Belarus is a country that has earned various nicknames in the past few years. Some of them being ‘’the last corner of the Soviet Union’’ and ‘’Europe’s last dictatorship”. On our private Belarus tours, we take you on a journey through this fascinating but overlooked country that has a wealth of fascinating experiences on offer.

Whilst once closed off to the world due to its nightmarish visa process, Belarus is now visa-free for 30 days provided you fly into and out of Minsk airport. From joyriding Soviet tanks and giant dump trucks to visiting some of the most sacred WW2 sites in the former Soviet Union and exploring the former workshop of a Lenin statue sculptor, Belarus promises a travel experience like no other.

Price per person:

• 1 Person – 1,495 Euro
• 2 people – 1,100 Euro per person
• 3 people – 900 Euro per person
• 4 people – 795 Euro per person

Inclusions:

• Private room at a hotel
• Breakfast and lunch
• 24-hour services of a YPT guide
• All transport to complete the itinerary to and from the airport
• All admission fees and additional fees such as tank driving etc.

Exclusions:

• International airfare
• Personal expenses such as souvenirs
• Visa fees (if applicable)
• Dinner

Itinerary:

Day 1 

• Arrive in Minsk at your own leisure and check into your central, Soviet-era hotel.
• Meet up with your guides to head out for some hearty Belarussian food and excellent local beer.
• Overnight in Minsk

Day 2 

• Enjoy Breakfast at your hotel and then set out to explore everything Minsk has to offer.
• First, you will head to the workshop of Azgur. 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 communist figures from Kim Il Sung to Fidel Castro.
• Traditional Belarussian lunch
• After lunch head to 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 a few more soviet relic sites.
• Make your way to what is arguably one of the best WW2 museums on earth: the museum of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk.
• Dinner at a local joint accompanied with ice-cold local beers to round off your first full day in Belarus.
• Overnight in hotel

Day 3

• Have breakfast and check out of your hotel.
• With your guides meet your driver and transfer to the ‘Soviet Disneyland’ known as the Stalin Line. A series of Soviet Bunkers from WW2 and a mass of Cold War-era weaponry. Here you can fire a Soviet tank, an anti-aircraft gun, Kalashnikovs and more!
• Indulge in a Soviet military lunch at the Stalin Line and then head to Khatyn which is the village where the massacre depicted in the movie Come and See took place. It’s now a sprawling and eerie memorial site.
• Return to Minsk to catch the evening train to Brest.
• On arrival, check into your Soviet hotel with monuments to Red Army heroes welcoming you in the lobby.
• Head out for dinner and a few beers at Traktor on the lake, a great local restaurant situated in the middle of a tranquil lake.
• Overnight in Brest.

Day 4 

• After breakfast at the hotel, your first stop will be at the Brest Fortress, or Hero Fortress as it is often known. 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 monuments in the former USSR.
• The complex features an array of tanks and WW2 museums inside which you will visit.
• Have lunch in the bullet-riddled tunnels here Red Army soldiers sheltered in their apocalyptic fight against the Wehrmacht in the opening days of Operation Barbarossa.
• Your next stop will be at the train museum, an open-air museum featuring hulking Soviet locomotives from throughout the 20th Century.
• You will take a walking tour of the quaint, very European-feeling old town after passing through Lenin Square, we’ll meander down the Alley of Lights, a street lined with unique lanterns all designed by local artists, and every one of which is totally unique, from a nose wearing a suit, to a shoe-polisher whose chair you can sit on, to a horse and carriage. You can even put your foot in a giant boot!
• See Lenin outside of the local KGB headquarters.
• Catch the evening train back to Minsk and check back into your hotel.
• Dinner and overnight in Minsk

Day 5 

• After breakfast, head to the infamous Napoleonic battlefields of Belarus which are marked by Soviet and Tsarist war memorials. It was here that Napoleonic forces suffered a gruelling defeat as they made their depressing retreat from Russia.
• Stop at a local museum full of Napoleonic and WW2-era battlefield relics.
• On the way back, stop at the city of Nezvish to see their iconic castle that was captured by the Red Army in WW2, the local Lenin statue, and grab some lunch.
• On the way back to Minsk, stop at Mir Castle for a photo opportunity and then visit an abandoned Jewish cemetery deep in the woods.
• Return to Minsk, stopping at any Soviet monuments or relics we see, before we head out for a farewell dinner in Minsk.
• Overnight in Minsk

Day 6

• Tour concludes with transport to the airport arranged for your convenience.
• If you have a late flight we can arrange for additional activities to do in the day. Just let us know.