I will tell you everything about Minsk tours and excursions, there will be my personal rating and recommendations, which excursions are worthy of your attention, and which ones you can skip. You will learn about group excursions and about individual tours, and what a tourist in Minsk can expect from a variety of excursions.

Table of contents:

• General points about the tours market in Minsk
• Types of excursions
• Rating of the most interesting excursions in Minsk
• Tips & Tricks

General points about the tours market in Minsk

In general, the situation is the same as in all large cities, not only in Russia, but also in Europe.

• There are group tours. They are cheaper, but groups of 15-25 persons
• Individual tours are more popular among tourists. It’s more expensive, but there will be no one else besides your friends or family
  • This is even more convenient because the excursion program can be adjusted to your needs and interests. But no one really cares about your desires in a group tour.
• 90% of all excursions in the Minsk market are in Russian. A small part of the guides can conduct the tour in English.

FYI:

Belarus is a small country and Minsk is located in the very center, which is very convenient logistically. There are a lot of excursions from Minsk to popular tourist places for 1 day. I your guide has a car you will have time to go to any part of the country and return back to the city.

Read everything about Belarus on the world map and distances to regional cities in the article at the link.

Minsk tours and excursions: types of tours

• Walking sightseeing tours in the center of Minsk and the old town
  •  usually from 1 to 4 hours.
• City bus tour
  • about 2 hour
• Excursions on a religious theme: churches, monasteries
• Gastro tours: Belarusian cuisine
• Excursions to cool places in the suburbs of Minsk (up to 20-30 km): ethno complex Dudutki, military-historical complex Stalin Line, etc.
  • Typically 4-6 hours
• Fascinating tours for the whole day: Mir Castle, Nesvizh Castle, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Braslav Lakes, Khatyn and three dozen more interesting programs

Rating of the most interesting excursions in Minsk

You will find the largest selection of excursions in Minsk on the popular website. It is reliable and provides a high level of service, and all guides are licensed. Choose a tour where you like best.

WWW.GETYOURGUIDE.COM — a large selection of individual excursions in Minsk and its environs.

Below are the excursions recommended by the author (me). In my personal opinion they are the most interesting, and you will either not visit these places on your own, or you will not get as many emotions as from visiting with a guide.

Advice:

I will not advise specific guides, choose according to reviews. Since the opinion of the majority of tourists about a particular guide will always be more objective. And I personally do not know all the guides.

Minsk tours and excursions: what to pay attention to

• Walking tours in the old city of Minsk
  • It’s interesting and educational. Alone, you just walk between the buildings, and with a guide you will learn so many facts and pay attention to places that you wouldn’t even look at without him.
  • Overview of all the sights of Minsk: prices, opening hours, tips for visiting, map. The article will help you plan your route around Minsk.
• Bus tours around Minsk.
  • I personally like walking tours more. But if you are in Minsk for only 1-2 days, and you don’t really like walking a lot, then bus tours are a great alternative.
• Gastro tours.
  • I will not talk about national cuisine here. Excursion with a guide who knows non-tourist places in Minsk, where you can try homemade moonshine, eat potato babka (baked potato dough) with cracklings or «kolduni» — potato pancakes with meat. It is much better than studying this topic on your own.
  • You won’t find these places on your own.
• Full day excursions from Minsk to the coolest tourist places in the country.
  • It is important to understand that although Belarus is a small country, if you do not have a car, then you will not have time to visit many interesting places by public transport within one day.
  • But if you buy a tour, even a group tour on a bus, then everything is real. It’s better to rent a car. The roads are excellent, and the driving culture of local drivers is much better than in many other countries.
  • Everything about rent a car in Minsk: personal experience, pitfalls
  • The list of such places is huge: Mir Castle, Kosovo Castle, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Nesvizh Castle, Polotsk Cathedral and so on.

The most popular excursions and tours

Below is a dynamic block with the most popular tours among tourists, with the highest ratings and excellent reviews. For each excursion, you can click and see the availability for your dates.

Tips & Tricks

• If you are traveling with three or four people, then the difference in price between an individual excursion and a group one will not be so significant. But its quality and comfort, when the guide works only for you, is much higher.
• If you do not have a car, then look for excursions to sights outside of Minsk with a transfer. Ideally, when the guide has a car. It’s fast, convenient and the route is completely customized for you.
• Remember that payment for excursions in Belarus is officially only in Belarusian rubles and the guides do not have payment terminals with payment by bank cards, only cash. But in most cases, the guide will take dollars or euros, although this is not entirely legal.
  • Just check this in advance when you book an excursion, you can write a personal message to the guide on the website.

In conclusion:

Excursions around Minsk and its environs are for every taste and budget.
If you are in Minsk for only 1-2 days, then the tour is a great option to see many interesting sights in a short period of time.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: below are the links that will be needed in organizing an unforgettable trip to Belarus:

• Air tickets: Aviasales — the largest airline ticket metasearch engine in the CIS.
• Apartments, hotels, farmsteads:
  • Hotellook — perhaps one of the most popular services in the country after the closure of the Booking com service in the country.
  • Ostrovok — main competitor. Search everywhere, book where it’s cheaper.
  • Sutochno — great discounts and promotions.
• Excursions and tours:
  • GYG — the largest selection of excursions in English in Belarus.
  • Sputnik8 — the largest selection of author’s excursions in Minsk, castles and the whole country. Possibly also in English.
• Rent a Car: Discovery — aggregator of car rental companies in Belarus. All cars without mileage limit.
• Transfer from airport: KiwiTaxi -the cheapest carrier from the airport to the center of Minsk. Cheaper — only by bus.