HIGHLIGHTS: Mongolia, China, Siberia, Moscow and St Petersburg.

What greater experience than to spend your Christmas on the Mongolian steppe in a traditional ger while travelling aboard the Trans Siberian-Mongolian Railway. Arrive into Beijing with days spent touring the great sights and monuments of this imperial city and out beyond the busy streets to visit a remote section of the Great Wall. Then to Beijing station and aboard the first of the trains that will carry us across Asia. Across the northern plains of China then beyond the border via the Gobi desert and at daybreak through the snowy hills and river valleys of central Mongolia arriving into Ulaanbaatar in the early afternoon. Christmas in Mongolia We travel through the countryside to spend our Christmas in traditional Mongolian nomad gers set amongst spectacular rock formations and wild rolling hills at the Terelj and 13th Century National Parks and with Christmas lunch included this is a wonderful occasion. Among the nomadic families of this stunning snowscape we can walk into nearby valleys or just relax in our snug, wood-fire heated gers. We return to the capital then depart aboard the two night Trans Mongolian Railway to Siberia.

A Siberian Winter Irkutsk, almost in the centre of Asia; old buildings and timeworn mansions lend a beauty to this remote but flourishing city, sometimes called "The Paris of Siberia". We transfer to Lake Baikal and the village of Listvyanka where our guesthouse host is waiting to greet us. While here we can try some traditional Russian dishes and perhaps a toast of vodka and visit a picturesque spot for a sleigh ride. We return to Irkutsk and a chance to explore the city before we board the train for the journey to Moscow. Trans Siberian Railway to Moscow Life on board is a great social occasion for our Russian hosts and we have the opportunity to celebrate the holiday season with them – what better place to ring in the New Year than aboard this famous train in the heart of snowy Siberia. Travelling via great Siberian cities and over the Ural Mountains the train continues to Moscow. The echoing vastness of Red Square, the splendid twirled cupolas of St.Basil's and the Kremlin itself and on our final evening we join the overnight express to St.Petersburg. Arriving early on Russian Orthodox Christmas Day, the city is quiet, providing the perfect opportunity for a city orientation tour - the pastel palaces and frozen canals lend a special charm with their white frosting. Our fabulous jjurney concludes with a gala dinner and show.