Is it so expensive to fly to Baikal

Katvic, Shutterstock A trip to Baikal is no longer an extreme journey with living in tents and houses without amenities. There are many good tourist bases on the lake with a set of all necessary services and entertainment. But getting here is still long and troublesome if you go from Central Russia, so many are interested in how much the rest will cost. Let's count.

Flight

When buying 1.5–2 months before the trip, an economy-class round-trip ticket from Moscow to Irkutsk will cost 20,000–25,000 RUB without luggage (you need to pay another 6,000-7,000 RUB for luggage). The flight time is approximately 6.5 hours. From St. Petersburg you can find tickets for 25,000 RUB, but all flights have transfers in the capital, so the travel time stretches to 13 hours or longer. Airfare is cheaper in winter. Prices on the page are for June 2023. Subtotal: 25,000 RUB.

Transfer

The nearest settlement with tourist infrastructure on the shores of Lake Baikal is 75 km from Irkutsk – this is Listvyanka. You can get there by bus from the bus station and the Central Market. The rest of the settlements with camp sites are located further – Small Sea (Sakhyurta village) – 250 km, Kultuk, Slyudyanka and Baikalsk – 100-130 km. Buses also go there, several times a day. On the road, they spend from 3.5 to 7 hours, tickets cost from 600 RUB. Taxi transfer by car: from 3500 RUB to Listvyanka and from 11 000 RUB to Olkhon. The price is for the whole car. Some hostels offer their own transfer as an additional service. You need to find out the price at the booking stage, it is usually not indicated on the sites.

We take the average: a taxi to Listvyanka for 3500 RUB round trip. Subtotal: 32 000 RUB.

Accommodation and meals

A modest double room with all amenities at the camp site will cost from 5000 RUB, a 3 * hotel will cost 6000–9000 RUB. For three meals per person, you will have to pay about 2000 RUB per day. You can shop for groceries and cook your own meals if you rent an apartment with a kitchen, but these accommodation options tend to be 25-30% more expensive.

We take a number for 6000 RUB, divide by two and multiply by 7 days = (6000/2)*7 = 21,000 RUB. We add food – plus 14,000 RUB per person for 7 days. Subtotal: 67,000 RUB.

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Entertainment

Baikal is trekking, cycling and quad biking, boat trips. The price tag for such activities is quite decent, but there are a lot of impressions. 8-hour fishing with a master class on preparing the catch – from 8000 RUB, 6-hour boat trip to Peschanaya Bay – from 8500 RUB. Water excursion along the Circum-Baikal Railway – 3500 RUB, if you want to travel by train, you will have to pay 6000 RUB. Buggy rides on the steppes and hills of the picturesque coast of the Small Sea — 19,000 RUB for 3 hours.

We add three excursions with an average price tag of 8000 RUB each. Total: 91,000 RUB per person.

Package tours

Large operators have 7-day tours to the most popular places of Baikal on average 105,000-120 000 RUB for two adults. This price includes plane tickets, accommodation in a mid-range hotel and transfer, sometimes breakfast. Tariffs for group excursion tours with an author's program and guide accompaniment start from 75,000 RUB per person. This amount does not include flights, but there is food – breakfast and dinner or “all inclusive”.

Total

The price tag is about the same – what to fly on your own, what in a package tour. Package options take a large number of excursions, individual trips – more flexibility. In any case, it is difficult to call such trips budgetary.