We are making plans for a tour and would rather go overland than fly. Has anyone used the trans-siberian railways recently? Is it possible to put a bike on as extra luggage - not take it totally to pieces....
Does anyone know if you can take a bicycle on the Vladivostok to Japan ferry? and the Osaka to Shanghai ferry? or on any trains in China - down to Vietnam?
We are heading for NZ so may not have a lot of time to cycle on the way.... any info on getting there from Asia without flying would be great!!
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A friend of me went with the trans siberian railway. He rented an extra bed for his bicycle. So the two of them had a four person room on the train.
Copy paste in google for a dutch to english translation http://www.wilbertgatochfietsen.nl/navigatiebalk/Home/kader%20rechts%20onder.html#
I think Heike from https://www.pushbikegirl.com/ did take the vladiwostok ferry to Japan. The crossing from there to Korea and then to Japan has bee done by cyclists. Hope that helps
thanks, i'll look into doing that! cheer, jo
Hi,
It sounds interesting to me. Please tell us about Your tripp.
Let us have a good time
Hi,
we took the transsiberian railway from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok and the ferry from Vladivostok to Sakaiminato, Japan mid October this year. Yes, it's possible to put on the bikes as extra luggage (it's one the same train but a different coach) and you better do this, because otherwise it gonna be very difficult (a lot of discussion + lack of space). Officially you have to disassemble the bike (take out front wheel & put handlebar at right angle) and pack it. We did this and wrapped the bikes in plastic foil ( :( so much trash). If you have a transport box it would be better.
Ferry to Japan is easy. There is nothing to do with the bikes. The ferry has a stay in South Korea, so if Japan isn't a must see for you, you can jump off in South Korea. No idea if there is a ferry from Osaka to Shanghai.
We will take the ferry to China in Incheon, South Korea. As far as we know,it's not possible to take the bikes on to the train in China. But you can send the bike separately, but we don't have any experiences with this.
Cheers
Hi Lisa, thanks for that info! I think we will look into getting bike bags we can take wih us... more weight but like you say - plastic!! Great about the ferry to Japan. Tempting to stop for a cycle there too..! Sounds like you are on a great journey.. are you camping at all? Are you cyvling thru China?
Thanks again, jo
Hi Jo,
yeah we are cycling back home to Germany. We camped a lot in Japan, actually most of the time. In South Korea it became very fast very cold, so we used a lot warmshowers:) trying to do a mix camping/warmshowers/hotel. We will try to cycle through China, but there is not enough time for the whole country :D definitely we will need to take train/bus or whatever. Also we heard that it is not allowed to cycle everywhere:(
Japan is beautiful, if you have the time it's really worth it :)
Cheers Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Just wondered how you got on cycling/train etc in China? We are definitely going there before Japan - so if you have any advice/tips - especially camping...please let me know! Hope you have had a blast! jo