A Winter’s Tale: Russia, Siberia and selling a magical holiday

Ready to sweep your clients into a fairytale? Gift them the magic of Siberia with a luxury wintertime journey courtesy of destination specialists Sundowners Overland.

With several winter journeys to choose from, Sundowners Overland gives travel agents the flexibility of choosing a tour that’s right for your client – whether it be a 13-day Luxury Private Train, a 24-day Premium Journey or a 16-day Freedom Tour across snow-clad Siberia – options abound.

Pushkin, St Petersburg: Beginning in Beijing, the Christmas Trans Mongolian journey moves through Mongolia and Russia, toward its end in St Petersburg.

Each of the journeys is filled with awe-inspiring highlights, including visits to Moscow, St Petersburg and the home of Father Frost in Velikiy Ustug on the Festive Russia tour; and Christmas at Lake Baikal – a bucket-list item – on the Christmas Trans Mongolian tour.

Bubbles of methane gas frozen into clear ice in Baikal lake

On both the premium Christmas Trans Mongolian and the Siberian Snowscapes tours, clients will have the chance to visit destination highlight, Lake Baikal – the world’s deepest freshwater lake, which freezes over completely during winter.

While enjoying the incredible scenery of Lake Baikal, your clients will also take a traditional troika ride through taiga forest and enjoy a delicious Russian dinner with a local family.

What about a 13-day luxury private tour to Mongolia? Take a look at the A Tsar’s Gold Winter’s Tale tour.

Another highlight of the Christmas Trans Mongolian journey is spending the New Year in Beijing, with visits to the Forbidden City, the Mutianyu section of The Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.

See a new side (and colour) of Beijing on the Christmas Trans Mongolian journey.

See a new side (and colour) of Beijing on Sundowners Overland’s Christmas Trans Mongolian tour.

Sundowners Overland’s Festive Russia tour is an equally magical experience that pulls your clients into the Slavic world of Ded Moroz – known colloquially as Father Frost – the Russian and East Slavic equivalent of Father Christmas.

Coincide your clients’ visits with either the Western or Eastern Orthodox Christmas for a postcard experience of the festive season, and the chance to be gifted a Christmas present.

Or if your clients are more motivated by the opportunity to see snow, mountains and magical, ice-encrusted forest, the Siberian Snowscapes tour is a great option.

The Siberian Snowscapes tour also visits Lake Baikal. Adding to the romance of the location, your clients can keep warm in a traditional Russian banya or sauna.

The Siberian Snowscapes tour begins in Vladivostok, Russia’s Far East port, and progressively moves further west on a journey that ought to have been ripped from the pages of Doctor Zhivago, toward its close in Moscow.

During their last few days on the tour, your clients will be surrounded by the red walls of the Kremlin where festivities continue, either with memorable fireworks for New Years, Orthodox Christmas in January or, if travelling in March, the Shrovetide festival of Maslenitsa, which offers the opportunity to mingle with the locals and sample tasty pancakes.

For more information on Sundowners Overland’s magical wintertime tours, click here.

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Discover Sundowners Overland winter