LAST SOVIET
STRONGHOLD
STANDING

An in-depth journey through Eastern Europe’s most misunderstood splinter, a beautiful and calm land of valiant achievements, dark echoes, monumental memories, high hopes, and broken dreams.

May 2026 Update: in compliance with the latest amendment (23 April 2026) to EU Council Regulation 2026/513 amending Regulation (EC) No 765/2006, all tours and tourism related services to Belarus are currently suspended until further notice. This page remains active exclusively for informational purposes about the destinations listed therein. Natural persons can still legally travel to Belarus without breaching international regulations, though. Belarus remains open and welcoming to foreign visitors as long as the service is not advertised/offered by or booked through a EU-based tour operator. Please contact us to learn more about your options to visit Belarus, including all locations of the Belarus Tour described hereunder, without incurring any violation to the existing sanctions against the country.

THE ROUTE

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DAY 1 TO DAY 2 • COME AND SEE, THE LAST OF THE SOVIETS

Meet-and-greet at Minsk International Airport and transfer to our hotel of choice in central Minsk, the capital of the [former] Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, aka BSSR.

Our first two days in Belarus will be entirely devoted to Minsk and its bottomless treasure trove of Soviet gems: modernist mosaics, socialist-realist monuments, Lenin statues, imposing war memorials, richly decorated metro stations, colourful food markets, and a kaleidoscopic cornucopia of USSR-era architecture and artefacts.

During our sojourn in Minsk, we’ll also witness a true Soviet-style parade, since both departure dates of our Belarus Tour have been chosen to coincide with two major national celebrations: Victory Day (May 9th) and Belarus Independence Day (July 3rd), respectively.

Overnight in Minsk.

DAY 3 • HEROES OF THEIR TIME

Early breakfast and eastbound overland road jaunt towards the tranquil city of Vitebsk.

On the way to Vitebsk, we’ll pay our respects to the somber Khatyn Memorial Complex, commemorating the innocent Belarusian man, women, and children who fell at the brutal hand of Nazi-German occupation.

Once in Vitebsk, we’ll tour a few de rigueur Soviet sights and the Marc Chagall Museum, honouring the dreamlike life and works of the city’s most illustrious son.

Overnight in Vitebsk.

DAY 4 • PATHS OF GLORY

Following the footsteps of the valiant Soviet-Belarusian partizans, we’ll head south to the city of Gomel, travelling through the placid eastern Belarusian back of beyond via the quintessentially Soviet cities of Orsha and Mogilev.

Before entering Gomel proper, we’ll explore an impressive Palace of Culture in Kastsyukovka, a true secular temple of Stalin-era aesthetics, great expectations, and utopian hopes.

Once in Gomel, we’ll indulge in the usual Soviet-legacy tour of the city and take a stroll along the Sozh River to admire the gracefully neoclassical Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace, a 18th-century architectural masterpiece and one of the few rare pre-Soviet sights of this tour!

Overnight in Gomel.

DAY 5 • RADIOACTIVE MUSHROOMS

Most people associate the Chernobyl Disaster exclusively with the Ukrainian city of Pripyat and the Nuclear Power Plant itself, but it was, in fact, Soviet Belarus the Union’s republic that absorbed the lion’s share of the infamous 1986 catastrophe.

The Polesie State Radioecological Reserve, less than two-hour drive from Gomel, was created in 1988 as a radioactive contamination containment area and represents an eerily fascinating destination for history buffs, Soviet geeks, and urbexers alike.

We’ll spend the first half of the day exploring the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve and its vast panoply of Soviet sights scattered around a surprisingly idyllic natural enviroments (the area is famous for berries and mushrooms) and in the early afternoon, we’ll Mazyr

Overnight in Mazyr.

Bespoke ExperienceS

A traditional cooking and tasting session with a local family in the depths of the Belarusian countryside and a behind-the-curtain architectural perusal of Minsk’s lesser-known Soviet delights.

DAY 6 • YEARNING FOR MELANCHOLY

Travelling athwart southern Belarus, we’ll skirt along the Belarusian-Ukrainian border towards the bitter-sweet city of Pinsk, a paradigmatic Soviet

In the afternoon, we’ll finally reach the glorious city of Brest with its awe-inspiring profuseness of Soviet-era sights, including an impossible-to-miss 19th-century Tsarist fortress turned into an immense open-air WWII Memorial Complex with a breathtaking array of Soviet monumentalism on display.

Overnight in Brest.

DAY 7• DEEP WOODS AND FALLEN EMPIRES

We'll slowly head north crossing the Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the the last primeval forest fragment of the Europe's woodlands, home to both the largest population of the European Bison (Bison bonasus) and the infamous hunting estate of Viskuli, the very place where the shameful Belavezha Accords—declaring the dissolution of the Soviet Union—were signed by Russian “president” Boris Yeltsin, Ukrainian “president” Leonid Kravchuk, and Belarusian “chairman” Stanislav Shushkevich.

We’ll cross a haunting sceneries of dark woods, wooden villages, sleepy provincial towns, Soviet ruins, and nostalgic atmospheres before eventually reaching Grodno, a charming frontier city featuring a stunningly well-preserved old town that dates back to the heydays of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the historical country that once extended over most of present-day Belarus.

Overnight in Grodno.

DAY 8 • YESTERDAY’S TALES

Today we'll take our leave from Grodno and western Belarus and head back to Minsk.

On our return trip to the capital we’ll call at both Lida—a medieval castle town and an important centre of Yiddish and Polish culture—and Ivie—home to one of the last Lipka Tatar communities in the former USSR.

Overnight in Minsk.

DAY 9 • FAREWELL TO BELARUS 

After sharing a last Belarusian meal together, we'll take care of your transfer back to Minsk International Airport.

For those wishing to take a coach to reach further destinations, we’ll arrange a transfer to Minsk Avtovokzal, wherefrom you can hop on a bus to Lithuania.

Available tour extensions include: East Germany and/or Moldova.

End of the tour.

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1750 €

INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Belarus (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.

EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, personal insurances (medical travel insurance and travel cancellation insurance are recommended).