Ecology of Baikal

The past year of 2015 with taboos on holidays in Turkey and Egypt has forced many Russians to reconsider their places that have developed over the years family vacation and take a fresh look at domestic Russian tourist meccas. As it turned out, there are not so many such places in Russia. The Caucasus and the Black Sea coast, no doubt, are good, but the wave of tourists surging into these places and the prices soaring in an instant leave an indelible negative aftertaste in the memory of tourists.

But there are places in Russia that are no less amazing in terms of their beauty and quality of recreation, which will not only delight tourists with their natural beauty and variety of recreation options, but also breathe so much energy and positive into any traveler that this vacation will remain a bright spot in his memories. with the desire to return to these places again. This magical place is Lake Baikal.

Unfortunately, at the mention of a possible tourist trip In these Siberian places, many Russians often have groundless stereotypes that immediately discourage the desire to get acquainted with the rest on Lake Baikal.

Let's try to figure out whether it is really worth planning your next family summer vacation on Lake Baikal and how much it can cost. What is the truth and where is the error?

Consider the most common questions that arise in the head of any tourist planning to spend their holidays on the shores of Lake Baikal:

1. Baikal is very far away.

2. There is nothing to see on Baikal and it is not worth spending the whole family vacation on it.

3. A trip to Baikal is very expensive.

3. There is no tourist infrastructure on Baikal.

4. There are many mosquitoes on Baikal and bears walk the streets.

6. You can go to Baikal only in summer

7. Baikal has cold water and a beach summer rest there is impossible.

8. It's scary to go to Baikal on your own! - how to get to the sights? how to build routes? where to stay? how to get around all the most interesting things in a few days?

So, we expose the myths about the rest on Lake Baikal.

MYTH 1. BAIKAL IS VERY FAR

Baikal is not at all the outskirts of Russia. Our country is so big that in fact Lake Baikal is located practically in the geographical center of Russia exactly in the middle between Kaliningrad and Vladivostok.

The distance from the capital of our Motherland to Lake Baikal is about 5000 km with a flight time of about 5 hours. This is little more than a flight to Antalya or Hurghada (3.5 and 4 hours respectively). Moreover, the time of departure from Moscow (late evening) and arrival back (early morning) is chosen very conveniently and the road does not tire at all.

Lake Baikal can be reached in two ways:

- By plane

From Moscow- direct flight to Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude. Aeroflot, UTair, Ural Airlines» and S7. In Ulan-Ude - Aeroflot, Transaero, S7 and Yakutia. As a rule, flights are in the evening. Travel time is 5-6 hours.

From Saint-Petersburg- direct flight to Irkutsk by Ural Airlines and Rossiya airlines.

You can also fly to Baikal from other cities: Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Perm, Tyumen, Surgut, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Mirny, Tomsk, Barnaul, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Yakutsk . Flight time from 2 to 8 hours.

- By train

From Moscow you can travel directly to Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Baikalsk and Severobaikalsk. From St. Petersburg - only to Irkutsk. The road from Moscow or St. Petersburg will take up to 4 days.

Stations in the south of Lake Baikal Slyudyanka, Tankhoy, Baikalsk are used in summer for sending tourist groups to the mountains of Khamar-Daban, in winter a ski resort operates in Baikalsk.

MYTH 2. THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE ON BAIKAL AND YOU SHOULD NOT SPEND THE WHOLE FAMILY HOLIDAY ON IT

Baikal is so multifaceted and unique in terms of options and places of recreation that it is impossible to explore all its beauties even in a few vacations! There is almost everything for any type of holiday.

Those who wish to find a worthy alternative to a beach holiday can recommend the Small Sea Strait and the Eastern coast of Baikal, where the warm and clear waters of the bays, chic white sand and an abundance of sunny days will provide a great pastime for the whole family.

And believe me, one vacation to see all the beauties of Baikal will definitely not be enough for you!

Choose the option of rest on Lake Baikal that you like from the whole variety of types

MYTH 3. A TRIP TO BAIKAL IS VERY EXPENSIVE

More than half of those who come to Baikal are students and pensioners, whose income is quite modest!

Let's look at the prices on Baikal in more detail and consider the options for recreation on Lake Baikal.

The biggest cost component of a trip to Lake Baikal is the flight.

Currently, a flight from Moscow to Irkutsk will cost one way from 12 tr. per person. On the train, the price is much lower (from 3.5 tr for a one-way ticket), but not everyone wants to spend more than 3 days in the car.

Accordingly, the cost of a round-trip flight will be within 25 tr. per person (Aeroflot provides discounts for pensioners). The rest of the expenses depend on your vacation option on Lake Baikal.

Option 1 - rest through a travel agency

Basically, Baikal tour operators include all expenses from the moment of meeting you at the airport (Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude) and boarding the plane back. You pay for the flight yourself.

The advantages of such a holiday is that the tour operator decides all the questions on the organization of the holiday for you. At the same time, for a limited vacation time, you can cover the maximum of attractions. But for this, in addition to the flight, you have to pay for a tour package.

The cost of a tour package depends on the time of year, the duration of the trip and the level of amenities. On average, a weekly stay with included excursions, meals and trips to attractions will be from 15 to 40 tr. per person. More detailed information about the prices for tours around Baikal can be found in these sections:

- summer tours to Baikal
- winter tours to Baikal

Option 2 - independent rest on Baikal

Those who are used to counting money and are not ready to overpay can be offered an independent vacation on Lake Baikal. And do not be afraid of difficulties - more than 70% of tourists coming to Lake Baikal choose this kind of vacation. Obvious pluses - an independent choice of routes and costs. At the same time, you can stay for accommodation both in any of the numerous tourist centers on Baikal (prices from 500 rubles per day without meals), or in a tent on any site of the Baikal coast that you like - fortunately, there are a huge number of such picnics and places on Baikal.

The whole variety of independent recreation on Baikal with sights, contacts and places of residence can be explored in separate article.

And if you want to see the route on the map and choose the right one, then you are on the page with maps of routes to all the sights of Lake Baikal.

Option 3 - a trip to Baikal with a guide

If you have a rational approach to money and are not ready to purchase expensive tours, but at the same time you want to protect yourself as much as possible from possible misunderstandings during the trip and make it as informative as possible, then numerous experienced tour guides will help you. They can help you with route planning, organization of transfers to places of rest and holding interesting excursions. Here is a list of trusted and experienced Baikal guides.

4 Vacation option - volunteering

If you want to see Baikal in all its grandeur and at the same time not only not spend a penny on a trip, but also earn money, then these Amazing places You can come by volunteer movement. Baikal has a huge number of protected areas and at any time of the year helpers are needed here. Since 2003, the international project "Great Baikal Trail" has been implemented on Baikal. You can choose any of numerous nature reserves of Baikal and express your desire to come as a volunteer.

The choice of vacation option is yours!

But pay attention to the MAIN RULE OF ANY HOLIDAY ON BAIKAL - after your stay, the place of rest should remain at least as clean as before your arrival! Make friends with your conscience!

MYTH 4. THERE IS NO TOURIST INFRASTRUCTURE ON BAIKAL

Baikal is really not Türkiye and not even Black Sea coast. That is why these places are still clean, sacred and full of energy and strength. But it is precisely this circumstance that annually attracts millions of tourists from all over the world to the shores of Lake Baikal. More than half of Baikal's territory is occupied National parks and nature reserves and staying in these territories imposes certain obligations in relation to nature and the development of tourism infrastructure.

The trip to Baikal begins with the arrival in the regional cities of Irkutsk (60 km to the north-west of Baikal) and Ulan-Ude (70 km to the south-east). There is so much originality and legendary history in these metropolitan merchant cities that it is worth spending at least a couple of days getting to know them.

As for the tourist infrastructure on the very coast of Lake Baikal, it is no less than in Altai or Kamchatka. In any of the places of tourist activity there are always recreation centers, cafes, ATMs and route transport.

Nevertheless, many travelers come to Baikal just to see its wild nature and pristine beauty. This is also enough here. But in this case, do not expect any blessings of civilization and first study the Boy Scout's handbook and experienced tips;)

MYTH 5. THERE ARE A LOT OF MOSQUITOES IN BAIKAL AND BEARS WALK THE STREETS

Here the answer will be short.

There are no mosquitoes on the coast of Lake Baikal at all! The cold waters of the lake are unacceptable for the development of the larvae of this insect, which, as is known, develop only in warm water.

Bears often come to the shore of Lake Baikal. Photo by Umar Ramazanov

Bears are found only in the northern part of the lake and are dangerous during the period after hibernation (April-May). In the rest of the period, it is a very cautious predator and tries not to catch the eye of a person. Almost throughout the entire territory of Baikal, where tourist routes, the probability of meeting with this owner of the taiga is extremely small. Behind last years cases of meeting tourists with a bear are rare and not a single one with a fatal outcome.

MYTH 6. TOURIST SEASON IN BAIKAL ONLY IN SUMMER

You can relax on Baikal all year round!

At any time of the year there is something to see and do on Baikal, you can come to Baikal all year round - in summer, autumn, winter and spring. The warmest months in the summer season are July and August, and to enjoy winter entertainment on Baikal it is better to come in February-March, when the lake is covered with the strongest ice.
IN different time year, an amazing unforgettable vacation is possible!

You can learn more about seasonal holidays on Lake Baikal at a separate link.

And choose a vacation option on Lake Baikal in any season

MYTH 7. COLD WATER AND BEACH REST IS IMPOSSIBLE ON BAIKAL

At any time of the year at a depth of Baikal has a constant water temperature of + 4 degrees. But almost along the entire coast of Lake Baikal in the bays in the summer season (from mid-July to the end of August), the average water temperature reaches +20 degrees. And given that Baikal is one of the sunniest places in Russia, any tourist will be able to combine sunbathing and water treatments, diluting relaxing bodily relaxation with a visit to many cultural and ethnic attractions.

Particularly noteworthy in beach holiday such Baikal places as the Small Sea and the Eastern coast of Baikal, where the water in the bays warms up to +25 degrees. These are ideal places for a beach holiday on Lake Baikal.

MYTH 8. IT IS TERRIBLE TO GO TO BAIKAL BY YOURSELF

This is perhaps the most burning question for all travelers who are planning an independent vacation on Lake Baikal.
Every year more than a million tourists come to Baikal as savages and before they could not find detailed information about independent rest, since most of the descriptions of Lake Baikal are on commercial sites of tour operators selling tours or personal pages of tourists who have visited Baikal with highly emotional and subjective posts.

Seeing this situation, we launched the Baikal Fan mobile application.

Now any user of mobile devices, while relaxing on Lake Baikal without access to the Internet, can find out all the information he needs about all the most interesting places of recreation, events and routes laid out on maps to the most beautiful sights of Lake Baikal.

To do this, you just need to install our guide on your mobile phone and a personal guide-assistant to Baikal will always be in your pocket!
And most importantly, since March 15, 2016, this mobile guide can be downloaded and installed on your phone absolutely free of charge!

For those who have constant access to the Internet, our guide section will help you choose a vacation spot for yourself on Baikal, which contains detailed and reliably verified information about all the most interesting sights of the Baikal region with a detailed description of routes to vacation spots, as well as detailed Yandex -maps with marked sights of Lake Baikal. The guide is constantly updated with new articles about this unique lake.

And since you have already read this article to the end and you are interested in the opportunity to visit the fabulous Baikal places, here is a link to our free guidebook, which provides advice from experienced travelers around Baikal and has answers to all the most frequently asked questions about a trip to Baikal .

TAKE BAIKAL WITH YOU!

Solo travel is freedom. But for a trip to the deepest lake in the world to be unforgettable, it should be well planned. Especially if you eat Baikal as savages, and do not take a package tour and do not plan to live all the time in one of the tourist villages on the shores of Lake Baikal.

There are many nuances regarding the choice of a place to stay, the necessary things and routes, which we will try to talk about in this article.

Tip: to plan your trip more thoughtfully, you can study ready-made tours around Baikal, in which all the waypoints are listed (for example,) and borrow interesting ideas.

If you are going to Baikal with children, you will find it useful.

detailed instructions how to get by plane or train to the settlements closest to Baikal. The further way depends on the specific place you have chosen to visit.

And, as well as (if you are traveling through Ulan-Ude), which are worth going to, and from which the journey usually begins.

The lake greatly affects the climate around due to the fact that large bodies of water at different times either absorb or give off heat. In the spring, when the ice melts, it is cool on the coast until the very end of June.

But until October, there is a beautiful warm autumn here - in July and August, Baikal was saturated with the sun and is gradually sharing it.

The winters here are mild, but the winds are constantly blowing, and the temperature is felt lower than it is.

The golden months for a trip are the tourist season on Lake Baikal - July and August (it is also warm in September, but the storm season is in full swing). At this time, you can sunbathe and swim on the lake without fear of catching a cold, the temperature is usually in the range of 20 - 30 degrees Celsius.

How to look for a deserted place

There are more and more tourists on the lake every year, so many places are crowded. Especially in places like Olkhon Island or Slyudyanka.

If anyone wants to relax alone, the way out is to take a tent, get to any tourist place, and from there make one or two hiking trips along the coast.

For example, from Maksimikha along the coast to the right, you can walk in four hours to a wonderful deserted beach and settle down there. Not far from civilization, but few people. Here you can swim in the warm Barguzinsky Bay or lie on the sand. If living in a tent is not interesting, then you can climb up from the coast and rent a room from local residents, 500-600 rubles per day.

Most wild places of Baikal- this is the taiga northeast, the vicinity of Severobaikalsk: Dzelinda, Khakusy, Lake Frolikha. Dense forests, mountains, lakes preserved from the last ice age ... Those who seek rest as an adventure go here. You can stop at the Khakusa recreation center, and from there explore the surroundings by boat.

If you get to Severobaikalsk by train, then Khakusa is easy to get to: a couple of hours on a boat, and you are there. From Irkutsk, either by plane or by regular ship, you will have to pay from 5 thousand for travel.

Main tourist places

Even a savage with a tent, sooner or later, may need civilization or want to visit the remarkable places of Baikal. We talked about the sights in detail, use it to plan your route. Below are the main points where the infrastructure is developed, where you can easily rent a house, go to a cafe or shop, find an ATM.

Where to look for housing

The tourist infrastructure on Baikal is developed - you can rent an apartment in virtually any locality, prices range from 450 to 20,000 per day, depending on the level of comfort.

There are websites on the web that deal with this topic:

http://baikalov.ru/ - there you can book a room, a house, a hotel room anywhere on the Baikal coast, and a room for 300 rubles, and elite apartments for a couple of tens of thousands of rubles;
http://tvil.ru/ offers rentals not only on Baikal, but all over the world, so here you can rent a house or a cottage only in the most popular places, the cost is quite high, from 8,000 per day;
http://na-ozero.ru/, here the prices are small, from 500 rubles a day;
baikal-raduga.ru - a guest house in Maksimikha - a proven place. It accommodates only 12 people, you need to book in advance. But the rest will be wonderful - in the forest, not far from the wild beach, with a sauna. Accommodation without meals 850 rubles per day, meals 1100 (excellently prepared dishes of Buryat cuisine in a cozy dining room).

Although real savages prefer tents.

Useful online resources about Baikal for independent travelers

1. http://baikaler.ru/ - detailed guide along Baikal.
2. http://www.magicbaikal.ru/ - virtual tour of the lake and its shores.
3. http://www.skitalets.ru , http://forum.awd.ru/ , http://www.bpclub.ru/ - these are forums of independent travelers and tourists, there are many useful information for travel planning.

What you need to take with you to Baikal

1. 1. Warm clothes set- Mandatory even in hot July and August. At any moment, a cold wind can blow from the mountains or from the lake, the temperature drops sharply at night, and drops even lower at dawn.
   2. Remedies for mosquitoes and ticks- Taiga forests mainly grow along the shores of Lake Baikal, so you need to protect yourself from blood-sucking insects.
   3. Ointment for burns should be in the first aid kit, sunburns are frequent. The first aid kit must be fully stocked - the necessary medicines are not always available even in hotels. You can read about how to collect it on any travel forum.
   4. CHI policy And tick insurance.
   5. Comfortable shoes- on Baikal, most of the routes are pedestrian, in order not to kill your legs on the first day, you need to take a pair in which you can definitely walk several kilometers in a row.

1. Cash. In many places, of course, they pay by card, but there are no ATMs in the taiga yet. If you want to go far away, take cash, and do not take large bills - there is nowhere to change.
2. If you feel sick - take medicine, you will have to travel a lot by bus or car, and to Olkhon and distant lakes - by ferry.

Things to know and remember

• Protect yourself and your companions, before the trip, do special insurance for travelers (it is issued in any major insurance company).
• Learn about everything in advance, buy tickets ahead of time, book accommodation - there are many tourists, it is even better to find a place to camp in a tent before the trip, at least an approximate one.
• Don't eat at all unfamiliar food(unless you are an extreme gourmet) and do not get carried away with Buryat cuisine - one of the main components of its mutton fat, out of habit, you can greatly upset the stomach and liver.
• Parking by the water do not do it at night - there is a tide on Baikal!

Who is still thinking about whether to go to Baikal or not, watch this informative film that tells about the nature of the lake, the geography and culture of the peoples living around:

But flying to Irkutsk does not mean at all that the cost of the road will end there. It will be the easiest and cheapest, but here you will not see even a tenth of Baikal.

2. Most interesting places on Baikal are located quite far from Irkutsk and are worth either several hours of shaking on very, very bad roads, where in a few hours it can shake your whole soul and then standing in car queues for many hours at the crossing to Olkhon Island (and in the heat or in the wind, with the absence of any service and the presence of boorish drivers trying to get on the ferry without a queue - this is still a pleasure)
That is why Andrey Bednyakov, in the program “Eagle and Tails” dedicated to Baikal, went to Olkhon by helicopter. He could afford it, he had an unlimited budget and a gold card. For everyone else, this type of transport is not available due to its extreme high cost.
Another alternative is on old Soviet boats (which is very romantic and I really like it, but the ships are so old that, judging by last year's incident on the Barguzin-2 cruise ship in Baikal, this is not at all as safe as it seems).

3. Hotels (hostels) on Baikal absolutely and totally do not correspond with their service to the prices requested for them.
Tourist service on Baikal is of very low quality and too expensive. I call it “a pioneer camp with permitted alcohol” with all the consequences.
This is one of the reasons why I myself rarely allow myself to go somewhere here. Weekends in a normal hotel on Lake Baikal can cost comparable to a last-minute 10-day trip to Thailand.

Seriously, it is psychologically very difficult for me to come to terms with paying SUCH money for a miserable environment with Soviet hotel service.
In 90% of cases, the tourist center on Lake Baikal - hastily knocked together houses with thin partitions, with rooms of 10 square meters and furniture made by prisoners of local prisons - all this looks cheap and extremely miserable. And also the staff, who are not distinguished by excessive politeness, and even more so by the desire to turn your vacation into a holiday, adds the necessary touches to this whole bleak picture.
You can watch the same program “Eagle and Reshka” about Baikal, where even one of the most expensive hotels on Olkhon looks exactly like I describe.

The logic of the owners of the camp sites is iron, they come to Baikal for Baikal and a priori these are “people with money”, who have already spent a hundred for the flight and who will calmly lay out 10 thousand per night, and will not count every penny like some rogue. Unfortunately, the owners of camp sites have no motivation to change something, because, indeed, "everyone goes anyway." And this is very sad.
Quite common for Baikal camp sites, the option “conveniences in the yard” can become a rather unpleasant surprise if you look only at the price of the camp site and reviews on the booking website and do not pay attention to the postscript about these very amenities. This, in my opinion, is a service for not too pretentious and unsqueamish people. To which, personally, I do not belong.

And the food at these camp sites - without exception, at best, "hello, school canteen", with rancid cutlets and sticky pasta. All this is definitely difficult to call tasty, and even more so, useful.
In general, I would prefer to bring everything with me than to eat in this way, well, or perhaps out of desperation. I don’t know where they recruit cooks, and indeed staff, but the fact that the owners of the camp sites save on everything that is possible and impossible is unequivocal.
Actually, this year several camp sites on the Small Sea were evacuated and closed in the middle of the summer season due to the mass poisoning of guests, among whom were my friends.

4. Literally Forest fires can poison your stay on Lake Baikal in the summer season, not even so much fires as smoke from them, which not only prevents you from enjoying the scenery, because because of it you often simply cannot see anything for a couple of tens of meters. But breathing them is very unhealthy.

For several years in a row, forests in Siberia have been burning with terrible force, the size of fires and their duration depend solely on weather conditions. But they happen with enviable regularity. Why they were not there 10-15 years ago, one can only guess.

This year, for example, we had a lot of rain, nevertheless, almost until the end of July, we had the “happiness” to enjoy this unpleasant phenomenon, the fault of which is exclusively human.
Last year, the forest burned out even in such popular tourist places as Peschanaya Bay, the sight is still very sad and it is not known how long it will take for the forest to restore itself.

5. Baikal is a wild place where nature and people are not used to joking. Therefore, you should not relax here at all, Baikal is not a resort for you.
I’ll tell you about the three most dangerous inhabitants of these places, a meeting with which can have tragic consequences:
The Bears maybe they don’t walk on Red Square, but in Siberia you can easily meet him. It is enough to move a little away from the well-worn hiking trails and for the bear himself to have such a desire. In addition to the bear, there are chances to meet wolves. Now, animals often come out to people in the most unexpected places, the reason for this is the same forest fires that drive animals from their usual habitats.

But much more often you can meet on Baikal with a no less dangerous beast - wood tick. A small bite can cause very unpleasant diseases - encephalitis, Lyme disease or boreliosis, which these vile creatures are carriers of. And there are a lot of infected ticks on Baikal so that you don’t have to worry about them, just walking through the forest.
If you are planning a trip to Lake Baikal from the end of April to the end of September, I highly recommend getting vaccinated against encephalitis just in case, this is a very unpleasant disease that is easier to prevent than to treat later. Vaccinations, by the way, are given in two doses, a few months before the start of the season.
Well, be sure to inspect yourself and each other in order to remove the tick from yourself in time. Even if you are vaccinated against encephalitis, there are no vaccines for Lyme disease, for example, and it is not treated as simply as the common cold. So it's better to play it safe once again.

Well the most dangerous inhabitant on Lake Baikal is a man. Unfortunately, locals often live in difficult conditions and poverty, where alcohol is one of their main and favorite pastimes.
Again, here, in Siberia, in general, a lot of all sorts of rabble live, because historically this is a place of exile, here and now there are several large prisons, leaving which not everyone immediately goes home.
Relaxing surrounded by such people is definitely not worth it. At best, they will sell you something at exorbitant prices, but they can also rob you.
The Irkutsk region is one of the most criminogenic regions of Russia, we should not forget about it.

Well, I hope I didn't scare you too much? I just wanted to warn you about various troubles that can greatly spoil the rest and impressions of the rest on Lake Baikal, if they suddenly turn out to be unexpected.
If you have anything to add to this list, welcome. After all, "forewarned is forearmed." I think this information will be useful to many tourists traveling in Russia.

COMMENTS

23 comments on ““5 reasons NOT to go on vacation to Lake Baikal””

Helena, thanks for a very informative post! As you rightly noted, many simply cannot afford such an expensive vacation with a level of service at a triple with a minus. A round-trip ticket from Moscow to Tokyo without transfers costs 50 thousand, and Japan is much further. I would love to go to your Small Sea, but what you described is very embarrassing. It is sad that people cannot normally travel around their country, because there are sheer difficulties and high cost! Indeed, it is easier to go to Tai, as many Irkutsk residents do, for example, my friends.

For me Baikal is a tent. My will, I would have put all these dull camp sites in general. Left only a few normal for service lovers. The road now to the Small Sea is beautiful. There is only a little bit of gravel road left, and that will be completed this year. My parents brought me to Baikal for the first time when I was 2 or 3 years old. That's when the challenge came. The gravel road started from Bayanday, we drove 20-40 kilometers per hour, and not in a modern car, but in a Muscovite. With stops on the rivers for lunch. But there was romance, beyond words. Tea on a fire, eggs, a chicken, a river runs and there are still three hours ahead on a gravel road to Baikal. And as a child, it was wonderful in Arshan. No shitty stalls with Mongolian rags, no cafes (according to my recollections, there was only a cheburek in a green house since Soviet times), shops and garbage. Just you and the mountains.

• But I’m not at all a fan of tents and hiking, because I started going to Baikal only recently, how civilization appeared there. (My parents have never been here at all, although they have lived all their lives 8) And how to travel? Basically, to get back and forth faster, camp sites for me are almost the same test as tents
  Well, I need hot water - to wash every day and to pull the lenses out of my eyes somewhere, so that no one bites, and in general I can hardly endure any uncomfortable conditions. A night in a bungalow on Koh Chang is one of the biggest stresses in my life, when I ended up in the jungle almost alone and almost in a tent and from all sides someone croaked, rustled and crawled))) So, I'm for letting they are somehow developing civilized tourism on Baikal, but they don’t charge for it money comparable to suites in the center of European capitals. Well, I would also like less Chinese garbage in the form of souvenirs
  In the spring we went to the Small Sea, then everything hurt in my back for two days, but it also depends on the car, of course. Or maybe the road was repaired there for the season, it became better? I didn't go in the summer because of the smoke. Now, if I go there, I will only look at the winter Baikal, I will check my feelings from the road again)))
  And I have ambivalent impressions from Arshan, on the one hand, everything seems to be good and interesting, on the other hand, almost the same thing only without mineral water, a waterfall, a bunch of stray dogs and crowds of tourists, you can see in Belsk. Nature is very similar.

Of course, the article does not shine with competence, but this is due to the crisis of values ​​and the incorrect positioning of Baikal.
But while some suffer and for some reason, for the sake of masochism, they buy a ticket for 50 thousand, when it costs 30 thousand round trip, for more than 15 years we have been creating infrastructure in unique places

• • So it's all about money, not people. It's clear. It is even forbidden to watch information about tickets on other sources under the threat of a ban :) Then this is all not serious - block it.

    • Maybe I'm talking to you in vain as an adequate person in general? I've already thought of something like this.
      I have already found tickets for you for 20 thousand, and not for 30 as you are used to, but you are all not happy with something.
      Well, the fact that I do not want to turn my site into a free classifieds board or a training ground for beginner trolls - let's remain my right? Fine?

Yeah ... Well, I cruised the Lena River on a boat, and I was satisfied with everything, and the service is at the highest level! beautiful in terms of tourism, but cruises on it are promoted much less than on Baikal, and apparently, that’s why they are trying to attract a client, which the snickering owners of Baikal camp sites do not need, hence the level of service on the Lena is higher, and the level of arrogance of the owners and staff—not even lower, but simply absent!

• Yes, there are many on Lena too beautiful places. I was there a long time ago when I was a child. My relatives live in Yakutia. There are many things associated with these places.
  But Baikal is still different, be sure to come to Baikal, if possible. By itself, I really like it, I have more complaints about business representatives who “tear money”. I'd like to see some progress towards improvements. That's why I criticize

  • And I was passing along the BAM through Severobakalsk, and from the south, Baikal also went around along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Everything was visible from the train!))) Well, seriously, yes, you must, of course, feel Baikal, but that's not the desire to still pay a lot of money - and get a vacation for them that does not at all correspond to this money (well, just the nature is unique). The camp sites - "pioneer camps" with the mentality of their owners "provide less - tear off more" somehow do not attract. Is it better to take a cruise on a boat on Lake Baikal? How is it?) But Baikal is not Lena, only 5 days of a cruise, and the entire Baikal is passed round the boat ... Yes, and the story of the ship "Barguzin" is still fresh...

    • Just yesterday I wrote a new article about budget options for recreation on Lake Baikal. Perhaps some of this will be useful)))
      I would also like to go on a cruise on Baikal))), I love Baikal most of all from the water, so you can get to the most inaccessible places of Baikal, where you can’t go by car or where it’s too difficult and long to get there.
      But the prices for cruises still scare me a lot, even more than the prices for camp sites, maybe because it doesn’t seem very exotic to me.
      Yes, and the boats themselves, yes, do not inspire much confidence because of their antiquity, but statistically it is still quite safe, since that fire became a real emergency, and not from the “something happened there again” category.

I read it and decided to write. Not replying to anyone, and not arguing with anyone. Just on topic. I live in Irkutsk and have been traveling around Lake Baikal for more than 30 years on a motorboat. I used to go with my family. Now the daughters are adults. In recent years, I have been gathering friends in small 3-5 people. commands. They also come from afar. But we only travel as savages. In tents. I, like my guests, are healthy, accustomed to camp life since childhood. We make parking for overnight stays or for rest only in places where there is no one but us for kilometers. And I just don't understand any other way. Well, think for yourself, because most of the reasons listed in the article can be easily avoided if everything depends on you. I don’t understand why go to Lake Baikal for service and amenities? What, are there really few places where it is at a height and many times cheaper? This is where everyone who cares about convenience and service should rest. Someone will say that everyone wants to see one of the wonders of our time, the great lake-sea - a planetary reservoir of drinking water. Well, that's an understandable desire. But if you just see, that is, see with your eyes, then isn't it easier to see in a photo, video, on TV?
But if you want to see - to feel, to understand, to be imbued with this miraculousness, this greatness, antiquity and Power, then (again) in your version - you will not succeed. You won’t feel anything, even standing on the highest and most picturesque rock facing Him, if at that time there are completely strangers behind you at that time humming (sometimes in other languages), laughing, taking pictures, and just drinking beer and swearing. Moreover, the guide (most often a volunteer, who himself is on Baikal for the first time) will “buzz” the memorized text and hurry up to return early for another group.
In our version, everything is completely different. Hikers - all about "one field of berries." Everyone has the same reverence for nature. And those who are from beginners, in a common company, very quickly imbued with the same “spirit”. We don't have many household chores. And at any time, you can simply move away from the camp at least 100-200 meters, find a suitable dry and clean log, which Batyushka threw a lot along the banks. Sit down without clearing the place from the leftovers of "tourists", and sit alone with Baikal. Listen to Him and say something cherished yourself.
Do you understand the difference?
Well, after all, there are places on earth where hotel tourists simply do not go. Deserts, cold Arctic and Antarctic, mountains and volcanoes, finally. So Baikal should be attributed to the same places and not complain about the service and “Sovietness”.
Let it be a place of strength and it is for strong people both in body and spirit.

• Ivan, thank you very much for such a detailed comment. I agree, Baikal does not tolerate any fuss or neglect. This is a truly harsh and wild place, one of the few on Earth where you can still feel like just a grain of sand, and not the "king" of nature. It’s not even the development of civilization on Baikal that upsets me to a greater extent, but that “outdoor recreation” = “alcohol libations” with all the consequences is too much for a large number of people. I would not allow such people even for 100 km to such places as Baikal. They don't need it, in my opinion. Let them stay at home...

  • Yes, it will be really interesting to know about Ivan's experience. And I’ll add on my own - in tourist places on Lake Baikal now it’s not at all wild, everything is for tourists, almost like in Anapa. 8) Don’t worry, it’s not at all easy for an ordinary tourist to get to truly wild places on Baikal. Now even foreigners go to Baikal on their own, civilization is everywhere))

Completely agree with Ivan. Baikal must be felt, understood, felt with the body, soul, and thought.
Each place is beautiful in its own way and not everyone can see it.
On Baikal there are different unusual places, even in forgotten miserable villages, such as Buguldeyka. There is no tourist infrastructure at all, but a couple of hours on a completely normal gravel road and in front of you is a huge marble quarry behind which the infinity of Baikal grows https://pp.userapi.com/c849028/v849028371/34e6e /ZnHZyjw_QsM.jpg

Or in the most visited places like Olkhon https://pp.userapi.com/c837121/v837121782/483c1/06eVphVBcTo.jpg
Or take, for example, the Barguzinsky Bay, which hotels? This is a nature reserve, there is surprisingly clean, warm water, waves, sand beach and beautiful sunsets https://pp.userapi.com/c639816/v639816833/32452/BmynUBKezas.jpg
And you don’t need to fly to any Tai.
So to each his own.

And the problem of transport, comfort is secondary in such a place.
And if you need service, prestige, places from the picture, convenience, you better go to Thailand, Vietnam, etc.

• Thanks for the extended comment. You have very beautiful photos of Lake Baikal.))) For the most part, I also agree with everything, but I'm still upset by the discrepancy between the local service and its cost. As world practice shows, modern hotels are very organically able to fit into the wild, in contrast to these ugly hastily put together houses of Baikal "hostels" at the price of a 5-star hotel in the center of Paris. It is a pity that no one follows the architecture on Baikal. And no one cares what happens on its shores. Well, I didn’t quite understand how Baikal is without transport? Walk it with all the desire and with all the love for wild nature don't bypass. Especially the places you are talking about. Except until the first bear)))

Thanks for the warning. I immediately felt like spending a lot of money on a trip. I'd rather look at the pictures. The vaccine that “worth” smiled))) Is this a local turn of speech?

Thanks a lot for the article! The picture in my head was bright, but not joyful. Now I will think again a hundred times whether it is worth going to Baikal, especially with two children! Ticks, food a la "school cafeteria", fires, etc. and so on.

• I will open a little secret 8), you can write a similar article ABOUT ANY, the most heavenly tourist place. In this case, I want to warn you about possible troubles that you need to keep in mind when going to Baikal. This is not Türkiye, anyway. But it is not a fact that you will meet with the listed troubles. For example, I have never even seen ticks, although I have been to Baikal not once or twice, and there were almost no fires last year ...) It is more difficult with food, but according to the owners of camp sites, whom I accidentally offended with my posts, they I was the only one who didn't like the food, everyone else was delighted)))

Unfortunately, when mentioning the possibility of a tourist trip not only to Baikal, but also to Siberia in general, many residents of our country have associations that immediately eliminate the desire to get acquainted with the rest on Baikal.

Let's try to figure out whether it is really worth making plans for a vacation on Lake Baikal and what costs it can cost you. What is the truth and where is the error?

Again, I took the Internet as a source of information. Tourists planning to spend their holidays on the shores of Lake Baikal share their thoughts and plans on the pages of websites.

Here is a list of doubts and questions that are heard most often

1. Very far to go.
2. There is almost nothing to see on Baikal and it is not worth wasting time.
3. A trip to Baikal is a very expensive pleasure.
4. There is almost no tourist infrastructure there.
5. On Baikal, insects will eat you, and if not, then bears will attack.
6. It makes sense to go on vacation to Lake Baikal only in summer
7. The water is cold, even in summer you can't swim.
8. It's scary to go to Baikal on your own! It is not known how to get to the sights, where to drive, where to stay, how many days to plan a trip.

So, on these points in order.

Yes, Baikal is far away, but not the edge of geography

How to watch more. For some, Crimea is very far away, for some, Moscow, for others. Our country is great. If you look at the map of Russia, you will see that Lake Baikal is actually located almost in the middle between Moscow and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

The distance from Moscow to Lake Baikal is about 5000 km, which is equal to 5 hours of flying on a salome. This is more than to the most popular Antalya (3.5 hours), but the difference is not huge. Moreover, departure from Moscow is late in the evening, and arrival in Irkutsk, respectively, in the early morning according to local time. Comfortable.

By plane, you can fly directly to Irkutsk, which is the most popular starting point directly to the lake, from Moscow, from St. Petersburg and from other cities: Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Perm, Tyumen, Surgut, Omsk , Krasnoyarsk, Mirny, Tomsk, Barnaul, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Yakutsk.

There are also flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Ulan-Ude, which is also located near Lake Baikal, but on the other side of Irkutsk.

But many travel by train. Along the lake is the Trans-Siberian. People go to Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Baikalsk or Severobaikalsk. From the same Moscow, the road will take up to 4 days one way. But for many it is not convenient to fly through Moscow, you still have to get there. Rail transport is still more developed and cheaper.

There are also enough auto tourists. This is primarily residents of the adjacent regions of Russia, of course.

Holidays on Baikal are chosen annually by more than a million people. Not many tourist destinations can boast of such a figure and it says a lot!

What to see on Baikal

Yes, stop looking! You won't even be able to see everything at once. Baikal is very versatile in terms of options and places for recreation. Its beauties and all sorts of corners are not possible to explore even in a few holidays! There are both summer and winter activities here. And someone also highlights the spring period! Only autumn turns out somehow not in favor of tourists - the winds blow and it's cold.

I'll start with a beach holiday on Lake Baikal. He exists! The most popular bays (this is such a strait) and East Coast from Ulad-Ude. The water there is warm and especially clean, the sand is white, there is a lot of sun and amazing landscapes around.

Active rest on Baikal

For lovers of active or even extreme recreation, Baikal offers a variety of opportunities. Many rivers and streams flow into the lake. In general, the lake is located among the mountains. So for lovers of alloys mountain rivers, kayakers, divers and cyclists have a place to stretch their muscles.

Jeeping, ATV or snowmobile trips are available. In winter, there is where to slide down the mountain, the most famous place Mount Sobolinaya near Baikalsk.

Wellness rest on Baikal

There are also water clinics on Baikal, if semi-wild places, for example,.

Anyway, this is Siberia. There are many protected areas around Lake Baikal, where the state of nature is monitored. Therefore, rest on Lake Baikal promises not only clean water, but also clean air, as well as many positive emotions from contemplating the majestic landscapes of the Baikal region.

In all the resort areas that exist around Lake Baikal, you can find a route for an active search for adventures, or you can stay in one place and calmly enjoy nature, absorbing the special energy of these places.

And there are so many natural, cultural and historical attractions on Baikal that no one probably knows all the secrets that the shores of the lake and its waters keep. There are many places of worship here, several of them are on the island, others are along the land coast. Archaeologists have found many sites of ancient man and will surely find more. Shamans and Buddhists on Baikal here and there. In short, there are enough sights for you.

And once again I remind you that the mountain slopes themselves around the lake with their vegetation are already a tourist attraction.

Is it expensive to go to Baikal

Most of those who come to rest on Baikaal are a low-budget, as they say, category of citizens - students and pensioners. The very fact that they come here speaks of the accessibility of the resort areas of Lake Baikal in terms of the cost of recreation.

Rest on Baikal, like rest in other places, is costly in terms of the road. Many travelers have long noticed that the most expensive thing on any trip is the way there and back.

If we take Moscow as a starting point, then a round-trip flight will cost about 25 thousand per person. From our Omsk to Sochi in the season - for comparison, the same 25 thousand, but if you take a ticket in advance, yes, 2-3-4 months. Otherwise it will be 30-35 thousand. And this despite the fact that the flights are non-stop, and the distance from Omsk to Sochi is less than from Moscow to Irkutsk.

The plane is for you as a guideline for the maximum program. By train, by car, and even more so by hitchhiking, it is cheaper, but it takes a long time to get there.

The vast majority of tourists get to Baikal through Irkutsk. Then who is in, who is on, who is on the Small Sea, and who is just in the forest.

You can even get from Irkutsk to Baikal by minibus, or by boat or regular bus. Here you need to specify depending on the place where you are going.

About accommodation

The most budget tourists or just lovers of communication with nature go on vacation to Lake Baikal in the summer and with tents. There are many paid campsites, there are places where they won’t take money at all (but you have to look).

If the tent is not your choice. I want more comfort - either renting a room in the private sector or a room at a recreation center or in guest house. The private sector is cheaper at prices, but even here it is preferable to book in advance. A million tourists a year is no joke. The demand for accommodation is great, the locals are building, of course, but in the high season it is better to take care of housing in advance.

Ways to go on vacation on Lake Baikal

If you are full of doubts and insecurities, then this is the best option for you. through a travel agency. Now probably already in all corners of Russia such tours are offered. But there are two points here:

• do not forget that you are in Russia, where the all-inclusive system has not taken root yet. Find out in detail what you pay for and what you will have to pay extra for
• more often, the tour package does not include the way there and back. They meet you in Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude, and only from there they lead you under the arms, they tell and show everything.

The advantages of such a holiday on Lake Baikal, as elsewhere, are that the tour operator decides all the organizational issues of the holiday for you. You can choose a route in advance, see a lot, but as always in these cases, run.

And the prices on the websites of travel agencies look really frightening - 50,60,70 thousand per person, and this is without a road. Perhaps that is why many associations about the high cost of recreation on Lake Baikal. People first of all now go to the Internet, and see such price tags - and that's it, the desire is gone! Rest on Baikal in any case is not the cheapest of all possible options, but read on…

Independent rest on Baikal

Anyone who decides to take on all the difficulties of organizing a trip can save a lot. And according to statistics, more than 70% of tourists who come to Baikal choose an independent vacation.

Obvious pluses - you choose the route and the level of expenses yourself. At the same time, you can spend prices from 500 rubles per day without meals (at camp sites) for accommodation. And even less in a tent on any part of the Baikal coast that you like. You don't have to bring a lot of groceries with you. There are shops in all settlements.

Medium-cost option - around Baikal with a guide

Option for the rational. There are also private guides on Baikal. True, no one has registered on my site yet (at the time of this writing). But suddenly! - check by . This option is good because you will be supervised, and a private guide will not take as much as an agency. Although of course it all depends on your interests ... ..

The guide will work out the route for you, making it as informative and interesting as possible. He will book places, call a helicopter and arrange with a shaman to take you to the most secret place (this is my fantasy, just kidding).

Volunteering to Baikal

This option is more for young people. But in this way it is possible not only to see Baikal in all its grandeur, but at the same time not only not to spend money, but even earn money. The volunteer movement on Baikal is actively developing. There are many protected areas, for example,. Helpers are needed at any time of the year.

Since 2003, the international project "" has arisen and is being implemented on Baikal. Within its framework, a path is being laid, for hiking. And there is no end of work. After all, who does not know, most of the coast of Baikal has not yet been developed, there are no roads and villages - only taiga and rocks.

In short, volunteers have a lot to do. And in the evening, rest on Lake Baikal or near it.

About the tourist infrastructure on Baikal

Well, of course, not Greece, and not even Turkey, and perhaps this topic on Baikal does not reach Sochi. But it's more of a plus! If you need only comfort, a bathrobe in your room, and a sun lounger on the beach, then Baikal is not for you.

The more active the introduction of tourism industry technologies into the organization of resorts on Baikal, the stronger will be the human influence on this unique natural complex. And people go to Baikal exactly to nature, which is still clean and full of light energy and strength.

As for the tourist infrastructure, on the very coast of Lake Baikal it is no less than in Altai or Kamchatka. As in any tourist place, there are always recreation centers, cafes, guides, ATMs and transport.

Well, if you are going to Baikal to see its wild and pristine nature, why do you need infrastructure at all. Somewhere in the depths of your mind, hold the thought that there is a village along the compass to the southwest and that's it! Live like a savage in nature for these few days (but take care of provisions and don't forget the tent!).

About mosquitoes and bears

There are no mosquitoes on the coast of Baikal at all! They don't have a climate here. In the winter-spring period, the water in the lake is cold, and mosquitoes do not have the opportunity to breed here, because these insects breed precisely through warm water.

There are bears, yes, but they do not wander around the villages. And they are actually found only in the northern part of the territory. So the bear is not a fool, he needs you very much! If only awake, after hibernation (April-May) what will confuse. In recent years, there have been isolated cases of tourists meeting a bear and not a single one with major troubles for a person (rather, the bear will not be lucky).

Is it only possible to visit Baikal in summer?

No! Holidays on Baikal have acquired a year-round character! At any time of the year there is something to see and do on Baikal. As I already wrote, there are fewer tourists in autumn, but this does not mean that there are none at all.

The most popular months of course are summer - July and August. The winter season is in February-March, when the lake is shackled by the strongest ice, and the views of these ice floes excite the mind.

About cold water on Baikal and beach holidays

Baikal is certainly not the Gulf of Thailand in Thailand. The lake is deep. One of his mysteries is that at the depth of Baikal at any time of the year constant water temperature + 4 degrees. So swimming among the lake is probably very cold even on the hottest days.

And along the entire coast of Lake Baikal there are many bays and bays, where the depth is acceptable for swimming and the temperature in the summer season is higher. From mid-July to the end of August, the average water temperature reaches +20 degrees, and in some places especially favored by tourists - up to 25 degrees.

As for tanning - it's even easier. Baikal is one of the sunniest places in Russia.

Beach holidays on Baikal, as already mentioned, are developed on the shores of the Maloe More Bay (including on the side of Olkhon -) and on the East coast.

Is it scary to go to Baikal on your own?

Probably the first time! Where is it not scary? These are only experienced travelers who have visited different countries and situations, perceive the new trip calmly. For the vast majority of people, this is perhaps the most burning question.

Now it’s easier to travel anywhere, because there are a lot of information resources on the Internet. One such resource is the website My geography". A lot has already been written about Baikal here. Read, get acquainted, look for fellow travelers. In short, get ready mentally and technically.

All the best in your choice of vacation!

Despite this fact, you should not neglect the precautions, since ticks do exist in all regions of Siberia. If you want to take a walk along the coastal Baikal hills or through the forest, you may encounter this unpleasant insect. But with the observance of elementary precautions, your trip will not be overshadowed by a meeting with a tick. In addition, our tours do not take place in places where the likelihood of being bitten by ticks is high. The tick is moisture-loving, does not like direct sunlight and prefers to live in shaded and humid deciduous and mixed forests with tall grass, littered with windbreak. Ticks concentrate on grass, bushes along forest paths and paths. Contrary to popular belief, ticks do not jump on humans from birch trees. The tick lies in wait for its prey by climbing up to 1 meter high grass, clings to the animal's clothing or fur and crawls up, looking for a place to bite. Most often it is found on the head, neck, shoulders. Hence the false impression is created that the ticks fell from above.

How to protect yourself from a tick bite?

Dress right!
When going to a mountainous forest area, it is preferable to wear light-colored clothing (as ticks can be seen better on it). Clothing must be with long sleeves, a hood, if there is no hood, then put on a hat or cap, collect your hair in a ponytail or pigtail. Trouser legs should be tucked into socks.
Use protective equipment (repellants)
All repellents can be divided into 3 groups:
1. Repellants that repel ticks
For example "Biban", "DEFI-Taiga", "Off! Extreme", "Gall-RET", "Gal-RET-cl", "Deta-VOKKO", "Reftamid maximum"
They are applied to clothing and exposed areas of the body in the form of circular stripes around the knees, ankles and chest. It is necessary to apply before each trip to the forest. These funds can also be used to protect against midges. You can apply not only on clothes, but also on the skin.

2. Repellents that kill ticks, for example, Taiga Reftamid, Picnic-Antiklesh, Gardeks Aerosol Extreme, Tornado-Antiklesh, Fumitoks-Antiklesh, Gardeks-Antiklesh, Permanon. These drugs are applied only to clothing. Before processing, clothes should be removed, thoroughly sprayed with a repellent, special attention should be paid to the processing of the trouser legs (it is also desirable to process the wrong side of the trouser leg to a height of 10-15 cm), trouser belt, cuffs, collar. After processing, the clothes should dry out a little, then they can be worn again. Shoes also need to be treated with repellent. A "killer" repellent is usually effective for 15 days, but damp weather can shorten its duration.

3. Combined repellents (killing and repelling ticks) their effectiveness, when used correctly, approaches 100 percent. These are aerosols "Kra-rep", "Mosquitol-antiklesch".

It is most preferable to use drugs of the second and third groups. Laboratory tests have shown that with the correct use of repellents, 95-99% of attached ticks are repelled.
Every 30 minutes it is necessary to inspect clothes, every 2-3 hours carry out a thorough check, pay special attention to the following parts of the body: neck, armpits, inguinal region, auricles - in these places the skin is especially delicate and thin, and the tick most often sticks there . If you find a tick on your clothes, you need to carefully remove it and burn it (or put it in a hermetically sealed container and destroy it when possible).
If the tick is still bitten, do not try to remove it yourself, ask your guide or the nearest emergency room for help.

Subject to elementary precautions, self-defense and hygiene, a meeting with a tick will not take place!

Tour to Baikal without ticks!