Traveler Spotlight: What It’s Like to Travel to Belarus

In mid-October 2020, long-time MIR traveler Rodrigo Rangel De Alba returned from a trip to Belarus, and then headed off for many other adventures. We recently caught up with him to find out more about his experiences.

You’re traveling a fair amount to various places around the world over the last year. How is it traveling these days? And where all have you been?

“As a person who is addicted to learning everything about our planet and doing so by visiting and revisiting as much as I always can, I have, so far, been to 151 countries and I’ve experienced extraordinary moments that can never be found in books, articles, or documentaries.

Covid19 has been a great challenge, but … ‘the glass is always half full, never half empty.’”

Since the travel restrictions started a year ago, I have managed to travel to Mexico, Turkey, Spain, Montenegro, Italy, Pakistan, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Egypt, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Haiti, and Belarus.

Church in Brest, Belarus. Photo credit: Rodrigo Rangel De Alba

Because of the pandemic the airports and airplanes are wonderfully comfortable; they have a minimum amount of people. That is where the great things about this pandemic situation begin. Imagine that trip that you have been wanting to take, but its downside is that its museums, monuments, hotels, restaurants, and pedestrian streets are always insanely crowded with tourists. Well…not now. Now they are completely yours!”

What was it like at the airports?

“International airports are a breeze with the pandemic: immigration, security, and customs lines are practically nonexistent; there’s been no lost luggage during my travels; and there’s no heavy air traffic, so no delays.”

Specifically, tell us a bit more about what was it like entering Belarus?

“Entering Belarus using Minsk’s international airport was insanely fast and easy. I filled out a very short questionnaire about my health and presented it to the immigration officer along with my COVID-19 negative test result, passport, and visa. And I was in … welcome to beautiful Belarus!”

[Note from MIR: As of December, several months after Rodrigo returned from his trip, Belarus implemented a ten-day isolation requirement for some arrivals, including those from the U.S.]

What was it like traveling in Belarus as a foreign traveler?

“Traveling in Belarus with MIR was wonderful and extremely easy. Minsk is a unique city in the world with its majestic Stalinist/Soviet architecture that will leave everyone in awe. Its monuments, museums, and hidden gems are just phenomenal. Brest has the most intimidating/magnificent WWII monuments that you will see anywhere in the world, and on top of that, there are some superb little towns with extraordinary castles on the way from Minsk to Brest….Belarus is not just spectacular but it is also amazingly safe in every way.”

Any advice for those thinking about a visit to Belarus right now?

“Yes, go now! Go now, before it starts to get crowded again. Pack your excitement, your sense of humor, your total and absolute respect for other cultures, your hunger for knowledge and adventure, and contact MIR today; they’ll take great care of you. They’ve repeatedly done so with me on my 20+ trips with them across Russia, China, the Baltics, the Balkans, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus since 1998.”

MIR has more than 30 years of travel experience in Belarus, with a roster of contacts that can take you to places that you didn’t even know you wanted to go. Our full service, dedication, commitment to quality, and destination expertise have twice earned us a place on National Geographic Adventure’s list of “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth.”

Whether you’re thinking of traveling sooner or later, don’t miss out on the layers of cultural history and variegated beauty of Belarus.

Chat with one of our destination specialists now!

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