Transportation in Belarus

See our Maps page for more help.

In the city

City busses, trams or trolleybuses are cheap, but sometimes overcrowded.

Taxi is expensive. Talk about the price to reach your destination before going. Prices vary.

Long distance

Train is the main means of transport for long distances (Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev).

If you know Cyrillic spellings of cities you can find train schedules here.
Belarus railway tickets are now available online here: http://www.railway-market.pl/?p=wiecej&id=1930
Also see here Minsk suburban trains map and 2005 schedule, also 2005 long distance train schedule

Flying is 2-3 times more expensive and has a poor network (not like ten years ago, when it was extremely cheap and useful). I've heard a rumors that all of the airports but two in Minsk are not receiving regular flights anymore. Apparently because of lack of gas and general degradation happening to our state in the era of free enterprise.

Long distance buses by far are the best choice for traveling within Belarus. They are cheap, quick and safe.

The website of the main Belarusian airline - Belavia

Coming by your own car

If you plan to come in a car I would recommend to use an old one. A five-ten year old FW, Mercedes, BMW, Opel or Volvo would be invisible in the crowd of used cars that populates Belarusan cities nowadays. The new and fancy looking car may provoke unpleasant guests. Gas is not always easily available. So an extra tank or canister might be helpful.

Car rentals

Avis car rental is now available in the International Airport Mensk-2 (Minsk-2). You can check out the fleet of cars available in Minsk from Avis.

Driving rules

As far as I know the driving rules are pretty much the same. You drive on the right side! One difference with American rules: if there is a red light - you are forbidden to go, even to turn right or crossing T-crossing is not allowed. The maximum speed limit is typically 105 km/hour (65 miles/hour).

Road and Railway Maps

See the road maps in our Maps Chapter. They are all in Russian. Do not expect to find much foreign language around. It is wise to learn Cyrillic alphabet before going.