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 You can generally dive Baikal Lake all throughout the year, depending on your preference of weather and choice of trip. Here is an overview of the different conditions you can expect to coincide with each season:
Spring.
This season totally depends on when the ice starts melting (May 15-20, May 20-25 or May 25-30). Only one safari, “Chasing the ice”, can be held in this season. Once the spring thaw has melted the ice enough, you can take a ship into Lake Baikal. You will encounter the Lake Baikal seal, called the “Nerpa”. During this time the Nerpa is relaxed and will alow people to come very close. Video and photos ops of the Nerpa above surface is guaranteed. There is also an opportunity to see the Nerpa underwater. This safari will last at least 10 days. Diving off a ship along the western coast of Baikal are offered as well. During the safari you can watch floating ice, snow in taiga, patches of land without snow, and white mountains. Water temperature is about 1-2C. Air temperature is from -5 to +20C. Larger, warmer ships of the PTS type are recommended.
First half of summer.
May 25 – July, 20. It’s summer, but the water is still pretty cold; it’s about 1-3C in June and 4-7C in July. The water is clear and the visibility is great reaching up to 40-50 meters. Actually Baikal’s clear water can be compared with the Sargasso Sea – the clearest sea of the world. This time of year is perfect for deep water diving; you won’t even need lights up to 100 m depth or more. Night diving is not practical because darkness isn't until midnight, when it’s time to get some sleep! There is a variety of Baikal nature to enjoy from the bright green grass of the taiga to fields of flowers. In bright sunlight you can see marvelous snow covered mountains. Winds are usually calm at this time, and there is very little chance that bad weather could change your safaris route. Air temperature is about 10-35C.
 Second half of summer.
July 20 – August, 10. This is real summer with warm nights. Air temperature is 15-35C. You can even sleep outside without a sleeping bag as warm north-western air from the shore will keep you warm. The water is also warmer, surface temperature is about 18C. Diving conditions are more comfortable than in the beginning of a summer. If you do one dive a day, you can use a wetsuit, but you have to bring a dry suit for repeated dives. The water temperature is 8-12C. The warm water layer can reach down to about 50 m, but usually it’s about 20 m. In this layer visibility falls down to 10 m, and in some cases, when the water is verywarm, visibility could be down to 1-2 meters. In the deeper warm water layer, visibility increases, but the water becomes darker. This dark water will be at about 4C. On dives deeper than 45 m you probably will need a light.
Beginning of the fall.
September 10 – October, 1. Diving conditions are the same as in the beginning of the summer, but it’s getting cooler outside. Air temperature is about 5-25 C. Night dives are a possibility as it is already dark at 8 p.m. Baikal underwater life is different at night. The animals which are invisible during the day time are coming out. You can often catch a fish called Harius will only your hands. Sometimes the lake’s bottom is filled with a unique Baikal fish called Bulls.
The Taiga at this time of year is abundant with evergreen pines, spruce trees, with their leaves changing to a beautiful orange and yellow. It’s a great time to go into the woods to pick berries and mushrooms. It’s also a very good time to fish.
 Fall.
October 1 – October, 25. This is a gorgeous time! The bright colors of the changing season mixes orange, red, yellow with the white spots of the first snow and the white tops of the mountains. Dark-blue, almost black Lake Baikal with lead colored skies makes it a favorite time for photographers. Diving conditions are almost the same as in the previous season, but with a hard north-western wind, which picks up the cold water from the bottom, visibility is getting much better again up to 40-50 m. When the weather is calm the water becomes warmer and visibility decreases up to 15 m. This decrease happens due to the thermal action of water layers. At the end of October it’s better to choose a larger ships as they are are warmer and more comfortable. Air temperature is -5 to +15 C. Water temperature is 5-10 C.
Winter.
October 25 – December, 20. Diving liveaboard safaris are even available even in full winter, but only for extreme divers. As a rule, Baikal freezes at the beginning of January. December will give you the best visibility. It’s a good time for tech diving. The visibility is also great at 100 m depth. Air temperature is 10-35 C. Water temperature is -1-4 C.
Please contact the misan@baikaldiving.ru operator directly to find out how to get there or check out the Web sites below.
Way to Russia.net
Baikal in Russia.com
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