Travellers' reviews & Press articles

Had the most amazing time with Leonid, our guide, to Lake Baikal. Very well organised and luxurious trip to Olkhon island. Leonid was very informative, polite and friendly and made us feel extremely comfortable through out the trip. He took us to some rare spots around the island from where we got breath taking views of the Lake. Not only this, on our return he even took us to the airport to get back our misplaced baggage (which is a long story) and dropped me and my family back to our apartment hotel. That was not a part of his job but he was kind enough to help us out.
Thank you so much Baikal Explorer for a superb trip. You have left us with life long memories. Loved every minute of it!

Thank you for a fantastic trip to Baikal. We had a wonderful day dog sledding with lunch provided and cooked over an open fire. Our next 2 days on frozen Baikal will always remain a highlight during our stay in Russia. We enjoyed all of the sites and the fantastic service provided by everyone associated with this company.

Well done and we hope to come back during the spring months to see this areas transformation.

I would just like to say a big thank you to Leonid and his superb driver who took us to Olkhon Island for the 3day/2night tour. We were a group of 8 travelling together and Leonid was able to accommodate us with our own private tour. He picked us up from the station and we headed off from there. The accommodation and food on the island was so clean, with comfortable beds and food for both breakfast and dinner was exceptional. We are a group of independent travellers getting together for the trans siberian journey and Baikal explorer made this sector very memorable for us all. Thank you for making the booking so easy and always being there to answer any questions so promptly when initially booking the trip.

It was in Lake Baikal that we could, once more, witness the diversity of Russia. In this area you don't find fancy cars or 5* dining like in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Here you can enjoy the richness of Buryat culture, beautiful nature and the simple things of life.

We found BaikaEx from Baikal lake website. We read many good review from many tourist. And I will also recommend this company to any tourist who want to spend your family trip in Irkutsk and Baikal lake also in Olkhon island. From the beginning Leonid was the one who arrange the tour program to suite what our family want and also to suitable for our 8 years old son. From Irkutsk airport at midnight he arrange pick up service on time. And make us feel very safe and secure since the tour start.
Our guide Alena she is very good and take care also a good driver. Our son really like her. We book 4 days 3 nights tour in Olkhon island and Listvanska in late winter 2016. Alena show us the best of frozen Baikal without any rushing. We can stop any place anytime we want. On second day we go to ice fishing. It was a really good experience to walk, drive, skate and picnic on a deepest icy lake with professional arrangement. We stay in Nikita home stead and try Bunya (Russia style sauna). And we go to Listvanska to the museum and open-air market. On the last day of our trip in Irkutsk Leonid took us to fishing island to catch the Amber and rainbow Trouts. And chef cooked it real fast for our lunch. It was so yum. I really want to do it again for our next trip.
We were lucky that we pick right company for our family trip. If you have kids and want to have a quality time for your holiday I will suggest Baikalex. You will love it.
This is one of the best trip that we can not forget in our life time. We truly thank you for Alena, Leonid and Julia for good hospitality and to be so professional. And we will looking forward to spring tour in future for sure.

If you are short of time, you can still get to the island in 2 days 1 night. The trains from Moscow arrives in Irkutsk at 8am and you can leave on a local train 3 days later to go to Ulan bator. I emailed baikal explorer before I left the UK, they replied to all my emails quickly. He picked us up from the train station and we set off that day to the island. In september the Island is still quite busy, but I heard that in July/Aug, the queue for the ferry across was 5hrs+ and overnight if you were taking a car!!! We toured the East of the island & near the main town and then went to the hostel. It now has showers (though the website says no running water) it is family run and they are very lovely. They provide you with bedding and towels, and the beds were really comfy. The food was afternoon tea (cake & a cuppa) and dinner on the first day, which was filling and tasty. Breakfast the next day was a bit strange as it was pasta, but it was still tasty and lunch was really good. There isn't much to do in town to be honest, but Leonid took us to the supermarket and we bought beer and vodka and sat around talking to the other guests and playing cards. They have a sauna (Banya) and that was awesome, so time went quick. The toilets are a little away from the accommodation, so don't drink too much if you have a weak bladder :) The second day we did the tour of the north island, it was amazing, gorgeous scenery, we were very lucky because there had been lost of fires on the mainland and that had obscured the view from the island, but the wind changed direction for us & it was spectacular. If you remotely get car sick, take some tablets, this is off roading, so it's very bumpy, but definitely worth it. We didn't get back to Irkutsk until late that evening, so it was a long couple of days but definitely worth it, so much so i am thing of going back in the winter to see it in the ice.

I only had a short time in Irkusk — 2 days. But I was able to take full advantage of my time thanks mostly to Leonid at Baikal Explorer. I had SO many questions for Leonid prior to my arrival-- he was kind and very quick to respond to all of my emails. He himself assisted with transportation and arranged my overnight dog sledding trip near Lake Baikal. I HIGHLY recommend the dog sledding -- it's a once in a life time experience. The dogs seem to be very well taken care of and they get so excited when it\'s their turn to pull a sled! The mushers were amazing and everyone was so kind and friendly.

Having arrived in Irkutsk without a plan, we phoned Baikal Explorer in the morning and at 12:00PM had one of their guides pick us up from the hotel for a day tour to Lake Baikal. In perfect English, he explained every landmark within Irkutsk and on the way to the lake, showed us around the lake and the significant spots of Listvyanka, the Museum of Wooden Architecture and even recommended a really genuine Russian restaurant (the best in Irkutsk, the diner next why told us) when we returned to Irkutsk after dark. It was a most enjoyable experience. Thank you.

We had such a wonderful trip to the Olkhon Island, so well organised. Leonid was the best guide and showed us some spots that were off the beaten track. The homestay selected by them was excellent and we experienced the warm hospitality of the people of siberia through our host. The half day trip to Listvyanka with Julia as our guide was super and her enthusiasm was infectious ! Good job guys and we reccomend them to anyone who wants to visit the area. We hope to be back in Winter sometime to experience the lake in its frozen glory

I recently travelled through Russia with my boyfriend on the trans-syberian, and our favorite stop was Lake Baikal. We arranged the whole stop through Baikal Explorer from the activities to transportation. They were always on time, and knew exactly what they were doing. They were very friendly and happy to help. The dog-sledding was exciting, and the meal offered on the 3 hour tour was a delicious soup, with tasty russian dumplings and tea. They also gave a small desert of cookies and chocolate and had pads for us to perch on in the snow. A magical experience over all.

All the good things you read in traveller feedback here are absolutely true. Our first experience with Leonid was when he booked the Circumbaikal Railway trip for us in autumn 2012. We were so impressed with his service that we returned in winter this year and did the Olkhon Island trip with him. I have travelled extensively, but driving and walking on the frozen Lake Baikal is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Leonid's before and after sales service is amazing (to the extent of emailing us photos he took of us) and it was a joy to have him escort us whilst there. Don't worry about the cold, the driving, the food or anything. It's all fine. And we are 2 * 62 and a 72 year old!

Thank Leonid for making us surprise and happy on the trip to Arshan, where we met the first snow of Arshan this winter. It was really a wonderful world. I think that was the best ending of the trip from the God. We also appreciate the patience on answering those emails and the satisfying guide and the help booking comfortable accommodation. Thanks Leonid for all done for us!

Thanks a million for providing us with a once in a lifetime, winter experience on Lake Baikal. Driving over the lake's beautiful thick ice, and visiting the incredible ice formations around Olkhon island was simply amazing. I have been to 105 countries, and would rate this experience as being up there with seeing the pyramids in Egypt, Mayon Volcano in the Philippines, Machu Picchu in Peru and Mount Everest in Tibet.

The log cabin we stayed in was of special interest to me, especially the amazing brick, wood stove that kept the place toasty warm. Also, the meals were substantial and superb, even for me, a vegetarian.

How to describe the experience in one word? Amazing.
Everything was really as expected or even better, good people and high experience from Baikalex team, I recommend them absolutely. It is was easy to understand that they love their jobs, the previous recommendations were fine and finally they help me to choose the better option and also good to know touristic facts in the way between Irkutsk - Listvyanka.

They even help me to find my forgotten ebook when I asked for help! :)

We took the Olkhon Island excursion last March (with a one day extension to visit Listvyanka), and had a fabulous time visiting the region. Our guide Alexey was very friendly and very professional, and made sure that every little detail was taken care of to make the trip as pleasant as possible (and his english is remarkable !).
The highlight of our trip was definitely the hours driving over lake Baikal\'s thick ice, visiting the incredible ice formations around Olkhon island. Accomodation was very good, with a special mention for the great food, and Leonid was always willing to suggest new things to go see.
The region is absolutely stunning, I recommend the trip when the lake is frozen, definitely a lifetime experience !
Kind regards from Paris

We recently took the Variant 2 Budget Package Tour of Olkhon Island and throughly enjoyed the experience. Olga in the Fisherman's guesthouse was such a welcoming host and the Jeep ride was one of the highlights of our trip. Olkhon Island is unbelievably beautiful and when we were there (in June), the wildflowers were in full force. Very enjoyable trip overall (not counting the mini-bus ride which was not so much fun! But nevertheless an experience to remember).

Wow! I cannot believe that it has already been nearly a year since our amazing journey to Ozero Baikal and I have not written to tell you what an outstanding experience it was. The boat, the crew, Leonya and his wife were all incredible. We saw nearly all of the wildlife and sights that you could imagine and the trip went without a hitch. I will never forget the moon rise on the last night on the west side and the beautiful fire with the Capitan and his wife reading Russian children\'s stories to my five year old son. Cokie has fond and vivid memories from his Lake Baikal expedition. He points to the lake every time he sees a map and tells anyone who will listen about the nerpa, the capitan and the giant brown bear that chased down the \"round rock beach\"...

Thanks so much for the wonderful trip and the most unforgettable memories.

We travelled to the Tunka Valley and Olkhon Island with Leonid of Baikal Explorer in October 2009. Leonid put together a tailor-made trip which was full of interest and natural beauty and he was a first-rate guide, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, thoughtful and very good company. The whole trip was wonderful but the highlight was standing on the hills of Olkhon and looking out over Baikal stretching away to the north under a cloudless sky - an infinity of blue. Lake Baikal is a wonder of the world and we doubt there could be a better way to see it than with Leonid and Baikal Explorer.