poisson

Two questions:

1. Do ATMs in Belarus work well with American ATM cards? I've got accounts with Chase, Schwab, Ally, and CapOne 360. Or would it just be best to bring USD/EUR and convert? For only 2-3 days, I doubt I'd need more than $200.

2. I've got two itineraries planned for later this year. Which one would you pick?

- Krakow, take train to Warsaw (alternatively, there is a flight from Krakow to Minsk with a layover in Warsaw, but the train is the same time and would be more flexible)
- Flight from Warsaw to Minsk
- Flight from Minsk to Lviv
- Flight/train from Lviv to Kiev

- Krakow, take train to Przemyśl (maybe spend a few hours here)
- Train from Przemyśl to Lviv
- Flight from Lviv to Minsk
- Flight from Minsk to Kiev

CaptainMiles

I had no trouble with ATM at MSQ airport. Worked fine, even english menu and no fees.

GBM.flights

My own experience having done a 3 day trip last weekend. (flew via WAW to MSQ with LO)
Have insurance through my employer, asked the insurance company for a statement where the amount and worldwide coverage were stated.

Presented printout at passport control, document well examined as were the passports - 4 of us travelling (every single page examined under UV light + under the magnifying lens). Took 20 min to go through.
No questions on return ticket or financial means - 25EUR/day/person.

Took a taxi into town (51byn, as per meter), Uber on the way back 27BYN (could not take Uber into the city as I could not verify the account email as wifi was slow).
ATM in front of the luggage belt (Reiffeisen bank), used my Revolut card, no fees, English menu option.

Stayed at the Hampton (5000 points/night). Almost no tourists and the city felt very empty.
Took the red hop-on/hop-off which departed in front of the city gates/train station (saw this on a flyer at the hotel). This was a great way to see the main buildings/attractions as Minsk is fairly spread out.
Few interesting spots and 2 days is enough for Minsk IMO.

poisson

Google Maps is saying transit via car from MSQ to the city center is about 45min. Is that about right?

What's the process like when flying out of MSQ? If my flight departs at 8:30AM, is arriving at the airport at 7AM enough time? I'm guessing there won't be much of a crowd, but I suspect that security and passport control might be rigorous.

GBM.flights

Yes, then depends on traffic.
Should be fine. I arrived 2:00.before, and it was more than enough.
still had lunch pre security.
Security was fairly quick, not more rigorous than in EU, they requested to see the immigration cards.
Passport control no wait.

CaptainMiles

At your time of day you should not encounter traffic, especially going out of town. If you want to be extra sure, take metro to Uručča and then car/bus from there. No traffic then.

To me, security felt normal per EU standards, but exit passport control very rigorous. My exit immigration officer went through every page of my passport, some of them twice, with a magnifier. Twice she left her booth with my passport to go conference with a follow agent at the next booth. Much more rigorous than the entry check. All throughout she never said a word to me other than hello/goodbye pleasantries, so I have no idea what if there was an issue or this is standard procedure. In all, that took about 10 minutes, so even with this extra scrutiny there was plenty of time to enjoy the lounge.

kingstontoon

Hi everyone,

I'm just back from a few days in Ukraine and Belarus. I've been to Ukraine before but this was my first time in Belarus - Minsk specifically. What to say? I absolutely loved the place. Great architecture, great people, great food and beer, plenty to see and do. A number of locals mentioned that the 5 day visa-free entry is soon to be extended to 10, which will make travelling the country easier. I just hope the stag parties don't "discover" Minsk and ruin it.

I flew LHR-KBP on BA, spent an enjoyable 24 hours in Kiev, then returned to KBP the next day to fly Belavia to Minsk. The check-in agent was friendly and confirmed with me that I was staying a maximum of five days. Busy 737-300 up with a friendly crew. Upon arrival, I went straight to the insurance desk and paid 4 Euro for my three day stay, as I hadn't printed out any of my own insurance details. The official was pleasant and spoke decent English. There was no queue at immigration - most desks were open - and while the officer was very friendly, he was as others have suggested very thorough, including use of a magnifier. The whole thing only took a few minutes though.

Once landside, I was pleased to find none of the taxi tout hassle you get in many places. My UK card worked in the first ATM I tried, and there's a machine with an English option to buy a ticket for the bus (3-4BYN depending on destination), which departs around every 40 minutes on the far left. I jumped off the bus and took the metro into town from Uručča, which was cheap, quick and efficient. Note if you have any baggage, a security officer will probably approach you and ask you to put your bag through a scanner in a nearby room.

My time in Minsk was spent walking around, sightseeing, visiting museums and sampling the excellent food and beer available. There are a handful of microbreweries around, and Craftman is great for craft beers from Belarus and beyond. Prices are very reasonable - around £2-3 for a pint of decent craft beer (although Ukraine is even cheaper currently at around £1.50). I stayed at the Hotel Yubileiny near the Sports Palace and paid around £23 a night. Very decent hotel with staff who spoke good English. Uber is available if you want to make longer or late night journeys and the prices are very cheap.

On the return, I did the same airport journey in reverse, taking the metro to Uručča and then the bus. It's around 25 minutes from Uručča to the airport. Leaving Belarus took only a few minutes, with no queue at security and only a quick flick through my passport. Make sure you keep your departure card to hand in! Airside, there are a number of shops and cafes, including a Burger King. My flight was on Motor Sich to Zaporizhia (OZH) in Ukraine. This was booked a rare Antonov AN-24 but on the day an even more unique Antonov AN-74 turned up! Google it! Absolutely insane airplane, especially with only 15 of us on board.

Zaporizhia is worth a visit for a day if you travel out this way. There's free wifi at the airport which enabled me to get an Uber into town for only 90UAH, which annoyed the taxi driver who was happily quoting me 500. My final couple of flights were then on a Motor Sich Antonov AN-140 from OZH to IEV, and then BA from KBP to Heathrow. The lounge in KBP is fairly decent if you have access.

All-in-all, a great trip. I thoroughly recommend going!

poisson

What's the deal with the immigration card? Are they given to you upon arrival and you must hold onto them for your entire stay, then present them upon departure?

For the bus, is it a city bus or this bus company? http://aeroexpress.by/?lang=en

kingstontoon

In my case, they handed out the immigration cards on the Belavia flight to MSQ. Small and easy to fill in. Two identical sides, with one for arrival (kept by immigration) and one for departure. My hotel photocopied the departure half alongside my passport, presumably for registration purposes. Yes, you should keep the departure half and hand it in when you leave. There were cards available in the arrivals hall should you not get one on your flight.

The bus I took was a full size 50 seater coach, so not the one you've linked to. Departure times from the airport as follows:

00:05, 01:45, 03:40, 04:50, 06:25, 07:20, 08:00, 09:00, 09:40, 10:20, 11:20, 12:00, 12:40, 13:20, 14:20, 15:00, 15:40, 16:20, 17:00, 17:40, 18:20, 19:00, 20:00, 20:40, 21:20, 22:05, 23:00

poisson

Great, thanks. Did the hotel have to fill out anything on the card? I'll likely be staying at an AirBnB, so I wonder how that will work. Is registration even required if you are taking advantage of the visa-free stay?

EDIT: Just answered my last question.

"During temporary (up to 5 days) stay in Belarus foreigners are not obliged to be registered by the local unit of the Citizenship and Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus at their place of residence or in any other way stipulated by the Belarusian legislation."

http://usa.mfa.gov.by/en/embassy/new...99fa6c45b.html

4004

The whole thing is way overdue after years of extortionate visa prices and falling visitor numbers.
Belarus as a destination might not be that well prepared for people from further out (as opposed to Russians/Poles/Lithuanians), although Minsk and the bigger cities should be fine. Just make sure you've got all the paperwork with you on the move, and maybe beware of openly taking too many pictures of train/bus stations etc (hopefully they're a bit more relaxed about this now though)

poisson

This was a super smooth process. I bought the medical insurance to the left as soon as you enter the terminal, then went through passport control. The agent took my landing card, signed it, checked my passport thoroughly, then let me pass.

Much easier than I thought it would be.

The only creepy thing I noticed is that a lady was sitting at the entrance to the terminal with a video camera. Do they film everyone entering the terminal from the tarmac?

RoseNajjar

I have never seen anyone filming in the airport so that is strange! I am fom Belarus myself so you can ask me any questions you have yet

pafnyc

Any one have any clarity or experience with flying Aeroflot to Belarus? While I've read that one cannot do so and still get the visa free access, I've also read that Aeroflot now treats the route as a hybrid domestic/international route (and thus, should be able to get to Belarus visa free if staying less than five days). Just curious if anyone had recent experiences

jaymar01

Belarus extends visa-free entry from five to 30 days.

Belarus extends visa-free entry to 30 days