Recently, Belarus has become an increasingly popular travel destination. Therefore, today I decided to make a small review of prices in our country. How much money should I take with me on the trip? How much do products cost in Belarus? And how much will you have to pay for lunch at an average cafe? How much money should I put on excursions and entertainment? And how much will you have to pay for transportation?
I will tell you about all this and much more today. I am sure that this text will be most useful to tourists.
How much do products cost in Minsk stores?
I would like to emphasize right away: all prices are current on 06/03/2024. And subsequently, of course, they can change. Therefore, all the figures given in this article should be taken as indicative. So…
Bread and confectionery
Sliced black bread (450 g) – 1.36 BYN/0.39 eur/38 rub)
The cheapest option (450 g) is 0.86 BYN/0.24 eur/24 rub (but personally I don’t like it).
Toast bread (500 g) – 2.19 or 2.57 BYN depending on the specific brand. This one with pumpkin seeds costs a little more. But I usually take classic toast bread for 2.19 BYN/0.63 eur/61.5 rub
Custard cakes – 6.49 BYN/1.86 eur/182 rub (per kg)
Croissant with cheese (85 g) – 0.99 BYN/0.29 eur/28 rub.
Drying (180 g) – 0.95 BYN (per share). The usual price ranges from 1.26 to 1.7 BYN.
Gingerbread cookies – 7-10 BYN per kilogram. A classic pack of 300 grams will cost you 2.58 BYN/72 rub/0.74 eur or something like that.
Milk and “milk”
Kefir – from 1.7 to 3 BYN, depending on the percentage of fat content and package format.
Sour cream (22%) – 2.79 BYN/0.8 eur/78 rub.
Cottage cheese in packs (9%) – 2 BYN/0.57 eur/56 rub per 200 grams. Of course, you can find cottage cheese for 1.5 rubles, but then the percentage of fat content will be less.
Glazed cheeses – from 0.8 to 1 BYN per piece.
Milk – from 1.7 to 2.5 BYN per liter (depending on the percentage of fat content).
Cream (20%) – 2.56 BYN/0.73 eur/72 rub per 200 grams.
Condensed milk (from the Glubokoe factory) – from 2.7 to 4.3 BYN.
Simple cheeses (like “Russian” or “poshekhonsky”) – from 15.99 to 18 BYN per kg (depending on the parade of planets and discount promotions).
Maasdam (Brest-Litovsk) – 28 BYN/8 eur/785 rub per kg.
Of course, cosmonaut cheeses can also be found on Minsk shelves (whose value, like the Discovery shuttle, flies somewhere into the stratosphere). Such guests from sunny Italy or not-so-sunny Lithuania can cost both 40 and 100 BYN per kg. But I usually ignore them myself. Therefore, today we will also put them out of brackets.
Fruits and vegetables
All prices are valid for June 2024. A kilogram of oranges now costs 2.8 – 3.5 BYN. A kilogram of good apples will cost you the same price.
Nectarines – 6.99 BYN/2.01 eur/196 rub per kilogram.
Lemons – 6 BYN/1,7 eur/168 rub.
Bananas – 4.5-5.99 BYN.
Grapefruit – 3.75 BYN/1.08 eur/105 rub.
Cucumbers – 3.5 BYN/1 eur/98 rub.
Tomatoes – from 5 to 9 BYN (but there are also more expensive varieties).
New potatoes – 3-5 BYN per kg.
Potatoes (whose youth has long been in the past) – 1 BYN/0, 29 eur/28 rub.
Peking cabbage – 5 BYN/1.44 eur/140 rub per kg.
Bell pepper – 9 BYN/2.59 eur/252 rub.
Of course, all prices tend to change, but at the moment the price tags in the store closest to me look something like this.
What are the prices in restaurants in Belarus?
It all depends on the level of the institution and the specific city in question. An English breakfast in Mogilev can be eaten for 10 BYN (2.88 eur/280 rub), and in Minsk the same set can cost 2 times more expensive.
Therefore, as the average denominator, let’s take the lunch menu at the Vasilki chain restaurant (which is available in all regional cities of Belarus).
The prices here are as follows:
- Soups – from 3.5 BYN/1 eur/97 rub.
- Salads – from 4 BYN/1,15 eur.
- Stewed pork in tomato sauce with carrots, onions and garlic – 8,60/2,47 eur/241 rub.
Cappuccino in an ordinary Minsk coffee shop will cost from 4 to 6 BYN. A croissant or a cake will cost you the same price.
Photo from social networks @1505_coffee_gomel
I usually buy pizza myself at Tempo restaurants. A large pepperoni costs 22 rubles /6.3 eur/617 rub there. But from Monday to Thursday, there is a special offer when every second takeaway pizza costs 3 BYN.
I wrote in great detail about prices in restaurants in Minsk, Mogilev and Grodno in separate reviews that can be found here. From them you will learn where to eat inexpensively in the centers of differentcities, and which establishments are worth paying attention to first.
Popular fast food
Shawarma (classic chicken dener) – 5.90 for 300 grams and 9.90 for 550 grams.
Cheeseburger in Mak.by (this is such an illegitimate child of McDonald’s) – 3 BYN /0.86 eur/84 rub. A hamburger and a chickenburger will cost you a little more – 3.40 and 3.80 BYN, respectively.
The classic Kids Meal (with a burger, drink, toy and French fries) will cost you 12.50 BYN/3.6 eur /350 rub. I think this is quite enough to figure out what prices are in Minsk.
How much do hotels in Minsk cost?
For the purity of the experiment, let’s take one housing option right in the center (in the Upper Town area) and another on the outskirts (near the metro). The prices here are as follows:
The outskirts. 2-star IT time hotel (within walking distance from Borisovsky trakt metro station): BYN 70-101 per room. Such prices can be found for almost a whole year, but in summer and on the eve of major holidays, they will certainly be higher. Therefore, check your dates here. At the moment it is one of the cheapest hotels in Minsk.
Center. The Garni Hotel (3 stars). Price: 180- 200 BYN per day. Photos of the rooms and the exact prices can be viewed here. I repeat again: they may vary depending on the specific month and date.
How much are apartments for a day?
And now the same thing, but about rental apartments. A nice apartment on the outskirts (near the metro) can be rented for 100 BYN /28 eur /2805 rub per day (or even a little cheaper).
And you will have to pay one and a half times more for similar housing in the center. You can view the exact numbers for your dates on this site.
Excursions
In this section I will write a few words about the most popular sightseeing tours from the capital of Belarus. There are five main stars here. Here they are:
- A trip to the World and Nesvizh – 130 BYN. You can find similar prices here.
- BelAZ factory, where giant cars from the Guinness Book of Records are assembled – 90-100 BYN.
- Excursion to Khatyn – 65 BYN;
- Day trip to Brest and Belovezhskaya Pushcha – 140 BYN;
- The national team excursion to the most beautiful city of Belarus (that is, to Grodno) – 150 BYN. Details and the tour program can be viewed here.
Alcohol
Simple beer in the store can be bought for 1.79 – 2 BYN. This amount will cost you a bottle of Alivaria 10 or Zhiguli beer from the Lida brewery. If the classics do not suit you, the amounts will be slightly higher. A pint of KORONET McKilt Scotch ale will cost you 2.29 – 2.8 BYN. And for the cherry lager “Evening in Bruges” you will have to pay 3.2 BYN.
A bottle of vodka costs from 11 to 16 BYN per half liter (there are cheaper brands, but it’s better not to drink them).
Soviet champagne – from 7 to 9 BYN (depending on the variety).
The most difficult thing is to write something sensible about wines (since there are an infinite number of them). But the Australian shiraz that I usually drink costs about 20 BYN per bottle. Georgian wines can be found for 14. And Moldovan and even for 10-12 BYN.
As for restaurants, bars and cafes, here half a liter of beer will cost you 6-7 BYN. A good German Hans Baer riesling will cost 57 BYN per bottle. Belarusian vodka – 4 BYN for 50 grams. “Shots” of various tinctures will come out at about the same price.
A glass of the classic aperol spritz usually costs about 11-14 BYN. Cocktails start from 10 BYN. But I repeat again: a lot depends on the institution where you will be taken. And the self-esteem of the bartender who will mix these cocktails for you.
Meat and sausages
Chicken medallions (600 grams) – 8.99 BYN/2.59 eur/252 rub.
Chicken thigh (600 grams) – 6.44 BYN/1.85 eur/180 rub.
Chicken fillet (600 g) – 9.74 BYN/2.79 eur/272 rub.
It is cheaper to eat meat, but I give the prices of those brands that I usually choose myself.
As for sausages, the prices here are approximately as follows:
Ham “Baleron” — 10 BYN/2.88 eur/280 rub per kg.
Mortadella sausage – 7,8-10 BYN per kg.
Pork roll – 10.91 BYN/3.13 eur/305 rub.
In order to roughly represent the price level, I think this is quite enough.
Everything, everywhere and at once
As a final chord, I will give here the prices of other products that can be found in stores. I took the figures from promotional booklets. You can look through them if you’re interested.
And that’s it for me. I hope my article helped you to understand a little better what prices are in Belarus, and estimate an approximate budget for the trip.
