slothis · English

Exploring Lake Baikal by Boat in Listvyanka

2016-05-15 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →
A person standing at the end of a wooden pier with tires attached, looking out at a wide lake.
Lake Baikal, where even a quick snapshot looks like this.

Yesterday, the weather was as gloomy as my exhausted body, but today, both my condition and the weather are fantastic. There are hardly any clouds in the sky, and the visibility is so clear that the snow-capped mountains on the other side of the lake look like they're right in front of me. The only catch is that a hotel room with this amazing view costs 100 rubles more than my current room, which only faces the mountain ridge. To save that money, I have to come all the way down to the first-floor lobby to see it. Giving up this incredible view to save 2,000 won is just plain stupid.

I went through a lot of trouble to get to this hotel. I chose it because it had a lot of Agoda reviews praising the breakfast, so I'll just grab a bite and quickly head over to Listvyanka.

A table set with a breakfast plate containing sausage, ham, bread, and eggs, along with red juice and soup.
It's a great hotel in every way, except that it's really far away.
View from inside a room looking through an open window at a blue lake and sky.
I was shocked when I saw the room across the hall being cleaned. Such a gorgeous view for just +2,000 won more than my current room.

The weather was so sunny today that the two of us agreed to do one of the activities we had looked up for Listvyanka. The whole reason we've been pinching pennies—giving up nice places to sleep and eat—was so we could see and do as much as possible. Choosing to do an activity on a day like today, when just sitting still makes you feel good, seems like a great decision.

The problem is that there are quite a few activities to do in Listvyanka, making it hard to compare them all. I don't know why there are so many travel agencies in such a small town, but we spent about two hours just poking our heads into different shops. The two of us, who don't usually struggle with indecision, became overly cautious and started stressing over what to do. Then, at the information center next to the bus stop, they casually mentioned they run excursions too and started explaining them to us. Honestly, I wasn't that interested at first, but in Russia where English is rarely spoken, they explained it in English and by a pretty Russian woman, no less. Plus, they had already saved our lives a few times before by helping us with taxis and buses, so this option quickly shot to the top of our list.

Since it was a large amount of money, we needed to talk it over before deciding, so we grabbed lunch by Lake Baikal first. We ate at the market yesterday, so today we switched it up and went to a restaurant. As expected, the meat was much better than at the street stalls, and the price wasn't even that different. Plus, it had a beautiful terrace right next to Baikal, so I promised myself I'd only eat at restaurants from now on.

Now that we were full and warm, it was time to choose.

  1. A 3-hour, 2,000-ruble boat trip to the Circum-Baikal Railway explained by the pretty woman
  2. A 30-minute, 550-ruble glass-bottom cruise to see inside Baikal
  3. A proper cruise trip circling the lake on a large ship
  4. A 2-seater speedboat ride that we didn't even ask about because it seemed like it would cost a fortune

Maybe because my stomach was full, my brain started working fast, and it took less than 10 minutes to settle on option 1. Don't ask me what being full has to do with it.

Ornaments placed on a car dashboard with a view of a lakeside road through the windshield.
We took a bus back to the hotel for a bit. This person is Hindu. I thought there would only be the Russian Orthodox Church, but in reality, many religions coexist here.

We went to the tourist information center to ask if they had any cheaper activities. When I asked, "cheaper one?", instead of offering a cheaper tour, they discounted the 2,000-ruble tour to 1,500 rubles. A cheapskate like me immediately gets a feeling when this happens. This is a tourist-trap service that could easily be haggled down to 1,000 rubles!! I was going to ride the momentum and haggle more, but considering how much they had helped us and absolutely not because she was pretty, seriously, I just stopped there and paid. The tour system at the information center seems to involve renting a private boat, and the more people on board, the cheaper it gets. If you ever book this tour here, try to gather as many people as possible. You might even be able to haggle it down below 1,000. But let's not act too stereotypically Korean about it.

We waited while looking at the lake until our 2 PM departure time, and finally set off. As expected, we were the only foreigners, and everyone else was Russian. Still, the guide spoke excellent English, so we were able to learn the most we had since arriving here. Specifically, she would explain things to the Russians first, then call us over separately to explain everything one by one, making it really easy to ask questions and enjoy the tour.

I wanted to capture the incredible spectacle in front of me in photos, but my photography skills are lacking, so I couldn't even capture half of what I saw with my own eyes. My writing skills are also lacking, so it drives me crazy that I can't properly express it. If someone asked me how beautiful it was, I'd want to answer, 'In my case, I kept praying to God to never let me forget the view of Baikal and the Sayan Mountains from that boat until the day I die.' Even these words aren't enough to describe Lake Baikal in May.

People boarding a blue and white boat with the word SHARK written on it.
The "Shark," the boat we took. A freshwater boat named Shark.
Back view of a person wearing a hat looking at the lake and mountains from a blue boat.
We're going on a fun trip, but strangely, his back looks so pitiful.
People standing on a blue boat looking at the mountains and lakeshore.

After about an hour on the boat, we arrived to see the Circum-Baikal Railway. The train passes by once a day and was built for sightseeing. It's a railway with a tragic history, as many people died during its construction, so it's a bit sad that it's now only used for tourism. In front is our guide. She spoke fluent English, so we listened to her explanations well and learned a lot about things we were curious about.

Back view of a group walking on train tracks along the lakeshore.
The group we rode the boat with. One couple, one family.
Back view of passengers sitting in the front seats inside a van covered with quilt decorations.
A person walking on a gravel lakeshore next to a wide blue lake.
A white boat with a red bottom moored in clear, shallow water.
A calm blue lake with dark mountain ranges in the distance and a contrail in the sky.
A long range of snow-capped mountains across a calm blue lake.
The snow-capped mountains right in front of us look like a mirage. Seeing that made me really want to visit a mountain covered in eternal snow.
Plastic containers of beer, meat dishes, bread, and red sauce placed on a wooden railing overlooking a lake.
Dinner back at the hotel after we arrived. We changed up the menu a bit. The tomato soup is 'Borscht,' one of Russia's traditional staple foods. I wondered if tomato soup would be good, but it actually tastes quite nice.
Silhouettes of trees and a calm lake under a red sky at sunset.
Eating a cheap dinner while looking at this scenery feels really surreal.
A green beer bottle with a label featuring a drawing of three bears and Russian text.
Three Bears beer. Between us, we called it the Bear Family beer. It was so smooth that we drank a ton of it.
Two cup noodles, a can of beer, beer in a plastic cup, and a liquor bottle on a wooden table.
Praising each other for making a good choice to do the excursion, we drank tequila we brought from home and ate Doshirak (instant noodles) made in a Russian factory. I should probably just throw the tequila away. The Russian beer Baltika is quite good. Highly recommended.

Listvyanka Tips

Expenses (Per Person)

Total 1,259R + $27

Total Trip Expenses 525,936 won + 3,764R + $53.16


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