How to Visit Minsk in 2019
With a new 30 day visa-free regime, traveling to the Belarus capital couldn’t be easier.
When I first came to Minsk, they had a strict rule: five days, then you gotta go.
Since then, Minsk has become much more welcoming to tourists and, as a tourist myself, I’ve been keeping up-to-date on the various changes in rules and regulations for foreigners.
In short, nationals of over 70 countries can now visit Minsk (and the rest of Belarus) for up to 30 days, so long as they 1) enter through Minsk National Airport, 2) have adequate health insurance for their period of stay, and 3) can prove at least two base amounts of money for every day of their trip, which comes out to about $25 per day.
It’s pretty easy to hit all of these benchmarks, but if you’re actually interested in visiting Minsk, things can get a little more complicated.
How do I get to Minsk?
If you’re like me, you probably got excited after seeing that getting to Minsk from places like Riga and Vilnius is pretty cheap if you go by car, bus, or train. However, if you carry a passport from one of the 70+ countries listed here, these options are unfortunately off-limits – you have to fly.
Minsk National Airport is becoming more accessible by the day, with Belarus’s flag carrier Belavia planning to add five Embraer and six Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the next year alone.
Naturally, Belavia isn’t the only airline operating out of the Belarusian capital. Flights run regularly from Riga via AirBaltic, Vienna via Austrian Airlines, Frankfurt via Lufthansa, and many other capitals throughout Europe.
When do my 30 days start and end?
The Belarusian government says their official time counts calendar days beginning on the day you arrive and ending on the day you depart, regardless of the time of arrival or departure. This means you could arrive at 8 AM on June 1st and leave at 7 PM on June 30th while still falling within the government’s accepted timeline for visa free travel.
If you plan on staying for longer than five days, you must register with the local government. If you are staying at a hotel, they will generally take care of this for you; regardless, it’s still a good idea to call and confirm. If you are not staying at a hotel, you can register yourself here. Again, this is only required if you intend to stay for longer than five days.
You do need proof of a flight out of Minsk when you enter Minsk. Without this information, they may question whether you meet the standards for 30 days visa-free. Simply show your round trip ticket when you get stopped by security and you’re good to go.
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What health insurance is needed?
The only rule Belarus has when it comes to health insurance is that yours provide coverage for for at least 10,000 euros and be valid in Belarus. I purchased mine from Seven Corners, which was sufficient and provided 10,000 Euro of coverage for only $10 for the five days of my stay.
Additionally, insurance is available for purchase at the Minsk National Airport for just a few dollars per day. If you have any doubts about whether or not your insurance will be accepted upon your arrival in Belarus, it would be smart to just buy your insurance at the airport.
How should I prove my funds?
I should quickly note that when I traveled to Belarus, they never asked for proof of my ability to support myself during my time in the country.
Just in case, I did come prepared with bank statements showing a significant amount of money in my bank account – more than enough to meet the required amount of two base rates per day (~$25/day or ~$125 for a five day trip).
I have heard stories of people bringing that amount in cash to prevent any difficulty at the border, but really, you should be fine with just a bank statement.
Can I go to other cities in Belarus after I’ve arrived in Minsk?
Yes. The visa-free regime allows tourists to travel around Belarus at their leisure, so long as they leave via Minsk National Airport once their trip is over.
I’ve heard some people say that a separate visa is required to visit certain areas of Belarus. This is false.
This error comes from a misunderstanding about Belarus’s visa-free policy; certain areas of Belarus can be visited without entering via Minsk, but there are other rules that must be followed that do not mean getting an entirely separate visa.
Two areas that can be visited a) without a visa and b) without entering through Minsk National Airport are Tourism and Recreation Zone Brest and Augustow Canal Park – both can be accessed via 12 different international border checkpoints. To visit these areas, you need everything you would need for an entry via Minsk National Airport in addition to a confirmed booking with a tour company in the area. If you enter to visit these two areas, you cannot leave them without obtaining a separate visa.
Other areas of Belarus may require additional documentation but not a visa; for example, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
Can I Fly from Minsk to Russia?
No. In Belarus, flights from Russia to Minsk and vice versa operate in a similar way to the Schengen Area – as they are considered “internal travel,” they are not always checked by border control.
To prevent people from abusing this openness, the government of Belarus has banned foreigners from traveling to or from Russia via Belarus, even if they have a visa to visit Russia. In order to travel from Belarus to Russia as a foreigner, you must first leave Belarus via Minsk, fly to a different location, then fly to Russia.
How Many Days do I Need in Minsk?
That all depends on what you’re trying to do! I found my five days there to be more than adequate; however, if you want to leave the city and travel to other popular areas like Brest or the Chernobyl exclusion zone, you might want to plan for more time.
There are numerous activities available for those who want to explore Minsk – in fact, I’ll be writing about all of the available things to do in an upcoming travel guide. The best way to keep up-to-date and make sure you don’t miss it is by signing up for my mailing list. In the meantime, check out my guide to the Best Coffee in Minsk.
Conclusion
Minsk is a super interesting city to explore and is quickly becoming a hot destination for tourists. That said, there is still a lot of work to be done – many of the resources available in the city are only available in Russian, and while young people can speak English fairly well, it would be smart to get at least a passing understanding of Russian before you go.
I recommend learning to read Cyrillic, which I will talk about in an upcoming blog post. I learned via an app and it truly could not be easier.
Final note: don’t be too surprised if the airport security person takes a long time with your passport. They’re really strict about security in Belarus. Just answer their questions nicely and you should be all set for a great time in Minsk.
Do you have any questions about visiting Minsk? Leave them down below and I will answer as soon as possible!
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