How to Get around Baikal Lake:

It is quite easy to travel around Baikal. All means of a transport can be used there. If you have much money you can rent a helicopter or a boat. If you are not so rich, there are budget trains, buses and minibuses. If you on tight budget you can hitchhike, bike or walk whereever you want.

Boats:
There are no regular boat lines on the lake. There are only Irkutsk-Listvyanka, MRS-Olkhon Island and Port Baikal-Listvyanka ferries. There are no regular timetables for these ferries, you shoud get to the local port and check it there.
There are, however, fishermen who can give you a lift not too far for money. If

Riding a fishermen's boat on Baikal lake

you are in a village and want to sail somewhere, just go to the local port or the place where boats are and ask people if they can lift you. There is a slight chance that they will help you for free, otherwise the prices are quite reasonable - for short distance voyages around $10 for 10 minutes of sailing. There are also a taxi-boats owned by people who make money on tourists. They will ask you to pay a fortune for a minute sail. You better not deal with these people – however there are places like Snake Bay (which is nice place in fact, on the Eastern shore of Baikal) where you can’t avoid using their shity service.
If you want to have a long distance travel you should book it through a travel agency in Moscow or in Irkutsk. It will be hard to find an available boat during the high season.

Trains:
There is Irkutsk-Ulan-Ude railway with a number of stops on it. It takes around eight hours to get from one city to the other. The main station on the way is Sludyanka – the starting point for the trips to Arshan (Sayan mountains) and for the Circum-Baikal railway.
Circum Baikal railway starts in Sludyanka and goes to the Port Baikal. The whole trip by a daily train takes about 5 hours. There are stops in every village on the way. In several villages there are small hotels where you can stay in, otherwise you can camp right on the shore.

Buses, Cars:
There is no road around lake Baikal, however you can get by car at many points in the southern part of Baikal and drive to Olkhon island as well.
If you travel by car, you should always have enough petrol with you to get

A bus stop and welcome sign

back to the petrol station. There are number of stations on the Irkutsk-Ulan-Ude road, as well as on the road along Eastern shore of Baikal (Ulan-Ude - Ust-Barguzin) and along the road from Irkutsk to Olkhon island. Diesel can be bought from the fishermen in villages. It is hard to get fuel at Olkhon Island. Most of the roads are not asphalted and you better use all-wheels-drive car. The road to Olkhon is in a good condition (except the last 60 km, where it's just not asphalted), but be prepared to stay in a several hours line to get to the ferry from the mainland to the island and back. Also, everybody who travels around Baikal should carry a spare tire: it's not a rare sight to see someone with his tire broken on the road.
There are regular buses Irkutsk-Olkhon island, Irkutsk-Arshan, Irkutsk- Ulan-Ude, Ulan-Ude-Arshan, which start from the Bus stations in Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. The tickets should be bought at least one day beforehand.

Minibuses and Taxis:
There are many privately owned minibuses following the regular buses routes. The minibus is usually faster and the ride costs more. The minibuses park at the bus stations and have no timetables. It departs as it is packed with clients. To find out where the current minibus is going to look at the windscreen – there should be a sign with a written destination on it. You should pay for the ride directly to the driver. You will be asked to pay the double price if your backpack will be to big and will be placed on the seat. You can hire the whole minibus, ask if a driver can get you to the certain place and how much money he wants for this.

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