Two of us are going to Belarus and Ukraine on our own at the end of May for a little over two weeks, travelling independently for the most part.

The main purpose is to visit the four small towns that my grandparents came from. However, the majority of our time will be in larger cities. Our logisitics are already planned, so I don't have much in the way of specific questions, but if anybody has any good general tips on the places we are going (e.g. on recommended restaurants/sites, etc.please let me know.

Below is our itinerary. After I return, I plan to provide an update, in case anyone is interested in this type of travel, or to these places.

Fly into Minsk (from Wash. DC) - 3 days in Minsk

Bus (5 hours) to the small Belarus town of Turov, Belarussia (home of grandparent #1) - stay for a day

Hire car/driver for next day to visit David Gorodok (home of grandparent #2)

Overnight train to Lviv, Ukraine, stay in Lviv for 4 days. One of the days will hire car/driver to visit hometowns of grandparent #3 in Cherniv and grandparent #4 in Zolochiv.

Overnight train to Kiev, stay in Kiev for 5 full days.

Next day, fly back to DC.

In the small towns, we don't really have specific places to visit, but will get a feel for the towns. In Minsk and Liviv, we plan to vist the archives to see if we can find any information on family history.

Howard

Your trip sounds amazing! Not sure what travel guides you'll be using, but Bradt has just published a Belarus one (they already have a Ukraine one out there). Sorry Fodor's ...

Your trip report will be most interesting to read once it's posted.

Hope you get some responses to your post as both destinations aren't widely discussed on this forum.

Bon Voyage, and I will certainly be looking for your report - I was born in Belarus.

In Russia, they have new visa requirements this year, so please double-check yours for both countries.

Can you read cyrillics? Most likely you will have english-language maps, but the street signs will be in russian or belorussian, the alphabet is the same. You just need to learn to read to match maps and streets signs.

Thanks for the responses. For Ukraine we are using the Bradt guide. For Belarus, the only thing we have is the Lonely Planet guide for Russia and Belarus. The section on Belarus is small. About 10 pages on Minsk (should be sufficient), none on Turov area. I am aware the the Bradt guide to Belarus is due out soon, but might not be available when we leave in 4 weeks.

Getting the visas was a pain - in additon to Belarus, we need one for Russia - just to change planes in Moscow. One of us can read cyrillic.

I'm psyched! I checked the Bradt Travel Guide website earlier this morning to see when their new Belarussia guide would be avaialble. It said May. So I sent an e-mail to them, stating that I was planning a trip there in May, and asked when precisely it would be avaialble. They said that it would not be ready until the end of the month, but they had an advance copy in hand which I colud purchase...so I did.

There is currently no other guide devoted only to Belarussia.

Don't worry, just find old articles about Khruschev shooting bisons near Brest (Belovezhskaya Puscha)

Sounds like a great trip. I visited Ukraine in August 2005, and Lviv is a wonderful place to spend time, and the Grand Hotel was terrific (a bit pricey for Lviv, but excellent room and location). Kiev, too, was interesting, but not as beautiful as Lviv -- the caves and lavra (I think that's what its called -- the area with the domed churches) was the photogenic highlight. Also, great chicken kiev!

Glad to hear that Bradt was so accommodating with their new Belarus guide in time for your trip. I'm sure they'd appreciate any feedback to it after you're returned!

Just read that Paul McCartney will be giving a free concert in the main square in Kiev on June 14, one week after I leave! Maybe he will reschedule to accommodate me

Perhaps another reader of this forum will get to see him.

We are now back home. The trip was very interesting.

We posted about 15 times to:

http://donnhoward.blogspot.com/

Howard

I read the part about Belarus, changed a lot since we left. Strange feeling, like hearing a "hello" from a long-lost friend.

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Poland and Ukraine and I'm thinking about hiring a driver to take us to two villages in Ternopil. How did you make arrangements for your driver? In advance? Once you get there? Do you speak Ukrainian or Russian? Any help you could give me in this department would be greatly appreciated!

Goalie -

For the driver for the day from Lviv, we had our hotel (Wien Guest house) make the arrangements for us. We had an English speaking driver (beneficial but not mandatory). A non-English speaker would have been less. The cost was high - $30 per hour. We used the driver for 6.5 hours so the cost was $200. That was the only way to get to the places we wanted to see in one day. You could rent a car.

I am sure that most hotels would also make the arrangements for you. You can also do an internet search for Ukraine travel agencies or car rental places. They should be able to set things up for you.

Thanks for the update. There is so little info on this forum about Minsk (I may try to visit during a business trip to Europe in December). Are there photos posted on your site?

By the way, I did find (and eat) chicken kiev on a couple of occasions in Kiev.