CPMaverick

Hello All

I'm planning a work trip to France in June but on the back end I'd like to visit some Eastern European countries. My origin is Melbourne. I found a good route on Etihad that gets me to Paris and returning from Minsk. One-stop from Minsk to Melbourne is pretty good.

The best flights I've found from Paris to Minsk stop in Kiev. Another city I'd like to see. So I was thinking to stop there also. Long story short, I need to decide how to split 7 days between Minsk and Kiev.

I've never been to either place. It seems Kiev offers a bit more, and although it might sound touristy I would like to consider a tour near Chernobyl. I'm not up to speed on the latest in the Ukraine conflict, although my thought was Kiev was reasonably unaffected.

Minsk seems difficult to find many attractions for. But I quite enjoy cities off the beaten path. I spent 3 weeks in Russia last year though, hoping to see what makes Belarus different than Russia and not just rehash my Russian travels!

I really like history (especially military and technology) and unique experiences. I'm not too much into hiking or nature but plenty fit to walk a city all day. I don't speak much Russian, so sights & museums without English may not be too attractive. I'd like to go outside the city at least once during the 7 days and see something a bit less urban (I can't do museums all week).

I know this isn't much information and I have a lot of research still to do, but any advice on which city deserves or requires more time is much appreciated!

Palal

Minsk is worth 2 days - it's a relatively "new" (post WWII) city where you can see things in 2 days. Be aware that the visa restrictions in Belarus are generally tighter than for Ukraine. Check out TIMATIC to see what you need. Kiev is worth 3-4 days to see all the major attractions. If you add Chernobyl that's another day.

While you may see some soldiers at train stations, Kiev remains unaffected by the conflict.

The feel is definitely different than Moscow or St. Petersburg and I think 2 days will give you a feel for it.

CPMaverick

Thanks! So maybe 4-5 days in Kiev, 2-3 days in Minsk then. Depending on flight schedules and if I end up going to Chernobyl.

Any attractions around Minsk worth seeing? Maybe some towns that were not so affected by WWII? It sounds like with 3 days, I would have time to do something like that.
- EDIT: From my initial research. Brest and Polatsk both stand out as interesting towns, unfortunately they are both over 3 hours drive from Minsk.

Belarus allows a free 5 day visa for several countries now, including the USA and Australia. You must arrive and depart via MSQ airport. That's one of the reasons I want to go and check it out, it seems to just be starting to open up more for tourism.

Romanianflyer

If you are a history/war buff do take the journey to Brest from Minsk to see the fortress. Even if it's 3 hours or so by train, it's still perfectly doable as day a day trip.

CPMaverick

My plans have changed a bit, I was flying solo but I have a friend coming with me and we decided to max out our time in Belarus and do some road-tripping. So I'm now looking for a few options to self-drive around Belarus. Brest is definitely on the list, any other ideas?