How to get to Baikal from different cities and by different transport

• How to get to Baikal from Moscow
• How to get there from Irkutsk
• How to get there from Ulan-Ude
• How to get there from Vladivostok
• How to get there from Ufa
• How to get there from Barnaul
• How to get there from Yekaterinburg

Baikal is the largest and deepest lake in the world. Its area is 31.7 thousand square meters. km, depth - 1642 m, volume is a quarter of the world's fresh water reserves. The age of the reservoir is 25 million years, it is older than all the lakes currently existing on the planet.

Baikal is often called a freshwater sea due to its size. Two thirds of the plants and animals of local reserves are endemic. The most famous of them are the Baikal seal and omul. On Olkhon Island there is a relict spruce forest, preserved unchanged since the Ice Age.

The reservoir is located in the south of Eastern Siberia, on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. Many Russian, as well as European and Chinese tourists come to the lake. Therefore, you can get to Baikal from any part of the country.

Baikal

How to get to Baikal from Moscow

From Moscow there are flights to Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude - the main cities of the Irkutsk region and Buryatia.

People get to Irkutsk:

1. By air - planes fly in this direction from all Moscow airports. Travel time is 5 hours 40 minutes, landing at Irkutsk airport.
2. By train – trains depart from Yaroslavsky or Kazansky railway stations. The journey will take approximately 4 days, the train arrives at the Irkutsk-Passazhirsky station.

The coastal settlements of Listvyanka and Bolshiye Koty are closest to Irkutsk.

The road to the capital of Buryatia is a little longer:

1. Plane – departure from Domodedovo or Vnukovo, landing at Baikal airport. Flight time is about 6 hours.
2. The train departs from Yaroslavsky or Kazansky railway stations and arrives at Ulan-Ude station 4 days later.

Ulan-Ude is located further from the lake than Irkutsk.

Domodedovo

Road to Baikal

What's the best way to get there?

You can get to Baikal from Moscow and St. Petersburg by train, plane, or car, depending on the material resources you have and time.

1. Air. A flight will take the least amount of time, but it will be the most expensive way to get to Baikal.
2. Auto. The second most expensive trip will be by car; to cover such a distance, you will need to spend money on fuel, in addition to including additional expenses on the road. When choosing a car trip to Lake Baikal, you must take into account that the road is quite long and you will have to stop to rest on the road, or have a replacement driver. This option will not be very convenient for traveling with children.
3. Train. The third place in cost, which will cost you the least, but will take a long time on the way to Baikal, is the railway.

You can get to Baikal from three large cities located around the lake: Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Severobaikalsk, and from there continue your route.

First, you need to decide which part of Lake Baikal you intend to go to and what sights to see. It will be more convenient and closest for you to visit the Chevyrkuisky Bay, the Barguzin Valley, the Baikal State Nature Reserve, Cape Svyatoy Nos, Babushkin, Maksimikha, Gusinoozersk, Ust-Barguzin, Gremyachinsk, starting from Ulan-Ude.

To see Listvyanka, Slyudyanka, Arshan, Baikalsk, the Circum-Baikal Railway, Olkhon Island, the Small Sea - it will be most convenient to depart from Irkutsk. To visit the hot springs of Khakusy, Goudzhekit, Dzelinda and visit Lake Frolikha, Cape Turali, Davan Pass, the closest will be from Severobaikalsk.

Routes to Baikal

So, let’s take a closer look at road, rail and air routes.

Airplane

You can depart from Moscow and St. Petersburg by plane, respectively, from Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Pulkovo airports. You can fly to the airports of Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude. Flight time from Moscow will be about 6 hours, from St. Petersburg 8-10 hours, depending on the airline and transfer.

Irkutsk is located 60 km from Lake Baikal, so to get to the lake itself and its attractions, you will need to make a transfer. Important! If you are flying from Moscow to Ulan-Ude, flights operate only from Domodedovo! Ulan-Ude is located 75 km from Lake Baikal and is located in its eastern part.

Reference! It is impossible to get to Severobaykalsk by plane, due to the lack of an airport in the city! The nearest airport to Severobaikalsk is in the city of Nizhneangarsk, where you can fly direct from Moscow and with transfers from St. Petersburg. Direct flights to the airports of Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Nizhneangarsk are carried out from Moscow; if you are planning to depart from St. Petersburg, the flight will be carried out with a mandatory transfer in Moscow or another city.

You can get from destination airports to the city by taxi, trolleybus or minibus. From where, you can continue your journey around Lake Baikal from the railway station, pier, bus station. The cost of tickets must be clarified in a timely manner; it depends on the route you have chosen, the airline company, transfer cities and the classification of air tickets. The average cost of a round trip flight from Moscow is from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles, and from St. Petersburg from 14,000 to 30,000 rubles.

Train

Important! There are no direct flights from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Severobaikalsk; you can only get here by rail with a transfer in Moscow! You can get from Moscow to Ulan-Ude and Severobaikalsk from both the Kazansky and Yaroslavsky railway stations. Travel time by rail will take about three and a half days.

There is communication with Moscow in Irkutsk only from the Yaroslavl station! Lake Baikal is a popular tourist destination, both in winter and summer. Not only Russian tourists flock here, but also people from all over the world want to enjoy the beauty of the wonderful lake and its nature. Therefore, it is important to purchase tickets in advance and both ways at once! Otherwise, you can stay here for a long time; tickets sell out at an amazing speed, both for air flights and for trains.

You can also move around the Baikal region, since there is a train from Ulan-Ude, through Irkutsk you can get to Severobaikalsk, which is very convenient and will allow you to see more of the sights of this region! The journey will take 4 hours. The cost of tickets must be clarified according to the dates that are relevant to you. The average cost of tickets from Moscow to Lake Baikal by rail will be from 6,700 to 15,000 rubles, depending on the class of carriage you choose.

Shuttle taxis provide transportation between large and small cities, which will greatly simplify your movement from railway stations to all attractions, and local residents will always tell you the route you need. It is not uncommon for tourists to use car transport for travel, which you can rent at the airport or from local companies upon arrival in the city. All you have to do is stock up on a map and patience!

Automobile

A car trip up to 6,000 km long is a real test; it is worth calculating travel time, rest time and fuel consumption so that stops are planned and not forced. To travel by car, you should choose highways and highways of national importance, and only upon arrival at a certain point, travel to the sights.

Having chosen a car trip from Moscow to Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude, you should stick to the M53 or M7 highway. To travel to Severobaikalsk from Moscow, you should give preference to the R-255 highway. From St. Petersburg, a direct road through Tikhvin (A114) will help you get to Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, and the P-255 highway to Severobaikalsk.

Many auto travelers from St. Petersburg prefer to get to Moscow first, and then along the above routes. When choosing a car trip to Baikal from the Capital or the Northern capital of Russia, you need to calculate the cost of fuel and lubricants for your car. It is IMPORTANT to remember that you will have to cross 5 time zones!

How to get there from Irkutsk

Buses leave from the local bus station every hour and a half :

• No. 526 – an hour to the village of Listvyanka, from there a 25 km long hiking trail leads to Bolshie Koty;
• No. 553, No. 504, “Olkhon Express” - to the village of Khuzhir (Olkhon Island), travel time - 6 hours.

There is a ferry to Olkhon in the summer, and a hovercraft called Khivus in the winter.

Water modes of transport:

1. From the Raketa pier, a motor ship to Listvyanka arrives in an hour.
2. The motor ship "Barguzin" goes to the village of Ust-Barguzin in 11 hours.

The best road route from Irkutsk follows the Kultuksky Highway along the southern coast. Final destination – Ust-Barguzin

Not counting the wait at the crossing in the village of Tataurovo, the journey takes 11 hours.

The Kultuksky tract is one of the few asphalt roads in the Baikal region. In these places it is recommended to drive an SUV.

Kultuksky tract

A car ride is a romantic adventure

One day I had the chance to drive along the fascinating route Moscow - Ulan-Ude by car, my friends suggested going to Baikal, and since my relatives live in Ulan-Ude, we couldn’t help but stop by this beautiful city. The road is very long and difficult, it’s physically difficult to drive, it’s good that we had several drivers. The distance between the cities is 5,600 kilometers, which is at least three days on the road, if you don’t take into account overnight stays, but on such a road you definitely need to stop for the night. We made three stops, in Perm, Omsk and Krasnoyarsk. We thought for a long time about which route to choose and decided to go to Yaroslavl.

• Leaving Moscow, we found ourselves on the M-8 highway, I really like this road, it has four lanes, you can drive freely and quickly. There is a lot of traffic despite it being early in the morning. The coverage is very good, there are no holes. Gas stations are common, and so are cafes, but there is no particular need for them at this stage.
• You can go on an excursion to Yaroslavl, but we bypassed it and turned onto the P-400 highway to Kostroma. The road is also good, although there are already two lanes, but the surface is without damage, which made us very happy.
• From Kostroma we take the P-98 highway, but soon it goes to the left, and we continue towards the village of Sharya. Having driven along a road of average quality, we got onto the R-176 highway, along which we got to Kirov. On this section (Kostroma-Kirov) the road is probably of the worst quality on the entire route; you can’t go fast here. There are almost no gas stations and traffic is light.
• Having passed Kirov, we drove to Perm along the P-166 highway, this is a good road, in some places there are bad sections, which really annoyed me, because I wanted to get to Perm faster, since that was our first overnight stop. But there weren’t that many bad areas, so we got to Perm without any problems. There are already gas stations and cafes here.
• There is a very good highway R-242 leading to Yekaterinburg, here you can press the gas well, the surface is of very good quality, there are often gas stations along the way. There are sharp turns in places, you need to watch carefully.
• The P-351 highway leads to Tyumen, here the road is narrow, with two lanes, and there are often trucks along the road. I don’t recommend driving very fast, although the track is in excellent condition, there are occasional holes and cracks, but most of the track is of ideal quality. There are many gas stations and cafes.
• Having passed Tyumen, we found ourselves on the P-402 highway, also a good road, almost unbroken, also narrow with two lanes, but the asphalt is of good quality, there are almost no potholes. Cafes and gas stations aren't common, but there are a few good places to grab lunch.
• To Novosibirsk we drove along a very good highway R-254, in some places it is broken, but basically it is an excellent road, the main advantage of which is that it is smooth and straight, without sharp turns. There are not many gas stations and cafes here, but you can see the horizon and beautiful scenery on both sides.
• We drove to Krasnoyarsk along the R-255 highway, this is also a good road that winds through the taiga. Here you have to slow down a little, but the quality of the road is good and you can drive without fear. There are already a lot of gas stations and cafes in this area.
• From Krasnoyarsk we continued driving along the same road, but for the first 50 kilometers the quality of the road is much worse, there are holes and cracks, but then it’s quite normal. Only in Kansk the road around the city is simply terrible, and even beyond Kansk there are sometimes bad sections. And then all the way to Irkutsk the route is normal. There are not many gas stations, but they are common.
• From Irkutsk to Ulan-Ude we take the good highway R-258, there are very good sections with new asphalt, and there are quite bad ones, broken with potholes, but the former still predominate. The route runs along Lake Baikal, but the lake itself is not always visible because of the trees. There are many gas stations along the route, cafes too, and interesting viewing platforms.

How to get there from Ulan-Ude

The main part of the road route from Ulan-Ude passes along the M-53 highway towards Irkutsk. Travel time is 2-2.5 hours. Several roads lead from the highway to the lake:

• the turn to the village of Bolshaya Rechka will lead you to the wild Baikal shore in half an hour;
• 20 km from the sign to the Bolshaya River – turn right to the recreation center “Kultushnaya”;
• 2-3 km from “Kultushnaya” - turn left to the “Priboy” recreation center.

Minibuses depart from the square near the Ulan-Ude station . Each of them indicates the direction. They take you to Lake Baikal in 3-3.5 hours.

Electric train No. 6631 “Ulan-Ude-Mysovaya” departs from the station itself in the mornings The Baikalsky Priboi station is the closest to the lake; a taxi can take you from there to the shore.

Train station in Ulan-Ude

Parting words for tourists

For a successful trip to Lake Baikal, which will leave an indelible impression, using any of the above types of transport, you need to plan everything in advance. We advise you to correctly calculate travel and rest times, transfers and stops.

We recommend taking warm clothes with you on the road, since Baikal is characterized by temperature changes, a first aid kit, and cash, because when traveling through small towns and villages there may not be a terminal or ATM nearby.

We hope that your holiday will be flawless and full of impressions!

How to get there from Vladivostok

Direct flights from Vladivostok are carried out to Irkutsk and Ulan-Udin airports. On average, the flight takes 4 hours.

Trains from Vladivostok follow the Trans-Siberian Railway, a large, developed railway network. Depending on the route, the train stops:

• in Ulan-Ude,
• in Slyudyanka,
• in Baikalsk,
• in Irkutsk.

Trans-Siberian Railway

By plane from Russia to China

Aeroflot, S7, Air China, China Southern, and China Eastern Airlines fly regularly from Russia to China. Flights operate from many Russian cities. The largest selection is, of course, from Moscow: you can fly to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Urumqi and many other cities. Round-trip prices start from 17,000 rubles. for a flight with a transfer, and from 19,000 rubles. for direct flights. You can also fly from Novosibirsk to Urumqi for 11,000 rubles, to Beijing for 19,000 rubles. The cheapest flights to China from Khabarovsk and Vladivostok: to Beijing - 12,000 rubles. round trip, to Harbin - 9,000 rubles, to Shanghai - 16,000 rubles.

There are promotions and sales - you can get a ticket even cheaper. At the height of the tourist season, on the contrary, prices rise. So it’s better to buy a plane ticket in advance or on special offer. You can find the cheapest plane tickets to China by searching in the form below. The system itself will select air tickets for more than 700 airlines and many reservation systems.

To buy the cheapest plane tickets, read our article, which discusses the main ways to save on buying an air ticket.

We recommend searching for air tickets on metasearch engines, for example.

I also advise you to look and subscribe to, sometimes you can catch good prices!

Airplanes fly within China very often and in any direction, so you can always quickly fly even to a small town by making a transfer in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, etc.

To search for tickets, I also recommend using mobile applications such as Skyskanner. We've reviewed these and other most useful apps.

How to get there from Ufa

Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, is located in the European part of Russia. Trains run from it to Irkutsk (travel time is about 2.5 days) and to Ulan-Ude (about 3 days).

Most flights to Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude have transfers in other cities. Therefore, the exact flight time needs to be clarified.

We're going by car

Those who like to travel by car will have to cover about 5,200 km from Moscow to Irkutsk. Such a trip has its pros and cons. Among the disadvantages, I note the large expenses for gasoline and a long journey.

The minimum travel time will be about a week. Provided that you drive about 800 km a day. But if you plan to visit other cities along the way to admire the local attractions, the duration of the trip will increase significantly. On the way to Baikal you will pass through cities such as Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Omsk. These are highways M-7 and M-53.

One of the advantages of traveling by car is the ease of movement. After all, you can independently get to the shore of the lake and see the local beauty. Just keep in mind that there is no road to the most famous place - Sandy Bay.

Be sure to take a map with you on your trip, as the navigator will not work properly on all sections of the road. A spare tire is also necessary for such long distances. In addition, there will be difficult sections of the road, for example, in the area of ​​​​the village of Kultuk.

How to get there from Barnaul

Barnaul is located in the Altai Territory, about 2 thousand km away. from Baikal. The car route is popular among travelers. It passes through Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk. The journey takes about three days, including possible stops.

There are no direct planes or trains to Baikal from the Altai capital

All routes on these routes have a transfer in Novosibirsk. to Novosibirsk in 5 hours , and then choose the appropriate method of travel.

From Novosibirsk, the flight to both cities will take about 2 hours. The train arrives in about a day and a half.

Train station in Barnaul

It's expensive for Russian citizens

Over the phone to a correspondent of Realnoe Vremya, a consultant from the tour operator “My Baikal” said that most tourists fly from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, and Crimea.
Among foreigners, the primacy is occupied by the Chinese, Koreans, Germans and French. A popular week-long tour costs 40 thousand rubles. — Holidays on Lake Baikal are very expensive. For this money you can buy a trip abroad along with a flight. It’s expensive for Russian citizens, but for foreigners, after the ruble collapsed, it became cheaper. That’s why we have a lot of Chinese, Koreans, Thais are gradually starting to come, the Germans love Baikal. Prices are high because the infrastructure is not developed. We have no roads or sewerage. Business exists not thanks to the state, but in spite of it, because there is no investment from the state,” said a consultant for the My Baikal tour operator.

According to her, on the most popular resort island, Olkhon Island, there is not even a good pier, and the road was built only a few years ago.

Although tourists have chosen only four months to relax on Lake Baikal, travel companies claim that there is something to do on the lake at other times of the year. Photo vk.com/planetabaikal

How to get there from Yekaterinburg

From Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk region) the road passes through the cities of Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk. Direct flights to Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude take 3-4 hours, travel by rail takes 2-2.5 days.

You can get to Lake Baikal from almost any major city in Russia. The fastest way is to fly to Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude. Travel time by rail usually lasts for days, but you can see a lot of interesting things from the train window. Those who want to see large cities of Siberia in addition to Lake Baikal get to the lake by car. This type of travel is especially common in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Skyscanner technology

Lake Baikal, called the Russian Sea, is located in the center of Asia at the southern border of Russia - more than 5,500 km separates it from Moscow. The lake stretches for 620 km along the border of the Irkutsk region with the Republic of Buryatia. The Baikal region is connected to the rest of the country by air and rail. The federal highway M55 "Baikal" is part of the Asian highway route AN6 and continues the highway M53 "Siberia" to the east. To get to Baikal from Moscow, you need to come to one of the large cities located in close proximity to the lake, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude and Severobaikalsk, and then continue the journey.

For tourists planning to visit the sights of Southern Baikal - Listvyanka, Slyudyanka, the Circum-Baikal Railway, Arshan, Baikalsk, as well as Maloe More and Olkhon, it is more convenient to come to Irkutsk and from there get to their destinations. For those who choose to visit the East Coast, for example, Chivyrkuisky Bay and the Barguzin Valley, it is more profitable to travel through Ulan-Ude. The city of Severobaikalsk is chosen by those who want to visit the hot springs of Khakusy, Goudzhekit, Dzelinda, hear the singing dunes of Turali or go skiing in Davan.