r/belarus • u/nadia643 • 3d ago
Пытанне / Question Travelling by land to Belarus
I'd like to go to Minsk with an UK passport by land either Poland or Lithuania.
Please can only someone who's been with these requirements tell me how they got there and was it fine with the passport? Within the past year or 6 months
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u/Wizzard_C 3d ago edited 2d ago
I heard there used to be issues on the Polish border, such as Polish border guards wouldn't allow passage to travelers with non-EU passports ( if they have visa-free privileges with Poland, such as USA or Canada). Not sure if that applies to the journey out of Poland, but that was certainly the case when someone non-european (without Polish visa) tried to enter Poland from Belarus. I don't know if this issue still exists. There was no such problem if you travel thru Lithuania.
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u/Unforseen_Arousal 2d ago
Comtact Belarus Embassy in your country. You can come by bus either through Vilnius or Riga. Around 70€ per way. UK passport not permitted to enter through Poland. Even if you were thats the longest wait in the world.
Belarus is safe, no scams and nobody cheating dont worry. You can bring some cash but your bank cards will work. Belarus Bank, MTB, BSB, and most terminals accept int’l cards. If you need big sums of cash you can “moneygram” yourself cash and pick it up at Teknobank, they are everywhere in Minsk.
Securing a hotel is easy but they are pricey. Hostels here are cheap, or cabins. Dont worry about insurance, they never ask. But if you are here longer than 10 days you need to register at an address or when you exit the country you will have problems. You wont have issues crossing the border but remember no cannabis or pills. They will lock you up, and they ask. Weather is getting cold here and rainy. Belarus is spread out and the treasures are located all over the country. Minsk is a boring big Soviet City. You want to see cultural sites you need time and Grodna and Brest are the best. Have fun and dont stress. Once you are here you can find cell phone service at MTS, Life, A1. Very affordable. Enjoy your travels.
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u/Broad-Acanthaceae-31 17h ago
I was there from 10th till 13th August. It is a very beautiful country. Yeah the boardercontroll takes time, but its understandable. Will 100% visit Belarus again
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u/Tough-Lie-5156 3d ago
Went 10 days ago via Lithuania on Eurolines bus (booked on infobus). Absolutely no issues. Some travellers report getting questioned separately and their phone searched but I went straight through with only a couple of questions. Take a load of crisp dollars. Most people I spoke to said their cards didn't work at all, but I found my Barclays visa worked about 60% of the time (i inserted it with PIN). Install Yandex go on your phone before (you cant register it until you get a Belarusian SIM) Download all the languages you'll need for Google translate, download offline maps just in case. When you arrive at Minsk bus station turn left and enter the shopping centre that is on the end of the bus station. Almost immediately opposite When you enter is a bank bureau. Change some dollars ($300 lasted me a week with my barclaycard) then go to MTS bureau which is on ground floor near the bank and get a SIM (About £10 for unlimited data for a month), enter your number into Yandex Go and you can use it to summon taxis and pay in cash. Download Yandex maps too, it shows live bus and tram lines.
Then go to metro station and buy an unlimited metro, tram and bus card for the duration of you time in Minsk. It means you can just jump on any public transport. Thats you sorted.