How to organize a trip to Baikal. Guide for independent travel

If traveling to Baikal is your longtime dream, but for some reason you still haven’t decided to go there, this time there will be no doubts. We have collected in one material only the most important: how to plan the route and how much it will cost.

How to get there

blogger, host of the program “Russia Out of Reach” on the TV channel “My Planet”

There are two ways to get to Baikal. It is located on the territory of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. You can fly to the capitals of these regions from Moscow, from St. Petersburg, and now, by the way, regional transportation is developing. You can fly to Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude from many regions of Russia without connecting flights. Where you can’t get there by airplane, you can get there by train, because it’s all Transsib.

It is best to fly to Baikal from Moscow via Irkutsk: Aeroflot and Pobeda fly here regularly. There is another airport near Baikal, in Ulan-Ude, but it is more suitable for travelers from Vladivostok: there are fewer flights from the capital, and the road will take longer.

It takes about five hours to fly from Moscow and an hour more from St. Petersburg. There are about six or seven flights from Moscow to Irkutsk per day, but from St. Petersburg there is not much choice, one flight flies without connections. There are the same number of flights to Ulan-Ude, so in total there are more than 10 flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Baikal every day.

Syuyumbike Davlet-Kildeeva

Head of content and social media of the travel service “Kupibilet”

To Baikal itself from Irkutsk is about 70 kilometers, which can be overcome in different ways – depends on where you want to go. So, to the lakeside village Listvyanka from the city there are shuttle buses. You should stop there to see the Eastern Sayan Mountains, Baikal and Angara from the observation deck, take a ride on the cable car and go to the open-air museum of wooden architecture. There is also a small ski resort called Eastland.

What about prices

It takes about six hours to fly to Irkutsk from Moscow, round-trip tickets for December now cost from 14 thousand rubles with luggage. On New Year holidays prices are higher, but if you book now, you can get within 35 thousand rubles.

For accommodation and food, you should budget from 2 thousand rubles per day per person. It is worth realizing that now there is also a season, but winter. It is, of course, cheaper and more modest than summer, but there are unique activities that are not available in summer. And there are fewer people.

Where to go

Syuyumbike: From Irkutsk and Listvyanka the route to the famous Olkhon Island starts. There are no regular flights here, so you need to book a ticket for the bus Irkutsk – Sakhyurti – Khuzhir in advance. You can do it on the website of the local carrier “Olkhon-Express”, the cost of the trip is about 1.5 thousand rubles one-way. The trip will take about four hours with stops for snacks and ferry to the island.

On Olkhon itself it makes sense to stop at least for two or three days to have time to drive around the neighborhood, to see Khoboy cape, coastal caves and Shamanka mountain – a sacred place for local residents. You can stay in one of the hotels or at the campground in the village of Huzhir: Olkhon is very popular with tourists, so there is no lack of accommodation options.

In general, during the trip it is convenient to book accommodation in Irkutsk or Listvyanka – but in Irkutsk there is more choice, and the chances of finding a budget option are higher. From both locations you can get to most of Baikal’s interesting places.

Another point worth including in your trip is a trip along the Circum-Baikal railroad, built at the beginning of the last century. In winter there are excursions by train, and this opportunity is better not to miss: the road runs along the picturesque shore of the lake, through a huge number of tunnels, bridges, galleries and viaducts.

The main attraction of winter Baikal is, of course, the famous ice and ice hummocks. But be aware that to walk safely on the lake, you need to wait until the end of January. By this time, the thickness of the ice allows not only walking, but also skating, jeep or dog sledding.

What to take with you

The weather in winter on Baikal is quite harsh: the temperature drops to 20-25°C, and because of strong winds it seems even colder. Therefore, you will definitely need a set of thermal underwear, insulated jacket and pants – preferably with a membrane that protects from wind. If you plan to walk on ice, take boots with you on non-slip soles.

It is also desirable to take with you a warmer balaclava and a scarf to wrap yourself completely. Imagine that you are going to Antarctica! This is how you should dress for Baikal. By the way, Baikal has a lot of sunny days, so it’s worth grabbing sunglasses and sunscreen. Getting sunburns is very real – as is weathered skin.

Where to live

There are plenty of places to stay in Baikal. For example, locals often rent accommodation in settlements. If we take the Buryat side, the most famous one is Gremyachinsk. There is a fairly good road there. It’s like Anapa or Gelendzhik, only on Baikal. Everyone there rents apartments and houses to live in.

But there are also more or less ennobled places to stay: hotels, guest houses, which do not just give you a bed. There is also service there: heat, hot water, breakfasts, lunches, dinners. In general, everything in the world. You can live, prices in winter season are cheaper than in Anapa, one and a half times.

How to travel

Misha: Baikal is famous for its transparent ice. But it’s important to watch the weather, because if it’s snowing, of course, you won’t have any transparent ice. Then you will come and you won’t distinguish Baikal itself from its nearest shores, because everything will be equally covered with snow. That is why you need to watch the weather – watch when there is no precipitation for quite a long time. You also need to have all the old precipitation blown away by the wind.

The lake itself can be traveled by cars. And then there are aeroboats, which is a hovercraft with a giant propeller at the back. It is quite a popular entertainment on winter Baikal. In fact, you float with great speed on the endless icy expanse. It is very noisy on the boat, but at least it is warmer than outside.

On the Buryatia side there is a peninsula called Svyatoy Nos. There is a nature reserve there, where bears roam. And there are very interesting islands that can only be reached by ice. There are huge ice caves, where you enter and feel like Kai from “The Snow Queen”. Everything is in ice and snow, there is a huge rock with a cave in it. Very impressive. And Olkhon Island, of course. They say it is the most interesting place on Baikal.