should be able to fully adjust in a week.

The older I get, the less I like flying. Anything involving more than an hour or two time difference I detest.

[BC]

Don't believe in it.  Nothing works better than red wine!

For breakfast?

Actually, alcohol probably makes adjusting even worse.

[Fashionista]

The body can usually absorb +- 1 hour time difference per day so if you fly to a destination with 6 hour difference you should be able to fully adjust in a week.

The older I get, the less I like flying. Anything involving more than an hour or two time difference I detest.

11 hours. I have eleven hours difference. 

[BC]

11 hours. I have eleven hours difference. 

Yes, quite a span.. by the time you have adjusted it's time to go back so you get to do it all over again.

Only advantage I see is that when we travel westward my wife gets up earlier.. 

[Faux Pas]

For breakfast?

Actually, alcohol probably makes adjusting even worse.

12 hour difference for me and actually it is alcohol that helps me get on schedule. Sounds strange I know but it's worked each time 

[I/O]

You're the outlier here.

Usually am. Visa process (didn't conform to the norm) went like clockwork, 160 odd flights through 27 countries and never missed a connection, hotel booking or train connection, never had bags go missing, never been taken for more than I agreed by taxi drivers, BS'd my way into Russia the day before my visa was valid recently............................what's it tell ya. Methinks some characters in this caper couldn't organize a drink in a hotel.

I've had airlines (S7, Aeroflot and one other pissass airline I forget the name of) just cancel flights because they didn't sell enough seats on it to make a profit.  When those events coincide with a Soviet-era customer service mentality, you've got a recipe to be scratching your ass in random airports for days on end (as I have).

I suspect your unfortunate experiences are due to bad choices in the first instance. A "good" choice is not always to throw more money at it.

"Penny wise and pound foolish".

Counterpoint is "Watch the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves". BTW, your suggestion is dealt with above.

The "Soviet Era Mentality" etc is fading fast. Recently I noticed huge differences in service standards since the last time I was in Russia. Ironically, the "sh!tfights" with service providers we had this time (very few) were largely caused by my wife assuming things were the way they were and hunting for a p!ssing match before it was necessary.

When chasing flights etc, do your homework, check, double check and recheck. FWIW, my experience in Novosibirsk recently highlights the way things have changed. I was returning home on two different tickets involving 4 flights and the supervisor in OVB check in took it into his head to turn the place upside down to check my bags right through to final destination, even after I told him several times it was not necessary because I had about 8 hours in Beijing and plenty of time to deal with it. He assured me it was no trouble and perhaps I would come this way again. It was not foreigner privilege either because Mrs and Young'un got the same service 2 weeks later. I think the scare mongers should do a bit more travelling before dolling out "absolutes".

Point is..................PLAN!!!