Chernobyl Experience

Upon your arrival at our hotel “Tourist Hotel Complex, Kiev” we will get you checked in and settled into your room before we meet up as a group for the first time.

We choose to hold our welcome meetings in a relaxed environment over some delicious local food, it is a great way to break the ice and for you to get to know us and your fellow travellers. Our hotel is in an ideal area with a great selection of restaurants, bars and markets close by. Believe it or not, there is an Irish Bar next door to the hotel. Fast food is well represented too with McDonald’s and Pizza Hut.

Tourist Hotel Complex 3* – Breakfast

Up bright and early for a 7:45am hotel pickup, our journey to Chernobyl begins. The drive to Chernobyl is a pleasant one, usually the minibus will have a tv playing an amazing documentary called The Battle of Chernobyl. We should hit the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone checkpoint around 10:30 am, this is the main entry checkpoint where you will need to present your passport and permit to gain entry.

Through the checkpoint on our way to Pripyat. Before we arrive in Pripyat, we will make several stops, visiting abandoned villages, the Chernobyl fire station for a photo opportunity of the amazing statue “To Those who Saved the World”. Not forgetting the machinery scrapyard to see the very equipment that helped in the clean-up of Chernobyl.

Next, we will head to the town of Chernobyl, this is where our hotel is located. A quick stop for lunch which is typically traditional Ukrainian food at the hotel then back on the coach on our way to Pripyat.
Exploring Pripyat, you will see the main square, Lenin Street, the Polissya hotel, the palace of culture, the supermarket, etc. All so ordinary, but now extraordinary because of the way they have been left behind from the rest of the world. Perhaps most poignant place in Pripyat is the town school, where you can see the half-marked registers and schoolbooks abandoned in the rush to get out once the order to evacuate was given. You will also see the ferris wheel from the fairground which was due to open only hours after the disaster, but which was never used, and has instead become a symbol for the abandoned town, and the impact of the Chernobyl disaster.

We will now make our way back to our hotel in Chernobyl town where you will be served diner. The hotel has a basic bar which is open till around 9pm.

Please note, the above itinerary is only to be used as a rough reference. While you will visit all the places set out in this itinerary the order of them may change as we are at the mercy of the Zone Administration who control the routes. From time to time we may be unable to visit certain locations set out in the itinerary due to bad weather.

Basic Accommodation (Basic Hotel or Hostel) – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Another early start, today you will be visiting Chernobyl 2 aka “The Russian Woodpecker” (Duga radar) which was a top secret “over the horizon” early detection radar station against the threat of ballistic rockets. Chernobyl 2 is an immense structure that you need to see to believe it.

Next up we will head off to the unfinished “Chernobyl Cooling Tower” once inside of this massive structure the acoustics are truly unbelievable with the slightest sound echoing around its concrete walls.

Making our way to reactor No.4. By December 1986 what remained of the reactor No.4 was encased in a large concrete sarcophagus which acted as a radiation shield to protect the crews still working at the undamaged Chernobyl reactors, some of which were still producing electricity well into the 21st century.

The original sarcophagus would only have a 30-year shelf life, at the end of 2016 a gigantic new sarcophagus was built on-site and placed over the old failing sarcophagus. It’s believed to be the largest movable structure in the world today.

We will get to within approximately 100 meters from reactor No.4. Reactors 1,2 & 3 are viewable along with the unfinished 5 & 6

Before leaving the area, we will have the unique opportunity to have lunch at the onsite canteen which is close to the reactor, the canteen serves the workers working across the site. Again, the food served is traditional.

Once we leave the reactor site will start to make our way back to Kiev, making a few more stops along the way before we leave. We will pass through a number of checkpoints where we will all be required to go through radiation detection machines to make sure we are not taking any trace amounts out of the zone.

Please note, the above itinerary is only to be used as a rough reference. While you will visit all the places set out in this itinerary the order of them may change as we are at the mercy of the Zone Administration who control the routes. From time to time we may be unable to visit certain locations set out in the itinerary due to bad weather.

Tourist Hotel Complex 3* – Breakfast & Lunch

Today we will be traveling into Kiev, a beautiful city filled with amazing architecture and unique sights. On this half day walking tour, you see the stunning St. Sophia’s Cathedral with its iconic golden domes and 76 meter tall wedding cake bell tower setting the scene. The interior of St. Sophia’s Cathedral is breathtaking, with large parts of the mosaics and frescoes inside dating back to 1017-31.

Next up we will make a stop at Kiev’s famous Motherland Statue, standing around 62 meters tall this titanium monument was erected to celebrate the Soviet Unions victory of Germany in WWII. The monument stands on top of a museum which is dedicated to the war, you will see tanks, planes, helicopters and maybe a rocket or two.

Last but certainly not least we visit the Ukraine National Chernobyl Museum. A museum whose sole purpose is to tell the story of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and its wider consequences to the people. The museum houses may artefacts from inside the zone, visual media and many exhibits. It goes without saying the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was devastating, the loss of life and cultural impact is also represented. It is a sobering visit for sure.

All the above will require us to travel around Kiev on the deepest underground subway system in the world. Arsenalna is located 105.5 meters underground, the escalator scales the whole length taking around 4 minuets to get from one end to the other. It was in fact the largest escalator in the world till Russia went bigger.

Tourist Hotel Complex 3* – Breakfast

Trip ends. Checkout time at the hotel is around 12:00pm. One of our tour managers will be on hand throughout the day to help with booking taxis and assist you best they can.

Tourist Hotel Complex 3* – Breakfast – Checkout

Why not extend your trip with us for an extra day and enjoy a visit to Kiev’s “Vatican” and some subterranean exploration under the streets of Kiev. This one day addon costs £120 per person. Includes another nights accommodation along with the below.

Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a UNESCO Listed World Heritage Site, visited by over 40 million from across the world. Kiev-Pechersk Lavra dates back to 1051 when an Orthodox Monk founded an underground sanctuary. As the years went by the Monks gravitated above ground building a church, the caves then became a place for the hermits to live. Later the caves because an underground burial chamber, today 100s of the Monks mummified remains lay at peace within the caves.

Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a huge complex of cathedrals and other religious buildings, many elaborately decorated with beautiful carvings and gold leaf galore. We will spend a significant amount of time exploring the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

If that wasn’t enough for you next, we head off on a tour of Kiev’s underground where you will enter the 31 mile long drainage system which was originally built in 1916. Descend into the unknown in absolute darkness and discover a few surprises along the way like Kiev’s largest underground waterfall and maybe even a “secret” Soviet era bunker filled with artefacts.

On this underground exploration we will be led by a professional guide who knows the ins and outs of this underground labyrinth. You will be supplied with protective clothing ie, gloves and rubber high boots along with a torch which will become your new best friend.

Tourist Hotel Complex 3* – Breakfast

Your safety is our number one priority, to ensure your safety we impose a few simple rules.

Over the course of your two-day trip in Chernobyl you will be exposed to approximately 10μsv (microsieverts) which equates to 0.01mSv (millisieverts). To put that into context, your total exposure for the trip will be around what you would receive from a dental x-ray which is 10μsv (microsieverts) or 0.01mSv (millisieverts).

You will actually be exposed to much more radiation on the flight over, for example on a 3 hour 45 minute flight your radiation exposure would be approximately 10.35μsv (microsieverts) or 0.01035mSv (millisieverts). This information can be verified using a flight radiation calculator https://www.omnicalculator.com/everyday-life/flight-radiation

Age.
This trip is for those aged 18 and over. This is a rule set out by the Ukrainian government and is strictly enforced.

I.D.
Please make sure you have your passport to hand when visiting Chernobyl. It’s a requirement of entry to present your passport to the guard, failure to do so will result in you being denied entry into the exclusion zone. We will remind you to have your passport accessible on the morning we depart.

Dress Code.
Please wear clothes that fully cover your body, so no shorts, skirts or dresses, tshirts or short sleeved clothing. No sandals or flip-flops.

Alcohol.
No alcohol is to be consumed before or during our time out exploring Chernobyl. You are free to enjoy a drink once we get back to our hotel between the hours of 7pm and 9pm, it’s the law within the exclusion zone.

Smoking.
For those who smoke including the use of ecigs we will have designated smoking stops on the trip.

Food and Drink (outside).
No eating in the open air, we will have regular stops on the trip for food and refreshments. Drinking from bottles and cans is allowed. You must not drink from any water sources including lakes, wells and rivers. Water in the hotel is perfectly fine to wash and shower. While the water in the hotel is safe to drink we recommend bottled water to avoid any unwanted stomach bugs.

Do not touch anything.
Please don’t touch anything including buildings, belongings within the buildings, any vegetation including grass, flowers or trees. Please do not sit or kneel on the floor, be mindful where you are placing any bags or camera equipment. Above all never take anything out with you, not only because these are people’s belongings but it could be dangerous. When leving the exclusion zone you will need to pass through a number of radiation detection machines.

Photos and Video.
You are free to take photos and video. However please never photograph or film any checkpoints, guards or government officials without the consent of your tour leader. More information will be supplied about what can and can’t be filmed.

Above all.
Please listen to the instructions of your guides, they are there to help keep you safe as well as providing an unforgettable trip.

– Price promise: We have some of the most competitive pricing in the industry, however, if you find a like for like trip cheaper we will match the price. The price advertised is the price you will pay, we will never increase the price once you are booked on and if we reduce the price of your trip we will refund you the difference.

– Small group travel: “Small groups, Big adventure” is our company motto. Travel is all about discovery and unique experiences, sometimes too many people can spoil individual experiences, that’s why we limit most of our trips to just 18 travellers.

– Accommodation: The accommodation used on this trip is classed as “Standard”. The hotels are usually rated between 2* to 4*. We always aim to be within walking distance of the city centre however we can’t always guarantee it. The accommodation for the one night in Chernobyl is “Basic” simple hotel or hostel.

– Trip pace: Our “Full On” trip pace category is for travellers who like their trips full of daily activities, visiting as many amazing locations as possible. Often these trips involve early morning starts and some long days.