But there is a lot of room for improvement. However, under authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko (since 1994), it has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Take care to get ALL details right when trying to obtain a visa at the Minsk National Airport. You can apply for a visa at a Belarusian Consulate or Embassy. He recalled that a Minsk tourist information office he visited was “taken by surprise” by his request for recommendations. The only national airline, Belavia offers competitively-priced direct flights. Plenty of them can be found within first few hits on Google. But even among other post-Soviet states, Belarus ranks near the bottom in terms of tourism. The Vilnius<->Minsk takes 2.5 hours. Political and journalistic activity is tightly controlled. While waiting for the plane the visitor will be kept in a room under strict police control, without food and with drinking water available only from a sink at the toilet.

The border guards have no problem with this. Citizens of 74 countries, including Australia, Canada, all EU members, New Zealand, the UK, and the US (see list), do not need a visa for stays in Belarus of up to 30 days, subject to a limit of 90 days per calendar year, provided they meet the following requirements: Visa-free entry only applies to visitors entering and leaving through the border checkpoint at Minsk National Airport, and, unless noted elsewhere, visa-free entry does not apply to travelers entering or exiting by train, bus, or car, or entering by plane at a different airport than Minsk. Historically, Belarus maintained an excellent health system.

Short term visas are available from Minsk airport, consulates and embassies. Visa Barriers Discourage European Tourists, At the same time, the tourist infrastructure is underdeveloped.

To get a visa for private purposes a foreigner who is planning to stay in the country for more than 30 days has to present the invitation issued for a Belarusian resident by his citizenship and migration office. Note that the agencies book hotels that they cooperate with and it is highly unlikely that they'll book you a cheap hostel from booking.com. Passport controls happen in the train itself. Normally an ambulance should reach a patient within 15min in cities and 30min in countryside [25]. Nordeka [16], Currently, only citizens from CIS states, Cuba, Macedonia, Montenegro, Qatar, Serbia, Turkey and Venezuela enjoy visa-free entry into Belarus.

Additional troubleshooting resources. An up-to-date list of visa-exempt countries and territories can be found on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Customs may also be carried out at the border while on the train. In Belarusian cuisine, the milk is widely used for mixing in vegetable and flour dishes. Belarus has not only imposed more stringent visa requirements, but also dragged its feet on initiatives that could facilitate visits from abroad. “Though they did provide me with some useful information, it took a lot of prompting and patience from me,” he said.

With that said, many Belarusians freely express their political views during regular conversation without fear of immediate arrest or some type of governmental retribution. “So do they want people to visit or not?”. Pieces of specially prepared dough are boiled in water and then poured over with milk or garnished with salted pork fat. Are Belarusians fundamentally rural Orthodox Christians? Yandex Taxi, which can be accessed via its mobile app or the Uber mobile app, is the most popular and offers good prices if booked via the app.

There are 3 major GSM providers in Belarus, all of which offer prepaid SIM cards for Internet access and phone calls. Pizza is a very popular dish at many restaurants. Visa applications delivered at the airport are often rejected, and in this case the visitor will be sent back with the first possible plane. Nevertheless, it is always necessary to pay respect to the differences between Belarus, Russia and Ukraine - their histories, national languages and cultures. It would be nice to believe that there's a geiger counter to check for stuff which is radioactive from the Chernobyl accident, but it's unclear if this is used in practice - it's not done in any obvious way. Bus companies that operate to Minsk include: If you see said flag, do your best to stay away from the demonstration. So if they are Belarusians and they ask for a fee of US$5 consider it fair.