Belarus trip advice needed

[vlro]

Hi

So , we are planing to spend few days in Belarus (using our 3AJ Teneres )
Our plan is to try find route between two river basins one leading to the Baltic one leading to the Black See following some experimental Viking Voyages expedition.
This will involve some off road riding and some countryside crossings.
Is any one aware what is the situation down there with the riding off road/green lanes ? Also information for a any good of road tracks in the

Belarus - welcome.


Cheers



Rob

[Fern]

there are issues with various Belarus border crossings, only some people can enter at some borders.. here is the UK govt advice for example https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements

[a1mee]

hey there..how was the trip??i'm planning to go there next spring..well..not only to Belarus but to Lithuania and Ukraine as well..double checked all info I could find online and it seems to me when travelling to Ukraine and Lithuania there are not so many paper related issues..i've already booked a hotel and Vilnius, Kiev and Odesa (good and not so expensive places Premier Hotels and Resorts Home Ecotel Vilnius) to have a good night sleep and on the road we could always find a motel or B&B, at least I hope we will. But based on what I've read at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements I can only arrive to Belarus at Minsk International Airport but if I'm driving from Lithuania, will I cross the border without any problems? if though my stay won't be as long as 30 days, is it better to get a visa for just in case??

[AnTyx]

At this time, if you are crossing the Belarus border overland, you will need a visa for sure. The visa-on-arrival program is strictly for landing at Minsk Airport.

Also worth checking if your visa-free access to Ukraine will still be valid after Brexit.

[moggy 1968]

Originally Posted by a1mee

hey there..how was the trip??i'm planning to go there next spring..well..not only to Belarus but to Lithuania and Ukraine as well..double checked all info I could find online and it seems to me when travelling to Ukraine and Lithuania there are not so many paper related issues..i've already booked a hotel and Vilnius, Kiev and Odesa (good and not so expensive places Premier Hotels and Resorts Home Ecotel Vilnius) to have a good night sleep and on the road we could always find a motel or B&B, at least I hope we will. But based on what I've read at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements I can only arrive to Belarus at Minsk International Airport but if I'm driving from Lithuania, will I cross the border without any problems? if though my stay won't be as long as 30 days, is it better to get a visa for just in case??

My wife is from Belarus so I have been there many times.
If you are from western Europe, you will need a visa, they can be a bit tricky to get. Follow the advice on the Belorusian embassy website. I have only entered from Poland and Ukraine so Don't know about Lithuania, but there are a number of crossings that I have used. If you are intending to leave by a different border to the one you entered you need to ensure they understand that at the border when you enter, otherwise it may appear that your vehicle hasn't left the country as there doesn't appear to be any kind of central database.
You will need to buy insurance at the Belorusian border but you can get a policy that also covers Ukraine. There are huuuuts on the border to do this.
The border crossing is reasonably tricky if you don't speak the lingo.
There is no corruption on the Belorusian border and it is tightly monitored so don't offer any bribes. There are some small costs for photocopying documents etc.
On the Ukrainian border entering from Romania last October I got fleeced for a 6 euro bottle of whisky. It was a quibble over insurance which I was going to buy over the border, which was annoying.
Any other questions let me know