The time zone at Lake Baikal is the same as in Beijing. When it is 5PM here in Irkutsk, it is noon in Moscow—and 10AM in London!

Life generally gets started in our cities at eight in the morning. For you early-birds all the delicious cafes in Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude will be open and ready to serve you. And if you arrive early on the train or by plane, you'll find that most restaurants and hotels will be ready to offer you coffee and a good breakfast before you head out to see the sights.

Out in the Siberian countryside local people usually get up earlier to get to work. But the guest houses or bed and breakfasts probably won't serve you breakfast until 9AM at the earliest.

Out in the Siberian countryside local people usually get up earlier to get to work. But the guest houses or bed and breakfasts probably won't serve you breakfast until 9AM at the earliest.

The vast majority of all our restaurants will be open for lunch and dinner between 12 noon and midnight. Even if you arrive late at night, many establishments will be happy to serve you. Most places will serve a set menu for lunch, which runs from noon to 4PM. Local business-people often go out for lunch, so it might be crowded if the restaurant you choose is popular.

Roadside cafes in between the cities are usually open round-the-clock. They can offer quick service, and good Russian or local Buryat cuisine.

Banks are open between 10.00 and 18.00 during the work week, and up until lunch time on Saturdays. And of course our automatic bank tellers are open 24/7.

Larger grocery stores are open at 8AM, and won't close before midnight, 7 days a week. Some of these stores never close.

Alcoholic drinks can be purchased from 8 in the morning up to 11 at night. Although some places serving alcohol can close as early as 9PM. Please beware: there are several national holidays in Russia where the sale of alcohol is not allowed.

Finally, most of our museums are open from 10AM to 5PM. But during the summer high season a number of these museums will extend their hours. For the most part all galleries and museums will be closed on Mondays.