Best time to visit Minsk

If I can recommend the best time to visit Minsk I would say from early May till late September – your chances for the best weather are the best then and you can enjoy numerous outdoor activities.

My first Minsk trip happened in mid-July and it was really good: warm, sunny, green. A perfect summer time!

Is Minsk safe?

Minsk is one of the safest capitals in Europe. While the petty crime, of course, happens here like everywhere else but not on such a big scale. You should use the typical precautions, be careful in the crowded spaces like in the metro, but using common sense will be enough to keep you safe and sound. Minsk is a safe city!

How to get to Minsk

The best way to get to Minsk is flying and that’s what I recommend doing as this way you can visit Belarus visa-free. There are numerous airlines offering cheap flights to Minsk.

You can also come to Minsk by train or bus from neighboring countries but entering the country through the land border requires a visa. It’s not very expensive but it requires some paperwork and time so why bother.

Visa-free procedure

In 2017 Belarus changed its visa procedure and now you can visit the country without a visa for up to 30 days. The only requirement is to fly in and out of Minsk airport(so you can’t fly to Minsk and then take the train to another country). Afterwards, you are free to travel all over the country.

To enter Belarus in the visa-free regime you need to have the insurance with coverage at least €10.000 of medical costs. If you don’t have a policy already you can get one at Minsk airport near to stand on the left side before the passport control. For the 5 days insurance you paid €6, you can see all the prices below.

Note: When staying in Belarus for more than 5 working days, foreign citizens need to register with the divisions on citizenship and migration of the territorial bodies of internal affairs.

Starting from January 2019, foreigners arriving in Belarus can register online and free at portal.gov.by.

You can read more about visa-free travel to Belarus at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

How to get from Minsk airport to the city

There are a couple of buses and minibusses traveling between the airport and the city (Central Bus Station, next to the main train station and metro station Ploshcha Lenina). They depart every 20-30 minutes in each direction. It takes around 40-60 minutes for the journey and the ticket costs 4 BYN ($1,90 / €1,67).

I took the minibus that went through Mahilyowskaya metro station (the first/last station on the red line) while on the way back I took a regular bus that went through Uruchcha metro station (the first/last stop on the blue line). The tickets can be bought from the driver.

At the airport, the bus stop is located on the left side when you leave the terminal. At the central bus station, the airport buses depart from platform no. 2.

How to get around Minsk

The best way to get around is by metro and the token for a single ride costs 0,65 BYN (Belarusian ruble) only ($0,30 / €0,27) and can take you to most of Minsk attractions. There is a ticket office at every station so you don’t need to buy more tokens in advance, you can pay before each ride.

Minsk is a very affordable city. The major cost is accommodation, everything else has very decent prices and visiting Minsk won’t drain your wallet.

Language in Minsk

Belarusian is a default language in Belarus. But even if you don’t know the local language you will still be fine and can get around with English easily. Many of the young people can speak excellent English, there are also signs or menus in restaurants in English.