Wednesday 14th August – Vilnius, Lithuania

• Arrive at your own convenience into Vilnius – the capital city and most populated city in Lithuania which is well connected from many European countries and self-transfer to our centrally located hotel.
• For those on our Kaliningrad tour we’ll arrive into Vilnius by private transportation.
• Pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of our hotel at 6:00pm to discuss the tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
• The group will head out to dinner in Vilnius to our favourite restaurant, which serves traditional cuisine. We recommend trying the boiled pigs’ ears with peas and zeppelin. There are plenty of vegetarian dishes also.
• Those inclined can have an evening walk of the historical old town followed by drinks at a local bar.
• Overnight stay in Vilnius.

Thursday 15th August – Vilnius – Minsk, Belarus

Morning

• Early morning start with breakfast, before we head to Belarus, which translate to “White Russia”.
• We’ll begin our journey to the Belarusian border, which will take about 45 minutes depending on traffic. We’ll make a stop along the way to purchase supplies for the road trip.
• On arrival to the border, your YPT guide and local partner will assist you with the immigration process. The time needed for these formalities unpredictable due to the queues between Lithuania and Belarus border.
• After clearing Belarusian customs and immigration we’ll continue our drive to Minsk, which will take roughly two hours. Along the journey you’ll see the beautiful Belarusian scenery. You’ll notice Soviet relics such as signage and monuments.

Afternoon

• Lunch at a local restaurant, you may want to try the most popular potato dish, draniki – a type of potato pancake.
• On arrival, check-in into our recently refurbished Soviet-era hotel.
• Depending on our time of arrival, we’ll go and explore Minsk which is dominated by beautiful Soviet architecture. This is also a good time to take care of currency exchange and the purchase a SIM card.
• Dinner at one of YPT’s favourite restaurants serving traditional Belarussian cuisine alongside some local beer.
• Overnight stay in Minsk

Friday 16th August – Minsk

Morning

• Breakfast at our Soviet Hotel.
• You’ll meet our local guide and set about exploring Minsk and learning about its historical and cultural influences the capital has to offer. To make the most of your time here, you’ll explore the capital city by foot and car.
• First, you’ll head to the workshop of Ozgur. One of the most esteemed sculptors of the USSR, his workshop is full to the brim of monuments to Lenin, Soviet War heroes, and statues of other important communist figures from Kim II Sung to Fidel Castro.
• You’ll see the house of the Soviets, the still-functioning KGB building, Lee Harvey Oswald’s apartment, the island of tears dedicated to the Soviet-Afghan war, and much more.

Afternoon

• Lunch at a local restaurant, we recommend trying schavel borscht, an essential dish amongst Belarusians.
• Then you’ll have the chance to go to what is arguably one of the best WW2 museums on earth: the museum of the Great Patriotic War, which details the horrific advancement of the Third Reich and its devastating impact of the on Belarusians – 1 in 4 of the population was killed.
• Your tour continues, exploring the city, looking for Soviet architecture, brutalist buildings and monuments.
• The group will grab dinner at Tovarisch, which translate to “comrade” which is a nostalgic restaurant designed to glorify the days of the Soviet Union. It is very much a place for nostalgic locals and not tourists. The waiters dress as Young Pioneers and the food is very good! For those inclined, we’ll head out to YPT favourite bars.
• Overnight stay in Minsk.

Saturday 17th August – Minsk – Brest

Morning

• Early morning start with breakfast at our hotel before we check out and explore Brest – one the oldest cities in Belarus.
• You’ll get to experience the Belarusian train system as we catch the afternoon train to Brest which will take us right next to the Polish border. The scenic journey takes around 3 hours, it’s also a great way to interact with friendly locals; in recent times very few foreigners visit Belarus.

Afternoon

• On arrival, we’ll grab lunch at a local restaurant, we recommend trying machanka consisting of pork sausages, beer, onion and sour cream served alongside with crepes.
• We’ll go to and explore Brest, which will include the legendary Brest Fortress, locally known as the Hero Fortress. A 19th Century Russian Fortress, this spectacular example of Soviet architecture is now a war memorial commemorating the first battles of WWII featuring two of the most amazing Soviet era monuments.
• The complex features an array of tanks and WW2 museums inside which you’ll have time to explore and learn about how the heroic Soviet soldiers led by Pyotr Gavrilov fought the Third Reich to the very end according to Soviet propaganda. The fort was also visited by Hitler and Mussolini during their visit to the Eastern front.
• You’ll have the option to meet our friend who supplies local film directors with uniforms and weapons of the Second World War. He will provide you with the uniform of a Red Army General and be able to take some fairly epic photos in the surrounding area.
• A quick stop at the open-air train museum to see some enormous Soviet trains, the collection includes Steam engines, Snowplough SDPM and Retro passenger cabs.
• The day will continue with a walk through downtown Brest taking in the Millennium monument and the unique feel of this quaint, very European old town. Among others, you’ll see a monument to Lenin outside of the local functioning KGB headquarters.
• Check into our nearby hotel on arrival and head out for dinner and a few drinks. If you’re a vodka connoisseur, you may want to taste the locally infamous horseradish variant.
• Overnight stay in Brest

Sunday 18th August – Brest – Stalin Line – Minsk

Morning

• Breakfast at our hotel before we check out of our hotel.
• Train back to Minsk, which will again take about three hours. This is another good opportunity to interact with locals and enjoy the views of the Belarusian countryside.

Afternoon

• For lunch, we recommend trying vereshchaka, roasted juicy meat, and home-cooked sausages alongside potatoes. There are also vegetarian options available.
• A genuine tour highlight, you’ll get to experience ‘Soviet Disneyland’ known as the Stalin Line. A series of Soviet Bunkers from WW2 and a mass of Cold War-era weaponry.
• After exploring the bunker complexes you’ll be able to ride a Soviet tank around a mock battlefield. There are options for an additional fee to fire various Soviet guns including machine guns, and drive a tank!
• After a busy, you’ll head back to Minsk, check in to our hotel before heading out for dinner.
• Overnight stay in Minsk

Monday 19th August – Minsk – Belarus Exclusion Zone – Minsk

Morning

• Early morning start with our drive to the Belarus Exclusion Zone, which will take around 4 hours. We have a packed breakfast for the journey and will make rest stops along the way.
• After arriving in Gomel, we will transfer to the Belorussian Exclusion Zone and after clearing the checkpoints with our permits we will enter the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve. There, you will see the scientists research centre and learn about the real consequences of the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. You will be amazed by nature diversity caused by the absence of human intervention and will be able to examine the radiation background with an accompanying expert guide.
• The main objective of our trip is to get acquainted with the activities of the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve, to learn about radiation contamination issues with the scientific staff of the reserve, as well as to monitor the flora and fauna of the territories where human activity was almost completely terminated.
• You will be surprised how quickly nature has recovered after over 35 years of human absence, the reserve’s territory was inhabited by the Przhevalsky horse, and the number of bison here is one of the highest in Belarus. Thanks to the ban on hunting in the exclusion zone, the number of wolves and other wild animals has also recovered.
• We’ll have a picnic lunch, where we can enjoy in a dedicated area.

Afternoon

• Our route is built due to the lowest dosimeter indicators, which makes our stay at the territory of the reserve safe. You will visit the villages inhabited by those brave enough to return to the Exclusion Zone and live full time, the Pripyat River, whose shores are still littered with abandoned boats, Soviet relics, eerie abandoned cemeteries and Soviet industrial buildings.
• You’ll visit former Soviet political propaganda centres full of Soviet relics and posters visit many of the 96 abandoned Belorussian villages in the zone. Before the disaster, over 22,000 people lived throughout these settlements.
• We’ll have the chance to climb a Soviet watchtower and get a bird’s eye view of the exclusion zone. On a clear day from here you can see Pripyat and the new dome over Reactor 4 inside the territory of Ukraine.
• After exploring the zone and clearing radiation control, we’ll transfer back to Minsk.
• Dinner along the journey back to Minsk.
• Overnight stay in Minsk.

Tuesday 20th August – Minsk – Vilnius, Lithuania

• Leisurely morning start with breakfast at our Soviet hotel before we depart Belarus and head back towards the Lithuanian border.
• Including the border crossing, we’ll arrive in the early afternoon at the earliest.
• Tour concludes, on the arrival to Vilnius – YPT can arrange additional nights in Vilnius and airport drop off for a fee. We are more than happy to provide advice for ongoing flights – or complete your Baltics region adventure and continue onwards to our Soviet Baltics Tour starting on the next day.

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