Novosibirsk Oblast (Russian: Новосиби́рская о́бласть nuh-vuh-see-BEER-skuh-yuh OH-blust') is a region in Western Siberia, which borders Kazakhstan to the southwest, Omsk Oblast to the west, Tomsk Oblast to the north, Kemerovo Oblast to the east, and Altai Krai to the south.
Russian is essential for extensive independent travel.
Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport (IATA: OVB) receives flights from international destinations such as: Baku, Bangkok, Beijing, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Frankfurt, Hanover, Kyiv, Tashkent, and Urumqi, as well as many domestic flights from all over Russia.
The Trans-Siberian Railway also crosses Novosibirsk Oblast and stops at (from west to east): Kalachinsk, Tatarsk, Barabinsk, Ob, Novosibirsk, and Bolotnoye.
Google maps can navigate public transport, but locals recommend 2GIS.
Cold soups, solyanka, salad "Herring under the coat" (Селёдка под шубой) and pelmeni. Many berry varieties. Pine nuts.
Beer "Siberian Crown" (Сибирская Корона). Local vodka Сибирь, Алмаз, Снегирь etc. and a variety of Balsams produced by OOO "Vita" (dead link: December 2020).
The next major stops on the Trans-Siberian Railway are Omsk to the west and Anzhero-Sudzhensk to the east. You may also go to Barnaul and on to Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan via the Turkestani-Siberian Magistral line from Novosibirsk. Direct trains also run from Novosibirsk to Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk.