15 Day Best of Belarus, Ukraine & Moldova Tour 2021

Welcome to Minsk. Arrival, meeting and transfer to a hotel. Check-in, free time for rest. Walk to a restaurant.
Welcome dinner (if you arrive on time), now you are a part of JC Travel team.

Hotel – Monastyrskyi Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Welcome Dinner

Our team calls this city “Soviet Europe”. Huge dark grey buildings, green parks everywhere and the vibe of the desire of young people to escape the limitations of the previous society – it’s all about Minsk.
The city tour will show you different sides of it: from little cozy streets with antiquated stores to wide prospects with the administrative buildings and the cultural centers.
Every tourist mentions that the city surprised them with the cleanliness and tidiness. Come and check it out!

Main attraction:
– the Upper Town with the City Hall
– the Holy Spirit Cathedral
– the Trinity Suburb
– «The Isle of Tears»

Local Experience:
– The buffet at “Universam” store

Optional tour:
– Dudutki open-air museum
– The “World of bees” tour
– Beer production factory tour
– BELAZ factory tour

Hotel – Monastyrskyi Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Two UNESCO Heritage List sites in one day! Isn’t it a jackpot?
Today you will explore two the most famous Belarusian castles. You will learn their history from XV century to nowadays and their roles in the modern history of the country.
In one of the castles you will get a unique experience of the themed excursion which will show you the life of the royal family in XVIII century. You will get a chance to dance with a king and discover the undergrounds of the castle.

Main attraction:
– Mir Castle
– Nesvizh Castle

Local Experience:
– Throw back to XVIII century

Optional tour:
– The bar crawl

Hotel – Monastyrskyi Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Enjoy your free morning in Belarus and at the afternoon catch a flight to Lviv, Ukraine!
If you feel the smell of coffee and sweets right from the moment you walked out from the hotel – you are definitely in Lviv! This city has been under the influence of times and different nationalities but that’s how it got its’ uniqueness. 
Discover the secrets of the main square, walk into the majestic churches and cathedrals, enjoy the slow-life of locals and do their favorite thing – drink coffee!

Main attraction:
– Market Square
– Dominican Cathedral
– Armenian church and Jewish Quarter
– Opera House

Local Experience:
– Cup of coffee at the oldest cafe in the city

Optional:
– The most unique restaurants tour

Hotel – Reikartz Medievale or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Today we continue exploring Lviv with a driven tour. During the tour, you will see the city from the best observation desk, where the old castle took place and protected the residents of Lviv during attacks. You will visit a former Austrian casino which was the meeting place for the aristocratic elite. This place would definitely give you the feeling of magnificence.

Main attraction:
– St. George’s Cathedral
– High Castle Hill
– House of the Scientists

Local Experience:
– Shot of local most famous honey liqueur

Hotel – Reikartz Medievale or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Wake up at the hotel room with a fascinating view from your window to the Carpathian Mountains. Get inspired and ready for the new day full of unique experiences! We drive to Verhovyna – the capital of hutsuls. You will see traditional mountain villages, find out about people who live there: Ukrainian ethnical group – Hutsuls. Locals will share with you the secrets of patterns of Ukrainian embroidery and teach you how to play the traditional music instruments!
A home-made lunch will be served in a private house of one of the museum’s owners to let you feel the life of locals.

Main attraction:
– Ukrainian Embroidery museum
– The museum of Traditional Musical Instruments and the Lifestyle

Local Experience:
– Family-owned lunch
– Try on the traditional costumes;
– Play local musical instruments;

Hotel – Bukovyna Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast, Lunch

Enjoy your morning tour in Chernivtsi – the real cozy European city, situated on the spot where the roads from Europe and Asia cross each other. It will envelop you with a charming atmosphere of colorful old buildings and cobblestoned streets. After the tour, we move to our next destination – Kamianets-Podilskyi.
Upon arrival join the city tour and get impressed with the beauty of small town. Of course the main highlight of the tour is visiting the fortress!
Personal advice: meet the sunset on the observation desk in front of the fortress, cause the sun hides right behind it!

Main attraction:
– Chernivtsi National University
– Olha Kobylianska Street, pedestrian area in Chernivtsi
– Kamianets-Podilskyi fortress
– the Cathedral of the Saint Peter and Paul

Local Experience:
– Hear the play of the trumpeter from the top of Town Hall

Optional:
– Yellow jeep riding along the canyon

Hotel – Reikartz Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Be ready to hit the road and drive to the new country – Moldova!
On the way to its capital Chisinau we will see one of the main highlights of Bukovyna. Khotyn fortress will give you the atmosphere of Medieval times and tell you the history of the courageous battles which took place near the fortress.
Continue to Moldova, crossing the borders, lunch at the Balti town and drive to Chisinau.

Main attraction:
– Khotyn fortress

Local Experience:
– Shop at the souvenir market near the fortress

Hotel – City Park or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Continue exploring the country and one of the main symbols of it – wine. Visiting the winery, learning the process of winemaking, discovering long wine cellars full with large barrels, observing the impressive vineyards – all this would make you inspired and impressed. Especially after the wine degustation! Do not forget to buy one bottle and bring it home for a special family dinner!

You will have a chance to discover the lifestyle of locals in Butucheni village where the lunch will be served. Discovering the secrets of the ancient cave monastery, observing the breath-taking view of the rocks and valleys which stretched along the Raut river will definitely bring you full satisfaction for this day!

Main attraction:
– Cricova Winery
– Orhei Vechi village
– Curchi monastery

Local Experience:
– Local lunch

Optional:
– Jewish history of Chisinau

Hotel – City Park or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

In the morning you’ll explore the capital of Moldova – Chisinau. You will see both the historic and the modern faces of the city. Who Stephen the Great was and what did he do for the city? You will listen to the cultural, historical facts and legends, while we walk along the central part of the city. On Stephen the Great Boulevard there are many elegant administrative buildings. You will enjoy seeing cultural centers of Chisinau and find out the input which well-known architects and poets such as Bernardazzi, Sciusev and Pushkin gave to this city.

Be prepared for the unforgettable experience which will take you back in time. 
On the way to Ukraine you will visit the country that does not officially exist – Transnistria. A city tour of its capital Tiraspol would show the Soviet Union standards of life.  Feel the atmosphere of this disputed territory, which has always been a battlefield between the major powers of the region.

Main attraction:
– the Presidency, the Parliament and the City Administration
– National Theatre M. Eminescu
– the Organ Hall, Theatre of Opera and Ballet
– Ruins of Tiraspol Fortress
– Tank Monument

Local Experience:
– Visiting one of the biggest markets in Europe

Hotel – Milano Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Welcome to Odesa – a pearl of the Black Sea. This city is famous for its locals with specific sense of humor, big local market with fresh fish and the Seaport. 

Out local tour guide will help you to open the real soul of the city. You will visit small yards, where the residents hang up the bed linens from one balcony to another. You will get impressed with the architectural ensemble of the main age-old streets in the downtown. 
Do not forget to make a photo at the famous Potemkin stairs. They are the main entrance to Primorsky Boulevard from the seaside from where you witness the fascinating view to the marine terminal and the seaport.

Main attraction:
– Opera House
– Derybasivska street
– monument to Duke de Richelieu
– the Potemkin stairs
– Vorontsov Palace

Local Experience:
– visiting the house yards

Optional:
– Odesa Catacombs tour
– The bar crawl

Hotel – Milano Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

The last long-ride day of this tour right to the heart of Ukraine – Kyiv city!
This day you will get an experience you could never expect to get – visiting a Cold War era nuclear missile base located at the middle of nowhere. The base today is a museum and you can experience a bit of what it was like to serve here. You’ll walk down a 150-meter long underground corridor and take a lift 12 floors down to the “Red” button of the Unified Launch Control Center. The guide will show you how the launch system work, take a chance and press the button!

Main attraction:
– Missile forces museum

Local Experience:
– Press the “Red” button

Hotel – Ukraine Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Our walking tour will start from exploring ancient part of Kyiv city center. 

Why is Kyiv so impressive? Because it combines the styles of different epochs. Walking along one street will lead you through the history of the city from the moment of foundation to the world nowadays. Enjoy discovering churches and cathedrals, hear the story from the life of locals and explore hidden squats. Learn the history of modern Ukraine just from one central square and stroll along the shortest and the widest main street in Europe!

Main attraction:
– Golden Gates
– St. Sophia Cathedral (UNESCO)
– St. Michael Golden-Domed Church
– Maidan square

Local Experience:
– Local Oldest Bessarabskyi market

Optional tour:
– Local street food tour

Hotel – Ukraine Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Your driven tour will start with exploring one of the most important religion sites which located at the hills right above the Dnipro river. You will be impressed with the beauty of this Orthodox monasteries complex, which is included to the UNESCO Heritage List. Then we are going to see the “iron woman” who protects Kyiv and Ukraine – the Motherland Mother statue and the complex.
Learn the history of Ukraine during the Second World War at the local museum and finish your tour with taking the ride on a metro – just as locals do!

Main attraction:
– Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
– WWII Museum
– the Motherland Statue complex

Local Experience:
– Take a metro ride from the deepest metro station in Europe to the one of the most beautiful world’s metro station

Optional:
– Mezhyhirya Tour
– Pirogovo open-air museum

Hotel – Ukraine Hotel or similar
Included Meals – Breakfast

Our great adventure is ending. It was a wonderful time together. See you next time in Ukraine!

Included Meals – Breakfast