Where to go in winter in Belarus. Winter holidays in Belarus. What to choose? Palaces and castles
Belarus is often seen as a former Soviet republic, or as a close and familiar neighbor, but not as a place for an exciting trip. In this article we will try to dispel this stereotype and tell you about where to relax in Belarus in winter.
There is a choice for every taste: from sanatoriums and ski resorts to sparkling lights major cities, you can combine both. There are always attractions that are interesting to see at any time of the year.
Weather in Belarus in winter - what to expect?
Type in country - temperate continental, in the west passing from maritime to continental due to the influence of Atlantic air masses. The seasons are not too pronounced, extreme temperatures are quite rare.
Precipitation is heavy, but most of their volume occurs in the summer months.
Winter in Belarus is mild and humid. Thaws are common, although the snow cover is usually dense and lasts a long time, especially in the northern regions, which is good for skiing and sledding.
Average air temperature is -3°C, and the average minimum is -15°C, the average maximum is +5°C. In some areas, snow is occasionally interspersed with rain. The sun rarely appears, cloudy skies are more typical. In addition, dense fogs appear until mid-December.
Winter weather in the north colder, and in the south it is warmer and softer, this difference is quite noticeable, so choose a location for your vacation in accordance with your plans.
It is thanks to this mild climate that it is comfortable to spend a winter holiday in nature, doing active pastime and walks.
Winter holidays
A popular option is to rent cottages outside the city, this is called "health for the lazy"— the absence of a tiring routine, fresh air and unity with nature will help you get in shape.
In the last decade, the country has become more and more Europeanized, and the level of tourism has increased accordingly.
Since in winter prices for planes/trains and accommodation below, you can get a piece for practically nothing, especially since you don’t need a visa to visit Belarus.
Best places
Let's start with ski resorts. There are no mountains in Belarus, but the hilly and gully terrain made it possible to create conditions for skiing and snowboarding. You won’t have to travel far from the capital, since the most popular locations for ski holidays are located in the Minsk region.
Where to go with children?
The kids will definitely love the whole thing leisure which parents also enjoy, but some things will bring them special pleasure. For example, husky riding. This opportunity is provided by the picnic hotel "Expedition" in the Logoisk district of the Minsk region.
It is especially pleasant for both children and adults to swim in outdoor pools with hot water. Many sanatoriums offer swimming in large wooden barrels right on the street. Japanese baths are no less popular; there are many places with them throughout the country.
There are many camps for children and teenagers in Belarus, including those with winter sessions. One of the most famous:
- Jagged(Minsk Region);
- Only English Land (language camp on the territory of the sanatorium "Belarus");
- DreamCamp(language camp in Minsk);
- Health camp named after. Gastello(city of Zaslavl, Minsk region).
Which sanatorium should I go to?
Primary goal - recovery, so choose your location based on this. Here we will try to list the best health complexes.
What to see?
Even in the winter season, Belarus can surprise you with an abundance of entertainment and excursion activities.
Sights and entertainment - photos
You can safely put it in first place Minsk: the capital is beautifully decorated for the New Year holidays, there are also many skating rinks and games for children. The city is also full of trees, which are no less beautiful in winter.
Very popular among tourists Grodno, which promises to give you a real winter fairy tale. In that ancient city with cobbled streets, at every step you can come across a sight, of which there are a great many: the Old and New castles, Grodno necropolises, the “Grodno Switzerland” park and much more are beautiful at any time of the year.
Occupies a special place for tourists Mogilev. In that beautiful city There are many cathedrals and churches that are worth visiting. Parks, squares, the regional drama theater - all this cannot but attract visitors here.
If you are interested in attractions outside the cities, pay attention to Mirsky and Nesvizhsky castles that are visited by thousands of tourists every year.
Also worth visiting are the Kossovo Castle, the Brest Fortress and the ruins in Ruzhany.
Belarus is rightfully considered a very green country, and this is not surprising considering how many nature reserves and national parks there are:
- The biggest one is Belovezhskaya Pushcha , founded in 1939 and protected by UNESCO since 1979. Its area is more than 1.5 thousand square kilometers, and more than 70 species of rare animals have found their home in this territory. The park is located in the southwestern part of the country and part of it is located in Poland;
- Another beautiful reserve - Narochansky national park on the border of Minsk and Vitebsk regions. On its vast territory of 97 hectares there are 40 lakes, of which the most amazing are Naroch, and blue Lakes Dead and Glublya;
- Smaller in territory, but unique in natural components is Polesie Nature Reserve. This amazing landscape is very similar to the taiga; there are no such forests anywhere else in the country. Not only the flora and fauna are interesting here, but also beekeeping - a special type of beekeeping.
Each of the listed reserves is accessible by car and walking tours which must be ordered in advance. This trip will be unforgettable at any time of the year.
Travel by car
Since Belarus is close to us neighbor, this is at the same time popular destination for traveling by car.
It should be borne in mind that in Belarus the road rules are very strict and sometimes you can’t get away with just a fine. Before entering the country you buy a Green Card at short term. Also remember that many roads in Belarus paid, especially those that connect Minsk with regional centers. It is better to take care of payment in advance and on your own.
Now let's move directly to route:
- The first point can be assigned Minsk, having arrived here from Moscow along the E30 highway. But even before Minsk there are two interesting cities: Mogilev and Vitebsk, many travelers prefer to first stop at one of these points;
- The next destination is usually Brest. On the way there you can see many attractions, for example, Mir Castle and the “Stalin Line”;
- North of Brest, not far from the borders with Poland and Lithuania, there is a wonderful city Grodno, although it is more convenient to get there from Minsk than from Brest. We have already written about some Grodno places above, to which we can add the regional drama theater, the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier, the Kunstkamera and the pharmacy-museum;
- The south of the country is worth a visit Pinsk, famous for his rich history and a huge variety of temples and monasteries. Mozyr and Gomel are all located on the same road, which is convenient to travel from Brest. There is a very beautiful palace and park complex in Gomel. Also in this cozy town there are fountains, interesting statues, a circus and several theaters.
In Brest itself, tourists are attracted by the Brest Fortress - an impressive red brick structure, as well as railway and archaeological museums, and many religious sites.
Trains in Belarus never it won't be boring, it doesn’t matter whether you think through each point in advance or go where the road takes you. We hope that our article has inspired you to big Adventure around this country.
see also video about what places in Belarus you can visit in winter:
I'll answer about the road. I went in December that year. Minka is fantastic, you go and enjoy it.
the road is gorgeous, if there are no traffic jams you can get to Minsk in 10 hours, in Belarus itself the limit is not 110, but 130 on the highway
in Minsk you can walk for 2-3 days, they say you can see Brest, the rest of the sights are military monuments, IMHO not interesting
We are also going to Europe through Belarus at this time, don’t forget by the way that in Belarus you need insurance (a green card for a car)
With housing, you realized it very late - everything was sold out a long time ago, only expensive hotels remained, or hucksters who rent out apartments at Monaco prices
We went in August, not in winter. The road was great. We rented an excellent apartment in Minsk through Booking. It's cheaper and more comfortable than hotels. There is not much to see in Minsk. It’s just a beautiful and clean city, it’s nice to walk around, it’s not too expensive to sit in cafes. You can go to the opera or the circus. Among the attractions, I highly recommend visiting the castles in Nesvizh and Mir.
Thinking with my wife and friends in new year holidays go to Belarus. Tell me, who has experience, how to get there in winter, where it is better to go/what to see, where it is better to stay inexpensively for the night. Well, is there any point in traveling at all?)
We went to the January ones that year. We left on the night of January 2-3. We arrived leisurely in about 11 hours. Those. We left at 3 and were there at 14. It snowed at night, driving fast was not an option. The road is a fairy tale. Even such good coverage gets boring))) We drove back during the day, Minsk - Moscow in 7 hours. We came to the realization of housing too late. The two of us lived in a two-room deluxe hotel for 5,000 days (in principle, this is expensive for Minsk), one metro station from the center. Friends rented an apartment for $100/day (according to that exchange rate), but it was a bit far from the center.
You need a green card, they did it at Rosgosstrakh. But you can do it on the highway, there are no problems there.
Food is very inexpensive almost everywhere. There are few places in decent places in the evening. Everything is busy. There are a lot of tourists. We were looking for a very long time for somewhere to sit one evening.
On excursions: we took individual tour This lady has http://www.excursions.by/ We really liked it. There were four of us, we were driven around in 5 hours, it was quite interesting and informative. At the end of the tour, they will take you wherever you say. You need to stop, they will stop you, you need something to drink/eat/drink, they will take you there, they will stop you. Those. everything is very ok. We then paid 100 dollars for 4 people. In addition, she will answer all your questions, which are often of interest to visitors from Russia)
Overall the impressions were awesome. Another world.
Yes, please suggest some good search engines for apartments for daily rent.
There are many websites offering apartments for daily rent, but specifically for Belarus, the reviews are such that they are very often abandoned. Especially during the high season - holidays and vacations. That is, there is no prepayment system. We kind of agreed in correspondence, and then a more profitable client appears who rents for a longer period, or fits into the employment network more conveniently, or ultimately offers more money. And sorry, refusal. And you find yourself homeless the day before you leave. And everything else from the budget has long been occupied. Therefore, after going through all the reliable booking sites, we settled on Booking. There is a larger selection of apartments and the prices are reasonable. And protection from scammers. If the seller breaks his promises, he will be kicked out of the booking system.
If the seller breaks his promises, he will be kicked out of the booking system.
In general, in NG Europe is cheaper than Belarus, we are going to Warsaw and Krakow, and housing there in NG is several times cheaper than in Minsk
will not be thrown out, I have encountered this myself - I wrote complaints to booking, no sanctions followed from their side
besides, everything is already sold out on New Year’s Eve, I see only one option on booking right now with apartments starting from $70 per day (Vip-Kvartira 5, duh) and this is a 100% huckster who, in fact, will give you a completely different price and doesn’t care about this booking, it just attracts customers so much
but the real prices are hotels from $100 per night and apartments from $100-120
In general, in NG Europe is cheaper than Belarus, we are going to Warsaw and Krakow, and housing there in NG is several times cheaper than in Minsk
After Minsk, how is the road?
If suddenly your vacation falls in the winter, but it’s not possible to travel far abroad, then our next selection is for you. In it we will tell you how to make your winter holiday in Belarus not boring. One of the ideas can become the highlight of your vacation, and choosing several options at once will make it clear that an original and varied winter vacation is possible even in our latitudes.
Husky riding
This service is only three months a year, but is available in Belarus. At the Expedition picnic hotel, two northern beauties are harnessed to the sledge - and for exactly an hour they are at the disposal of guests who have purchased a special certificate. During this time, the huskies make 10 laps of 500 meters. You will feel adrenaline, speed and a lot of emotions, making your way through the snowdrifts and cutting through the snowy expanses. A group of up to 10 people can use the certificate, but then the husky riding time will have to be divided between everyone. The price also includes a two-hour walk around the territory of the picnic hotel, where, in addition to horse riding, Siberian dogs, there is still a lot of interesting things.
Ice skating on ponds
Ice palaces and skating rinks are, of course, good. But nothing beats skating on the ice of natural bodies of water. Those who practice this type of rest say that the surface natural ice sometimes much smoother than what is poured at seasonal skating rinks. Those who live near a reservoir are especially lucky: they don’t have to travel anywhere. Just get some skates, clear the ice and, perhaps, gather a company or even a team to play hockey. But! Ice in Belarus during the winter is not always strong enough; there are special requirements for it: thickness - at least 10-12 cm, with public skating- at least 25 cm, green or bluish-green color and others. We strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with all the rules for going out on the ice. OSVOD website .
Outdoor pools and Japanese baths
There are no natural hot springs in Belarus, but you can splash around in hot water at an air temperature of -15-20℃ here. There is a warm outdoor pool in the capital's Lebyazhy water park. You can get here directly by water from the indoor part of the water park. And for those who want higher temperatures, those installed on outdoors Japanese baths. There are few offers for Belarus, but it’s not difficult to find. So, the same picnic hotel “Expedition” offers the “Ofuro” bathhouse. Now you know what you can do here after a husky ride. Sometimes you can stumble upon a Japanese bathhouse in some agricultural estate. For example, in the courtyard of which there is a swimming pool designed according to the “Furaco” principle.
Sledding down the hill
Such simple entertainment that adults usually forget about after school and remember only when children appear in the family. But that doesn't make it any less exciting. Slides can be found in every city, and in big cities - in every district. In Minsk, knowledgeable people especially praise the slopes in the parks of Uruchya, Zeleny Lug, and on Angarskaya Street in the Zavodskoy district. Well, about more solid slides, on which you can ride not only on sleds, read in the next section.
Ski holiday
We don’t have mountains, but in some places the terrain with hills and ravines and the specific winter climate made it possible to create good ski resorts. Five of them are in the Minsk region, another one is in the Gomel region. In addition to standard skiing, snowboarding and tubing, they offer ice skating (Silichi, Raubichi, Mozyr), snowmobiling (Silichi, Yakut Mountains, Mozyr), and the Sleigh Toboggan attraction. (“Mozyr”) and others. The rest of the ski areas may not be suitable for resorts, but a minimum set of services can be found here: the village of Ruba in the Vitebsk region, the Pechersky forest park in Mogilev.
Winter excursion to the swamp
Walking through the Belarusian swamps is extreme; an excursion to the swamp in winter is double extreme. Almost everywhere where such excursions are organized, they will tell you that best time- spring, summer and autumn. And they will even describe in detail why this or that season is good. But the owners of the estate claim that the cold is not a hindrance. The estate has a large heated tent, and the owners can easily take you in winter along one of their routes: “Through dense Polesie” or “Through the Olmansky swamps”. Wander in the cold for several days through wild and deserted places, from island to island along barely noticeable paths or ancient masonry - entertainment for the hardy. The first route will be 55 km and will take 4 days, the second - 80 km and 6 days.
Winter kiting and winter windsurfing
A little more extreme. Kiting and windsurfing in winter are only good in windy weather. For kiting, the same equipment is suitable as for a similar summer sport, and in windsurfing, the sails are attached to a ski or skate structure. Classes in Minsk are held on the ice-covered Minsk Sea by members of the Extreme windsurfing club.
Horse-drawn sleighs, snowmobiles and other entertainment in agricultural estates
A horse-drawn sleigh ride is perhaps the most authentic experience winter fun. You can combine it with a holiday in a Belarusian farmstead. So, sleigh rides are offered by Kupalinka,
Report on a trip around Belarus by car in the spring of 2017. A walk around Vitebsk and Minsk, the “Island of Tears”, the WWII Museum, the national library in the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron and the “Stalin Line”.
Preface
My husband is a big fan of traveling by car. When we began to decide where we would go on our next vacation, there could be no objections - wherever our faithful four-wheeled friend would go. We chose Belarus because we always wanted to visit this country. The fact of hassle-free entry and exit into the country was also important.
Before the trip, of course, we read other reports from “experienced” tourists about trips to Belarus:
We started our journey on May 17, 2017. We left our relatives in Bryansk, dropped in to see friends in Moscow, spent the night in Smolensk, and on May 18 crossed the border in a place called Rudnya.
Border between Russia and Belarus near Rudnya
Crossing the border Russia - Belarus
Before entering Belarus, you must buy a Green Card - insurance that is issued for a short period. This document cost us 750 rubles, but we entered the country for only four days. There is no border as such between Russia and Belarus: we just passed border area, on one side of which stood Russian border guards, and on the other, Belarusian ones. No one stopped us or checked us, and we, having already entered the country, calmly headed towards Vitebsk.
We read the information on the Internet and knew that in Belarus it is very strict with violations of the rules traffic. Here, traffic police representatives do not take money, and if you exceed the speed limit, depending on the circumstances, everything can go as far as deprivation of your license. Looking ahead, I will say that we observed the speed limit, we hardly saw any traffic inspectors, and during the entire trip we were not stopped even once.
Day 1. Vitebsk
The first on our plan was Vitebsk, but we did not intend to stay here for a long time, but only wanted to see the main attractions of the city (this can be done in a few hours).
But first, we changed money at the large Euroopt hypermarket at the entrance to Vitebsk and bought a local SIM card. When choosing a mobile operator, our preferences were obvious: we were only interested in the Internet, we didn’t need calls (why, if you can call via WhatsApp, Skype or Viber). We bought a SIM card from MTS for 438 Russian rubles.
By the way, the exchange rate at the end of May 2017 was as follows: for 100 of our rubles they gave 3.22 Belarusian rubles (that is, 1 Belarusian ruble is approximately 30 Russian rubles).
We liked Vitebsk, and this is what we saw:
River embankment Western Dvina in Vitebsk
Stairs leading to the embankment from the side of the Holy Assumption Cathedral
Cozy and pretty Vitebsk
On Victory Square in Vitebsk there is a museum of military equipment, where you can look at installed helicopters, tanks and guns. There are also several other parks, monuments and squares in the city, but we did not have time to see all the sights.
As a result, we spent 4 hours in Vitebsk, visiting the most tourist places. After stopping at the store for groceries, we headed to the capital. The journey to Minsk took about 3.5 hours. Many of us have probably heard about the wonderful Belarusian roads. I don’t argue that the roads are generally good, but often the same “patches”, small holes and irregularities were encountered on the highway. An undoubted advantage of road travel in Belarus is the maximum permitted speed - in some sections you can drive up to 120 km/h.
Day 2. Minsk
We arrived in Minsk late in the evening, having booked a hostel on Booking on the way. I must say that we always chose budget places for an overnight stay since we didn't plan to spend much time in the room. This time, having chosen a hostel and arrived at the address, we were very surprised that there was an error on the website, and this room was now occupied. But the owner of this hostel agreed to help, and within 20 minutes we were driving in a different direction to check into a comfortable one-room apartment in an elite multi-story building.
The apartment had everything you need for have a nice rest after a long journey. For 2 nights in Minsk we paid 100 Belarusian rubles - this is very profitable for such a cozy apartment. We decided to devote the entire next day to Minsk, walking around the city on foot.
The capital of Belarus has a metro system consisting of two lines. The fare for this metro costs only 60 Belarusian kopecks (about 20 our rubles), and the stations are quite clean and beautiful. We started our walk by visiting the Nemiga station, where the so-called " Old city" - an atmospheric place with town halls and cathedrals.
View of Minsk from the town hall
"Old Town" on Nemiga
Then we went for a walk around the city and saw the following places:
The entire central part of Minsk is filled with beautiful buildings
Well-groomed square in Minsk
Prices in the capital of Belarus are approximately the same as in our regions of Russia, and an order of magnitude lower than in Moscow. We had lunch in a small cafe in the center of Minsk, paying only 22 Belarusian rubles for two servings of soup, a second (side dish and meat) and coffee.
We really liked the well-groomed, neat sidewalks of the capital of Belarus, and their roads are quite wide. Lf;t one gets the feeling that there are no traffic jams here at all. Maybe the truth is not, since the population of the entire country is only 9.5 million people - this is almost 3 million less than in Moscow. In general, we enjoyed walking around the capital, trying not to rush anywhere and enjoy our vacation:
Walking along the embankment of the Svisloch River
A beautiful fountain in front of the Opera and Ballet Theater
View of the "Island of Tears"
Crying boy on the "Island of Tears"
"Island of Tears" - a monument to the soldiers of the Afghan War
We were amazed great amount monuments of the Great Patriotic War in Belarus. In every city we were able to visit, there are definitely memorial complexes in memory of those who fell in 1941-1945. And these monuments are quite well-groomed, neat, clean - it is clear that the city administration maintains their condition and does not allow vandalism and neglect.
There are many places in Belarus that preserve the memory of victory in World War II
City view
Of course, we couldn’t help but go to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk: about 2.5 million Belarusians died in 1941-1945. The museum has 10 halls and presents a huge number of exhibits: from newspaper clippings of those times, documents of famous Belarusian officers and war heroes, fragments of their belongings and utensils, awards, clothing and other significant items to samples of military equipment (some machines were in working condition) . Entrance to the museum costs 8 Belarusian rubles per person, and another 2 rubles must be paid for the opportunity to take photographs.
At the WWII Museum
We left the museum late, around 6 pm, already quite tired from constant walking, but we had one more must-see place - the National Library of Belarus, or rather, the observation deck on it. And we went to the metro to get to Vostok station.
The National Library of Belarus is designed in the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron
The open observation deck is located on the 23rd floor (there is also a closed one on the 22nd with a cafe and an art gallery, but the view from there is not very good). Entrance costs only 3 Belarusian rubles.
View from the observation deck
The day was coming to an end, so we, tired and happy, went home. Of course, we didn’t see all the sights of Minsk, but we were still satisfied with how our day went.
Day 3. Stalin Line and Mir Castle. On the way to Brest
The next day we were going to immediately go towards Brest, stopping at the Mir Castle along the way, but we changed our minds and decided to see the “Stalin Line” - a historical and cultural complex located not far from Minsk. It takes no more than 45 minutes to get there from the city, and we paid about 700 Russian rubles for entry and parking the car.
“Stalin Line” is a kind of museum on the street: there you can walk around the dugouts, go into the pillboxes where machine gunners used to sit, spin everything that spins, climb on tanks, boats, planes and helicopters. The museum's territory is large; sometimes restorations of some military events are carried out there.
Inside a pillbox on the "Stalin Line"
Dugout and strengthening complexes
We were limited in time, so after a couple of hours we left towards Brest. After about 2 hours we took the exit to the Mir castle complex. This castle, first mentioned in the 14th century, played a role defensive structures. The owners of the castle were representatives of different families, and after 1940 it became the property of the state.
Now there is a museum in the castle, entrance costs 12 Belarusian rubles. Unfortunately, we were not able to get inside, but we were very impressed by the appearance of the castle.
Then we rushed to Brest - the final destination of our journey. From Mir Castle the journey took a little over 3 hours. By the way, we were surprised that in Belarus the price for gasoline is the same, regardless of the type of gas station. We bought our 92nd for 1.17 Belarusian rubles per liter in any city or on the highway from different dealers. Other types of gasoline had the same price.
At about 7 pm we arrived in Brest. The city surprised us a little - it looked much more modest and abandoned than Minsk and Vitebsk. But our main goal was the Brest Fortress - that’s where we headed.
Entrance to the museum complex "Brest Fortress"
On the territory of the Brest Fortress
The famous gates of the Brest Fortress
The purpose of our trip was fulfilled - we drove all along Belarus (and will pass it again on the way home), saw a lot amazing places. On our last night in the country, we spent the night in a normal Brest hostel for 800 Russian rubles (we booked a few hours before entry).
Day 4. Brest and the way home
The next morning we walked along the central streets of Brest, once again dropped in to look at the Brest Fortress (the most the best option- this means renting bicycles and driving through the entire territory of the complex) and went towards Bryansk.
Another entrance to the territory of the Brest Fortress
The journey to Gomel took about 9 hours; we really wanted to see this city, but we no longer had time. At the border we showed our passports to the Russian border guards and entered the country. It was a wonderful and amazing trip, and we are sure that we will come to Belarus again.