Getting Around, Novosibirsk Travel, Transport and Car Rental

(Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia)

The extremely rapid expansion of the city during the middle of the 20th century meant that the requirement for public transport was never greater and today Novosibirsk offers buses, trains and a comprehensive metro network. The Novosibirsk metro has become essential for day to day travel within the city and is particularly inexpensive and generally extremely reliable, with the main stops including Krasny Prospekt and Ploshchad Lenina (Lenin Square).

If you are looking to travel outside of Novosibirsk, then several transport options present themselves. Car rental from either Severny Airport or Tolmachevo Airport is particularly popular, although long-distance trains and buses generally offer better value for money

Airports / Arriving by Air

There are actually two airports close to the city environs and connected to Novosibirsk by bus transport and taxis. Severny Airport is to be found just 6 km / 4 miles to the north of the city centre itself and handles an array of domestic flights. However, the Tolmachevo Airport is considerably larger, although it is around 30 km / 19 miles from Novosibirsk. Tolmachevo Airport handles around 1.7 million passengers per annum and features regular flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg, provided by Aeroflot, Rossiya, S7 Airlines, Transaero and Yakutia Airlines.

Car Rental

Hiring a car in the city or at one of the neighbouring airports is always a popular option with tourists, who require the freedom that driving permits. However, due to the climatic extremes, driving in the extremely icy winter months is not recommended and best left to the Russians, who are used to these conditions.

Book your Novosibirsk Car Rental here.

Buses and Coaches

The city's bus station is located along the Krasny Prospekt and not only do buses travel around the city, but also farther afield to towns and cities outside of Novosibirsk. Buses regularly run to Barnual (4 3/4 hours) and Tomsk (5 hours) amongst other locations.

Trains

The train station in the city is huge and can be found along the Ulitsa Shamshurina, being known as the Novosibirsk Glavny. Many long-distance trains regularly travel through the station and connect destinations all over Russia, including Altai (11 hours), Barnaul (5 1/2 hours), Khakassia (23 hours), Krasnoyarsk (12 hours) and Moscow (50 hours). There is even regular train transport that travels between Novosibirsk and Almaty in Kazakhstan, running every afternoon at 17:00.

Metro

The metro system in Novosibirsk was opened in the middle of the 1980s and today this underground railway network comprises some 12 different stations, two lines (red and blue) and around 20 trains. Each day, approximately 250,000 people use metro transport to travel around the city and these speedy trains have been one of the fastest and cheapest ways to reach your destination.

Taxis

Taxi transport in Novosibirsk really lends itself to short journeys only, since it can be on the expensive side, unless shared. Therefore, since this is such a vast city, many visitors will find taxis to be of limited use, although always extremely convenient.