Transport in Ulan-Ude:

Ulan-Ude is located on the Trans-Siberian railway (7 hours after Irkutsk), so all major Trans-Siberian trains stop there. There is also an international airport in Ulan-Ude connecting the city with the major Russian cities.

Getting to / from Ulan-Ude:
By train, it takes slightly more than 4 days to get from Moscow to Ulan-Ude (or 7 hours from Irkutsk). Ulan-Ude is a major stop along the Trans-Siberian, so all trains stop there. From there, Trans-Siberian divides into two parts: one route goes further to Vladivostok, and the other goes south through Mongolia to China (Trans-Mongolian). The train station is quite clean and comfortable. There's a waiting area opened 24 hours a day, to access it you should show a valid ticket (perhaps, to prove you're not a homeless

The monument to V.I. Lenin in Ulan-Ude

person). There are also a few snack shops just in front of the station. You can give a loud information announcement for 10 R ($0.3), which may be good if you're meeting friends.
To get to the city center from the railway station, you should walk above the rail tracks (there's a bridge), and after a 5-minute walk you'll be on the main square of the city (with a big Lenin's head-monument). Alternatively, just in front of the station, you can take a minibus or a taxi to the center (pay no more than 50 R ($0.7) to get to any hotel. Railway station telephone: (3012) 26-30-50.
In the center, there's railway ticket sales office: Trubacheva St., 2 (Business center). Tel.: (3012) 45-50-25. Service bureau: (3012) 28-26-96, 28-26-23.

Bus Station is located in the end of Sovetskaya st, city center. The luggage room is opened from 8.00 to 20.00. To put the luggage in, you should ask the main cashier (glavny kassir) in the ticket sales office. One day costs 10 R ($0.3). Tel.: (3012) 21-21-85 (information). Buses depart to Irkutsk, Arshan, and all along the Eastern shore of Baikal lake, as well as Ivolginsky Buddhist datsan, which is in a 30 minutes ride from the city.

You can get to and from Ulan-Ude by plane. It takes about 7 hours by plane to get to Ulan-Ude and costs about $150 one way.
There's a daily flight to / from Moscow operated by Sibir airlines (http://www.s7.ru), their sales office in Ulan-Ude is located in city center, Ploshad Sovetov, 63.Open: 9.00-18.00, sat and sun – days off.
Buryat-Avia Airline Ticket Agency. Sells tickets for major domestic and international airlines. Opened daily from 9.30 to 18.00.
Address: Ulan-Ude, Erbanova St., 20. Tel.: (3012) 22-11-22, 22-11-33 (reservations).


Getting around Ulan-Ude:
The best way to get around Ulan-Ude is by using mini-buses or shuttles. As Ulan-Ude is quite close to Korea, most of the buses are Korean, and because there are so many of them, Ulan-Ude reminds an Asian town with rickshaws going back and forth. Anyway, if you stand on a street for 1

Lenina St. in Ulan-Ude

minute, there will be about 5 minibuses passing, so just wave your hand, tell the driver your destination, and if he nods "yes", get it, pay about 10 R ($0.3) and you're on your way.
Taxis are not very popular in Ulan-Ude, but you can still wave any car, and after arranging the price, get where you want.
If you want to go to open-air ethnographic museum, which is outside of the city, don't go to the bus station: better catch a shuttle #8, and ask the driver to stop at Ethnographic museum (it's after about 20 minutes). You will need to walk about 1 km (15 mins) from there.
If you want to get to Ivolginsky Buddhist Datsan, which is outside of the city, you can either catch a bus (two daily - one around 8.00, the other -- 17.30). But the problem is that if you take the evening one, there'll be no bus back. However you can stay in a hotel in the Datsan - it's very cheap ($5 a night), and quite ok for 1 night only. There are also taxis next to Datsan, so you'll find your way through.