From the YPT office in Varna, Bulgaria, and with our specialist knowledge and language skills gained from many years of working in the region, YPT can really get you from the heart of Russia and Eastern Europe out to the corners where the action is. Through our Soviet tours and travel packages, we have pioneered travel in Chernobyl and the Unrecognised Countries of the former Soviet Union, and we run regular trips to the Balkans, Albania, Ukraine, Belarus, Kaliningrad and Russia itself. In fact, there’s not one country in the former Eastern Bloc that we don’t go to!
If our group tour dates to Chernobyl don’t fit your plans, then you can go on an independent tour at any time. We generally need ten days to organise the relevant permits, and there is a choice of day trip or overnight trip. See more about Chernobyl independent tours here.
In fact, we can arrange independent travel to any of our Soviet Europe destinations. Whether you want a journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway, a holiday in Chechnya, to hire Tito’s train in Serbia or visit Ceausescu’s grave in Romania, we can design the dream itinerary for you!
Likewise, if you want to travel on the Trans-Siberian/Mongolian Railway but can’t join us on the Eurasian Adventure, you can still get train tickets through YPT. If you want to break up the trip in Irkutsk or Novosibirsk, then you can get train tickets to fit your specific plans.
Is it safe to visit Chernobyl?
Yes, it is perfectly safe to visit Chernobyl. The famous quote is that you will get less radiation from a day tour to Chernobyl than you will from taking a long-haul flight. Parts of the Chernobyl exclusion zone are closed to visitors however, for this very reason.
Can we visit reactor number 4?
No, the reactor where the main explosion happened is off limits to tourists, and in general, we cannot wander around away from the tour group in Chernobyl.
Can we stay the night in the exclusion zone?
Yes, on a YPT group tour to Chernobyl you will spend one night in the exclusion zone at Chernobyl Hotel. For independent tours, you can go on a day trip from Kiev or do an overnight trip staying in the hotel.
Can you help with the Russian/Belarusian/Ukrainian visa?
Yes, YPT will provide you with visa support for any country on any tour we go to. We will help with a letter of invitation if you need one for Russia, Ukraine or Belarus though there is an extra cost for this. If you are not on one of our tours but still want visa support this is something we can also help with.
Can you book tickets for the Trans-Siberian/Mongolian train?
Yes, YPT can book tickets on the Trans-Siberian/Mongolian railway to suit your exact travel plans.
Can I cross from South Ossetia into Georgia?
Not really. It’s not impossible, but from our experience it is not something worth trying and definitely not something to plan a trip around.
Can I enter North Korea from Russia?
Yes, YPT can book Air Koryo flights from Vladivostok to Pyongyang and you can also cross the land border by train if you join our DPRK Scuba Diving tour.
- €995
Balkan Badlands Tour
The ultimate summer Balkan adventure
- Start Date : June 15th 2019
End Date : June 27, 2019 - Duration: 12 nights, 13 days
- €1945
Mongolia & Russia: Naadam, Buryatia and Lake Baikal Combo Tour
Take in the best of Mongolia and Buryatia, riding along some of the best parts of the transsiberian railway!
- Start Date : July 5th 2019
End Date : July 22, 2019 - Duration: 15 nights, 16 days
- €995
Buryatia and Lake Baikal Tour
Witness Lake Baikal in all its glory and visit Buryat settlements
- Start Date : July 15th 2019
End Date : July 22, 2019 - Duration: 6 nights, 7 days
- €790
Transnistria and Chernobyl (Summer) Tour
Our favourite Unrecognised Country of Transnistria and Explore post-nuclear disaster Pripyat.
- Start Date : July 19th 2019
End Date : July 28, 2019 - Duration: 9 nights, 10 days
- €790-€7375
Summer Soviet Adventure Combo
Head back to the USSR with YPT this summer!
- Start Date : July 19th 2019
End Date : September 2nd, 2019 - Duration: 43 nights, 44 days
- €1695 - €2495
Moscow to Pyongyang By Train Tour With Mass Games
Travel with us as we ride on the longest train journey in the world!
- Start Date : July 24th 2019
End Date : August 9, 2019 - Duration: 15 nights / 16 days
- Flight option: €195 flight out
- €390
Extreme Chernobyl Tour
Spend a summer weekend in post-nuclear Pripyat on our Extreme Chernobyl Tour
- Start Date : July 26th 2019
End Date : July 28th 2019 - Duration: 2 nights, 3 days
- €895
Ultimate Ukrainian Adventure
Tanks, guns, missiles and palaces of corruption. This is the ultimate road trip through Europe's 2nd biggest country!
- Start Date : July 29th 2019
End Date : August 5th 2019 - Duration: 7 nights, 8 days
- €795
Belarus Summer Tour
End your Summer Holidays in Europe’s most Soviet of countries
- Start Date : August 5th 2019
End Date : August 12th 2019 - Duration: 7 nights, 8 days
- €1395
Chechnya and North Caucasus Tour
Enter the City of the Dead, take in the mountain scenery and get to know the Chechen people.
- Start Date : August 12th 2019
End Date : August 21st, 2019 - Duration: 9 nights, 10 days
- €2785
South Ossetia & Chechnya Combo Tour
Travel through the history wo of the most tense zones after the collapse of the Soviet Union in one tour!
- Start Date : August 12th 2019
End Date : August 26th, 2019 - Duration: 13 nights, 14 days
- €1495
South Ossetia Tour
Venture in the world's youngest unrecognized country
- Start Date : August 21st 2019
End Date : August 26th 2019 - Duration: 4 nights, 5 days
- €2395
Magadan Soviet Gulag Tour
Camp in a Soviet labour camp and explore the Sea of Okhotsk on Russia’s east coast
- Start Date : August 26th 2019
End Date : September 2nd, 2019 - Duration: 7 nights, 8 days
- €495
Transnistria National Day and Gagauzia Tour
Think the Cold War is over? Come to Transnistria for National Day and think again!
- Start Date : August 29th 2019
End Date : 5th September 2019 - Duration: 7 nights, 8 days
- €395
Belarus Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Tour
Visit Chernobyl from the ''other'' side!
- Start Date : September 28th 2019
End Date : October 1st, 2019 - Duration: 3 nights, 4 days
- €2495
Ultimate Leaders Tour
Visit the Mausoleums of Ho Chi Minh, Mao Zedong, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Vladimir Lenin in one go!
- Start Date : October 14th 2019
End Date : November 5th, 2019 - Duration: 21 nights, 22 days
- €2995
Eurasian Adventure Tour
7 weeks, 21 post-Soviet countries or Unrecognised Countries. Taking in the whole iron curtain: The true Young Pioneer Tour
- Start Date : October 29th 2019
End Date : December 20th 2019 - Duration: 52 nights, 53 days
- €795
Belarus: Back in the USSR Tour
Visit the most Soviet of post-Soviet states in Eastern Europe
- Start Date : October 31st 2019
End Date : November 7th 2019 - Duration: 7 nights, 8 days
- €790
Chernobyl and Transnistria Winter Tour
Explore post-nuclear disaster Pripyat and our favourite Unrecognised Country of Transnistria
- Start Date : November 7th 2019
End Date : November 15th 2019 - Duration: 8 nights, 9 days
- €595
Kaliningrad Post-Soviet Exclave Tour
Explore Russia's westernmost exclave, the secretive Kaliningrad
- Start Date : December 9th 2019
End Date : December 13th, 2019 - Duration: 4 nights, 5 days
- €1395
Kaliningrad & Baltics Combo
Tour the whole of the Baltics, from Kaliningrad to Estonia!
- Start Date : December 9th 2019
End Date : December 20th, 2019 - Duration: 11 nights, 12 days
- €845
Budget Baltics
An action-packed and in-depth road trip which kicks off in Lithuania and takes us through four countries in just over a week.
- Start Date : December 14th 2019
End Date : December 20th, 2019 - Duration: 6 nights, 7 days
- €495
Chernobyl & Transnistria Ultra Budget New Year Tour
Ring in the New Year exploring Chernobyl and Transnistria with this ultra cheap package!
- Start Date : December 28th 2019
End Date : January 3rd, 2020 - Duration: 6 nights, 7 days
- €845
Poland WW2 Adventure
Discover Poland's dark World War 2 past.
- Start Date : February 15th 2020
End Date : February 22nd 2020 - Duration: 7 nights, 8 Days
- €1845 - €2495
Iran & Caucasus Unrecognised Countries Combo
From Iran through Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and Georgia
- Start Date : April 7th 2020
End Date : April 28th, 2020 - Duration: 20 nights, 21 days
- €790
Chernobyl and Transnistria (Easter) Tour
Explore post-nuclear disaster Pripyat and our favourite Unrecognised Country of Transnistria
- Start Date : April 10th 2020
End Date : April 19th 2020 - Duration: 9 nights, 10 days
- €795-€1540
Caucasus Unrecognised Countries Tour
Visit the hardest to get to Unrecognised Countries in the Frozen Conflict Zones of Post-Soviet Europe
- Start Date : April 15th 2020
End Date : April 28th 2020 - Duration: 14 nights, 15 days
- €795
Ultimate Transnistria Victory Day Tour
Celebrate Transnistrian Victory Day and witness a Soviet style military parade.
- Start Date : May 5th 2020
End Date : May 13th, 2020 - Duration: 8 nights, 9 days
- €995
Balkan Badlands Tour
The ultimate summer Balkan adventure
- Start Date : June 13th 2020
End Date : June 25th, 2020 - Duration: 12 nights, 13 days
- €790
Transnistria and Chernobyl (Summer) Tour
Visit our favourite Unrecognised Country : Transnistria and explore the post-nuclear disaster of Pripyat.
- Start Date : July 17th 2020
End Date : 26th July 2020 - Duration: 9 nights, 10 days
- €790-€3995
Summer Soviet Adventure Combo
Head back to the USSR with YPT this summer!
- Start Date : July 17th 2020
End Date : August 25th 2020 - Duration: 40 nights, 41 days
- €390
Extreme Chernobyl Tour
Spend a summer weekend in post-nuclear Pripyat on our Extreme Chernobyl Tour
- Start Date : July 24th 2020
End Date : July 26th 2020 - Duration: 2 nights, 3 days
- €895
Ultimate Ukrainian Adventure
Tanks, guns, missiles and palaces of corruption. This is the ultimate road trip through Europe's 2nd biggest country!
- Start Date : July 27th 2020
End Date : August 3rd, 2020 - Duration: 7 nights, 8 days
- €795
Belarus Summer Tour
End your Summer Holidays in Europe's most Soviet of countries
- Start Date : August 3rd 2020
End Date : August 10th, 2020 - Duration: 7 nights, 8 days
- €995
Revolutionary Russia Tour
Visit the most important sites throughout Russia at a ridiculously cheap price!
- Start Date : August 14th 2020
End Date : August 25th, 2020 - Duration: 11 nights, 12 days
- €1995
Svalbard: Soviet Frontier Arctic Cruise
Visit some of the northernmost settlements in the world in ex-Soviet Svalbard!
- Start Date : October 11th 2020
End Date : October 16th, 2020 - Duration: 5 nights, 6 days
- €1995
Svalbard: Soviet Frontier Cruise (SECOND DEPARTURE)
A second chance to visit some of the northernmost settlements in the world in ex-Soviet Svalbard!
- Start Date : October 14th 2020
End Date : October 19th 2020 - Duration: 5 nights, 6 days
- €2995
Eurasian Adventure
5 weeks, 18 post-Soviet countries or Unrecognised Countries. The true Young Pioneer Tour
- Start Date : October 27th 2020
End Date : December 6th 2020 - Duration: 40 nights, 41 days
