"We're inconspicuous." How Belarusians now travel to Anapa for vacation

Two buses carrying Belarusians have already been affected by drone attacks in Russia's Bryansk region. Even Alexander Volfovich, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, urged Belarusians to refrain from traveling to Russia.

But trips to Krasnodar Krai from Belarus have not stopped, a DW investigation showed; now buses are simply traveling "further from cities and oil depots." However, explosions and power outages in annexed Crimea, in the fifth year of the full-scale war, have finally halted the flow of Belarusians.

"Now we're bypassing the Bryansk region"

In both cases, buses carrying Belarusians on vacation to Russia's Krasnodar Krai, to Anapa and Gelendzhik, came under drone attack.

On June 17, a drone attacked a bus carrying a children's football team and accompanying persons; six people were injured, and the coach's wife died.

On July 2, a Minsk — Anapa bus was hit by a drone; there were 19 passengers inside, and two drivers were lightly injured. In both cases, Russian authorities accused Ukrainian forces of the attack, while the AFU denied the accusations.

After the second incident, Alexander Volfovich, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, urged people to refrain from traveling to border regions of Russia and to vacation at home:

"Drones are falling there every day, such bad incidents are happening. We haven't closed the borders; it's everyone's decision whether to go or not to go."

"We immediately changed the route! We no longer travel through the Bryansk region. We are moving along a safe route, through the Smolensk region, Tula region... The road avoids cities, there's no military infrastructure, oil depots, or oil storage facilities nearby. Nothing, so to speak, militarily interesting... We travel calmly, unwanted and inconspicuous," one of the tour firms that transports Belarusians for vacation, including to Russia's Krasnodar Krai, described to DW.

According to the manager, the journey only extended by 2-3 hours, and the cost remained the same.

Approximately the same answer was given by two other firms.

"Everyone arrives, everything is fine, no one complains. Well, if it were really bad, they wouldn't go!" another manager reassures.

The main drawback, tour operators admit, is that the new bypass roads are not particularly designed for tourists; there are fewer roadside cafes, worse conditions at sanitary stops, and fewer restrooms.

However, the largest company among those contacted by journalists, one of Belarus's oldest multi-profile tour operators, is not offering trips to Krasnodar Krai this year.

"Offers on the website are only from our partners. We can offer you Georgia, Bulgaria," they replied.

"We only pick people up from Crimea"

Tour firms and carriers continued to send Belarusians to Russian-annexed Crimea in recent years. The bus trip took about two days — through Russia and over the bridge to the peninsula. For example, one option on a tour firm's website: from Minsk via Gomel to Kerch, Feodosia, Koktebel, with a note that "in case of force majeure circumstances with the Crimean Bridge," a transfer to minibuses or a ferry crossing with an additional payment is possible.

How many Belarusians vacationed there is unknown; neither Russia nor Belarus discloses the data. The head of the "Belarusians of Crimea" organization, operating on the annexed peninsula, stated that "about 150 thousand tourists from Belarus" vacationed there in 2024, without citing a source of information.

In July 2026, tours to Crimea are still listed on tour operators' websites, but in reality, they have been canceled.

"Is anyone ready to go to Crimea now?" the tour firm's representatives incredulously asked the journalists in return.

They spoke on June 6, the day when the annexed peninsula had an alarm at night, virtually no electricity in the morning, and gasoline was still issued by coupons and no more than 20 liters per person.

"We brought back the tourists we had already sent, and we stopped everything. The website just hasn't been updated yet," the managers explained.

"We have completely removed this destination. We travel to Krasnodar Krai, but not to Crimea anymore; things are getting 'more interesting' there now... We were preparing for the season this year too, but we canceled all trips, as far as I know, other companies did too. And it's unlikely the situation will change this year. Better choose Georgia. More expensive, but health is also precious," advised another tour firm.

Georgian Batumi offers both sea and mountains. A plane from Minsk flies for four hours and departs several times a week.

Two days on a bus, but also half the price

The main argument for vacationing in Russia is the cost, and compared to EU countries, also the visa. The cost of a trip to Turkey or Egypt, traditional vacation spots for Belarusians, starts from $800 per person for a week's vacation, and then tends towards infinity. But Krasnodar Krai is available from $300. However, you have to travel by bus for 35 hours or more.

As an alternative to annexed Crimea and Russia's Krasnodar Krai, Belarusian tour operators primarily sell vacations in Georgia and Abkhazia (a self-proclaimed republic, which from the perspective of international law is part of Georgia). One can get there by plane, or by bus for two days through Russia, usually with an overnight stop. The cost of a vacation by bus becomes $300-400 lower.

There are also new destinations — for example, Dagestan, "a tranquil vacation, mountains and sea," tour firms promise entertainment, but "one must remember the dress code, no exposed midriffs."

In 2025, Russia was the main vacation destination for Belarusians. 162.9 thousand people traveled there, according to data from the Republican Union of Tourist Organizations (RSTA). Turkey shared the first place with it (162.5 thousand people); the top countries also included Egypt (112,752), UAE (78,105), Georgia (45,956), China (28,321), Italy (22,849), Thailand (16,988), Greece (11,374), France (10,945). The data only includes those who vacationed with the help of tour firms.

According to RSTA data, the top five leaders have not changed since 2020.

"Growth has been noted in destinations such as China, Thailand, and Vietnam, thanks to the launch of Belavia flights from Minsk," the organization stated.

Thus, tourist traffic to Vietnam grew from 1855 to 8724 people. There are also more tours to China's Hainan Island: a week-long trip there from Minsk will cost approximately a thousand dollars per person.

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