Belarusians Traveled All Districts of the Country in 10 Years. Now They Share Tips, Mistakes, and Six Routes for Beginners
Alena works as an SMM specialist, and Vova is an IT professional. But what made them the heroes of this text is not their professional activity, but a significant achievement: the couple visited all 118 districts of the country. The grand journey took a full 10 years, but the phrase "there's plenty to remember" perfectly fits this story. Why Yelnya is especially wonderful after a thunderstorm, where to find a safari in Mogilev, how insects can ruin a trip, and which places are worth packing your bags for right now – they compiled a big, verified guide for the warm season for the "Onliner" publication.
The Romance of Trains, Deadlines, and the (Ir)relevance of a Navigator: How It All Began
The story of their travels, Vova and Alena recount, began back in 2015. At that time, both moved to the capital from Maryina Gorka. The option of just going home every weekend quickly became boring, so the idea to explore the country emerged.
Molodechno, 2024
At that moment, everything came down to financial possibilities — as they were ordinary students. So they decided to travel with a touch of romance: overnight train journeys from Minsk to regional cities, a day there, followed by the journey home.
“Mostly we traveled together, but sometimes our friends joined us. As, in principle, happens now too. But our permanent team is two people,” says Vova.
True, at that moment there was no ambitious goal to visit all districts of the country. And the trips themselves weren't very frequent — a couple of times during the warm season.
The couple started picking up the pace after getting a car. But things really got serious because of a scratch map. Essentially, it's a regular geographical map, but covered with a special film — the idea is to scratch off the areas the traveler has managed to reach. Specifically, with the map the couple had, the goal was to mark off every one of the 118 districts of Belarus.
“We thought: why not set ourselves such a goal — without deadlines? Although later we decided to set deadlines and push to finish everything quickly and beautifully. The gray spots started to annoy us,” Alena laughs.
All of this happened in 2019. It was from this moment that their travels reoriented from visiting sights to visiting districts. For fairness, places the couple had managed to visit before the challenge were "scratched off" in advance. For example, many locations in the Minsk region and regional centers. Still, they had to travel a good deal to achieve the goal.
“I think that people on Instagram suddenly started talking about traveling around the country after the borders closed. Many, by the way, grew their blogs from scratch on this. But when we started, none of that existed yet. People still often ask us where we found so many interesting places – we were lucky to accidentally find a really cool old website "Globus.by". It features a large map of Belarus with attractions and their ratings from 1 to 4 in terms of architectural heritage. We, by the way, have practically covered all the ones and twos – those are the highest marks.”
At the start, Vova planned all routes — using maps, Google suggestions, and that same website. They didn't have a navigator at the time, so maps were printed out, and sometimes needed places were marked manually.
“I was more of the inspirer: I suggested different options of where to go, what to add, and asked Vova to combine everything into a single route. I wanted to make sure we could see as much as possible in one trip,” Alena says.
Mosquitoes, Ruins, and Disappointments: What Beginners Should Prepare For
At the start, the heroes honestly admit, they were lazy to drive long distances. So, initially, they managed to cover all districts of the Minsk region. But once the goal was set, the routes gradually became more remote.
“For a very long time, the south remained unexplored for us; we covered it in the last two years. While at the start, trips happened a couple of times a season, towards the end we could travel every weekend — we learned to adapt to the weather,” Alena says.
“What’s interesting: there were no days when the weather was bad across the entire country. There was always a 'dark spot' on our map where it wasn't raining that day — that's where we went.”
As for the locations themselves, Vova and Alena particularly like abandoned places, ruins, and decrepit sites. Therefore, they never experienced the "expectation vs. reality" effect due to what they saw during all 10 years of their trips.
“But there were a couple of places where you arrive and there’s absolutely nothing! Or it could be like this: to find the remains you saw in the photograph, you have to crawl into some bushes. You look, you consider, and you realize: well, never mind. Given that our route could consist of 10-15-20 points, we didn't have to be disappointed if one of them fell through. We just moved on,” Vova explains their logic.
Still, they couldn't reach some places. For example, it happened when the route ran along a very bad road. Sometimes they even had to choose: abandon the car and walk or turn back. The decision depended on two factors: the distance they had to walk on their own two feet, and the desire to see that specific place.
Narutovichy, 2025
“For example, near Khoiniki — in Rudakovo — there is an estate we really wanted to see. But mosquitoes spoiled the vibe of that place so much! It was even impossible to stop, so we took a couple of photos and fled.”
It's time to discuss life hacks. We start with packing — here everything turns out to be as simple as possible. Vova explains with a smile: you can get to almost any place in our country even in flip-flops.
“Of course, it's worth bringing umbrellas. But the most important thing is a snack. We are not spoiled travelers who expect parking, toilets, and cafes, so food with you is a must. It would also be good to have a change of clothes.”
“Once, on the Islach river, we decided to cross the entire river on a wonderful thin log. First, I fell, but only got one leg wet, and then Alena — she plunged in up to her ears! We made the bad decision to dry everything over a campfire, but for some reason, it wouldn't dry. So we walked around a bit and went home.”
By the way, about returning. Alena and Vova say that most routes were planned as one-day trips. Another question is that at first, they managed to visit a maximum of one location, but later, clever planning made each trip more efficient. For example, you plan to arrive at point A, on the way you stop at point B, and you can have a snack and drink tea from a thermos at point C — and just like that, you manage to see three locations in one day.
“From personal experience: I advise to break up routes longer than 500 kilometers. This is especially relevant for those who are just starting to travel. Otherwise, it can turn into a race,” Vova warns.
Seasonality, Must-Visit Places, and Locations Seldom Reached by Tourists
When is the best time to plan trips? From their experience, the couple advises choosing the warm season — approximately from March-April to October. Another point to consider is insects. Alena and Vova experienced this during their trip to Naliboki Forest — the vibe of a 40-kilometer walk was ruined by an invasion of deer keds. Without going into detail, it's hardly pleasant to pull flying "small stuff" out of your hair and even pockets.
“But in winter, we rest and process photos. Because there's a lot of content — you need to figure out what to do with it.”
Alena is still responsible for content. The girl says they don't aim to develop a thematic blog. The couple primarily maintains their Instagram account as a family album. Depending on their mood, there might be slightly more detailed descriptions of specific locations, but more often, only the date and coordinates are provided.
At some point, Alena and Vova tried to run a YouTube blog. But spending time first on filming, then on editing, and ultimately getting only a few views – to say the least, that’s not much of a motivational story.
“Yes, we tried to get into all this blogging. But we decided that we are more about enjoyment. We like to travel and be in places more than talking about them.”
By the way, even after 10 years, Vova and Alena couldn't visit absolutely all the locations they wanted to. For example, sometimes they arrived, and the attractions were closed for restoration. But, the couple assures, there's a reason to return.
“For example, that was the case with the palace in Zhylichy. The first time we visited and saw it – well, yes, interesting. But when we returned and saw the estate already with an exhibition – it was much better.”
“But we still haven't made it to the quarry in Mikashevichy! The thing is, you have to sign up for a specific day and time, and specifically for tour groups of at least five people. We got together with friends last year, but in the end, we didn't go — the weather forecast predicted heavy rain. In short, we've been planning it for years — and still haven't gone. Because it's something like the Grand Canyon — all the top travel bloggers in Belarus have been there.”
Another such place is Lake Dooh, also the largest in Belarus. It is located in the Vitebsk region, and you can only get there by boat.
By the way, from their experience, Vova and Alena noticed: it is precisely the extreme regions — the north and south of the country — that often remain underestimated by tourists. For example, the Vitebsk region is worth visiting for nature enthusiasts and kayak rafting fans. True, the issue of transport arises — public transport does not always lead to the desired location.
“Of course, if you look at the map of architectural monuments, you can see: there are more of them in the west. And that is really true. For example, last year we visited the extreme points in the east — it's a long drive, but there are practically no epic ruins or castles there, and the locations that do exist are scattered far from each other.
At the same time, in the south there are small towns like Turov, where there aren't many entertainments, but the town itself and the archaeological museum are simply great!”
“Also in 2023, we visited Pinsk, but spent very little time there — only 4 hours. So it’s definitely worth returning there and staying longer.”
Now – the must-visit topic for every Belarusian. Alena and Vova's list is roughly as follows: all regional centers, Mir and Nesvizh castles, Pinsk, Mozyr, Polotsk, Mstislavl, and Yelnya. Both emphasize: for the last point, there's an important condition.
“We first visited there after a thunderstorm — and Yelnya was never as beautiful as it was that day. Imagine: sunset colors, a rainbow, a very dark sky, vibrant grass, the air particularly clean, the water level just right. It's incredible!”
The Perfect City for a Proposal, Signature Kiss Photos, and Safari
Given their extensive travel background, Alena and Vova admit that they feel more comfortable stopping in small towns. After all, their travels once became an opportunity to escape the work routine and noisy rhythm of a big city.
But there is an exception — Mogilev. This is where the travelers return most often, and there are two reasons: a practical one and a romantic one.
“First, it’s the closest regional center to Minsk, so it’s convenient to visit while traveling through the region. Second — this is where I proposed to Alena. Originally, I thought about the chalk quarries, but we couldn't reach them at that time. And I didn’t want to wait,” Vova smiles.
“Mogilev is a very beautiful city. By the way, perhaps also a little underestimated. It has a great zoo and safari — many bisons, you can feed fish, and take an express train ride. An incredible place!”
By the way, that's where the couple's symbolic tradition was born — taking a signature kiss photo at landmarks.
What's next? Vova and Alena definitely don't plan to stop traveling, so now they are looking for a new format. Especially since they recently got a dog, a poodle named Shtrudel — they are thinking of coming up with something in that direction.
“We also have a big dream — to publish a photo book about our travels in Belarus. Imagine, there are about 12,000 published photos on social networks alone! But what agony of choice it will be, because we will want to show too much.”
— If someone asks: why did you need all this? You could have just traveled calmly, without setting specific goals and deadlines.
— We like to spend time interestingly. You go to school or university, you think you know everything about our places. And then you travel and realize: it’s great! We want Belarusians to travel more often around the country and learn about it — it's definitely worth it.
Traveling around Belarus: 6 Unusual Routes from the Article's Heroes
Before the interview, journalists asked Vova and Alena to create several routes for those ready to embark on a journey. The request was roughly this: unfrequented places that would definitely be interesting.
“How we built our routes: based on one place we wanted to go to, we looked for interesting things around it — that way the path can be looped. We also considered variability, so you could go to any region and in all directions. By the way, each route can be divided into segments.”
Route №1. Lepel — Polymia — Smalyany — Orsha — Shklov — Knyazhytsy — Bahushevichy
Route №2. Budslau — Mosar — Paris — Luchai — Pastavy — Vileyka — Krasnoye
Route №3. Yuravichy — Mozyr — Naroulya — Turov
Route №4. Skidzel — Sviatsk — Augustow Canal
Route №5. Miory — Verkhnyadzvinsk — Sarja — Asveya
Route №6. Fleryanova — Hrushauka — Saveyki — Myadzvedzichy — Yastrambel — Paulinava
P.S. If you have any questions about the routes, Vova and Alena are ready to tell you more on Instagram. You can also find hundreds of photos from other interesting places, exact locations, and lots of inspiration there.
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