How to get to Altai

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Our trips “Altai remarkable landscapes”,  “Altai: breathtaking valleys & lakes” and “Explore Altai” start in the city of Gorno-Altaisk. The trip “Altai Heritage” starts in Barnaul.

Here you will find an ultimate guide how to get to the starting points of our trips. Take into consideration that all prices and time are approximate and can differ on a particular date and conditions.

Gorno-Altaisk is situated 3000 km from Moscow to the east. There are several ways to get there, the way you choose will depend on what you prefer – faster and more comfortably or cheaper. The town has its own airport but doesn’t have a railway station. It is connected with all big Siberian cities by intercity buses.

1. The most comfortable and fastest way – a flight directly to Gorno-Altaisk via Moscow 

The best way is to take a flight to Gorno-Altaisk with a connection in Moscow. The flights Moscow – Gorno-Altaisk are carried out by two aircompanies: S7 from Moscow Domodedovo airport and since 2019 – low-cost carrier Pobeda from Moscow Vnukovo airport.

In the summer S7 has 6 or 7 flights a week, during the winter – 2 – 4 flights. As Domodedovo is one of the biggest Moscow airports, you can find incoming international flights from most European cities.
The price for the flight by S7 varies depending on the starting city and time of the year. The average price for summer 2020 is 580-700 euro. In the winter and spring a flight usually can cost from 400 euro but flights are not every day.

Pobeda offers lower prices, but you will have some limitations with your luggage and no meal оn board. There are flights by Pobeda from several European cities but in most cases connection with the flight to Gorno-Altaisk is not good. You can either spend a day/a couple of days in Moscow or to find connection flights of other companies – Vnukovo is a big international airport. In the summer Pobeda has 4 flights a week, during the winter only 2 flights. 

City Price, euro
Dusseldorf 856
Berlin 578
Frankfurt 803
London 650
Munich 579
Vienna 629

Usually, departure time from Moscow is late in the night – about 00:00. The duration of the flight is 4 hours plus a time difference of 4 hours and you will arrive at Gorno-Altaisk at about 8:00. We will meet you at the airport. Pay attention when booking a flight after 00:00 – it is already the next day. 

A return flight to Moscow is in the morning – between 08:00-09:00. But in this case, due to changing of the time zones you arrive in Moscow at almost the same time as departure.

 

2. A bit longer way but a bit cheaper and more flights – flight to Barnaul+transfer

It is possible to fly to the closest big city Barnaul, which is situated 250 km from Gorno-Altaisk.

Barnaul airport is a bit bigger and there are 3-5 flights a day from Moscow which are carried out by 3 air companies – S7Aeroflot and Ural Airlines. There are planes which depart from 2 Moscow airports – Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo. So, for some European cities there are better variants for connecting flights arriving at Barnaul. The price in the summer can vary from 480 to 700 euro.

Here are some examples of flight prices to Barnaul and back for August 2020.

City Price, euro
Dusseldorf 704 
Berlin 531
Frankfurt 762
London 536
Munich 528
Vienna 481

The plane also lands early in the morning but now you should be ready to overcome 250 km.

The easiest way – to take a taxi, but in this case, you should better prepare and make a reservation before you arrive.  Prices for a taxi in the airport itself are really astronomical. You can use international services such as GettUber and Yandex taxi or the local service Maxim. The drive to Gorno-Altaisk will cost 50-60 euro for a car and will take about 4 hours.

Another variant  – to take an intercity bus to Gorno-Altaisk. Usually, there are 10-12 buses every day, so they leave almost every hour. Here you can find a bus schedule but the site is only in Russian. The bus ticket to Gorno-Altaisk will cost about 10 euro per person, driving time – 5 hours. To get to Barnaul bus station from the airport is easier by taxi but better to order it in advance via abovementioned services, in this case it will cost 4-5 euros.

The bus trip back can be organized the same way. But as all flights from Barnaul to Moscow are early in the morning you will have to stay for a night in Barnaul. There are a lot of hotels and hostels for any budget – from 10 to 100 euro per night.

 

3. A lot of flights, cheap but exhausting way – flight to Novosibirsk via Moscow+transfer 

Novosibirsk is an unofficial capital of Siberia. So, the airport here is big and there are up to 10 flights per day in the summer season from every Moscow airport –Domodedovo, Sheremetevo and Vnukovo. Flights are carried out not only in the night like in Gorno-Altaisk and Barnaul but also during daytime. Prices for flights are lower – 450-600 euro.

Here are some examples of flights prices to Novosibirsk and back for August 2020.

City Price, euro
Dusseldorf 608
Berlin 477
Brussels 529
Amsterdam 536
London 547
Frankrurt 632
Munich 499
Vienna 551

But you should know, that the distance to Gorno-Altaisk is 450 km. So, it will take you a whole day to get to Gorno-Altaisk. The ways to do it are the same as from Barnaul.

A taxi from Novosibirsk airport to Gorno-Altaisk will cost 100-130 euro for a car and you will have a 7 hours long drive in rather monotonous landscapes.

The buses from Novosibirsk go more seldom than from Barnaul, there are only 4-5 trips per day. Some of them depart in the night and arrive to Gorno-Altaisk early in the morning. The schedule is here, but the site is also only in Russian. The price is about 20 euro per person, driving time 8-9 hours. A taxi from the airport to the bus station will cost 6-8 euro.

But remember to order a taxi via online services like Gett, Uber, Yandex or Maxim. Otherwise it will be much more expensive.

4. Extraordinary way – by train

If planes are not for you and you have enough time and patience, you can get to Altai by train.

First, you should get to Moscow. Russian railways have several international routes to Europe – to Paris, Berlin, Nice (via Vienna), Helsinki, Warsaw, Prague. Most of them are going only once a week to one country and it takes 1-1,5 days to arrive in Moscow. The price varies from 150 to 800 euro depending on the country and level of comfort. Of course, you can get to Moscow in any other way.

As Gorno-Altaisk has no its own railway station, from Moscow you should take the train to the closest to Gorno-Altaisk city with a railway station – Biysk. It is situated 100 km from Gorno-Altaisk. The train departs every second day and it will take you 2 days and 12 hours to reach Biysk. The train ticket from Moscow to Biysk will cost 75-150 euro one way.

In Biysk you can take a taxi for 20-25 euro and in 1.5 hours you will arrive in Gorno-Altaisk.

A cheaper option is to use intercity buses. The bus station is in the same place as the railway station – you just need to cross the square. Buses start every 1-2 hours, the price is about 5 euro, trip time is about 2 hours.

Another variant to get to Altai is to combine your trip with travelling in the Transsiberian express. You will just have to leave the train in Novosibirsk and then follow our recommendations on how to go to Gorno-Altaisk from p.3.

In any case, if you prefer to use another variant than a direct flight to Gorno-Altaisk, get in contact with us. We will help you, and make sure you will be in time for the start of our trip.

 

Barnaul is situated 2900 km from Moscow, to the east. The town has its own airport and railway station. The intercity buses connect the town with all big Siberian cities. There are several ways to get to Barnaul. 

1. The most comfortable and fastest way –  flight directly to Barnaul via Moscow

The best way is to take a flight to Barnaul with a connection in Moscow There are 3-5 flights a day from Moscow to Barnaul which are carried out by 3 air companies – S7, Aeroflot and Ural Airlines. The planes depart from two Moscow airports – Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo. So, there are a lot of variants for connecting flights from European cities to Barnaul. The price in summer can vary from 450 to 700 euro.  

Here are some examples of flight prices to Barnaul and back for August 2020.  

City Price, euro
Dusseldorf 704
Berlin 531
Frankfurt 762
London 536
Munich 528
Vienna 481

Usually, the departure time from Moscow is late in the evening. The duration of the flight is 4 hours plus a time difference of 4 hours and you will arrive in Barnaul early in the morning. We will meet you at the airport. 

2. A bit longer way but a bit cheaper and more flights – flight to Novosibirsk via Moscow+transfer

 It is possible to fly to the closest big city Novosibirsk, which is situated 230 km from Barnaul. 

Novosibirsk is an unofficial capital of Siberia. So, there are up to 10 flights per day in the summer season from every Moscow airport –Domodedovo, Sheremetevo and Vnukovo. Flights are carried out not only in the night like in Barnaul but also during daytime. So, for some European cities there are many variants for connecting flights arriving in Novosibirsk. Prices for flights are a bit lower – 450-600 euro. 

Here are some examples of flights prices to Novosibirsk and back for August 2020.

City Price, euro
Dusseldorf 608
Berlin 477
Brussels 529
Amsterdam 536
London 547
Munich 499
Frankfurt 632
Vienna 551

The easiest way to get to Barnaul from Novosibirsk – to take a taxi. But in this case you should prepare and make a reservation before.  Prices for taxis in the airport itself are really astronomical. You can use international services such as Gett, Uber and Yandex taxi or the local service Maxim (the site is in English). The drive to Barnaul will cost 50-75 euro for a car and will take about 4 hours. 

Another variant  – to take an intercity bus to Barnaul. There is a special bus which goes just from the airport to Barnaul, but only 3 times a day – at 05:45, 07:00 and at 19:00. 

If this time is not appropriate for your flight, you can go to the Novosibirsk bus station. To get there from the airport is easier by taxi but better to order it in advance via abovementioned services, in this case, it will cost 7-10 euros.

Usually, there are about 20 buses every day, so they leave almost every hour and in the middle of the day – every half an hour. Here you can find a bus schedule but the site is only in Russian. The bus ticket to Barnaul will cost about 10 euro per person, driving time – 5 hours.  

3. Extraordinary way – by train

If planes are not for you and you have enough time and patience, you can get to Altai by train.

First, you should get to Moscow. Russian railways have several international routes to Europe – to Paris, Berlin, Nice (via Vienna), Helsinki, Warsaw and Prague. Most of them go only once a week to one country and it takes 1-1,5 days to get to Moscow. The price varies from 150 to 800 euro depending on the country and level of comfort. Of course, you can get to Moscow in any other way. 

From Moscow you can take a direct train to Barnaul. The train departs every day and it will take you 2 days and 6 hours to reach Barnaul. The train ticket from Moscow to Barnaul will cost 75-120 euro one way.

We will meet you at the railway station.

Another variant to get to Altai is to combine your trip with travelling in the Transsiberian express. You will just have to leave the train in Novosibirsk and then follow our recommendations in p.2.

In any case, if you prefer to use another variant than a direct flight to Gorno-Altaisk, get in contact with us. We will help you, and make sure you will be in time for the start of our trip. 

Kaichi Travel

Adventure travel, nature tours to Altai – one of the most beautiful places in Siberia.

© 2023 by Kaichi Travel 

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