Maybe you’ve stumbled across my blog in search of some travel advice and found it sorely amiss. Or not. Either way, I thought I’d include some budget travel advice for anyone out there considering travelling across Russia without an extensive network of couch-surfing buddies.

This is a handy hint that I only found recommended in one section of my well-leafed through Lonely Planet Trans-Siberian Railway: A Classic Overland Route. I think they had a few authors working on it, and one was more adventurous than the other – or lazier, depends on how you look at it – as he or she had realised that for accommodation in almost any Russian city, one needn’t go any further than the train station.

This is marvellous, in my opinion, as you can get into your room, dump your luggage and have a slight cover of backpack-free incognito as you venture onto your first tentative and lost wanderings. Just like a Russian café (coffee – 25 roubles, tea – 20 roubles, milk – 4 roubles, sugar – 1 rouble, stirrer – 1 rouble) it also offers you the choice to pay for exactly what you want. A shared room with eight, four, two or single, for 24, 12, 6 or 2 hours, with a shower, a hairdryer, possibly even towels… the choice is yours.

As I was travelling light, I’d often just carry my bag, spend the afternoon exploring, and check in for 12 hours in the evening. This way you can also choose accommodation times convenient to your trains.

There are some notable exceptions to this rule – namely St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vladivostok and Kazan. In the two latter cities, it’s possible to enquire about shared rooms at any hotel.