Vladivostok Travel Forum

Would appreciate member comments on:
1. What clothing to wear in August?

2. Advice on comfort in 4 berth compartment on train?

3. Meals on train?

August can be pretty whimsical across Russia, especially towards the middle and end. But you don't have to worry about it too much while on the train unless you plan to spend some time off the train. For the cruise, I would bring clothes that would protect you in inclement conditions when you get off to shore for excursions, like a sweatshirt and a parka, and good athletic or walking shoes that are waterproof or treat them with water repellent spray. In Siberia summers can be hot and dry but in August things start cooling off quickly. I've been to Siberia in May-June, and temperatures were in 10-17 degrees C range. August would be similar, but remember that there is a wide range of tempereatures there because it's a huge region with climate conditions ranging from marine/coastal to continental. You could check www.intellicast.com. It's in English but they don't have long-term weather forcast for international destinations. If you can read Russian, check www.gismeteo.ru. They provide more than a month long forcast for different regions of the country with monthly averages, day/night t, magnetic storms, etc.
As for the 4-berth compartments, for my taste, it would be too much to travel with 3 other people on a long journey. Two person compartments are much nicer, besides the fact that the toilets will be half as dirty (big thing to consider in Russia, but may not be as big a deal for you if you travelled through Asia on your own). People usually bring food for their train ride. There will be a restaurant car but it might get pretty busy. If you don't want to go to restaurant too often, there are usually people selling food at train stations. If you decide to buy food at train stations, be careful and don't miss your train because many stops are very short, and usually train gives no signal that it's going to leave when en route. You'll be happy to take a cruise ship after a week-long train ride. To sum it up, if I wanted to enjoy a train ride, I would go for a single or double compartment to just have a little more room to yourself. Have a great trip.

check these sites:
http://hmc.hydromet.ru
http://meteoinfo.ru
Both sites have info in English on both short and long term forcasts as well as meteorological statistics of various regions in Russia.

It will be warm. Would advise breaking up your trip a little. As much as I like trains, I wouldn't want to spend almost a week on a Vlad/Moscow train without a break. Irkutsk is a good place to break the trip and see lake Baikal. Check out my Vladivostok/Irkutsk and St Petersburg pages for ideas for things to do.