While flying to Patagonia to meet my group, the idea of amazing photo tour was born in cooperation with my friends at Baikal lake.
From may, 18, 2016 to May, 26, this year (in less then 1,5 months!) we will be sailing on our private ship through almost all Baikal lake! The group will consist of 10 photographers, crew members and our chef.
This time of the year Baikal lake reminds Svalbard in summer time: ice floats in shards across the lake, the shiny and warm spring weather will greet us while our sturdy comfortable ship is striking through the ice.
We start our tour program from Irkutsk, continue through Angara river towards Baikal.
We will see Baikal lake partially opened, and will sail with and through ice towards the North, Severobaikalsk. Our ship and crew are very well prepared and have lots of experience of sailing through the ice of Baikal.
Only this short week of the year we might see the very unique animal, Baikal seal. Baby seals with their parents climb to ice shards to warm up and greet travelers. We can sail towards them as close as possible, trying to make great photos. Do not forget to bring your telephoto lens!
Also, we might be able to see brown bears, as they start to wake up and look for food along the shore.
The third day we will sail into the Narrow sea, the bay between Olkhon island and main land. There are plenty of beautiful rocks and spring scenery across the Narrow sea.
We will be able to go ashore with our tripods for magic hour photography.
After exploring Olkhon island, we sail north, towards Ushkanyi islands or along the nature reserve. Mountains grow really high, up to 2 km in height! They will be still snowy, with pretty snow caps. First rays of sunrise with beautiful reflections in Baikal waters! Can you only imagine this beauty!
We will pass natural hot springs and amazing mountain scenery with possible jeep excursion in mountains up to 1 km!
Our itinerary will base on the ice situation, but it’s very comfortable and unique tour, suitable for all levels of activity.
We aim to help you with visas (you will receive the invitation from us for you visa agency in your country, usually it takes 3 – 5 business days for visa). All transfers, including pick up at the airport or hotel are included. This is full board tour, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Our chef will cook us amazing fresh fish just caught from the boat.
Please arrive the day before and depart the day after. Hotels in Irkutsk are not included.
The recommended flight for airport pick up:
arrival time 18 may 6:40 (please note, that we pick you up at 7:00 – 7:30 from the airport, drive you directly to the ship and depart shortly at 9:00 – 10:00). If your airplane or luggage delayed we cannot afford to wait. So we strictly recommend to arrive the day earlier and explore Irkutsk on your own. It’s worth it!
Departure time 26 may 7:00 from the airport. Again, you are advised to depart the day later to have a spare and relaxed time in Irkutsk for souvenirs and excursions in the town. We will transfer you to your hotel or airport.
Pricing:
Total price: 2100 usd per person
Maximum Number of Participants: 8
Difficulty: easy
Included in the price:
– All transfers
– Lodging (twin, triple and quadruple), meals
– Instruction and master classes by two professional guides
Not included in the price
– Airfare
– Visas (if applicable)
What to bring
Gear:
– DSLR camera with tripod and remote shutter release
– A wide angle lens. For example, Nikkor 14-24 or Canon 17-40.
– A middle-zoom lens such as a 24-70 mm
– A telephoto zoom lens, such as a 70-200 mm.
– 300 – 600 mm range for animal photography
Wear:
– Waterproof and windproof jacket (consider the average temperature +5 – +10 C at nights and +10 – +20 C during the daytime)
– Waterproof pants
– Warm jacket and thermal pants
– Wellingtons or fishing boots
– Casual clothes for dinners and lunches and photography workshops
Tour leaders
Daniel Kordan
Daniel was born in Moscow area. In his childhood he graduated the art school. After that, he is studied in Moscow institute of Physics and Technology and became an optics physicist. During the study he gain experience not only in physics, but also in mountain climbing and hiking, guiding tourist groups in winter and in summer in Russian mountains. Right after graduation he became a guide of photo-workshops and chief editor of “Continent expedition” magazine. This magazine is about travel and adventures all over the world. He has got several awards in photography: Golden Turtle’ 13 Nature nomination winner, National Geographic Russia contest 2013 and 2014 finalist, Best of Russia’13 and ’14 winner, best photographer’13 finalist and others. He is spending most of his time in Norway, Lofoten islands and in Tuscany at villa Gaia, guiding groups of photographers.
