Travel Famous Routes - Without Moving

Not content with illuminating every backstreet and suburban lane in the UK with the Google Earth project, the search giant now presents the Virtual Train: a complete video tour of the famous railway line, which stretches from Moscow to Vladivostok, near to Russia's border with China. The Virtual Train offers all of the highlights of the real train trip, passing through some seven time zones and almost ninety towns and cities on its way.

Online 'travellers' can sit through all 150 hours of the journey which was created as a joint venture between Google and Russian Railways, using YouTube footage and Google Earth technology. Alternatively they can opt to view selected highlights of the journey at their own leisure, which includes areas such as the Volga river, the Lower Urals and Zykovo village. All of these highlights and more are selectable from a menu on the Virtual Train homepage. The page also contains maps so you can follow your journey as you 'rumble' along. It might not be quite as exciting as the real thing, but then cheap travel insurance and indeed low cost travel doesn't get any cheaper than this!

If you fancy actually getting on the train yourself, you will probably find there is more of a thrill as you zip along the route, plus a wealth of excursions to enjoy along the way. As you will be passing through multiple regions en route, it would be worth investigating what kind of travel insurance you will need and that all of the regions through which you will pass are covered - it is a long trip! Also watch your belongings whilst on the train to avoid making an unwanted claim on your travel insurance.