Many travelers planning to travel to Belarus for the first time are wondering whether they need a foreign passport to enter. To travel to the Republic of Belarus, citizens of the Russian Federation do not need a foreign passport. You can enter Belarus by presenting a foreign passport, but no marks will be put on it. The Western European architecture of the cities of Belarus will allow even those travelers who do not have a foreign passport to plunge into the atmosphere of old Europe.
Typically, excursions around Belarus begin from the capital of the country, the city of Minsk. A trip to Minsk from Moscow by private car will take approximately 12 hours. It is also possible to get from Moscow by train; the journey will take about 9–10 hours. The fastest way to travel from Moscow to Minsk is by plane. Direct flights are carried out daily by several airlines.
You can exchange Russian rubles for Belarusian rubles at any bank branch or currency exchange office. You will need to present the passport or international passport with which you entered the country. One Russian ruble is equal to approximately 275 Belarusian rubles.
A trip by car to Belarus will be especially interesting. You can rent a car in Minsk. This will give you complete freedom of movement and the opportunity to travel to any part of Belarus. The cost of renting a car at the airport depends on the rental period and starts from 350,000 rubles per day.
Cheap hotels in most cities are located near the train station. You can stay in a budget hotel from 140,000 rubles per bed. Hotels offer private rooms from 350,000 rubles.
The most interesting objects of Minsk are:
- Town Hall.
- Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.
- Church of St. Simeon and St. Helena, the Virgin Mary, St. Roch.
- Ensemble of former Bernardine and Bernardine monasteries, St. Elizabeth's Monastery.
- Trinity suburb.
- Churches of Peter and Paul, Alexander Nevsky, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist and the chapel of all Belarusian saints.
- Pishchalovsky Castle.
- National Library of Belarus.
Where you should go in Minsk in winter is the skating rink, which is poured in front of the Palace of the Republic, and also visit the Silichi ski resort, 30 km from Minsk. In addition, 50 km north of Minsk there is the Khatyn memorial complex. The cost of visiting is 40,000 rubles for adults, 25,000 for students.
Mir Castle is one of those places where you should definitely go, especially if you are traveling around Belarus by car. It is located 90 km from Minsk. Mir Castle is the easternmost Gothic-style architectural complex in Europe. Since 2000 it has been part of the UNESCO cultural heritage.
To enter Mir Castle you need a ticket, its cost is 200,000 rubles. On the territory of the castle there is a restaurant and a hotel with room rates starting from a million rubles, so those who want to save money should go here for one day, returning to the hotel in Minsk in the evening or continue the journey towards the city of Nesvizh.
The next place you should visit by car is Nesvizh Castle. This castle complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located 30 km from Mir Castle, so both castles can be visited in one day. When visiting Nesvizh Castle, you can stay in the city of Nesvizh. A small private hotel will cost from 180,000 rubles for a single room. Nesvizh Castle also has a hotel on its territory.
The castle is open to visitors every day, in summer from 9.30 to 18.30, in winter from 9.00 to 18.00. You will also need a ticket, ticket prices: 50,000 rubles for children, 100,000 for adults. It is possible to visit Nesvizh Castle for free on the last Monday of any month. Nesvizh Castle is also famous for the oldest town hall in Belarus, the entrance to which is paid separately, and the Church of Corpus Christi.
If, while thinking about where to go next, you decide to move west, then you should visit Grodno. It’s quite easy to travel to Grodno by car from anywhere in Belarus; the roads here are good. There will be no problems finding a hotel. At the station there are many offers from private individuals, the prices offered there are very reasonable. A hotel will cost on average 350,000 rubles.
Where to go in Grodno is to the museums. There are seven of them, the average entrance ticket prices for adults are 15,000 - 30,000 rubles, for schoolchildren - 10,000 - 20,000. In general, the main attractions of Grodno can be seen in one day. These include:
- The Old Castle is a medieval palace.
- New Castle - located opposite the Old Castle.
- The Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier is a Catholic church in the Baroque style.
The historical center of Grodno is a pleasant place for walking. The architectural ensembles of the center of Grodno are intertwined with many different European styles, so a trip to Belarus can provide a unique opportunity to feel the atmosphere of old Europe, but you won’t even need a passport.
Brest is located on the border with Poland and is one of the five oldest cities in Belarus. If they have a Schengen visa and take their international passport with them, tourists have the opportunity to travel to Poland. Here are the most interesting things to see in Brest:
- Brest Hero Fortress. To view it you need a ticket, entrance ticket prices: 30,000 rubles for adults, 15,000 for students.
- Archaeological Museum "Berestye". Entrance ticket for adults is 20,000 rubles, for schoolchildren - 10,000. Every second Wednesday of the month, the museum is open to visitors for free.
- St. Simeon's Cathedral.
- Church of the Exaltation of the Cross.
Budget hotels in Brest offer beds from 200,000 rubles. You can stay in an inexpensive hotel from 250,000 rubles per room.
Another place worth visiting when visiting Brest is the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are hotels and guest houses on the territory of the reserve. Room prices start from 500,000 rubles on average. In winter, Father Frost's house is open for children.
In the north of Belarus, it is worth visiting the city of Vitebsk - the cultural capital of the country. From what to see in Vitebsk and where to go, it is worth highlighting such objects as:
- City Hall.
- Governor's Palace.
- Art Museum.
- Chagall Museum and Exhibition Complex.
- The building of the regional executive committee, which previously housed the women's diocesan school.
- Victory Square is the largest in Belarus.
- Churches and cathedrals of the 18th – 19th centuries.
It’s quite easy to rent a hotel in the city, but prices in Vitebsk are somewhat overpriced. When choosing a budget hotel, you should expect a bed from 180,000 rubles.
Of all the countries of the former USSR, the easiest way to get to Belarus is by car. Although the path from Moscow to Minsk is not short, 720 kilometers, it can be covered very quickly, in just eight hours, if you fully adhere to the speed limit.
Even at five in the morning, at the exit from Moscow there was already a slight traffic jam for 10 minutes due to road repairs. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov
There are many photo and video cameras along the entire route, both from the Russian and Belarusian sides. The local traffic police does not forgive violators. Exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 km/h can cost up to 7,000 rubles. And this is not the harshest punishment. For a repeated violation, you will have to part with your rights for up to a year.
Roads in Belarus are of better quality than in Russia and are not as congested. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov
There is no need to prepare to cross the border, because, by and large, there is none. All preparation consists only of purchasing a “Green Card” - a compulsory car insurance policy for traveling abroad. If you travel only within Belarus, the cost of the document will be only about 900 rubles. It is almost impossible to forget about this nuance - along the road, starting from Smolensk, there are always kiosks with huge “Green Card” signs. In order not to waste time on the road, it is better to arrange everything in advance.
Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov
Directly at the border, customs officers can selectively stop cars to check documents, but this, in any case, does not take up time. You shouldn’t expect huge traffic jams and queues even on holidays. The quality of the road is excellent almost the entire route, with the exception of a couple of sections under repair with two lanes for traffic in each direction. The Belarusian part of the route is better in every sense and not only in terms of the quality of the surface. Firstly, the speed limit is higher here - 120 versus the Russian 90 km/h. Secondly, the highway never passes through populated areas, so you can drive all the way from the border to Minsk without changing your speed at all.
However, on long holiday weekends it is better to leave Moscow in advance. Although leaving at five in the morning on a weekend or on the night from Friday to Saturday can make few people happy, even half an hour of delay will affect the total time on the road. In addition to the traditional traffic from summer residents and other vacationers, the situation is aggravated by repairs in the Minsk direction in the Kubinka area. At 7-11 in the morning on the way from Moscow and at 19-22 when returning back, you can lose more than an hour here. As an option, go around via Novorizhskoye Highway and Ruza.
If you want to visit Brest, you can spend the night in one of the park hotels with private parking near the city. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov
It’s better to refuel up to the border “to capacity”, because in Belarus gasoline is on average 3-4 rubles per liter more expensive. The savings are completely insignificant, but still. Taking into account the trip to Brest and the outskirts of Minsk, with an average fuel consumption on our Suzuki Vitara of 7.8 liters per hundred, 7,500 rubles were spent on gasoline. Even if you travel not with a group, but at least with two people, it will be significantly cheaper than with any other type of transport.
It is worth taking care of the local currency immediately upon entering Belarus. There are a couple of exchange offices literally a few kilometers after the border. If you miss them, there will be nowhere to change money all the way to Minsk. However, there is still no problem. In Belarus, even in the most shabby roadside cafes, where it’s scary to just be there, they accept bank cards.
Mir Castle. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov
Nesvizh Castle. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov
You can see a lot in three days. Mir and Nesvizh castles with picturesque parks and the Dudutki museum complex are located very close to the capital; the journey will take no more than an hour. In Minsk itself, getting around by car is not difficult. The avenues are wide, the junctions are simple, and there are few cars. And the main attractions are concentrated in the city center. You can leave your car and take a taxi - given the small area of Minsk, almost any trip will cost no more than 500 rubles.
There are many hotels in the center of Minsk with free guarded parking. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov
Single rooms in three-star hotels on holidays cost an average of 2.5 thousand rubles. It’s convenient to rent an apartment for a company – it’s even cheaper for one person. And, of course, there is no limit to perfection.
In cafes and restaurants, Russians will feel like millionaires. True, you still have to try to dine for more than a million Belarusian rubles. Food in Minsk is inexpensive even during the influx of tourists. Without denying yourself anything, you most likely won’t spend more than 2,500 rubles a day in restaurants.
Brest Fortress. Photo: AiF/ Denis Sveshnikov
As for the upcoming Victory Day, events in Minsk at the Stalin Line complex will last from May 7 to May 9. You will be able to see a reconstruction of the Battle of Berlin. Fireworks will take place on the day of the holiday at 22:00. The concert program, also ending with fireworks, will also take place in the Brest Fortress. However, only residents of neighboring regions will be able to stay for the celebrations in Brest and return to work. The return journey to Moscow is more than 1000 kilometers, which, despite the good road, will take a lot of time and effort.
Our journey to Belarus has finally begun. We were a little late with the trip and got ready to go only at the end of June 2018. I have long wanted to visit this country, about which I have heard so much. The funny thing is that the road to Belarus, or more precisely to Minsk from Moscow, turned out to be one of the easiest road trips we’ve ever been on. Was it worth it to wait so long? However, the road will be discussed in this article. Moreover, about the road with a baby under six months old, who is not even sitting yet - this is our first experience. Looking ahead, I will say that the Moscow-Minsk route by car is ideal for beginners.
The distance from Moscow to Minsk is only 717 kilometers according to Google maps, which we decided to use this year for the sake of experiment. Before this we used navigation from Novitel. Although I made my first route using paper maps – that was also a unique experience. However, I will return to the road to Belarus.
Google offers three routes from Moscow to Belarus to choose from, see the map below:
- Fast route on M1(marked toll roads) with a distance from Moscow to Minsk 717 km. Travel time is just over 8 hours.
- Average mileage on the A-130 highway via Mogilev
- Long route along the M9 highway through Velikiye Luki and Vitebsk region with a duration of 841 km
In fact, we were leaving the Kaluga region, through Protvino and Obolensk, so the navigator did not offer us the longest route - it was too far away from us. Trusting the description and common sense, we chose the M1 highway, almost straight, almost free. The “toll road” tag didn’t bother us. We didn’t come across any toll sections on the Russian side (it’s at the exit from Moscow); in Belarus, for Russian citizens, using the roads is also free.
Travel time and the quality of the road played a big role in choosing the route, since, I repeat, we went to Minsk with our entire small family, including Timofey. And for him it was the first such a long move. I think in a separate article I’ll talk about what it’s like to drive a car with a baby. The experience of the Minsk trip turned out to be very interesting
I would like to especially note that this route is ideal for beginners in road travel. There are several reasons for this:
- A short distance from Moscow to Minsk - only 717 kilometers
- Short travel time. Without particularly straining, the entire journey can be completed in 9-10 hours.
- Simple road. There are four lanes everywhere, no problems with overtaking
For comparison, you can see our no less interesting, but slightly more complex road trips in the following series of articles:
Road to the border with Belarus
As I said, we still had to get onto the M1 highway. In fact, we traveled almost from the M2 itself (whose fault is it that we spent several days in that area before the road) along the A108. I suspect that when leaving Podolsk we would even save a little travel time. And from Moscow to Minsk it would have been a couple of hours faster. The reason for this is the A108 highway with periodic passage through residential areas, where cameras and radars are installed all over the place, and the permissible speed is 40 km/h
Highway M1 Moscow - Minsk, police, cameras in Russia
Having reached the M1 highway, we hurried to the gas station. And gasoline has become more expensive in Russia! We refueled to a full tank for 1800 rubles, according to my calculations this should have been enough all the way to Minsk. By the way, gasoline is a little cheaper in Belarus, taking into account the latest May price increase in Russia and the change in the ruble exchange rate.
What caught my eye on the way to Minsk from Moscow by car was the abundance of patrols and cameras on the road. In addition to the stationary cameras with which almost all the villages located along the M1 highway on the way to Belarus are equipped, we also encountered probably about 7 patrols, and about a couple of dozen tripods. Moreover according to the good old tradition, the police are in the bushes, the tripod is covered by a civilian car- in general, a classic of the genre.
I, of course, tried to comply with the speed limit as much as possible. At one time I even got behind a Belarusian truck - a very useful life hack for those who don’t want to bring home fines. However, I’m almost sure that it won’t be possible without letters of happiness, our law enforcement officers are too good at hiding and putting up unexpected signs. In general, we advanced carefully, like sappers.
Road from Moscow to Belarus, description and reviews
The toll backup of the M1 highway begins in the area of the Molodogvardeyskaya transport interchange of the Moscow Ring Road and ends at the 33rd km of the Minsk highway. The road bypasses the city of Odintsovo. The length of the toll road is 18.535 km, the fare is 150 and 50 rubles during the day and at night, respectively.
All highway M1 all the way from our exit to it, all the way to Minsk it turned out to be four-lane- a definite plus for any route. Taking into account the small load, it was a pleasure to drive like this - it’s not like following trucks for kilometers on a two-lane highway, waiting for the coveted permission to overtake. Perhaps it was my imagination, but the lanes of the road were slightly narrowed, at least compared to usual highways. Two trucks fit on the road without much comfort. And it wasn’t entirely convenient for me to overtake them on turns.
Please note that on the M1 highway Moscow - Minsk, from the Russian side almost everywhere the limit is 90 km/h, of course, not counting populated areas. In addition, there were often signs with a limit of up to 70 km/h, and behind them there were portable cameras. By the way, it was these signs that made me doubt that the M1 is a motorway
I would like to note the relatively high quality of the road surface. When driving at the permitted speed, there is no risk of losing the suspension - and this is already a good indicator for our roads. However, in recent years I have been driving on paid sections of the M4 and on the free part of Leningradka, in both cases I am also satisfied with the roads. What I mean is that in the central region the issue of roads is being resolved, at least slowly.
Where to eat on the way to Belarus, stops along the way
Since we were traveling with a small child in the car, we had to make additional stops. After all, Timofey is not used to long trips by car, and the position in the car seat is not the most comfortable, although it is safe. I will return to it in a separate article, but I’ll probably describe our stops.
The first stop was at the Gazprom Neft gas station. We had lunch there at the local canteen next door. The prices turned out to be quite friendly - our lunch cost us 380 rubles (the first two, a side dish and one chicken Kiev for two). The food turned out to be tasty and nutritious. Portions are not large - expensive
Second stop at the source of the Moscow River. More with the goal of giving my son a little rest. However, in this place we found a dozen comfortable gazebos where you can stop and have a snack. Despite the sign “making fire is prohibited,” there were several barbecues and a large fireplace on the territory for nomadic motorists. In general, if you had a bucket of barbecue with you, you could sit and have a snack.
We made another stop in the village of Istomino. Just like that, without any particular reason. The village turned out to be exemplary. Just 300 meters from the Moscow-Belarus highway, the asphalt ends and the Russian outback begins. Besides, it’s not the most colorful. It should be noted that around this village the number of cameras on the road began to decline sharply.
