tourism at chernobyl

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How to Visit Chernobyl: The Ultimate Guide (Updated 2021)

A n abandoned kindergarten room strewn with toys. The hollows of an amusement park that was never even used. An eerily vacant high school with its desks still draped in school work. These are the remnants of Chernobyl – a town blasted with 400 times the radiation of the bomb of Hiroshima, over thirty years ago. Today, it lures curious tourists in the tens of thousands. But why ?

When my husband and I were planning out our itinerary for Eastern Europe a few years back, we decided to include Kiev, Ukraine, purely so that we could visit Chernobyl. Dark tourism intrigued us, and we were keen to learn more about this abandoned place and the disaster story behind it.

For those of you who aren’t very familiar with Chernobyl, here’s the basic story:

Chernobyl was a nuclear power plant located in the USSR (now Ukraine) which had a steam explosion in April of 1986. The nuclear radiation released in the days after the accident was truly catastrophic. The nearby town of Prypyat, which was home of many of the power plant workers, was evacuated the day after the explosion and the 50,000 residents were never to return to their homes.

Nuclear Reactor no. 4 (the site of the explosion) was covered with a temporary sarcophagus to confine the radiation in the weeks after the explosion, and a new sarcophagus, which has been designed to confine the radiation for another 100 years, was built by the EU and placed on site in October 2017.

We chose to see Chernobyl on a 1-day, small group tour which departed Kiev at 8:00 AM and returned around 6:00 PM. We had an English speaking guide, and a driver who transported us via minivan. On the way, a documentary was played to give us a deeper insight into the disaster and prepare us for what we were about to see. Even though I had expected to visit a mostly abandoned and derelict place, the reality was shocking. There were a handful of stops on the tour, including a small town with empty houses being swallowed back up by the forest, an abandoned kindergarten in the Chernobyl township with books and learning materials still scattered about on the desks, and an amusement park in Prypyat that was sadly never used as the town was evacuated before it could open. These confronting scenes are something that I will never forget.

1 Chernobyl: An Overview
2 Why do tourists visit Chernobyl?
3 Is it safe to visit Chernobyl?
4 Can you visit Chernobyl without a guide?
5 How much does a Chernobyl tour cost?
6 Getting there
7 Where to stay
8 1. Choose the best Chernobyl tour type
9 2. Choose a tour company
10 3. Be prepared for your Chernobyl visit
11 The Thrifty Gist

Chernobyl: An Overview

Chernobyl is located about 100 km (62 mi) north of the city of Kiev, Ukraine. It takes around 2 hours to drive to Chernobyl from Kiev.

The exclusion zone is an area of 2,600 km 2 (1,000 sq mi) around the nuclear power plant. This area is considered hazardous and is off-limits to the general public. There are multiple checkpoints that you have to pass through inside the exclusion zone. The area inside the checkpoint closest to the nuclear reactor has the most dangerous levels of radiation.

When tourists talk about visiting Chernobyl, we’re generally referring to the power plant itself, but the exclusion zone actually includes a few towns and a large forested area. Tours to Chernobyl will stop by many different places of interest within the exclusion zone.

Why do tourists visit Chernobyl?

Chernobyl has many appeals for tourists. For me, it was the decay. I was intrigued to explore a place that has been completely abandoned by humans for nearly 30 years. I wanted to find out what an apocalyptic world might look like.

My husband’s appeal was the modern history aspect – he wanted to see a place that is frozen in time from the soviet era. Walking through remnants from a culture that no longer exists is a fascinating thing to experience.

Others might be interested in the disaster itself, or maybe learn more about the dangers of nuclear power and the effect it can have on the environment if something goes wrong, like it did at Chernobyl. This is perhaps the only place in the world that you can see this first-hand.

Is it safe to visit Chernobyl?

I was asked this question by many people after my visit to Chernobyl. It’s a valid concern.

Radiation sticks around for a very long time, and the exclusion zone is not expected to be safe for humans to live in for the next 20,000 years. However, radioactivity can be considered mostly harmless in small doses (like when you get an x-ray, or even take a long-haul flight), and the day tours into the exclusion zone mean that you’re only exposed to low levels of radiation for just a few hours.

There are around 400 people that actually live inside the exclusion zone, and another several thousand that work in and around the power plant, decommissioning the retired reactors and constructing the new sarcophagus. They manage the radiation exposure by limiting their time in the most hazardous areas, and are also required to take longer breaks away from the site so that their bodies have time to recover.

On the way out of the exclusion zone, everyone is required to go through an old soviet radiation control checkpoint. The device required each person to place their hands on either side while it checks your radiation levels.

Regardless of the trip you take, it's always worth getting travel insurance in case of an emergency. We use World Nomads because you can sign up or extend your trip any time (even if you've already left your home country), over 150+ adventure activities are covered (i.e. less fine print and loopholes), and most of all, there are plenty of successful claim stories online – so it actually works! For more info, and our story of when insurance saved us $2,000 at a foreign hospital, check out our travel insurance guide here .

Can you visit Chernobyl without a guide?

Tourist entry into the exclusion zone is only permitted with a licenced guide. There are many areas inside the exclusion zone that are still considered very dangerous, and a guide will have the expertise to keep you safe at all times.

How much does a Chernobyl tour cost?

Tours from Kiev cost between $100-$500 USD per person, depending on the type of tour that you choose. The day tour that I booked starts at $105 USD each, and it's worth every cent. You can browse a variety of tours along with prices, reviews, and booking with immediate confirmation on GetYourGuide and Viator .

Getting there

Flying into Boryspil International Airport (KBP) is the easiest way to get to Kiev, with direct flights from many major cities in Europe including Amsterdam, Vienna, Paris, London, Prague, Frankfurt, Zurich, and Warsaw. If you are already in Ukraine, there are intercity trains that will take you from Lviv to Kiev. Budget airlines are plentiful in Eastern Europe. The easiest way to find cheap flights is to search Skyscanner and select “Entire Month” to visualize prices across a one month period.

It's also worth signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card . You'll get a 60,000 point bonus just by spending $4,000 in the first 3 months on your everyday purchases in the first 3 months. That's worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards, saving you a significant amount on your flight. Alternatively, you can transfer the points directly to a number of other frequent flyer programs if you are already collecting points. The card also has no international transaction fees (where most cards charge 2-3%), making this card cheaper to use overseas than any ATM or currency exchange booth.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

60,000 reward points (worth $750 ) after meeting the minimum spend of $4,000 in the first 3 months
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Points are worth 25% more on airfare, hotels, car rentals, and cruises when booking through Chase Ultimate Rewards (e.g. 60,000 points worth $750 toward travel)
Includes trip cancellation/interruption insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver, lost luggage insurance and more.
Can transfer your reward points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
No foreign transaction fees
Annual fee: $95

Where to stay

There are plenty of central accommodations to choose from in Kiev. Being in Eastern Europe, hotels and AirBNBs are surprisingly affordable. When you book your Chernobyl tour, check the confirmation to find your meeting point. My tour departed from Maidan Square, so I booked us a room in a hostel nearby. Many tours will depart from Kiev Central Railway Station, so a hotel closer to the station may be a better choice. Some tours (especially the private ones) offer hotel pickup.

1. Choose the best Chernobyl tour type

When booking a visit to Chernobyl, there are a few different tour types to choose from:

1-day Tours

The 1-day tours generally last from 10-12 hours, of which 4 are spent driving to and from the Chernobyl site from Kiev. The 1-day tour was packed with activities, however, I didn’t feel as though it was overly rushed or that anything was skipped over.

From Kiev: 1-Day Group Tour to Chernobyl ($100 USD)

Chernobyl Tour from Kiev ($105 USD)

Full-Day Tour of Chernobyl and Prypiat from Kiev ($114 USD)

2-day or 3-day tours.

For anyone wanting to experience the exclusion zone at a slower pace, there are 2-day, 3-day, or even longer tours available. I personally think that 2 days would be enough time to see the area.

From Kiev: 2-Day Group Tour to Chernobyl ($251 USD)

The Ultimate 2-Day Chernobyl Tour from Kiev ($321 USD)

3-Day Extended Tour to Chernobyl and Prypiat Town from Kyiv ($429 USD)

Private tours.

Many people are interested in visiting Chernobyl for the photography aspect, and in this case, I think a private tour would be the best option as you can explore the area at your own pace. This would allow you ample time to set up shots and get great photos.

From Kiev: Private Tour of Chernobyl ($78 USD)

From Kiev: Chernobyl & Pripyat Private Day Tour with Lunch ($130 USD)

Chernobyl Private Tour from Kiev ($105 USD)

2. Choose a tour company

When I was choosing a tour company, I used online reviews to make a decision. SoloEast Travel was one of the highest rated companies on TripAdvisor, and while they weren’t necessarily the cheapest, the price was reasonable. They were an excellent choice.

Things to look for when choosing a tour:

Group size: Small group tours are definitely best for the Chernobyl experience. We had 10-12 people on our tour, which was perfect.
Inclusions/Exclusions: Hotel pickup, meals, entrance fees, taxes, and geiger-counter rental may or may not be included in the price of some tours.
Flexibility: 1-day tours are really great value, but if you want more time at each place or more options for photography, then consider booking a slower-paced tour for more flexibility.

3. Be prepared for your Chernobyl visit

Tours to Chernobyl can be booked year-round. We visited in late November, which was extra special as there was a thick layer of snow which gave the place an eerie vibe. It was also a quiet time to visit – we only ran into one other tour group on our day trip, but for the most part we were the only people in sight.

Many people will prefer to visit Chernobyl in the warmer months. The trees in the area are apparently beautiful in fall/autumn, so this might be a great time to go.

What to bring:

Comfortable, closed walking shoes.
A rain jacket in case of bad weather.
Sunscreen and a hat.
A camera. You can use a smartphone for photos, but if you have a mirrorless camera or DSLR, even better! The photos you get around Chernobyl will be mind-blowing.
A geiger-counter to measure radiation levels. We rented one from our tour company, which cost an extra $10 but it was so worth it.

For winter tours:

Quality winter jacket/parka. You’ll spend a lot of time outside in the cold.
Scarf, beanie, and gloves to stay warm.
Waterproof shoes suitable for walking through snow.

The Thrifty Gist

Chernobyl is located about 2 hours drive north of Kiev, Ukraine.
The exclusion zone has a range of radiation levels, but is safe to visit on a guided tour. It's always a good idea to have travel insurance regardless, and we use World Nomads .
You must book a tour to visit Chernobyl. 1-day, 2-day, or longer tours are available from Kiev. We took this tour , but there are plenty more to choose from with reviews on GetYourGuide and Viator .
You can find cheap flights by searching by “entire month” on Skyscanner . You can also get the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card and hit the minimum spend to receive 60,000 points worth $750 , saving you a ton on your flight.

Thrifty Nomads has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Thrifty Nomads and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author's alone. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

are tours still going ahaed

Why Would Anyone Want to Visit Chernobyl?

By Mark O’Connell March 24, 2020

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Maybe they’re looking for a glimpse of the apocalypse.

By Mark O’Connell

We were around a hundred miles from the Zone, and already my thoughts had turned toward death. This had nothing to do with radiation and everything to do with road safety. I was in a minibus, on a highway between Kyiv and the 1,160-square-mile Exclusion Zone around the Chernobyl power plant. The minibus was being driven at an alarming speed and in such a way that caused me to question the safety standards of the tour company I’d entrusted myself to for the next two days. It had become clear that our driver and tour guide, a man in his early 40s named Igor, was engaged in a suite of tasks that were not merely beyond the normal remit of minibus driving but in fact in direct conflict with it. He was holding a clipboard and spreadsheet on top of the steering wheel with his left hand (that he was also using to steer), while in his other hand he held a smartphone, into which he was diligently transferring data from the spreadsheet. The roughly two-hour journey from Kyiv to the Zone was, clearly, a period of downtime of which he intended to take advantage in order to get some work squared away before the proper commencement of the tour. As such, he appeared to be distributing his attention in a tripartite pattern — clipboard, road, phone; clipboard, road, phone — looking up from his work every few seconds in order to satisfy himself that things were basically in order on the road, before returning his attention to the clipboard.

I happened to be sitting up front with Igor and with his young colleague Vika, who was training to become a fully accredited guide. Vika appeared to be reading the Wikipedia article for “nuclear reactor” on her iPhone. I considered suggesting to Igor that Vika might be in a position to take on the spreadsheet work, which would allow him to commit himself in earnest to the task of driving, but I held my counsel for fear that such a suggestion might seem rude. I craned around in an effort to make subtly appalled eye contact with my friend Dylan, who was sitting a few rows back alongside a couple of guys in their 20s — an Australian and a Canadian who, we later learned, were traveling around the continent together impelled by a desire to have sex with a woman from every European nation — but he didn’t look up, preoccupied as he was with a flurry of incoming emails. Some long-fugitive deal, I understood, was now on the verge of lucrative fruition.

Of all my friends, I knew that Dylan was most likely to accept at short notice my request for accompaniment on a trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. He was his own boss, for one thing, and he was not short of money (tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist). He was also in the midst of a divorce, amicable but nonetheless complex in its practicalities. It would, I said, be a kind of anti-stag party: His marriage was ending, and I was dragging him to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone for two days. As soon as I made it, I felt some discomfort about this joke, with its laddish overtones, as though I were proposing the trip for the laughs or as an exploit in extreme tourism or, worse still, some kind of stunt journalism enterprise combining elements of both. I was keen to avoid seeing myself in this way.

“Lunch,” Igor said, pointing out the side window of the bus. I followed the upward angle of his index finger and saw a series of telephone poles, each of which had a stork nesting atop it. “Lunch,” he reiterated, this time to a vague ripple of courteous laughter.

About 40 minutes north of Kyiv, a screen flickered to life in front of us and began to play a documentary about the Chernobyl disaster. We watched in silence as our minibus progressed from the margins of the city to the countryside. The video was intended as a primer, so that by the time we got to the site of one of the worst nuclear accidents in history, everyone would be up to speed on the basic facts: how in the early hours of April 26, 1986, a safety test simulating the effects of a power failure ended in an uncontrolled nuclear reaction; how this caused an inferno in the reactor core that burned for at least nine days; how in the aftermath the Soviet government created a 19-mile-radius exclusion zone around the power plant; how they evacuated about 130,000 people, more than 40,000 of them residents of Pripyat, a “city of the future” built for workers at the nearby plant; how the vast endeavor of decontamination necessitated the bulldozing of entire towns, the felling of entire forests, the burying of them deep in the poisoned earth.

As the documentary played on the screen, Igor demonstrated his familiarity with it by reciting lines along with the film. At one point, Mikhail Gorbachev materialized to deliver a monologue on the terrifying time scale of the accident’s aftereffects. His data entry tasks now complete, Igor spoke along in unison with Gorbachev — “How many years is this going to go on? Eight hundred years?” — before himself proclaiming, “Yes! Until the second Jesus is born!”

I was unsure what to make of the tone of all this. Igor and Vika’s inscrutable jocularity sat oddly with the task they were charged with: to guide us around the site of arguably the worst ecological catastrophe in history, a source of fathomless human suffering in our own lifetimes. And yet some measure of levity seemed to be required of us.

After the documentary, the minibus’s onboard infotainment programming moved on to an episode of the BBC motoring show “Top Gear,” in which three chortling idiots drove around the Exclusion Zone in hatchbacks, gazing at clicking Geiger counters while ominous electronica played on the soundtrack. There were then some low-budget music videos, all of which featured more or less similar scenes of dour young men — a touchingly earnest British rapper, some kind of American Christian metal outfit — lip-syncing against the ruined spectacle of Pripyat.

I wondered what, if anything, the tour company’s intention might have been in showing us all this content. Screening the documentary made sense, in that it was straightforwardly informative — the circumstances of the accident, the staggering magnitude of the cleanup operation, the inconceivable time scale of the aftereffects and so on. But the “Top Gear” scenes and the music videos were much more unsettling to watch, because they laid bare the ease with which the Zone, and in particular the evacuated city of Pripyat, could be used, in fact exploited, as the setting for a kind of anti-tourism, as a deep source of dramatic, and at the same time entirely generic, apocalyptic imagery.

I was being confronted, I realized, with an exaggerated manifestation of my own disquiet about making this trip in the first place; these unseemly, even pornographic, depictions of the Zone were on a continuum with my own reasons for making this trip. My anxieties about the future — the likely disastrous effects of climate change, our vulnerability to all manner of unthinkable catastrophes — had for some time been channeled into an obsession with the idea of “the apocalypse,” with the various ways people envisioned, and prepared for, civilizational collapse.

I was on a kind of perverse pilgrimage: I wanted to see what the end of the world looked like. I wanted to haunt its ruins and be haunted by them. I wanted to see what could not otherwise be seen, to inspect the remains of the human era. The Zone presented this prospect in a manner more clear and stark than any other place I was aware of. It seemed to me that to travel there would be to look upon the end of the world from the vantage point of its aftermath. It was my understanding, my conceit, that I was catching a glimpse of the future. I did not then understand that this future, or something like it, was closer than it appeared at the time. I did not understand that before long the idea of the Zone would advance outward from the realm of abstraction to encompass my experience of everyday life, that cities across the developed world would be locked down in an effort to suppress the spread of a lethal new virus, an enemy as invisible and insidious in its way as radiation and as capable of hollowing out the substance of society overnight.

The minibus slowed as we approached the checkpoint marking the outer perimeter of the Zone. Two policemen emerged from a small building, languidly smoking, emanating the peculiar lassitude of armed border guards. Igor reached out and plucked the microphone from its nook in the dashboard.

“Dear comrades,” he said. “We are now approaching the Zone. Please hand over passports for inspection.”

You feel immediately the force of the contradiction. You feel, contradictorily, both drawn in and repelled by this force. Everything you have learned tells you that this is an afflicted place, a place that is hostile and dangerous to life. And yet the dosimeter, which Igor held up for inspection as we stood by the bus on the far side of the border, displayed a level of radiation lower than the one recorded outside the McDonald’s in Kyiv where we had boarded the bus earlier that morning. Apart from some hot spots, much of the Zone has relatively low levels of contamination. The outer part of the 30 Kilometer Zone — the radius of abandoned land around the reactor itself — is hardly a barren hellscape.

“Possible to use this part of Zone again, humans today,” Igor said.

Someone asked why, in that case, it wasn’t used.

“Ukraine is very big country. Luckily we can spare this land to use as buffer between highly contaminated part of Zone and rest of Ukraine. Belarus not so lucky.”

Immediately you are struck by the strange beauty of the place, the unchecked exuberance of nature finally set free of its crowning achievement, its problem child. And everywhere you look, you are reminded of how artificial the distinction is between the human and the natural world: that everything we do, even our destruction of nature, exists within the context of nature. The road you walk on is fissured with the purposeful pressure of plant stems from below, the heedless insistence of life breaking forth, continuing on. It is midsummer, and the day is hot but with the sibilant whisper of a cool breeze in the leaves and butterflies everywhere, superintending the ruins. It is all quite lovely, in its uncanny way: The world, everywhere, protesting its innocence.

“All the fields are slowly turning into forest,” Igor said. “The condition of nature is returning to what it was before people. Mooses. Wild boar. Wolves. Rare kinds of horses.”

This is the colossal irony of Chernobyl: Because it is the site of an enormous ecological catastrophe, this region has been for decades now basically void of human life; and because it is basically void of human life, it is effectively a vast nature preserve. To enter the Zone, in this sense, is to have one foot in a prelapsarian paradise and the other in a postapocalyptic wasteland.

Not far past the border, we stopped and walked a little way into a wooded area that had once been a village. We paused in a clearing to observe a large skull, a scattered miscellany of bones.

“Moose,” Igor said, prodding the skull gently with the toe of a sneaker. “Skull of moose,” he added, by way of elaboration.

Vika directed our attention toward a low building with a collapsed roof, a fallen tree partly obscuring its entrance. She swept a hand before her in a stagy flourish. “It is a hot day today,” she said. “Who would like to buy an ice cream?” She went on to clarify that this had once been a shop, in which it would have been possible to buy ice cream, among other items. Three decades is a long time, of course, but it was still impressive how comprehensively nature had seized control of the place in that time. In these ruins, it was no easier to imagine people standing around in jeans and sneakers eating ice cream than it would be in the blasted avenues of Pompeii to imagine people in togas eating olives. It was astonishing to behold how quickly we humans became irrelevant to the business of nature.

And this flourishing of the wilderness was at the expense of the decay of man-made things. Strictly speaking, visitors are forbidden to enter any of Pripyat’s buildings, many of which are in variously advanced states of decay and structural peril, some clearly ready to collapse at any moment. Igor and Vika could in theory lose their licenses to enter the Zone if they were caught taking tourists into buildings. It had been known to happen, Igor said, that guides had their permits revoked. This had put them in something of a double bind, he explained, on account of the proliferation in recent years of rival outfits offering trips to the Zone. If they didn’t take customers into the buildings — up the stairways to the rooftops, into the former homes and workplaces and schoolrooms of Pripyat — some other guides would, and what people wanted more than anything in visiting the place was to enter the intimate spaces of an abandoned world.

One of the Swedish men who accounted for about a third of the group’s number asked whether any visitors had been seriously injured or killed while exploring the abandoned buildings.

“Not yet,” Igor said, a reply more ominous than he may have intended.

He went on to clarify that the fate of the small but thriving tourism business hung in the balance and depended, by consensus, on the nationality of the first person to be injured or killed on a tour. If a Ukrainian died while exploring one of the buildings, he said, fine, no problem, business as usual. If a European, then the police would have to immediately clamp down on tour guides bringing people into buildings. But the worst-case scenario was, of course, an American getting killed or seriously injured. That, he quipped, would mean an immediate cessation of the whole enterprise.

“American gets hurt,” he said, “no more tours in Zone. Finished.”

The tour made its way to the edge of the city and to the abandoned fairground we’d seen on the minibus that morning — on the “Top Gear” segment and the music videos. This was Pripyat’s most recognizable landmark, its most readily legible symbol of decayed utopia. Our little group wandered around the fairground, taking in the cinematic vista of catastrophe: the Ferris wheel, the unused bumper cars overgrown with moss, the swing boats half-decayed by rust.

The park’s grand opening, Vika said, had been scheduled for the International Workers’ Day celebrations on May 1, 1986, the week following the disaster, and the park had therefore never actually been used. Beside her, Igor held aloft the dosimeter, explaining that the radiation levels were by and large quite safe, but that certain small areas within the fairground were high: the moss on the bumper cars, for example, contained a complex cocktail of toxic substances, having absorbed and retained more radiation than surrounding surfaces. Though I can’t say I considered it, moss in general was not to be ingested; the same was true of all kinds of fungi, for their spongelike assimilation of radioactive material. Wild dogs and cats, too, can present a potential risk, because they roamed freely in parts of the Zone that had never been decontaminated effectively, and they carried radioactive particles in their fur.

I leaned against the railings of the bumper car enclosure and then, recalling having read a warning somewhere about the perils of sitting on and leaning against things in the Zone, quickly relocated myself away from the rusting metal. I looked at the others, almost all of whom were engaged in taking photographs of the fairground. The only exception was Dylan, who was on the phone again, apparently talking someone through the game plan for a new investment round. I was struck for the first time by the disproportionate maleness of the group: out of a dozen or so tourists, only one was female, a young German woman who was at present assisting her prodigiously pierced boyfriend in operating a drone for purposes of aerial cinematography.

There seemed to be a general implicit agreement that nobody would appear in anyone else’s shots, because of a mutual interest in the photographic representation of Pripyat as a maximally desolate place, an impression that would inevitably be compromised by the presence of other tourists taking photos in the backgrounds of your own. On a whim, I opened up Instagram on my phone — the 3G coverage in the Zone had, against all expectation, been so far uniformly excellent — and entered “Pripyat” into the search box and then scrolled through a cascading plenitude of aesthetically uniform photos of the Ferris wheel, the bumper cars, the swing boats, along with a great many photos employing these as dramatic backgrounds for selfies. A few of these featured goofy expressions and sexy pouts and bad-ass sneers, but a majority were appropriately solemn or contemplative in attitude. The message, by and large, seemed to be this: I have been here, and I have felt the melancholy weight of this poisoned place.

Pripyat presents the adventurous tourist with a spectacle of abandonment more vivid than anywhere else on Earth, a fever dream of a world gone void. To walk the imposing squares of the planned city, its broad avenues cracked and overgrown with vegetation, is in one sense to wander the ruins of a collapsed utopian project, a vast crumbling monument to an abandoned past. And yet it is also to be thrust forward into an immersive simulation of the future, an image of what will come in our wake. What is most strange about wandering the streets and buildings of this discontinued city is the recognition of the place as an artifact of our own time: It is a vast complex of ruins, like Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat, but the vision is one of modernity in wretched decay. In wandering the crumbling ruins of the present, you are encountering a world to come.

And this is why the images from my time in Pripyat that cling most insistently to my mind are the fragmented shards of technology, the rotted remnants of our own machine age. In what had once been an electronics store, the soles of our sturdy shoes crunched on the shattered glass of screens, and with our smartphones we captured the disquieting sight of heaped and eviscerated old television sets, of tubes and wires extruded from their gutted shells, and of ancient circuit boards greened with algae. (And surely I cannot have been the only one among us to imagine the smartphone I was holding undergoing its own afterlife of decay and dissolution.) In what had once been a music store, we walked amid a chaos of decomposing pianos, variously wrecked and capsized, and here and there someone fingered the yellowed keys, and the notes sounded strange and damp and discordant. All of this was weighted with the sad intimation of the world’s inevitable decline, the inbuilt obsolescence of our objects, our culture: the realization that what will survive of us is garbage.

Later, outside the entrance to one of Pripyat’s many schools, a small wild dog approached us with disarming deference. Vika opened her handbag and removed a squat pinkish tube, a snack from the lower reaches of the pork-product market, and presented it to the dog, who received it with patience and good grace.

There was a dark flash of movement on the periphery of my field of vision, a rustle of dry leaves. I turned and saw the business end of a muscular black snake as it emerged from beneath a rusted slide and plunged headlong for the undergrowth.

“Viper,” Igor said, nodding in the direction of the fugitive snake. He pronounced it “wiper.”

The school was a large tile-fronted building, on one side of which was a beautiful mosaic of an anthropomorphic sun gazing down at a little girl. Dylan was rightly dubious as to the wisdom of entering a building in such an advanced state of dilapidation. Turning to Igor, he remarked that they must have been constructed hastily and poorly in the first place.

“No,” Igor replied, briskly brushing an insect off the shoulder of his camouflage jacket. “This is future for all buildings.”

The school’s foyer was carpeted with thousands of textbooks and copybooks, a sprawling detritus of the written word. It felt somehow obscene to walk on these pages, but there was no way to avoid it if you wanted to move forward. Igor bent down to pick up a colorfully illustrated storybook from the ground and flipped through its desiccated pages.

“Propaganda book,” he said, with a moue of mild distaste, and dropped it gently again at his feet. “In Soviet Union, everything was propaganda. All the time, propaganda.”

I asked him what he himself remembered of the disaster, and he answered that there was basically nothing to remember. Though he was five years older than me, he said that I would most likely have a clearer memory of the accident and its aftermath, because in Soviet Ukraine little information was made public about the scale of the catastrophe. “In Europe? Panic. Huge disaster. In Ukraine? No problem.”

Climbing the staircase, whose railings had long since been removed, I trailed a hand against a wall to steady myself and felt the splintering paint work beneath my fingertips. I was 6 when the disaster happened, young enough, I suppose, to have been protected by my parents from the news and its implications. What did I recall of the time? Weird births, human bodies distorted beyond nature, ballooned skulls, clawed and misshapen limbs: images not of the disaster itself but of its long and desolate and uncanny aftermath. I remembered a feeling of fascinated horror, which was bound up in my mind with communism and democracy and the quarrel I only understood as the struggle between good and evil, and with the idea of nuclear war, and with other catastrophes of the time, too, the sense of a miscarried future.

As I continued up the stairs, a memory came to me of a country road late at night, of my mother helping me up onto the hood of our orange Ford Fiesta, directing my attention toward a point of light arcing swiftly across the clear night sky, and of her telling me that it was an American space shuttle called Challenger, orbiting the planet. That memory was linked in my mind with a later memory, of watching television news footage of that same shuttle exploding into pure white vapor over the ocean. The vision of the sudden Y-shaped divergence of the contrails, spiraling again toward each other as the exploded remains of the shuttle fell to the sea, a debris of technology and death, striking against the deep blue sky. That moment was for me what the moon landing was for my parents and their generation: an image in which the future itself was fixed.

We rounded the top of the stairs, and as I set off down a corridor after Igor, I realized that those images of technological disaster, of explosions, mutations, had haunted my childhood and that I had arrived at the source of a catastrophe much larger than Chernobyl itself or any of its vague immensity of effects. I remembered a line from the French philosopher Paul Virilio — “The invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck” — that seemed to me to encapsulate perfectly the extent to which technological progress embedded within itself the prospect of catastrophe. And it occurred to me that Pripyat was a graveyard of progress, the final resting place of the future.

In a large upstairs classroom, a dozen or so toddler-size chairs were arranged in a circle, and on each was perched a rotting doll or threadbare teddy bear. The visual effect was eerie enough, but what was properly unsettling was the realization that this scene had been carefully arranged by a visitor, probably quite recently, precisely in order for it to be photographed. And this went to the heart of what I found so profoundly creepy about the whole enterprise of catastrophe tourism, an enterprise in which I myself was just as implicated as anyone else who was standing here in this former classroom, feeling the warm breeze stirring the air through the empty window frames.

I wondered whether Igor and Vika held us in contempt, us Western Europeans and Australians and North Americans who had forked over a fee not much lower than Ukraine’s average monthly wage for a two-day tour around this discontinued world, to feel the transgressive thrill of our own daring in coming here. If it were I in their position, I knew that contempt is exactly what I would have felt. The fact was that I didn’t even need to leave my own position in order to hold myself in contempt, or anyone else.

“How often do you come here?” I asked Igor.

“Seven days a week, usually,” he said. He had a strange way of avoiding eye contact, of looking not directly at you but at a slight angle, as though you were in fact beside yourself. “Seven days a week, eight years.”

“How has that affected you?” I asked.

“I have three children. No mutants.”

“I don’t mean the radiation so much as just the place. I mean, all this must have an impact,” I said, gesturing vaguely toward my own head, indicating matters broadly psychological.

“I don’t see my wife. My family. I get up at 6:30 a.m., they are asleep. I get home late night, already they are asleep again. I am a slave, just like in Soviet Union time. But now,” he said, with an air of inscrutable sarcasm, “I am a slave to money.”

I followed Igor and Vika into another classroom, where we were joined by the wild dog Vika had fed earlier. The dog did a quick circuit of the room, sniffed perfunctorily at a papier-mâché doll, an upturned chair, some torn copybook pages, then settled himself down beside Vika. Igor opened a cupboard and removed a stack of paintings, spread them out on a table flaked with aquamarine paint. The pictures were beautifully childish things, heartbreakingly vivid renderings of butterflies, grinning suns, fish, chickens, dinosaurs, a piglet in a little blue dress. They were expressions of love toward the world, toward nature, made with such obvious joy and care that I felt myself getting emotional looking at them. I could all of a sudden see the children at their desks, their tongues protruding in concentration, their teachers bending over to offer encouragement and praise, and I could smell the paper, the paint, the glue.

I picked up a painting of a dinosaur, and I was surprised by sadness not at the unthinkable dimensions of the catastrophe itself but at the thought that the child responsible for this picture was never able to take it home to show his parents; how instead, he had to leave it behind just as he had to leave behind his school, his home, his city, his poisoned world. And I became conscious then of the strangeness of my being here, the wrongness of myself as a figure in this scene: a man from outside, from the postapocalyptic future, holding this simple and beautiful picture in his hand and looking at it as an artifact of a collapsed civilization. This, I now understood, was the deeper contradiction of my presence in the Zone: My discomfort in being here had less to do with the risk of contamination than with the sense of myself as the contaminant.

The tour company had put us up in the town of Chernobyl itself, in a place called Hotel 10 — a name so blankly utilitarian that it sounded chic. Hotel 10 was in reality no more chic than you would expect a hotel in Chernobyl to be and arguably even less so. It looked like, and essentially was, a gigantic two-story shipping container. Its exterior walls and roof were corrugated iron. Internally it seemed to be constructed entirely from drywall, and it smelled faintly of creosote throughout, and the long corridor sloped at a nauseating angle on its final descent toward the room Dylan and I were sharing on the ground floor.

The Ukrainian government imposes a strict 8 p.m. curfew in the Zone, and so after a dinner of borscht, bread and unspecified meats, there was nothing to do but drink, and so we drank. We drank an absurdly overpriced local beer called Chernobyl — the hotel had run out of everything else — that the label assured us was brewed outside the Zone, using nonlocal wheat and water, specifically for consumption inside the Zone itself, a business model that Dylan rightly condemned as needlessly self-limiting.

We all turned in early that night. Even if we’d wanted to walk the empty streets of the town after dark, we would have been breaking the law in doing so and possibly jeopardizing the tour company’s license to bring tourists to the Zone. Unable to sleep, I took out the book I brought with me, an oral history of the disaster and its aftermath called “Chernobyl Prayer,” by the Belarusian journalist Svetlana Alexievich. As I reached the closing pages, after dozens of monologues about the loss and displacement and terror endured by the people of Chernobyl, I was unsettled to encounter an image of myself. The book’s coda was a composite of 2005 newspaper clippings about the news that a Kyiv travel agency was beginning to offer people the chance to visit the Exclusion Zone.

“You are certainly going to have something to tell your friends about when you get back home,” I read. “Atomic tourism is in great demand, especially among Westerners. People crave strong new sensations, and these are in short supply in a world so much explored and readily accessible. Life gets boring, and people want a frisson of something eternal.”

I lay awake for some time, trying to attend to the silence, hearing now and then the faint howling of wolves in the lonely distance. Had I myself, I wondered, come here in search of strong new sensations? There was, I realized, a sense in which I was encountering the Zone less as the site of a real catastrophe, a barely conceivable tragedy of the very recent past, than as a vast diorama of an imagined future, a world in which humans had ceased entirely to exist.

Among ruins, Pripyat is a special case. It’s Venice in reverse: a fully interactive virtual rendering of a world to come. The place is recognizably of our own time and yet entirely other. It was built as an exemplary creation of Soviet planning and ingenuity, an ideal place for a highly skilled work force. Broad avenues lined with evergreen trees, sprawling city squares, modernist high-rise apartment buildings, hotels, places for exercise and entertainment, cultural centers, playgrounds. And all of it was powered by the alchemy of nuclear energy. The people who designed and built Pripyat believed themselves to be designing and building the future. This was a historical paradox almost too painful to contemplate.

It wasn’t until after I returned home from Ukraine that I began to imagine my own house a ruin, to picture as I walked through its rooms the effect 30 years of dereliction might wreak on my son’s bedroom, imagining his soft toys matted and splayed to the elements, the bare frame of his bed collapsed in a moldering heap, the floorboards stripped and rotted. I would walk out our front door and imagine our street deserted, the empty window frames of the houses and shops, trees sprouting through the cracked sidewalks, the road itself overgrown with grass.

Now I find myself wanting not to think about abandoned streets and shuttered schools and empty playgrounds any more than I have to, which is all the time. One recent evening, a few days into pandemic-mandated social distancing, I went out for a walk around my neighborhood — a densely populated community in Dublin’s inner city — and it was sadder and more uncanny than I was prepared for. It was not the Zone, but neither was it the world I knew. I thought of a line from “Chernobyl Prayer” that haunted me for a time after I read it but had not occurred to me since: “Something from the future is peeking out and it’s just too big for our minds.” I walked for maybe 10 or 15 minutes and hardly encountered another soul.

At the heart of the Zone is Reactor No. 4. You don’t see it. Not now that it is enclosed in the immense dome known as the New Safe Confinement. This, they say, is the largest movable object on the planet: roughly 360 feet tall at its apex and 840 feet wide. The dome was the result of a vast engineering project involving 27 countries. The construction had been completed on-site, and in November 2016 the finished dome was slid into position on rails, over the original shelter, which it now entirely contained. That original shelter, known variously as the Sarcophagus and the Shelter Object, had been hastily constructed over the ruins of the reactor building in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

The group stood looking at the dome taking photos of the plant for later Instagram sharing, as Igor talked us dryly through the stats.

“Sarcophagus is an interesting word to have gone with,” Dylan said, trousering his phone.

“It really is,” I said. “They have not shied away from the sinister.”

Zone. Shelter Object. Sarcophagus. There was an archetypal charge to these terms, a resonance of the uncanny on the surfaces of the words themselves. Sarcophagus, from the Greek, sark meaning flesh; phagus meaning to eat.

A couple of hundred yards from us was an accretion of fissile material that had melted through the concrete floor of the reactor building to the basement beneath, cooled and hardened into a monstrous mass they called the Elephant’s Foot. This was the holy of holies, possibly the most toxic object on the planet. This was the center of the Zone. To be in its presence even briefly was extremely dangerous. An hour of close proximity would be lethal. Concealed though it was, its unseen presence emanated a shimmer of the numinous. It was the nightmare consequence of technology itself, the invention of the shipwreck.

In the closing stretch of the Bible, in Revelation, appear these lines: “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” Wormwood is a shrub that appears several times in the Bible, invoked in Revelation as a sort of curse, perhaps the wrath of a vengeful God. In fact, Chernobyl is named for the plant, which grows in lavish abundance in the region. This matter of linguistic curiosity is frequently raised in commentaries on the accident and its apocalyptic resonances.

Laborers in construction hats ambled in and out of the plant. It was lunchtime. The cleanup was ongoing. This was a place of work, an ordinary place. But it was a kind of holy place too, a place where all of time had collapsed into a single physical point. The Elephant’s Foot would be here always. It would remain here after the death of everything else, an eternal monument to our civilization. After the collapse of every other structure, after every good and beautiful thing had been lost and forgotten, its silent malice would still be throbbing in the ground like a cancer, spreading its bitterness through the risen waters.

Before returning to Kyiv, we made a final stop at the Reactor No. 5 cooling tower, a lofty abyss of concrete that was nearing completion at the time of the accident and had lain abandoned ever since, both construction site and ruin. We walked through tall grass and across a long footbridge whose wooden slats had rotted away so completely in places that we had to cling to railings and tiptoe along rusted metal sidings.

Once inside, we wandered the interior, mutely assimilating the immensity of the structure. The tower ascended some 500 feet into the air, to a vast opening that encircled the sky. Someone in the group selected a rock from the ground and pitched it with impressive accuracy and force at a large iron pipe that ran across the tower’s interior, and the clang reverberated in what seemed an endless self-perpetuating loop. Somewhere up in the lofty reaches a crow delivered itself of a cracked screech, and this sound echoed lengthily in its turn.

The more adventurous of us clambered up the iron beams of the scaffolding in search of more lofty positions from which to photograph the scene. I was not among them. I sought the lower ground, sitting cross-legged in the dirt, having forgotten for a moment the obvious danger of doing so. I looked up. Hundreds of feet overhead, two birds were gliding in opposing spirals around the inner circumference of the tower, kestrels I thought, drifting upward on unseen currents toward the vast disk of sky, impossibly deep and blue. I sat there watching them a long time, circling and circling inside the great cone of the tower. I laughed, thinking of the Yeatsian resonances of the scene, the millenarian mysticism: the tower, the falcons, the widening gyres. But there was in truth nothing apocalyptic about what I was seeing, no blood-dimmed tide. It was an aftermath, a calm restored.

These birds, I thought, could have known nothing about this place. The Zone did not exist for them. Or rather, they knew it intimately and absolutely, but their understanding had nothing in common with ours. This cooling tower, unthinkable monument that it was to the subjugation of nature, was not distinguished from the trees, the mountains, the other lonely structures on the land. There was no division between human and nonhuman for these spiraling ghosts of the sky. There was only nature. Only the world remained and the things that were in it.

Travel in a Plague Year

This article is adapted from the book “Notes From an Apocalypse,” to be published by Doubleday in April. Mark O’Connell is a writer based in Dublin. His first book, “To Be a Machine,” was awarded the 2018 Wellcome Book Prize and the 2019 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. He previously wrote a feature article about a presidential candidate running on a platform of eradicating death.

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Home » Budget Travel » The ULTIMATE Guide To Visiting Chernobyl (UPDATE 2024)

The ULTIMATE Guide To Visiting Chernobyl (UPDATE 2024)

Few words evoke images of disaster as “Chernobyl” does. In fact, this former ‘model town’ of the Soviet Union has rightly become a byword for disaster if not nuclear armageddon. But did you even know that you can actually visit Chernobyl?

Whilst it is sometimes derided as a morbid example of “dark tourism”, a visit to Chernobyl is much more. This site of one of the world’s worse catastrophes serves as an open museum into life in the Soviet Union, a fascinating piece of history and an awesome opportunity for some urban exploration.

In this epic post, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about visiting Chernobyl including can you visit Chernobyl right now, is Chernobyl safe, how to get to Chernobyl, when to go and how much it costs… Oh, and if you’ll be glowing afterwards too!

Update For 2024

Can You Visit Chernobyl in 2024? No

As of March 2023, you cannot visit the Chernobyl site. Unfortunately the area is at the forefront of the Russia/Ukraine war and is currently off limits. Furthermore, there is some speculation that when the site was occupied by the invading Russian forces, they may have caused some damage to the structures leading to radiation escaping – this may render the site dangerous to visitors.

Still, we live in hope that the war will soon end and that the site will once again be open to visitors.

What Is “Chernobyl”?

Why do people visit chernobyl, how to visit chernobyl, is chernrbyl safe, what should i wear to visit chenorbyl, what should i pack to visit chernobyl, how do i get to chenorbyl, faq about chernobyl tours, final thoughts on visiting chernobyl.

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The ‘Chernobyl disaster’ is the worst nuclear accident in human history and the word has become something of a synonym for eco-disaster itself. However, Chernobyl is actually the name of a small Ukrainian city situated about 200km North-west of Kyiv which was founded at least 1000 years ago. In 1978, the Soviet Union began construction of a 4 reactor nuclear power plant in the wilderness about 30 km from Chernobyl and the town, being the nearest at the time, lent the plant its name.

Shortly after the construction of the plant, a small purpose-built town called Pripyat was constructed beside the reactor to accommodate the power plant workers and their families. Therefore whilst “Pripyat Nuclear Power Station” would perhaps have been more accurate, the ‘Chenorbyl’ name stuck.

Plans were constructed to build a further 8 reactors which would have made Chenorbyl the largest nuclear power station in the world by far. These plans were, however, never realised. Probably for the best on reflection!

The Chenorbyl Vladimir I. Lenin nuclear power plant shot to worldwide infamy when in the early hours of April 26th 1986, one of the nuclear reactors exploded. The towns of both Pripyat and Chenorbyl were eventually evacuated on 27th April 1986 (37 hours after the explosion) and then abandoned owing to severe radiation.

Because of the severity of the explosion and the subsequent mismanagement of the crisis by the authorities, the incident has gone down in history as the worst nuclear accident ever. Whilst the official death toll is 29, it is estimated that more than 30,000 lives have now been lost either directly or indirectly owing to the incident. To this day, the surrounding municipalities continue to report higher-than-average incidences of cancer and genetic defects among their populations.

According to both historians and some senior sources in the former Soviet Union, the Chernobyl incident was one of the leading causes of the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The economic cost of the clean-up had caused a massive financial crisis in the Union from which it never recovered. Moreover, the mismanagement had caused a major loss of face and trust in the regime in the eyes of both Soviet citizens and the international community.

Chenorbyl opened to tourists in 2002, 16 years after the evacuation. As the setting of a major world event, it has an obvious appeal and has proven to be very popular with both domestic and international visitors. It’s now firmly become a must-visit destination on most backpacking trips to Ukraine .

Many visitors to Chenorbyl are attracted by what some would call a morbid curiosity. Others are interested in the history of the incident and the history of the Soviet Union in general. For me, the major appeal of Chernobyl was the opportunity to experience a ghost town and get an idea of how a post-apocalyptic world might look.

A visit to Chernobyl also serves as a stark and sobering reminder of what can happen when humanity over-stretches itself, and how wielding such powerful forces as nuclear energy can sometimes backfire on us catastrophically… especially if you don’t know how to work the thing properly! So, if you’re interested in a bit of dark tourism , then let’s take a deep dive into visiting this wild place.

You can now visit Chenorbyl as part of an official, guided tour operated from Kyiv. There are 1-day, 2-day or multi-day Chernobyl tour packages available. The costs vary depending on how many days you wish to visit, group size and between agencies. The typical cost for a 1 day Chernobyl tour is between $80 – $100.

We will discuss various tour options and pricing in more detail further in this post.

Tours generally take around 12 hours departing Kyiv at 7.30 – 8.00 and returning at 18.30 – 19.30. You usually spend around 8 hours on site.

For your trip to Chernobyl, the best place to stay is in Kyiv itself.

Do I Need a Guide To Visit Chernobyl?

Officially speaking, yes you need a guide to visit Chenorbyl. Entrance to the exclusion zone is strictly regulated and you can only enter with a registered guide as part of an official Chenorbyl tour. There are several checkpoints around the exclusion zone and you will be asked to produce your passport and tour ticket a number of times during your visit.

This is mostly for health and safety reasons. The tour guide’s primary job is to ensure your health and safety by ensuring you stay in the Chernobyl “safe” areas and do not touch anything. They also make sure you don’t bring any contaminated material out of the exclusion zone with you which would risk endangering others. Note that if you do pick up any contamination, you risk having your possessions confiscated and destroyed.

Chenorbyl guides are required to take radiation safety exams every month. They are also very knowledgeable about the incident and about life in the USSR. Without a guide, it would be difficult to appreciate the context of the site especially if you cannot read Russian.

The tour cost also contributes to the maintenance of the area.

Rember, visiting Chernobyl is totally different vibes than visiting a place like Hiroshima which has been completely rebuilt since the disaster.

Can I Visit Chenorbyl Alone?

Notwithstanding the above, it is still technically possible to visit Chenorbyl alone. Unauthorised explorers known as “Stalkers” (from the Andrej Tarkovsky film of the same name) have been illegally entering the site for at least the last 20 years and continue to do so. Most of the artworks & graffiti on the site were created by Stalkers and they have also contributed to the exploration and documentation of the site over the years too.

Many former Stalkers now work as official tour guides owing to their considerable, first-hand experience of the area. Personally, I find that former Stalkers make the best guides although many guides may simply not wish to admit they ever entered illegally.

Entering Chenorbyl illegally is not advisable as there are penalties & health risks. For a Ukrainian citizen caught entering Chernobyl illegally, the penalty is a fine of 400 UAH ($20). Whilst this is a considerable sum for many Ukrainians, it is not high enough to serve as a major deterrent. In fact, a popular joke amongst Stalkers is that handing themselves in to the police in the exclusion zone is significantly cheaper than taking a taxi back to Kyiv!

For foreigners caught entering Chernobyl illegally, the fine is substantially higher and they also face a possible lifetime ban from entering Ukraine.

If anybody ( native or foreigner) is caught trying to take any material or artefact out of Chenorbyl, they face up to 5 years in jail.

Aside from the legal penalties, entering Chernobyl alone also carries health and safety risks including radiation exposure, dangerous buildings and wild animals.

I have no personal experience of entering Chenorbyl without an official guide. Furthermore, because of the very real legal and safety risks, I absolutely cannot recommend it.

So is it safe to visit Chernobyl? Well yes, it is now quite safe for tourists to visit Chenorbyl. Whilst there are some very real dangers, you are unlikely to encounter them on any organised tour as long as you adhere to the health and safety instructions and do exactly as your guide asks.

Dangers of Visiting Chernobyl

While an official Chenorbyl guided tour is perfectly safe, there are nevertheless a number of hazards and concerns to keep in mind and you will need to follow all rules and cooperate fully with your guide in order to stay safe.

Let’s take a quick look at what some of these dangers are.

Chenorbyl is still one of the most radioactive sites in the world today. Whilst this may sound scary it is all about context. The dose of radiation the average visitor to Chenorbyl collects in a one-day trip is similar to a short-haul flight or an x-ray. The average, healthy-adult human body can deal with it without too much trouble.

Some areas are far more contaminated than others and do pose serious risks. However, these areas are mostly sealed off or are off-limits to tourists. Whilst some are not sealed or clearly identified, your guide will point them out to you and advise you to stay away from them. Either way, on a single-day trip it is still very unlikely you could do yourself much harm even if you are a bit of an idiot.

The hospital, for example, is closed to visitors. This is because the uniforms of the first responders were left in the hospital basement and still carry a highly dangerous radiation risk. My guide estimated that even in 2019, just 30 minutes spent inside the hospital building could be fatal!

In order to reduce your radiation risk you need to dress appropriately and follow some basic rules.

The rules are;

Do not touch anything.
Do not enter buildings. If you do, do not touch anything and do not disturb the sedentary dust. (In reality, your guide will take you inside several buildings but they are pretty safe)
Do not eat outside of the cafeteria area.
Only drink from a bottle and seal the lid.
Avoid high-density areas. Your guide will show you these or you can use a Geiger counter.

Radiation Checkpoints

There are a number of radiation checkpoints around Chenorbyl and you cannot leave the site without passing through them. If for some reason, your radiation level is over the acceptability threshold, you will be given a chance to clean the affected area and your possessions. If they cannot be sufficiently cleaned, then they will be seized and destroyed. It is not unprecedented for a visitor to have to leave Chenorbyl barefoot after their boots were confiscated. This is, however, exceptionally rare and should not happen if you do as you are instructed by your guide.

Dangerous Buildings

Note that it is no longer permitted to enter any of the buildings at Chenorbyl. This is because they are now becoming unsafe after 35 years of neglect and exposure to the elements. The dangers include falling debris, collapsing floors and collapsing roofs. It is not possible to preserve the buildings as the conservation works would release radiation into the atmosphere.

Whilst it is not permitted to enter buildings, they are not actually sealed off. Some visitors have reported that some guides may discreetly allow you to enter. If they do, please respect their instructions to the letter – if you disobey them, you risk costing them their job and ruining this extra-curricular bit of the tour for all future visitors. Don’t let your desire for the ultimate selfie ruin Chenorbyl for everybody.

As well as the structural issues, there is of course a radiation risk from left terms and dust. Once again, if you enter a building do not touch anything and do your absolute best not to disturb the dust too much.

Wild Animals

Mankind’s loss is nature’s boon it seems. Since the evacuation, wildlife has thrived* in the exclusion zone. There are now deer, rabbits and foxes in the area as well as packs of Wolves and Brown Bears. You are, however, very unlikely to encounter any of these on a guided tour.

*Whilst wildlife numbers have multiplied since the evacuation, they have not been spared the effects of radiation and incidences of cancer are very high amongst the animal population. That said, animal life is still brutish and short (much like human life in Ukraine :)) and most of them die long before cancer has the chance to get them.

As if radiation, wolves and bears were not enough to worry about, the area is also plagued by ticks. You will reduce your risk of being bitten by adhering to the strict dress code and sticking to the established paths and trails. Spraying your garments with tea-tree oil or bug spray may also help.

Make sure to check yourself for them once you arrive home and if you have been bitten, carefully remove the little fucker by twisting and pulling counterclockwise with tweezers. Also, seek medical advice just to be on the safe side.

Note that Ukraine can get very cold in the winter and you will be spending quite a bit of time outside. Do ensure you check the weather forecast and dress accordingly. Bring hats and gloves and extra layers if you need to.

Summers can get hot so bring plenty of water.

For health and safety reasons, visitors to Chenorbyl are required to adhere to a dress code. Basically, it just means long pants and long sleeves with closed shoes. Vests, shorts, sandal shoes and beach/backpacker wear are not permitted.

If you do not adhere to the dress rules then you will not be allowed to enter the exclusion zone and your tour agency will not be obligated to return your fee.

In winter this should not be a problem but the summer can get hot. Plan ahead and make sure you have some light-long pants (ie, Khaki or trekking pants), sneakers and a t-shirt with a long-sleeved light shirt over the top of it.

This is to protect your skin from radiation but will also help against biting ticks. If you are visiting in winter, you also need to remember that it can get cold and the north winds can be vicious.

You will be doing a bit of walking so pack comfortable shoes. It can also get muddy underfoot in winter so do bear this in mind. We visited Chenorbyl in Dr Martens boots which were fine. A decent pair of hiking boots are ideal.

Food in Chernobyl

There is a staff cafeteria in Chenorbyl which was once used by the power plant workers. You can have lunch here but it is not included in the price of the tour.

These days, the cafeteria is used by the scientists, conservation workers and security forces around the site. It is the only area in Chenorbyl where eating is permitted for health and safety reasons – do not eat outside!

You may wish to bring a packed lunch which will work out cheaper than paying for lunch through your tour guide. You can buy sandwiches at pretty much any Kiosk in the streets of Kyiv. Kava Aroma (Ukrainian Starbucks) has chains across Kyiv and unlike Starbucks, it does good quality sandwiches at decent prices. It also opens at 7 am so you pick up a sandwich here before meeting your tour group.

Packing for Chenorbyl is not quite as straightforward as you may think. Let’s look at what you need to bring.

Firstly, you cannot visit Chernobyl without your passport. You will be required to enter your passport details when booking your tour and will then need to show it to your guide before you leave Kyiv. You will then need to go through a Police passport checkpoint at the exclusion zone.

Please do not forget to bring your passport with you as you will not be allowed onto the tour without it. If you do forget your passport, you will also lose your tour fee as the tour provider is not obligated to return it as by this stage they will already have arranged the guide and the transport.

Remember to bring enough water in your travel water bottle to last you for the entire trip. You can buy bottled water at the entrance or the cafeteria, halfway point but it is expensive. I do not recommend drinking tap water in Chernobyl for obvious reasons!

You can hire a Geiger counter to measure radiation hot spots for 200UHA, These are good fun to play with and well worth taking (one per group is enough). Also, make sure you have enough to pick up any extra water you need and maybe a few hundred UHA to tip your guide. There are souvenirs for sale but I found them a bit tacky (except the condoms of course – 2 for 120UHA) .

As well as the above, also bring a hat and gloves in winter, a camera, sunscreen, bug spray, and some wet wipes in summer.

Most Chenorbyl tours start at various locations around Kyiv. You will be taken to the site in either a mini-bus, van or car.

There is no public transport to the Chenorbyl as the site is not open to the public. You will most probably not be able to find a taxi driver willing to take you to the site and hitch-hiking will most probably not be possible.

The nearest “open” town sits right at the precipe of the containment zone and you can take the bus here from Kyiv. I have no idea how to get from here to Chernobyl other than on foot.

The only people headed to the exclusion zone are the guides, security forces and researchers none of whom will assist you in reaching the site unless you are booked on a tour. So yeah, just book a tour yo!

How Much is a Chenorbyl Tour?

When we visited Chernobyl in 2019, a spot on a one-day group tour cost around $70 per person. However, after a few days of inflationary chaos, most organisers are now asking for around $80. Private tours can cost $300 – $400 – you can of course split these costs with friends and with private tours you do get to some areas that the regular plebs don’t.

What Will I See on a Chernobyl Tour?

On a Chenorbyl tour you will visit the Pripyat “model Soviet town”, visit a military base and see the mighty “Russian Woodpecker” – a huge, expensive and ultimately futile Soviet missile detection system. Note that the exploded reactor itself is now covered up in a radiation-proof tomb. If you wish to visit the “control” room, then this is accessible on a private tour only. Prices vary depending on the agency and what kind of tour you book. If you join a group tour then expect to pay around $70 per person for the 12-hour return trip.

Do I need to book in advance?

You should book in advance. We booked about one week in advance during winter when demand is generally lower. If you are visiting Ukraine in the summer then I suggest booking your Chenorbyl trip as early as possible.

Can I stay in Chernobyl?

You cannot stay overnight in Chenorbyl although plenty of “Stalkers” and legitimate researchers have done and continue to do so.

How Long Should I Spend in Chenorbyl

Personally, I found the one-day tour to be enough. It offered about 8 hours on site. However, if you are especially fascinated then you can book multi-day tours.

Take it from me, a visit to Chenorbyl is a travel experience you will never forget when you’re backpacking around Eastern Europe . The zone is creepy but cool, educational while being fun and will offer up loads of opportunities for taking good travel snaps.

Furthermore, Kyiv is a really hip city and you will absolutely love your time there. With the growth in the tourism industry in Ukraine over the year, there are some pretty awesome hostels in Kyiv too.

So get your Geiger counter at the ready and book your Chernobyl trip now!

ALWAYS sort out your backpacker insurance before your trip. There’s plenty to choose from in that department, but a good place to start is Safety Wing .

They offer month-to-month payments, no lock-in contracts, and require absolutely no itineraries: that’s the exact kind of insurance long-term travellers and digital nomads need.

SafetyWing is cheap, easy, and admin-free: just sign up lickety-split so you can get back to it!

Click the button below to learn more about SafetyWing’s setup or read our insider review for the full tasty scoop.

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A couple of you lovely readers suggested we set up a tip jar for direct support as an alternative to booking through our links. So we created one!

You can now buy The Broke Backpacker a coffee . If you like and use our content to plan your trips, it’s a much appreciated way to show appreciation 🙂

the broke backpacker team at the water temple in bali

Aiden Freeborn

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CALENDAR OF UPCOMING TOURS, open for booking

(for more info, click at the selected tour).

The map of the visitors of the Chernobyl and Pripyat

Trips' programs:

Privare tour 1-30 days to the chornobyl and prypiat, one-day scheduled trip, two-, three-, four-, five- and seven-day scheduled tours, tours inside chnpp, current situation in ukraine , current situation in ukraine.

Because of the current situation in Ukraine, some tourists ask questions about safety of travelling to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and the likelihood of booked tours cancelation. The answer is next: In Ukraine there is a really... Read More ...

One-day tour to the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat-town

One-day scheduled tour to the chernobyl zone and pripyat-town.

An eye-opening experience. Marylyn, Ohio, US

Thank you for all of your hard work, you were an amazing tour guide and your guidance is on an important topic all human beings living in this global society should know about. Elise, Fulbright scholar, US

Chernobyl is the most famous Ukrainian phenomenon. If you plan to visit Ukraine or are already in the country, don’t miss the most important and unique experience and site.

The event, which got name "the Chernobyl Disaster”, has changed the trajectory of our civilization development; it is the most evident contribution of Ukraine into the global history. Its place – the Chernobyl Zone , with the nuclear power plant (NPP), which doesn’t produce energy anymore but instead paradoxically consumes it, and an abandoned ghost town of Pripyat, – like a time machine, let you see the events past and realize how both history and nature works. The intricate ensemble of hundreds of impressive technical and cultural monuments is surrounded and engulfed by flourishing nature, which has gone wild in this area.

Advanced skills and novel understanding, gained in practical dealing with radiation accident on their native land for more than quarter century, have made the Ukrainians the planetary leaders in the field. Our innovative Chernobyl trips employ all this front-line, cutting-edge expertise, and deliver it in clear, user-friendly and enjoyable way. You will learn many important yet not widely known things about radiation, radiation contamination and radiation survival, which are crucially useful nowadays, as the Fukushima accident has recently shown. Our trips are designed and often led by an internationally known expert in Chernobyl and radiation accidents Sergii MIRNYI , who is also an award-winning writer, and was an officer of radiation reconnaissance in the Chernobyl Zone during the first month after the accident.

Two-, three-, four-, five- and seven-day tours to the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat-town

Two-, three-, four-, five- and seven-day scheduled tours to the chernobyl zone and pripyat-town.

The diversity and richness of the Chernobyl zone is so vast that it is impossible to cover it in a 1-day visit. Striving to discover and convey this richness to the Zone visitors, and responding to requests of our tourists, Chernobyl-TOUR has a program of 2-, 3-, 4, 5, 6, and 7-day trips. In several-day tours, in addition to more detailed acquaintance with the most famous objects (the Chernobyl NPP, towns of Pripyat and Chernobyl) you get a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the wonderful nature of the Zone untrodden nooks, meet very peculiar people – selfsettlers- samosely – and discover their way of life, which is so close to nature. In addition, you will feel the magic of Chernobyl night and the beauty of waking up to birds' singing outside Chernobyl hotel. (Just in case: the level of radiation in Chernobyl-town is the same as in Kiev, i.e. normal :) )

The package tours to Pripyat and Chernobyl Zone from USA and Canada

The package tours to pripyat and chernobyl zone from usa and canada.

To book a package tour, you need to call 1-800-803-01-07 and inform the manager about the desired date of travel, number of participants, requests as for placement and transfer.

You can participate in a scheduled group tour or in a privat tour . Participation in a scheduled tour is cheaper if your group is small. If you have a group of more than 4 participants, you can book a private tour .

What do you think? Leave a respectful comment.

Why chernobyl has suddenly become a hotspot for global tourists.

Simon Ostrovsky Simon Ostrovsky

Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-chernobyl-has-suddenly-become-a-hotspot-for-global-tourists

The site of the world’s worst radiological catastrophe is unexpectedly coming back to life -- due to an American television show. Scores of tourists are visiting Chernobyl, located in northern Ukraine, in response to an HBO miniseries that illuminates the disaster, which occurred before Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, in new detail. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky reports.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Judy Woodruff:

As we have heard tonight, so much of the news these days centers on Ukraine.

Now we turn to one of the darkest chapters in that country's history, the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant. That came before its independence from the Soviet Union.

Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky in Northern Ukraine tells us how that darkness is now pierced by an unlikely wave of popularity.

Simon Ostrovsky:

Something strange is happening in Chernobyl. The site of the world's worst radiological catastrophe is coming back to life. It's not the residents who are returning, or nature taking over, as you may have heard. It's tourists, and they're coming in droves, thanks in part to an American TV show.

Stellan Skarsgard:

Get us over that building, or I will have you shot!

Jared Harris:

If you fly directly over that core, I promise you, by tomorrow morning, you will be begging for that bullet.

Tyler Ackley is an American visiting Chernobyl with his father-in-law, in part thanks to the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries dramatizing the disaster that came out earlier this year.

Tyler Ackley:

I thought, as my wife and I were watching the series, oh, great, now it's going to be a popular tourist destination before we get a chance to go there. Hopefully, it's not too crowded or anything like that.

The series brought not just the chronology of the disaster into tragic relief. It also exposed the top-heavy Soviet bureaucracy that tried to hide the scope of the accident from its own people and from the world.

… is that Legasov humiliate a nation that is obsessed with not being humiliated. We can make a deal with the KGB. You will leave this information out in Vienna. They quietly let us fix the remaining reactors.

Emily Watson:

Deal with the KGB? And I'm naive.

But graphic scenes from the miniseries, which we won't show here, have inexplicably failed to deter visitors from the Exclusion Zone, as the area around Chernobyl, where habitation is forbidden, is known.

Rudolph Fockema:

We did some research to see if it's — how dangerous it is from the radiation. And we saw that with the tours, it'll be safe.

Nichole Jensen:

Even though I started to get, like, a little panicked as it was coming up, researching if it actually is safe or not. So, yes, still a little scared.

Sergii Mirnyi, founder of one of several travel agencies bringing people to Chernobyl, told us there's been a dramatic increase in interest.

Sergii Mirnyi:

This miniseries has increased the interest to the Chernobyl zone. We predict that it will be like 30 percent increase. And so is the effect of the HBO miniseries. We expect 150,000, visitors in the zone in this year.

One hundred and fifty thousand people, maybe not much for the Mona Lisa, but the Louvre doesn't exactly have plutonium-241 on display either.

So these are our personal dosimeters. They're supposed to tell the researchers here how much every tourist absorbs in terms of radiation during their trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

We're right at the checkpoint right now, and, from here, it's to the reactor. Guides do what they can to reassure nervous visitors about the dose of radiation they will get on a typical day trip to the Exclusion Zone.

Do you know to which materials our bodies produce radiation? This is potassium 14, contained in our favorite fruits, bananas and nuts as well.

If, one day, you have a chance, and you surround yourself with 40 bananas, and spend about an hour accompanied by 40 bananas, you will get the same level of radiation that you will accumulate today, during one day presence in the Exclusion Zone.

But the reassurances also come with a warning not to stray from approved routes in case you blunder into a radioactive hot spot.

If you decide one minute to roll on the grass, on the ground, or hug trees, I don't know, or bushes, or wild animals, well, maybe there is a chance of contamination. But if you do not do these stupid things, everything will be all right.

Underneath this brand-new shelter behind me is Chernobyl reactor number four, which in 1986 exploded and sent lethal doses of radioactive material throughout the Exclusion Zone.

But, as you can see, it's actually not that exclusive. The draw is obvious. Chernobyl is billed as an open air museum of the Soviet era, uninhabited for 33 years, since Mikhail Gorbachev was in charge, frozen in time, taken over by nature.

Chernobyl, for me, is kind of — it's kind of a mecca of sorts. I'm — back home, I'm a professor of Russian literature, history, culture. I grew up in the height of the Cold War. I remember climbing under desks when they did mock bomb — nuclear bomb threats.

And so, for me, when I see all this debris and destruction here, for me, it's kind of symbolic, too, of the Soviet era.

Do you feel like Chernobyl might have been the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union?

Absolutely. I think it fell under heavy criticism from the world for that. And the moment Gorbachev tried to correct Soviet policies, the moment he tried to open things up, I don't think he knew what he was opening up. And I think the aftermath of that burned pretty hot.

As of September, more than 90,000 people have visited. It's already well above more than the number of people who decided to brave Chernobyl in the whole of 2018, according to the Exclusion Zone Administration.

So, this is actually my third trip to Chernobyl, but my first trip since I watched the HBO show. And I have got to say, it's a different experience, because Chernobyl is a disaster that I have lived with my entire life, but I didn't have an emotional connection to.

And now that I'm here, I'm imagining the drama that played out here from the scenes in the show.

Chernobyl lies now in an independent Ukraine. Then, it was the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. And for Ukrainians, who are all too familiar with the consequences of the disaster, the show has served as a fresh reminder of what life was like under Moscow rule.

The HBO miniseries has reminded the many Ukrainians about necessity to have controls of their lives, of their country closer to their own hands, because it's a terrible feeling when you are only to rely on somebody else's decision who is very, very remote and may or may not care about you at all.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Simon Ostrovsky in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

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Visiting Chernobyl: A Guide (Rules, Safety + Things To Know)

July 22, 2021 | Views: 2,976

Visiting Chernobyl isn’t everybody’s cup of tea for a “holiday” and it leads to a lot of questions and assumptions.

Why would you want to go there? Is it still safe? These queries get asked even more so than when I am visiting patently dangerous countries .

In recent years, HBO produced a TV miniseries about the disaster, which piqued interest in visiting Chernobyl, and shined a light on a dark period for modern-day Ukraine and its neighbouring nations.

Let’s say you ask the other type of questions.

How does one get to Chernobyl? What is it like? Will I be safe if I go?

I’ll do my very best to answer both types of questions above, as always based on personal experience, whilst attempting to use critical thinking over ego.

Edit: Due to the current war in Ukraine, life is sadly very different in the country since my visit and that should be taken into consideration before reading. I recommend this very detailed and well-written update about life in Chernobyl .

Table of Contents

What Exactly Happened in Chernobyl?

Let’s set the scene. It’s 1986 and Ukraine is still part of the USSR (only just).

Pripyat, a small town in north Ukraine is home to Chernobyl, a nuclear power plant, responsible for producing around 10% of Ukraine’s total electricity.

In the cruellest of irony, during an experiment to test a new way of cooling the core in an emergency, the nuclear reactor experienced a surge of power causing a huge explosion. This explosion spewed huge hot lumps of graphite into the open air along with potent radioactive material.

Over the next few hours, radioactive waste poured out in the form of heat, steam and pure radiation; toxic material that was picked up from as far away as Norway and Denmark.

In true “iron curtain” style, authorities didn’t deem the explosion an emergency straight away. It was only after a fair few radiation sickness incidents and poisoning cases that the Soviet powers were forced to organise an evacuation of the city a few days later.

Since then, there have been no “legally recognised” residents in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

Due to the dangerous levels of radioactive material that remained in the Chernobyl power plant ruins and the wider city of Pripyat, the entire area has become a modern-day ghost town.

Frozen in a freeze-frame of time, the city’s famous Ferris wheel, abandoned schools, and overgrown streets have become a symbol of eeriness and a reminder of the fall of Soviet power.

Where is Chernobyl Located?

You’ll find Chernobyl in the northern regions of Ukraine, not too far from the country’s border with Belarus. It’s very conveniently located just a couple of hours’ drive from the capital city of Kyiv, which is where you’ll need to base yourself to make a visit to this abandoned city.

Chernobyl is still considered a volatile area, with high levels of radiation and a pretty dangerous exclusion zone, so you can’t visit without an official guide. Tours are easy to organise from Kyiv, and you’ll need to set aside at least a day or two for a worthwhile visit to Ukraine’s capital while visiting Chernobyl.

If you have time, you can join a tour for two days, which includes an overnight stay (I did this and it’s one day and one night).

For the sake of understanding a usually confusing part of this story; Pripyat and Chernobyl are completely different cities. Pripyat is around 15km away, but most of the employees of the nuclear plant lived there and that’s where you see most of the famous Chernobyl landmarks online.

How Historically Accurate Was The HBO Chernobyl Drama?

Since the disaster took place, there’s been a lot of coverage on the causes and devastating consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. Some of this has been focused through a western-centric lens, while other docu-series and books have been bravely written by Russian and Ukrainian writers.

One of the newest interpretations of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is the 2019 HBO miniseries, Chernobyl. In the mainstream media, the series was praised for its masterful production and historical accuracy in both events and the overall look of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Despite this, it was also met with some criticism too; critics were unhappy with how the Soviet constructs of power were portrayed . For example, the Chernobyl mini-series claims that the Soviet authorities were reluctant to seek outside help.

When, in reality, US acute radiation sickness expert Robert Peter Gale was invited to Moscow straight away. The guides seemed to be divided when I was asking all the questions while visiting Chernobyl, with some impressed by the show and others having a dig at any given opportunity.

For the most part, it seems that the HBO Chernobyl drama managed to accurately retell the events of 1986, but it’s worth keeping in mind that artistic license was definitely at play in some parts.

Do People Still Live in Chernobyl Today?

After the explosion and the delayed evacuation of Pripyat, many locals simply refused to leave the area. Just a handful of them returned weeks or months later to find their homes and rebuild their lives. Amazingly, around 150 people live in Chernobyl today, and 7,000 people in the surrounding area.

Due to the clean-up process, the site can never be completely abandoned. Security guards, maintenance workers, firefighters, and scientists work in shifts of either 15 days a month or 4 days per week to help minimise their exposure time to radiation. As for the residents of Chernobyl, most have lived into their 70s and 80s since returning and (surprisingly) have even outlived many residents who relocated .

Wildlife of Chernobyl (Mutated Animals?)

The higher powers of the USSR and Ukraine may have ordered the people of Pripyat to evacuate the town, but there was no stopping mother nature. With humanity abandoning the area, trees and foliage began to claim back the concrete and steel, turning the city into a jungle-esque wilderness frozen in time.

This drew back a bounty of wildlife back to the area, with surprising results. Levels of radiation fell as time passed and thousands of animals have returned to the area. Brown bears, wolves, lynx, bison, deer, moose, beavers, foxes, badgers, wild boar and raccoon dogs have all made the area around the city their new haven.

You may have heard reports of radiation mutating cells in animals, leaving you with images of two-headed horses and six-eyed deer. Sorry to disappoint, but you won’t come across anything of the sort during your visit.

I did see the saddest-looking, skinny little fox though, but that could genuinely happen anywhere.

Small genetic changes right after the accident, such as partial albinism in swallows or a loss of insects in the area have been noticed, but the mutant radioactive monsters of imagination are just that.

Although the long-term effects of the radiation fallout are hard to predict, the absence of human activity has provided better short-term outcomes for the wildlife of southern Belarus and northern Ukraine than could have been foreseen.

How Safe is it to Visit Chernobyl Today?

The site of one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters has to be incredibly dangerous, doesn’t it?

Actually, not so much.

Since Chernobyl has become such a tourist hotspot in Ukraine, safety measures are extremely tight, and the chances of absorbing a harmful amount of radiation are pretty slim. That’s as long as you stick to the rules…

There’s a 30km restriction zone around the Chernobyl site, and you’ll need a certified tour company to grant you a pass too. Around the nuclear accident site, there are more checkpoints where you’ll need to show your pass, so you won’t be able to wander off alone.

Other than off-limit zones with obviously fatal doses of radiation; the wider Chernobyl site isn’t as unsafe as you might think. Exposure to radiation is measured in sieverts, with a lethal dose of radiation measuring at three to five sieverts in an hour.

During your tour of Chernobyl, you’ll be exposed to around 130 to 2,610 microsieverts per hour – that’s 0.00261 of one whole sievert – this is no more than the radiation you’re exposed to during a typical long-haul flight.

With a professional tour guide showing you where to and not to go and your trusted Geiger counter to monitor radiation as you walk around Chernobyl and Pripyat, you’ll come back just as you left.

Why Would Anyone Want to Visit Chernobyl Anyway?

To many, the thought of travelling across the world to visit a site of macabre destruction and tragedy is both senseless and even to the point of being in bad taste. And yet, this pure curiosity about the negative sides of humankind and our inherited interest in the major disasters and conflicts our species has faced is something quite universal.

There are few places on this earth where a stronger example of humanity’s sudden departure can be seen. The vegetation that has swept through the town of Pripyat has a quality to it as if a lost civilisation has been stumbled upon, preserved down to the last school lessons found waiting for the children to return, which they sadly never did.

In my experience, some people seem to pick and choose what is right and wrong when it comes to where to travel, making it up as they go along with inconsistencies while hiding behind a faux-outrage and moral superiority.

There are some rather immovable critiques for visiting North Korea because pretty much all of the money goes to a brutal, totalitarian government , but I don’t see an issue with visiting Chernobyl, The Killing Fields of Cambodia , or Auschwitz.

It’s less about where we travel for me and more about how we travel (appropriate conduct for the place).

For myself, it is easy to see why thousands rush to visit the Chernobyl site each year, it is far more than morbid curiosity. As is the case with any other place where people have lost their lives, a sense of respect and caution should be adopted when visiting Chernobyl.

I personally don’t see it as “disaster porn” or simply “dark tourism,” and I think those who assume the worst of people in these situations see the world through a very dark lens themselves.

Sure, there are some people who make very bad decisions with photos in places like this, but the vast majority do not have warped minds or nefarious intentions.

Chernobyl is still a reminder of death for many and as such, should be treated with the same solemn respect you would treat a cemetery.

Charities that Support Chernobyl

Even though it’s been 35 years since the Chernobyl meltdown, the effects are still felt today in the contamination zones (Ukraine/Belarus/Russia). For this reason, there are multiple charities set up to help local residents with medical aid and quality-of-life care. Additionally, some tours donate a portion of their proceeds to Chernobyl-related charities.

Chernobyl Children International – CCI helps children and families affected by the Chernobyl disaster through various humanitarian aid programs.
Aid Convoy – This charity provides aid via convoys to the Chernobyl region.
Friends of Chernobyl’s Children – FOCC provides aid (medical/dental/educational) to children that live in badly contaminated areas of Belarus. Once a year they will bring them to the UK to live for a month.
Chernobyl Children’s Trust – CCT is run by Irish volunteers committed to helping impoverished children living in contaminated and disadvantaged areas of Belarus.
Chernobyl Heart – This UK charity helps fund Gomel Children’s Hospital in Belarus, where many sick children require care from a desperately underfunded facility.

Can You Visit Chernobyl Without a Guide? (Includes Tour Options)

As I mentioned earlier, you can’t enter the restricted areas surrounding Chernobyl without the help of a local guide. Let’s be honest, who would want to wander around a radiation-infected city alone?

You’ll need to organise your tour at least a few weeks in advance, if not longer when you’re visiting in the peak season. This is because your tour guide will need to organise a pass for you to get through the restricted area, and this can take a while to sort out.

Booking ahead will also guarantee that you actually get a place on a tour. You’ll only need one full day to see the entire Chernobyl site, complete with a night in Kyiv either before or after. Alternatively, you can join a tour that stays overnight in the accommodation near Chernobyl.

The high season in Ukraine crashes during summer and autumn; the months of June, July, August and September. Not only is there far more foot traffic, but the weather is also at its hottest. Visit Chernobyl during the shoulder seasons of Spring and pre-Christmas, and you’ll enjoy temperate weather and far fewer crowds in the streets.

With that being said, I went in August and there wasn’t an overload of people, I am guessing there are so many allowed at one given time.

How Much Does Visiting Chernobyl Cost?

This really depends on the type of trip you’re looking for, and where you’re travelling from. If you’re already in Kyiv, then you’ll simply need to factor in the price of the tour itself. For a day tour, you’re looking at around ₴2870 or $105 USD per person. If you want to experience a night in Chernobyl, then you’ll need to fork out around double that price for a 2-day, 1-night tour.

I stayed over for one night after a full-day tour, which is referred to as a 2-day tour. My guide picked me up at the hotel and I paid 210 Euros – make sure you don’t forget your passport , as it’s obligatory.

Every single Chernobyl tour begins from Kyiv. If you’re already based in Ukraine, the handy train system will get you there pronto. Sleeper trains from the brilliant city of Lviv take around seven hours and cost between $10 and $25 USD depending on the class you choose. (If you’re after a decent amount of comfort, avoid third class, and opt for second).

Alternatively, if you’re flying into Ukraine, especially for Chernobyl, you’ll need to touch down at Kyiv’s international airport Boryspil International Airport. You’ll find direct flights here from most European capitals as well as from Georgia, Dubai and Turkey.

Those travelling to Ukraine’s capital from outside of Europe can expect to make one stop off in either London, Amsterdam or Warsaw.

There are endless places to stay in Kyiv, from top-of-the-range hotels to humble Airbnb and hostels. Fitting perfectly with the perception of Eastern European economics, accommodation in Ukraine is extremely affordable.

Some tours will pick you up from the local train station so getting accommodation here can be thoughtful, while other private tours will offer to pick you up from your hotel. (Mine did, they were called ‘Gamma Travel.’)

Safety Rules When Visiting Chernobyl

To save you from getting into trouble or causing offence, it’s worth following the safety rules set out by your tour guide. Some of these may not be obvious, but it’s good to know to avoid any weird situations like the suddenly half-naked guy who went into a restricted area and had to remove his jeans immediately.

In the Exclusion Zone, you cannot:

Eat or smoke in the open air
Touch any buildings or vegetation
Sit on the ground
Place photo or video equipment on the ground (bring protection for tripod legs)
Take anything outside of the exclusion zone
Violate the dress code (no open shoes, shorts, t-shirts, skirts)
Stay in the Exclusion Zone without your certified guide

What to Wear When Visiting Chernobyl

What you wear to Chernobyl is pretty much dictated to you by the rules of the exclusion zone. You have to wear long trousers, long-sleeved tops and closed-toe shoes. The idea behind this is pretty simple; you’re about to enter an abandoned city that’s been left to the elements for three decades.

You’ll walk past exposed brickwork, broken glass, splintering wood and plenty of radioactive debris. The last thing you want is any of this getting on your skin.

Other than official requirements, it’s worth keeping the weather in mind too. In the winter months, so between December and February, temperatures in northern Ukraine can drop to as low as -12°C. If you’re visiting then, you’ll want lots of layers, a good coat, some warm gloves and a toasty hat.

Footwear is pretty important too in Chernobyl – remember that this place hasn’t been touched in 30 years. A pair of hardy walking boots would suit you best when you’re walking around the abandoned city and grounds.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s not unheard of to come across broken glass, exposed nails and all sorts of debris scattered across the streets, so having a hearty-soled shoe is a must.

My Experience of Visiting Chernobyl (Including My Overnight Stay)

The build-up to visiting Chernobyl was pretty intense. On the day of travelling to visit one of the world’s most catastrophic nuclear disasters, it’s hard to put into words any particular kind of emotion.

I’d seen the show and read stories from survivors, so I thought I might know what to expect. But nothing really sets the scene as well as experiencing the place yourself. So, I set about joining a day-plus overnight tour from Kyiv.

After meeting my tour guide and the rest of the group at a pretty sketchy roadside, we were on the road for about two hours. It didn’t take long for the high rises and busy streets of Kyiv to disappear, and the open roads and cornfields of the Ukrainian countryside to appear.

Two hours later, our tour van pulled up to the first security checkpoint, hidden somewhere in the rugged forest that surrounds Chernobyl. From this checkpoint, it’s another 10 miles until you actually get to the site of nuclear reactor number 4.

But, before we made a beeline for the scene of the crime, we made a stop off at some pretty eerie places. We started off in the main square of Pripyat, which had been completely taken over by nature.

Instead of a busy town square filled with people, there were concrete slabs that had been upturned by roots, towering trees blocking the view, and hotel signs and adverts that had faded from the building side.

Our tour guide took us down some steps and to the river – with pretty strict instructions not to touch, and definitely not to drink the water.

Away from the main square, our guide led us to the abandoned funfair – probably some of the most iconic images of the Chernobyl disaster. After seeing so many pictures of the fair, I didn’t expect this to be as eerie as it was.

But there’s something about bumper cars hastily abandoned mid-course that just doesn’t sit right. Not to mention the huge Ferris wheel that still squeaks in the wind and makes a half-arsed attempt to move.

Worse still – much of this amusement park was never actually used – Pripyat was evacuated before it could be.

After soaking up the sombre atmosphere in the “city centre”, we were driven to a small abandoned village on the outskirts of Pripyat. We stopped at what looked like a small hut, hidden in the forest.

With remnants of children’s toys, it didn’t take too long to realise this was the village school. Inside were just four rooms; one filled with rusting bunk beds, the other with faded ripped posters inscribed with the Cyrillic alphabet, and another with decapitated dolls and broken toys dotted around.

After this was the main event; a fleeting visit to the problematic reactor. Nowadays it’s contained by a giant metal dome, which should (hopefully) keep the radioactive matter contained for a good number of years. Visiting the reactor is pretty surreal, but you won’t see much – just a big metal structure from a safe distance away.

A quick photo and a higher than average reading on my Geiger Counter while taking in the feeling of place, impossible to imagine the scenes that went on during those moments.

Before you leave the exclusion zone, you’ll have to go through a radiation screening to see if you’ll take anything nasty into the “real world”. This time I got the green light and was free to go, with all my clothes intact.

There are three hotels in the Chernobyl area and I stayed at Hotel Desyatka. It had an intensely strong Soviet feel to it, which I guess is part and parcel of visiting Chernobyl.

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Touring Chernobyl: How to Visit Pripyat – Everything You Need to Know (2021)

In 1986, the world held its breath as a nuclear reactor melted down at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in what’s now thought to be the worst nuclear disaster in history.

Today, 35 years later, Chernobyl and the nearby town of Pripyat, attract thousands of tourists from all over the world.

But what are they touring, exactly? What is there to see and do in Pripyat?

Touring Chernobyl: How to Visit Pripyat

To visit Chernobyl, you’ll need access to the Exclusion Zone.

The Exclusion Zone is an an area of about 2,600 square kilometers (1,000 sq mi) in Ukraine that surrounds the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Can you visit Chernobyl without a guide?

You can only enter the exclusion zone with a licensed guide, meaning you’ll need to take one of the Chernobyl tours available.

You can get tours that range from one day, two days or three days.

The one days tours last about 12 hours, with four hours in transit from nearby Kiev. If you’re in a rush, the one day tours are a great way to get in and out quickly and they’re also your most affordable tour option.

You can also get private Chernobyl tours, which are especially good for photography as they let you take your time to take photos.

While it is possible to visit the area, there are areas in the exclusion zone that are still highly dangerous. A guide can help keep you safe and away from dangerous areas and situations. English guides are plentiful, and while tours include transportation, it’s important to know that you’ll need to go through multiple checkpoints while visiting.

So, what is there to see on a tour of Chernobyl?

Chernobyl is located around 62 miles, or 100 km, from Kiev, Ukraine. It’s about a two hour shuttle ride.

Chernobyl itself is home to the power plant, but the exclusion zone includes a large forest and other towns.

There are plenty of places to visit in the Chernobyl township, from an eerie abandoned kindergarten to forests surrounding the power plant itself.

Pripyat tours

Pripyat (which is also known as Pryp’yat’ or Prypyat) is a ghost city near the Ukraine–Belarus border. The town of Pripyat is about two kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP).

When the Chernobyl disaster occurred, the town of Pripyat was home to around 49,000 people. It was evacuated after the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in April, 1986 and many of its residents have never set foot in the town since.

While you can’t get too close to the plant or stay too long, there’s a lot to see in the town of Pripyat itself.

For instance, the Pripyat amusement park was set to have its grand opening on May 1st, 1986, less than a week before the explosion. However, it was never officially opened, and to this day it remains a symbol of the disaster in nearby Chernobyl.

There are three abandoned swimming pools in Pripyat, while the Swimming Pool Azure or Lazurny is the most well-known of these.

When’s the best time to visit Chernobyl?

You can visit Chernobyl any time of year.

The clearest weather is in the summer from June to August, but it can be hot, with temperatures often hovering near 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit). Summer’s also the busiest season with tons of visitors and more expensive accommodations.

Fall and Spring are good times to visit, but the weather can be more variable.

Chernobyl is quietest in the winter, and the snow and gloom make for eerie and atmospheric photos however it can get cool with daytime highs around 0 C° (40 F°) and nights around -7 C° (20 F°).

Can you visit the Chernobyl Elephant’s Foot?

The Elephant’s Foot is a nickname for a large column formed underneath the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Its made of corium and other materials, and looks like black glass and bark.

Its wrinkly surface looks a lot like an elephant’s foot, thus the name. The Elephant’s Foot is in a maintenance corridor near the remains of the Chernobyl Reactor No. 4.

Because it’s still highly radioactive, it’s unfortunately not possible to walk up and see the Elephant’s Foot up close.

How safe is a Chernobyl tour?

Licensed Chernobyl tour operators have to follow strict guidelines set out by the governing body. The level of radiation in most areas tour operators are allowed to take you are minimal (less than you get in an airplane and 300x less than a typical xray) and most tours give you a respirator (though they’re not really needed) as well as your own Geiger-Muller dosimeter (Geiger counter) to make sure you stay within safe limits.

Where to stay on a Chernobyl stay?

While there are plenty of places to stay near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the best hotels will be in Kiev proper. Most people who choose to stay for a one day tour will often stay in Kiev and have their tour operator pick them up directly from their hotel.

While it can make for a longer tour day, Kiev has a huge selection of great hotels to choose from.

If you’re planning a multiple day tour, oftentimes the tour operators will include accommodations or direct you to the hotels they often deal with. You’re best bet if you’re unsure is to talk to your tour operator before booking any tours to make sure your hotel will work for them and for you.

Are Chernobyl tours cancelled?

As of the time of writing this article, tours to Pripyat and Chernobyl are running, but check tour operators directly, as this can change.

In 2020, forest fires near Chernobyl damaged some of the tourist attractions however it didn’t damage the Main Reactor No. 4 so tours can still run.

Love all the areas which the author described in this post, getting more attraction on the writing things and moreover having going good contents.

From nuclear disaster to Chernobyl’s booming tourism

Some 50,000 people visited the chernobyl exclusion zone, one of the most radioactive places on earth, in 2017..

A Soviet-era sign welcomes visitors to the city of Chernobyl.

Three decades since a reactor at the Chernobyl power plant exploded in one of history’s worst nuclear disasters , tourists are flocking to the site in Ukraine , drawn by the chance to see the epicentre of a catastrophe that gripped the world’s attention.

On April 26, 1986 reactor No 4 exploded while scientists were conducting a safety test. The explosion and subsequent fire sent clouds of radioactive smoke across the USSR and into Europe.

Known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the towns and villages within a 30-kilometre radius around the destroyed reactor were evacuated of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants following the disaster.

In 2011, the Ukrainian government opened the Exclusion Zone to tourists over the age of 18. It remains one of the most radioactive places on Earth, though authorities insist it is now safe to visit.

Reclaimed by nature

About 50,000 people visited the Exclusion Zone last year, more than triple the number who came in 2015. An estimated 60 percent of the visitors are foreigners. In the Exclusion Zone, they find abandoned Soviet cities frozen in time and once-bustling urban centres reclaimed by nature.

The Exclusion Zone is governed by a separate legal entity from the rest of Ukraine and passports are thoroughly checked as visitors pass through two checkpoints into the area. On the way out, everyone must clear two rounds of radiation control, in which scanners check for radioactive dust.

Most visitors employ the services of a handful of tour companies who run buses to Chernobyl two hours north of Kiev. For a small fee, they also provide tourists with their own Geiger counters to measure radiation levels.

Sergei Mirnyi is the founder of the largest Chernobyl tour company. In 1986 he was working as a chemist in Kharkiv, Ukraine when the Chernobyl disaster unfolded. He was drafted into service as a commander of a radiation reconnaissance military unit and spent weeks in Chernobyl measuring levels of radioactivity in some of the most contaminated areas.

Enlightenment tool

Myrnyi said it’s his responsibility to spread awareness of what took place at Chernobyl, and visitors take away more from the experience than the momentary thrill of so-called “dark tourism”.

“I happened to be in this important place at the right time in the right position with the right qualifications to be a well-informed witness,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Tourism is a very powerful enlightenment tool. Many people leave Chernobyl with a different perspective than they arrived with.”

Mirnyi said the majority of the visitors are between 25-40 years of age and that the tourism has led to greater open-mindedness.

“The generations that lived through Chernobyl were terrified by the disaster. For the new generations, Chernobyl is an important event that they can view logically in a historical context.”

Nuclear reactors and the cooling pond at the Chernobyl power plant, site of the explosion and fire on April 26, 1986. The destroyed reactor No. 4 is covered in steel (pictured left). Other reactors at

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You Can Now Visit Chernobyl’s Control Room, if You’re Quick About It

Visitors will have five minutes to look around the contaminated spot where the worst nuclear disaster in history took place

Jason Daley

Correspondent

The control room of reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant—one of most ominous places on Earth—has become tourist attraction.

As we reported over the summer , tourism at Chernobyl is booming. And now, as Jack Guy at CNN reports, companies have begun allowing people to briefly visit the highly radioactive control room where the worst nuclear disaster in history unfolded. But they must take precautions: Visitors have to wear protective suits, helmets and masks and are limited to five minutes inside the space. Afterward, they will undergo two mandatory radiology tests to gauge their exposure.

The tour option is part of big changes at the site of the disaster. This July, Ukrainian authorities took charge of the New Safe Confinement dome, which now covers the contaminated reactor building. The massive $1.6 billion structure took 22 years of planning and construction and is expected to safeguard the damaged reactor for 100 years , when experts suggest it may be safe enough to demolish.

The dome is the reason that the area is safe enough to allow more tourism to Chernobyl. Soon after accepting the symbolic keys to the dome, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine signed a decree designating the site a tourist attraction. “We must give this territory of Ukraine a new life,” Zelensky announced. “Until now, Chernobyl was a negative part of Ukraine's brand. It's time to change it.”

To that end, Ukraine has begun developing new tourist routes and waterways in the area, and will be building and upgrading radiation checkpoints in the area.

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has been open to tourists since 2011, according to David Grossman at Popular Mechanics . Earlier this year, researchers found that the 1,000 square mile zone, where humans are not allowed to live, has become a de facto wildlife refuge .

The hit HBO’s miniseries “Chernobyl,” released in May of this year, has led to a tourism boom in the area, with a 30 to 40 percent increase in visitors. “Many people come here, they ask a lot of questions about the TV show, about all the events. People are getting more and more curious,” tour guide Viktoria Brozhko told Max Hunder for Reuters .

Most day-tripping tours visit several abandoned villages, memorials to those who combated the disaster and the now-abandoned city of Pripyat. In total, Brozhko estimates most visitors receive 2 microsieverts of radiation exposure, about the same they’d receive while sitting at home for a day.

Radiation in the control room, however, could be 40,000 times normal levels. While the room remains pretty much as it was in 1986, Brozhko has observed that many plastic control knobs have been removed, likely by decontamination workers and rogue tourists looking for a souvenir.

Chernobyl may now be a tourist attraction, but for many, the spot of the disaster remains an open wound. Because the Soviet Union was unwilling to share data on the nuclear incident, its true toll may never be known. The Soviets claimed 31 people died when the reactor exploded and in the immediate aftermath of the disaster in 1986. As David Brennan at Newsweek reports, in 2008 the U.N. revised that number up to 54. The long-term effects remain hard to quantify. While a multi-agency group called the Chernobyl Forum estimates 4,000 to 9,000 people have or will eventually die from cancer related to Chernobyl exposure, the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that number is closer to 27,000, and an analysis by Greenpeace suggests the number is closer to 93,000.

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Jason Daley | | READ MORE

Jason Daley is a Madison, Wisconsin-based writer specializing in natural history, science, travel, and the environment. His work has appeared in Discover , Popular Science , Outside , Men’s Journal , and other magazines.

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Chernobyl Tours: 10 Things to Know Before You Tour Pripyat and Chernobyl

Last Updated on: 19th June 2023, 06:40 pm

Going on a Pripyat and Chernobyl tour was the highlight of my trip to Kiev.

Before I went, I had a number of questions about how the day would go, and I made a few mistakes that nearly caused me to miss out on a tour entirely.

Here’s everything I wish I knew ahead of my Chernobyl tour, from how to pick the right company from the ones that offer Chernobyl tours to what to wear and when to book the actual tour (hint: the earlier the better).

Listen to the Episode: What Happened at Chernobyl?

Note: Due to the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, travel information about visiting Ukraine is currently out of date. Articles will be updated once the conflict is over and safe tourism has returned to the country. Slava Ukraini.

My Favorite Travel Booking Sites for 2024

These are my favorite companies that I use on my own travels.

Protect Your Trip via Safety Wing

Find the best city tours, day tours, bus tours, & skip-the-line tickets on GetYourGuide and Viato r .

Find the best deals on hotels & vacation rentals on Booking.com .

For English-speaking private airport transfers, book through Welcome Pickups.

For road trips and independent travel, rent a car through Discover Cars .

Find information and cruise reviews on Cruise Critic.

For packing and travel essentials order via Amazon .

Book an affordable family or romantic photography session on your trip through Flytographer (Use the code HISTORYFANGIRL for 10% off your first photoshoot).

For travel guidebooks to have with you during your trip, I always pick one or two from Rick Steves and Lonely Planet.

How to take a Day Trip from Kiev to Chernobyl

Since it’s not possible to take a solo trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone without a tour company, it’s important to research and plan for your trip ahead of time.

Unless you are intending on being in Kyiv for more than a week, you should already have your seat on an organized tour booked before you arrive in the city.

What to Look For in a Chernobyl Tour Company

Since you have to book an organized tour, you want to pay attention to what the tour company is offering before you book.

Additionally, this is not the kind of tour you want to book based solely on price since your tour company will control what you can see and do during your entire experience.

Some things to look for:

Is their focus on education? If you want to learn about Soviet and Chernobyl history, make sure to book a company where the reviews mention that they learned a lot during their experience.

Where’s the pickup point? Some places pick up at hotels, but my tour picked us up at Maiden Square near the McDonalds.

Do they have many reviews? You don’t want to book a tour without a number of reviews.

How many days ahead of time do you need to book? Each company needs to get clearances for every tour participant, and some companies tend to sell out.

It’s recommended that you book at least ten business days in advance for them to get you the necessary clearances.

However, some companies have a longer required time, especially if you’re trying to book a private tour or go on a two-day tour since these two options have even more limited availability than the typical group tours.

This organized Chernobyl and Pripyat tour covers the exact itinerary I went on and they specifically outline that they use the drive from Kiev to Chernobyl to play documentaries about the disaster so you’ll be able to get context ahead of time.

I also recommend listening to my interview about Chernobyl which goes over what happened before and how the site turned into a tourist destination.

While most people choose a one-day group tour of Chernobyl , you can also choose a private tour or a two-day tour which includes meeting local inhabitants.

Ukraine - Chernobyl - Pripyat Swimming Pool

Things to Do at Chernobyl and Pripyat

You will follow your tour guide for the entire day, so you won’t have the option to pick and choose what to do while you’re there. However, here are the general sites.

Tour Chernobyl – The Town

We started our day in the town of Chernobyl, seeing the village houses and the famous Chernobyl village sign.

Good to Know: Another tour company that focuses on Chernobyl’s history is Chernobyl Story. You can book a tour with them directly.

Visit Duga, the Russian Woodpecker

This was one of the coolest things about the day. Some people were climbing the structure, but I stayed on the ground because of my general fear of heights.

See the Reactors and learn about the Disaster

This is the part that I went in prepared for the most, but I still learned so much about what happened in 1986 and beyond. ( Listen: What Happened at Chernobyl? )

Ukraine - Chernobyl - Reactor 4 and Memorial

Tour Pripyat

The highlight for many, exploring the Atomic Town of Pripyat offered a glimpse into what Soviet life was like.

Ukraine - Chernobyl - Pripyat Ferris Wheel

Read: Chernobyl Today: 30 Pictures that Show What Life is like at Chernobyl Now

What to Wear to Chernobyl

The Chernobyl dress code has been designed with safety in mind. The gist is that you have to be entirely covered except for your face, neck, wrists, and hands.

The Chernobyl Dress Code

-Pants Only (no skirts, leggings, or shorts).

-Long sleeve shirt (no tank tops or short sleeve shirts).

-Closed-toed shoes (no sandals or flip-flops).

-A hat (I had one with me but wasn’t required to show it).

I don’t know what would happen if you showed up in a dress with leggings, but I didn’t want to risk it. Showing up in inappropriate clothing is considered a safety hazard and will result in not being admitted to the Exclusion zone.

I was wearing a three-quarter sleeve shirt and a jacket since it was May and I hadn’t packed a longer top.

No one questioned me, but I wore the jacket most of the morning. No one in my group tried to strip down into lighter clothing, despite the May heat, because of the dress code.

One thing to keep in mind, too, is that you will spend most of your day walking. If you do a two-day tour, you’ll spend an even greater portion of both days walking.

In winter (October through April) there is always a chance for snow. Make sure you bring clothes appropriate for the weather.

What Gear to Take with You

You don’t want your day bag to be too full since you’ll carry it a lot, but there’s some basic gear that you need.

I had both my Nikon D810 and my Apple iPhone with me. This meant I could get a good mix of shots in a lot of different situations.

I didn’t take a tripod on this trip with me, but I don’t believe you’re allowed to use a tripod or a drone there. Ask your tour company if you want to bring these with you.

Because it’s a long day and there’s so much to photograph, you’ll want a backup charging bank and a phone charging cable and to keep your phone powered.

You’ll also want headphones so you can zone out before and after the documentaries during the long drive each way.

For your main camera, I suggest having a backup battery and a backup SD Card . Otherwise, have your camera battery fully charged and have room for more photographs than you normally take in a full day.

I took about twice as many photos as on a normal day trip. It would be absolutely terrible to get there and have your camera battery die or not have room on your primary SD Card for photographs, so in this situation, I advocate being a little over-prepared.

Ukraine - Chernobyl - In front of Reactor 4

Food and Snacks at Chernobyl

Day tours to Chernobyl last twelve hours. On my tour, there were three times when we could buy food:

Stopping to fuel up at the gas station in the morning on the way
Lunch at the hotel
At the convenience store right after lunch

I suggest bringing water, any other drinks you want, and enough snacks to get you through the day, as it could potentially be eight hours between lunch and when you get back to the city and can eat dinner.

No one on my tour bought anything other than some small souvenirs at the convenience store (see below). Lunch was local cuisine and was scheduled around lots of groups availability, so theoretically your lunch could be anytime between 11 am and 2 pm.

Lunch was the same for everyone on our tour. If you have food allergies or dietary restrictions, let your tour company know ahead of time so they can let you know what the options are in your specific situation.

Chernobyl Packing List

Now that we’ve chatted about the dress code, what gear to take, and the food situation, here’s is my overall Chernobyl packing list.

Most of this you will want to bring with you to Kyiv and will use throughout your trip, but some of this (like snacks) you can pick up the day before. Items in bold are required to get into Chernobyl.

Long sleeve shirt
Pants or jeans that go to the ankle or further . If you’re a woman, make sure these are stretchy enough that you can comfortably squat to use the bathroom in the woods since there are no toilets inside the 10km zone.
Closed-toed shoes comfortable enough to walk in all day
Day Bag (I use one similar to this )
Sunglasses and Case
Tissues, Toilet Paper, or Kleenex
Travel Sized Hand Sanitizer
Your Passport (Ukrainians can use a National ID)
Passport Holder
Cash for food and any souvenirs you want to buy (see below).
Camera (I used my Nikon D810 )
Primary SD Card
Spare SD Card
Spare Camera Battery (I use this spare Nikon Battery that goes with my camera)
Smart Phone (I used my Apple iPhone but I’ve switched to a Samsung 8 )
Backup Charging Bank
Phone Charging Cord (I used this phone charging cable )
Headphones (for the drive up and back)
Water and other drinks for the day (no alcohol!)
Snacks for the day
Your Travel Insurance Policy information (at least have it available on your phone) in case of emergency. (I never travel without a current World Nomads travel insurance policy. When visiting a place like Chernobyl, where you’ll be walking through lots of glass and debris, you’ll be especially glad to know you’re covered).
For visiting from October through April, bring winter boots and cold weather clothes in case of snow.

Read: What to Pack for a Trip to Ukraine

Souvenirs at Chernobyl

In my opinion, this is a huge missed opportunity. However, since you’re not allowed to take anything from the Exclusion Zone due to radiation risks, I can see why they don’t have a big permanent store.

The only time we could have purchased souvenirs was at the small convenience store that we visited after lunch.

The selection was very small, and it didn’t seem to be a huge focus for the store’s sales. I didn’t buy anything, but I wish they’d had a larger selection and I would have got something.

There is also a delicate balance of what kinds of sales here would be tasteful considering the disaster, but I would have loved to see a selection of books and other educational materials like posters.

Chernobyl Safety Issues

One of the biggest questions people ask before going on these tours is “Is Chernobyl safe?” Chernobyl is safe to visit, but there are two categories of safety to pay attention to.

There are places in Chernobyl, like the machine cemetery of Rossokha village, which are still considered dangerous to visit.

However, the places that are cleared for tours to go are safe and regularly tested for radiation. My tour guide had a radiation detector that would go off occasionally and we’d stop and talk about what the different acceptable levels were.

Don’t go off your tour guide’s prescribed path, and you’ll be fine.

On the way out, everyone will go through a machine that tests your radiation levels. Once you get the all-clear, you’re free to go.

I have heard personal stories of people having issues with radiation levels messing up their cameras, but I know these people went on multiple multi-day tours. I haven’t heard of anyone having issues with radiation after only doing a one or two-day tour.

Ukraine - Chernobyl - Radiation Detectors

Crumbling Buildings

While everyone’s main concern is radiation, the bigger safety concern for me is that the buildings are crumbling.

Technically tour guides aren’t allowed to take people into buildings (and every once in a while the guards will force the tour companies to follow this rule).

However, many of the companies (but not all) will take people into the buildings.

These buildings haven’t been repaired or maintained in over thirty years. Any building that is neglected and left to the elements for multiple decades is not going to be structurally sound.

Additionally, there are piles of rubble and glass in almost every building you enter, and there are some structures where people climb up high off the ground.

Double-check that your up to date on your travel insurance and your tetanus shots before you go.

I never felt unsafe, but this also seems unsustainable in the future without securing the buildings.

To prepare for the glass and debris, I suggest making sure you have a current travel insurance policy and make sure you’re up to date on your tetanus shots.

Rules for Visiting the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

You must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

You must follow the dress code.

No alcohol and no signs of drinking prior to the tour.

You must have your passport with you.

You must attend with an organized tour .

No weapons, firearms, fireworks, etc.

No smoking.

Do not take anything with you from Chernobyl (souvenirs purchased at the convenience store are the only exception).

Follow your guide’s instructions at all times.

Obey posted signs.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions I’ve seen get asked the most often about Chernobyl and Pripyat tours.

Can You Visit Chernobyl without an Organized Tour?

No, all visitors to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone must be accompanied by a permitted tour guide with an officially recognized company.

There are some independent bloggers who run tours to Chernobyl (and these are fantastic tours), but they partner with local companies to get in so that they have access to the site.

My Tour Company Asked for My Passport Number. Is that normal?

Yes, this is perfectly normal. They have to give your passport information to the government, and it has to match your passport exactly, otherwise, they can deny you entry.

You give your passport info to your tour company ahead of time, and then this info will get checked against your passport twice.

The first is during check-in with your tour company and the second is when you arrive at the border of the exclusion zone. Here is when the actual border guards will check your passport for entry.

Will My Tour Stop at the Chernobyl Museum?

No. The Chernobyl Museum is in Kiev, not near the disaster. If you want to go, you’ll need to visit on another day of your trip.

Can You Visit Chernobyl without Your Passport?

If you are not a Ukrainian citizen, you must have your passport to enter the Exclusion Zone and it must match the information you gave at registration exactly. Ukrainians can use their national ID.

Does my Tour Company’s Insurance Policy cover me?

No, and most companies explicitly state this when you are signing up. You should make sure you have your own policy. I have used World Nomads continually for two years, and I’m very happy with their coverage.

More about Traveling Ukraine

Chernobyl Today: 30 Pictures that Show What Life is like at Chernobyl Now

Ukraine Packing List: What to Pack for Ukraine for Women and Men

Listen: The History of Kiev and Travel Tips

Listen: What Happened at Chernobyl?

Have you gone on a Chernobyl and Pripyat Tour? Are you planning to visit soon? Leave your tips about Chernobyl tours and any questions you have below!

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How to Tour Chernobyl and Pripyat, Ukraine

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11 thoughts on “Chernobyl Tours: 10 Things to Know Before You Tour Pripyat and Chernobyl”

Such a great blog, thank you! I am going to Kiev in the end of January and also going on a tour of Chernobyl! I have been told by other people that we might have to bin our clothes, shoes, phones etc! Is that true? If I was to wear my coat, boots etc and take my phone would I be expected to leave it there if the radiation level was too high?

I guess it’s possible, but I’ve never heard of that happening to anyone before. I would say it would only happen in a true emergency where maybe you stepped off the path or something. Enjoy your trip!

I’m planning to go there Illegally

I do not advise doing that for safety reasons.

Thanks for the informative post! Can I ask bout the bathroom situation? Are there toilets available or are we just supposed to “rough it”?

The last toilets available for our group were at the hotel for lunch. I had to pee in the woods! While not ideal, it wasn’t a problem because I had hand sanitizer and napkins with me.

Hey! I have read all your Blog this So Nice and Awesome service you have provided, Full of incredibly useful information and stunning photos. Thank you very much!

I try this tour to chernobyl… very good experience. my photos are here: https://youtu.be/I1lTPg8WQgU

some places are like an horror movie 🙂

I’m glad you had such a good time!

Great informative write up! I was unsure of whether it would be safe to visit however I feel more confident now after reading your post 🙂 I am curious though about World Nomad’s covering your trip to Ukraine – I recently looked at buying an additional policy through them (our current policy expires prior to our Ukraine visit) and when I typed in Ukraine, it told me that they don’t provide any coverage in Ukraine… Did you specifically list Ukraine when buying the policy? Or just assumed that on a worldwide policy it would be covered?

I listed Ukraine specifically. I also just went to the website and was able to get a quote for traveling exclusively to Ukraine from the States. It’s possible that the country you’re buying from (where they find a local insurance provider to work with) is the reason that Ukraine is excluded? Are you an American? I’m not sure why this would be a deal breaker in some countries and not others, but it’s possible. That’s a weird situation! Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

Ukraine wants Chernobyl to be a tourist trap. But scientists warn: Don’t kick up dust.

The tourists first started flocking to Chernobyl nearly 10 years ago, when fans of the video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. wanted to see firsthand the nuclear wasteland they’d visited in virtual reality.

Next came those whose curiosity piqued when in 2016 the giant steel dome known as the New Safe Confinement was slid over the sarcophagus encasing nuclear reactor number four, which exploded in April 1986, spewed radiation across Europe and forced hundreds of thousands to flee from their homes.

Then in May, HBO’s “Chernobyl” miniseries aired, and tourism companies reported a 30 to 40 percent uptick in visitors to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, abandoned and eerily frozen in time.

Now the Ukrainian government — capitalizing on the macabre intrigue — has announced that Chernobyl will become an official tourist site, complete with routes, waterways, checkpoints and a “green corridor” that will place it on the map with other “dark tourism” destinations.

“We must give this territory of Ukraine a new life," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to Chernobyl this week. “Until now, Chernobyl was a negative part of Ukraine’s brand. It’s time to change it.”

Zelensky, who was inaugurated in May, signed a decree July 10 to kickstart the Chernobyl Development Strategy, which the president hopes will bring order to the 19-mile Exclusion Zone that has become a hotbed for corruption, trespassing and theft. At the nuclear facility and in the nearby town of Pripyat, wildlife has returned and now roams freely. Flora and fauna grow up around decaying homes, playgrounds and an amusement park. Letters, dinner tables and baby dolls remain where their owners abandoned them 33 years ago.

Radioactive dust still coats it all.

“Chernobyl is a unique place on the planet where nature revives after a global man-made disaster, where there is a real ‘ghost town,'” Zelensky said during his visit. “We have to show this place to the world: scientists, ecologists, historians, tourists.”

Though exploiting a historical space like Chernobyl could infuse Ukraine’s economy with tourism dollars and motivate developers to revive the sleepy towns surrounding the “dead zone,” there are significant downsides, experts say.

Thanks to HBO, more tourists are flocking to the eerie Chernobyl nuclear disaster site

The grounds remain coated with plutonium, cesium, strontium and americium — radionuclides (atoms that emit radiation) that could pose potentially serious health risks to those who touch or ingest them. Some areas are more radioactive, and therefore more dangerous, than others.

“Chernobyl was the worst nuclear accident in human history,” said Jim Beasley, an associate professor at the University of Georgia who has been studying wildlife in the Exclusion Zone since 2012. “Even though the accident occurred over 33 years ago it remains one of the most radiologically contaminated places on earth.”

More than 30 people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, and officials are still debating the full extent of the longterm death toll in Ukraine and nearby countries where people grew sick with cancer and other illnesses.

The World Health Organization estimates total cancer deaths at 9,000, far less than a Belarusian study that put the death toll at 115,000, reported Reuters .

Today, radiation levels inside the Exclusion Zone vary widely from location to location, said Dr. T. Steen, who teaches microbiology and immunology at Georgetown’s School of Medicine and oversees radiation research in organisms at nuclear disaster sites. Because of that, she advises anyone visiting to be educated and cautious while inside the Exclusion Zone, and to limit time spent there.

“The longer you’re exposed, the more that future impact is,” she said.

She advises visitors to the Exclusion Zone to wear clothes and shoes they are comfortable throwing away. If they’re going to be touching or disturbing anything, she recommends a mask and gloves. Most importantly, Steen says, Chernobyl tourists should avoid plant life, and especially the depths of the forests.

Those areas were not cleaned in the aftermath of the disaster and remain highly contaminated by radiation. Research has showed that the fungus, moss and mushrooms growing there are radioactive. Eating or drinking from the area is not safe.

Those who stay on the paved pathways, which officials cleaned, are much less likely to absorb harmful toxins.

Generally speaking, Chernobyl can be safe, Steen said, “but it depends on how people behave.”

And so far, the accounts of tourists behaving badly are abundant.

Timothy Mousseau, a biologist and University of South Carolina professor, has been studying the ecological and evolutionary consequences of radioactive contaminants on wildlife and organisms at Chernobyl for 20 years. He just recently returned from his annual, month-long trip to the Exclusion Zone and said he was shocked to see 250 tourists in street clothes wandering Pripyat.

Some hopped in bumper cars at the abandoned amusement park there to take selfies.

"Part of the reason people don’t think twice about it is because there is this highly organized tourism operation,” Mousseau said. “A lot of people don’t give it a second thought.”

He is concerned that the government’s tourism campaign could only make that worse.

“The negative aspects that are being completely ignored are the health and safety issues of bringing this many people, exposing this many people to what is a small risk, albeit a significant risk, to this kind of contamination,” Mousseau said. “The more traffic there is, the most dust there is, and the dust here is contaminated.”

We’re in the age of the overtourist. You can avoid being one of them.

But Mousseau’s worries, and the anxieties of his colleagues, extend beyond health factors.

For decades, biologists, ecologists and medical researchers have been studying the mostly undisturbed expanse that is the Exclusion Zone. They’ve studied DNA mutations in plants and insects, birds and fish. As larger mammals, like moose, wolves and fox, have slowly re-occupied the surrounding forests, biologists have searched for clues about the ways short-term and long-term radiation exposure have altered their health.

Scientifically, there is no place on earth like Chernobyl. Beasley, who studies wolves there, calls it a “living laboratory." An influx of humans — especially reckless ones — could destroy it.

"This is really the only accessible place on the planet where this kind of research can be conducted at a scale both spatial and temporal that allows for important scientific discovery,” Mousseau said. “Given increased use of radiation in technology and medicine, in going to Mars and space, we need to know more about radiation and its effects on biology and organisms.”

“And Chernobyl provides a unique laboratory to do this kind of research,” he said.

Tourism’s negative footprint in the Exclusion Zone is not theoretical, either.

They are leaving behind trash, rummaging through abandoned homes and buildings and, in Mousseau’s experience, stealing his research equipment. Cameras he has hidden in the depths of the most radioactive parts of the zone to capture the wildlife he studies have been vandalized or gone missing, he said.

Aborigines say Uluru is sacred. Tourists rushing to beat a hiking ban are trashing it.

“It’s something that absolutely astounds me,” he said.

Theoretically, more government oversight at Chernobyl could help curb this kind of interference, especially if a financial investment in the zone will help preserve the ghost town there and bring in more guards and checkpoints to patrol who comes and goes.

None of that will prevent tourists from disturbing Chernobyl’s spirit.

“I think it is important to not lose sight of the fact that Chernobyl represents an area of tremendous human suffering,” Beasley said, “as hundreds of thousands of people were forever displaced from their homes or otherwise impacted by the accident.”

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How to visit Chernobyl in a responsible way

By Joan Torres 7 Comments Last updated on September 18, 2024

On April 24th, 1986, reactor 4 from Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered a massive, destructive explosion, releasing tonnes of radioactive material into the sky, which spread across Europe and even to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

It was an unprecedented accident caused by human negligence, which took the lives of tens of thousands of people, caused hundreds of thousands to be evacuated, plus all the social, economic and natural repercussions, whose consequences are still being suffered today.

I won’t go into technical details, but you can read all the causes and consequences of the disaster here

As a result of the disaster, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was created, a 30km² territory that surrounds the nuclear plant, from where all the people were evacuated and access to which was completely restricted until 2009, when the Ukrainian Government decided to open it to the public.

Since then, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has attracted a few intrepid travelers interested in learning and seeing with their own eyes the effects of the worst nuclear disaster in our history.

However, things have changed.

At the beginning of 2019, after the successful TV Show broadcast by HBO, Chernobyl was, once again, something to talk about and, in very little time, just a few months, Chernobyl visitors increased by 50% , and statistics say that they will keep increasing in the coming years.

I personally believe that this increase in popularity isn’t doing any good to the Chernobyl site, as the exclusion zone is already attracting a type of tourist typically found in mass tourism destinations, characterized for being insensitive, irresponsible and lacking empathy and consciousness about the consequences of one of the worst human catastrophes.

The truth is that, after my visit, seeing what Chernobyl has become was pretty shocking and, in this article, I want to show you how to visit Chernobyl in a responsible and sensitive way .

Remember that, for all the practical information, don’t forget to read my Ukraine travel tips

In this travel guide to visit Chernobyl, you will find:

Table of Contents

Chernobyl and mass tourism
My experience
Tips on how to visit responsibly

Practical information for visiting Chernobyl

Can you go independently?
Tour companies
More Information

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Visiting Chernobyl and the problem with mass tourism

Something I have learnt during my travels is that, inevitably, mass tourism destinations attract irresponsible travelers, ranging from the typical tourist that rides elephants to the one who doesn’t give a damn f*** about the repercussions of mass tourism on the local culture.

The irresponsible tourist who travels to Chernobyl doesn’t go because they want to learn and empathize with the victims, but they travel for pure morbidity and for showing off on Instagram that they went to a radioactive zone.

Anyone with common sense can confirm this awful situation.

If you are interested in traveling to Chernobyl, you may also want to read about my experience visiting the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan

However, it is important to mention that the normalization of the disaster doesn’t only happen because of tourists’ behavior.

Actually, I strongly believe that those really responsible for such normalization are most Chernobyl tour companies, which have done nothing but sensationalize Chernobyl for their own benefit, exclusively focusing on selling you the concept of how awesome visiting a radioactive zone can be .

My experience visiting Chernobyl

I am sure you will like: Visiting Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in Kazakhstan

I visited Chernobyl on a weekday during the offseason, in mid-October, and I literally freaked out at the number of tourists I saw.

We came across 10 or 15 other groups at least.

That’s on the one hand, which wasn’t a big deal anyway.

But, on the other hand, what really surprised me was the way some of the tour guides would tell us about Chernobyl’s disaster, and that was in a very superficial and even impertinent way.

Our guide’s explanations – who, by the way, was a young lady from Kyiv who had nothing to do with the catastrophe – exclusively focused on the sick and sensationalist part of the disaster, and barely mentioned anything about all the people who suffered the accident directly, either the evacuated families or all the people who practically gave their lives working on cleaning up the contaminated zones.

Basically, she didn’t show any sort of sensitivity about the place.

But there’s more.

I remember having a small argument with her when I wanted to tell her about a relevant book I had read recently: Voices from Chernobyl .

She told me that she had not read it, which was kind of strange, as she was a professional tour guide; but what surprised me was her response:

This book is very sensationalist.

Apart from the fact that she had not even read it, her comment made no sense at all, as the book’s author was a Belarusian lady who won the Nobel Prize and her work was a compilation of testimonies of those who lived through the disaster in the first person.

The book was exactly the total opposite of sensationalist, so my answer to her ignorance was:

With all due respect, the only sensationalist thing here are the tours the different Chernobyl companies sell.

On top of this, if we consider the behavior of some of the people from the group, who couldn’t stop making jokes, selfies and taking ridiculous poses in front of abandoned places, what do you want me to say…

Chernobyl has become a disgustingly sensationalist place.

Read: Visiting a Syrian refugee camp in Iraq

Tips on how to visit Chernobyl in a responsible way

Here are my responsible traveler tips:

In order to empathize with the place, read a good book about Chernobyl

And I recommend Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich, who won the Nobel Prize of Literature for writing precisely this book and a few more of the same genre.

Voices from Chernobyl is a compilation of testimonies directly related to the disaster, from people who were evacuated to those who refused to leave, soldiers who helped with both the evacuation and clean up, firemen, liquidators, scientists and basically, the whole Chernobyl world.

A compilation of absolutely sobering and hair-raising stories whose only achievement is to put you in their skin in a very f***ed up way.

I promise you that, after reading this book, you will see Chernobyl with very different eyes.

Choose the right tour company

To be very honest with you, I think I kind of overreacted before.

Not all companies sell sensationalist tours.

A few of them are guided by very professional guides who were somehow related to the disaster.

For example, some guides are old residents of the exclusion zone, while others participated in the cleanup.

Those guides really know what Chernobyl is about and, besides telling you the most empirical and tangible facts about the accident, they will also tell you the stories they lived and experienced.

And, how to find the best company?

Something to be aware of is that the best tour company isn’t the one with the best reviews on Tripadvisor.

In fact, the one I chose had very positive reviews, for the simple reason that the guide was a nice lady and had good knowledge about the facts, but she lacked empathy and sensitivity, two qualities which, in my opinion, each and every guide should have.

Use your common sense when looking for those reviews that talk about the person’s attitude and behavior.

Many who visit Chernobyl and Ukraine then head to Moldova to visit the unrecognized country of Transnistria

Consider booking a 2-day tour

Typically, the tour companies offer two different tours: 1-day or 2-day tour.

The 1-day tour, the one which 95% of tourists choose, takes you to those famous places which today flood all over Instagram feeds: the Ferris-wheel, Duga radar, reactor 4, etc.

In the 2-day tour, however, they will take to visit locals living in the exclusion zone, some of them being re-settlers (those who came back after X years), while others are locals who refused to leave.

Meeting those locals can be a good chance to learn and empathize even more.

Read my guide to visit Kyiv in 3 days

Don’t take selfies, don’t make jokes, be respectful

Basically, behave like a normal person.

The Chernobyl disaster took the lives away of thousands of people, so the least you can do is paying your respects.

Also, remember to pay your respects to Belarus

Chernobyl Nuclear Plant is located in today’s Ukraine but not many people know that about 70% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus, contaminating one-fourth of the country. Crazy.

The exclusion zone of Belarus is actually bigger and up to 2,000 towns were totally evacuated.

Whereas the nuclear disaster is the worst thing that has ever happened to Ukraine and Ukrainians, remember that Belarussians suffered even more and, for some reason, the world tends to forget that.

I just want you to be aware of that and, if you want to be a real responsible traveler, you should visit the exclusion on Belarus side, where mass tourism hasn’t arrived yet.

Read my travel guide to Belarus

Here’s what you need to know to prepare for traveling to Chernobyl.

Where is it?

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is 150km north of Kiev and less than 20km from the border with Belarus.

Chernobyl is a small town but the power plant, despite being named after Chernobyl, is in a city called Pripyat, 20km north of Chernobyl.

Today, Pripyat is a ghost city but Chernobyl is partially inhabited, mainly by workers from the exclusion zone, who do 2-week shifts.

Is it safe to visit Chernobyl?

Is Chernobyl safe to visit? Before analyzing Chernobyl’s dangers, let me clarify something.

Before my visit, I had read a few travel blogs whose authors claimed that they felt very safe in Chernobyl .

Well, I am sorry to say that this is one of the stupidest things you can ever say because radiation is something invisible, you can’t smell it, you can’t feel it and you can’t hear it.

Those who had to be evacuated also felt very safe and, in fact, that was one of the greatest problems, but then, after X months, all of them woke up with no hair and tumors in their body.

Today, Chernobyl isn’t a dangerous place, not because one feels safe, but because professional physicists have confirmed that the levels of radioactivity have decreased enough, so it doesn’t affect humans for short exposure.

How does radiation work?

Obviously, I am no physicist and I don’t know if I should write about it but, as a traveler, I wanted to know a little bit about radiation and this is what I learnt.

When you get to the exclusion zone, during the first few kilometers, the dosimeters mark 0.15 microsieverts (Sv) per hour, which is pretty much the same level of radiation you get in any major city around the world, from Barcelona to Kiev .

As you continue getting closer to the nuclear plant and reach Pripyat, the radiation levels increase to 1-2Sv per hour, which is 10 to 20 times the normal levels but apparently, it is less than having an x-ray taken or even flying in a plane.

However, in some areas we passed by, especially the Red Forest, the dosimeters reached 40Sv per hour, but we passed it quickly in the bus, so the total exposure was less than a few seconds.

This type of radiation is called gamma rays but, in Chernobyl, there is an additional type of radiation named beta particles β , a kind of radioactive dust which – theoretically – unless you start digging something up from the ground, you shouldn’t be contaminated by it.

These tiny particles can’t be detected by the dosimeters they lend you but, once you leave the exclusion zone, they scan your body to check whether you were contaminated or not.

In this article, you will find a very insightful radiation comparison

How much does it cost to travel to Chernobyl?

The 1-day tour costs around 90-100€, whereas the 2-day tour costs 270€.

What’s included?

1-day tour: round trip transportation from Kiev to the exclusion zone, the guide and lunch.
2-day tour: round trip transportation from Kiev to the exclusion zone, the guide, all meals and 1 night in the hotel of the exclusion zone.

By the way, the dosimeters cost an additional 200UAH, around 7.50€.

Can you visit Chernobyl without a guide?

Yes, you can, but not legally.

In fact, there are a few companies (and you can find them on Google) that offer clandestine 3-day walking tours, staying and camping inside buildings from the exclusion zone.

Can you recommend me a tour company?

I can’t, sorry.

I don’t really want to mention the one I went with and I can’t recommend a company I haven’t tried.

The only thing I can tell you is that you should do proper research and book well in advance.

By the way, don’t forget your passport and, if you want to fly a drone, let the company know because you will need to get a specific permit.

Conclusion: is it ethical to visit Chernobyl?

I am going to say the exact same I said after receiving loads of negative feedback when I came back from my trip to Syria .

If you travel with the sole objective of learning, gaining knowledge and you are respectful to the locals, in my most humble opinion, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in paying a visit to places like Chernobyl, Syria or the Aral Sea .

In fact, I think that it would something positive, as you would be able to talk about the situation of the place based on your own experience and not on what the media says.

More information for visiting Chernobyl

📢 In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more.

Don’t forget to check our travel guide to Ukraine .

As well as all our Ukraine articles:

Kiev Travel Guide
Lviv Travel Guide
Ukraine Itinerary

Thank you so much for this educational article. I will make it my purpose to fly there in the next 20 months, but before I do I will read (buying it as we speak) The Voices from Chernobyl. The world would be a better place if we have more people with a basic level of humanity (such yourself). Thank you again!!

Maria Chadwick

Thanks to you for your kind words 🙂 And you made a great choice buying the book, you will love it!

I went to Chernobyl this time last year and found it very educational indeed and if anything, a few things are put there by the Ukrainians FOR the tourists, so I don’t feel anyone singularly is at fault. You are only allowed to stay in the exclusion zone for 48 hours anyway before being moved out and I went through 6 full body radiation machines, and we had a Geiger counter with us the entire time so we’re perfectly safe, although you do have to sign a waiver to go into the heavily guarded areas which are monitored by the military, such as the fascinating Duga disused radar defence area. The country needs the outside world to visit and not only meet the amazing Ukrainian population, find out their personal experiences and visit places such as the Chernobyl museum, but learn about their Soviet past and learn from the people who are there, and also visit a truely amazing country in its own right, live among the people and be friends with them. Know that there are rules for going to places like this and if there were any dangers to visiting, the country would be on the FCO’s list of no go areas in the world. I have been lucky enough to visit a few countries on this list which have been amazing experiences and would urge anyone to explore the world around them to learn about life and not just bake on a beach for a week. The disaster was a truely tragic event and we need to learn from it but fundamentally understand it and make the future a better place for the next generations to come. And sometimes that means visiting these exquisite places.

Just here to help with a potential correction. 1-2Sv(Sv=sivert) is most likely missing the prefix micro(u=10^-6)(Greek letter mu, but I will use “u” due to keyboard limitations) . The threshold dose for effects such as depression of the blood cell forming process occurs after a measly 50000uSv(0.5Sv) meaning at an exposure rate of 1-2Sv/hr most would experience radiation sickness after 1hr of exposure and 5Sv will kill a large majority of those exposed to it within a months time. However if you throw the prefix micro(10^-6) the numbers start to get much more reasonable and I’m sure they would be more accurate as no Radiation Safety Physicist(such as myself) would allow anyone near an area with levels like 40Sv/hr as that would promise certain death after just minutes of exposure.

Thanks for this fantastic explanartion, Dan!

Great article to read!

Great article and a very informative read! Would never have considered traveling to chernobyl if I haven’t checked this out. At least I have some ideas now on what to expect if ever I want to visit here. Thank you!

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Is It Safe to Visit Chernobyl?

Chernobyl , site of the world's deadliest nuclear accident, is now a surprisingly popular tourist destination. But lethal radiation still permeates the landscape around the site, so why is it safe to visit at all?

Ukrainian officials opened the area to tourists nearly a decade ago, declaring that visits were safe , though tours would be strictly regulated. Since then, thousands of people have flocked to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. [ 5 Everyday Things That Are Radioactive ]

It's true that radiation in large doses can cause tissue damage and acute sickness and increase the risk of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society .

However, people everywhere on Earth are bathed every day in radiation that's a natural part of the environment. This includes terrestrial radiation emanating from Earth itself, internal radiation generated by living organisms, and cosmic radiation from the sun and stars, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Calculating exposure

On average, a person in the U.S. is exposed to about 3 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation per year, which is considered to be well within safe exposure levels. Radiation from medical imaging technology ranges from less than 1 mSv to about 20 mSv for certain computed tomography (CT) scans, the American College of Radiology reported .

Radiation doses of 50 to 200 mSv can lead to chromosomal damage, while doses of 200 to 1,000 mSv can cause a temporary drop in white blood cell count; serious radiation sickness sets in at about 2,000 mSv, and death follows within days of exposure to 10,000 mSv, according to the Atomic Archive .

Soon after the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, dozens of cleanup workers at the plant were exposed to radiation levels as high as 8,000 to 16,000 mSv, the equivalent of 80,000 to 160,000 chest X-rays. This led to at least 134 workers developing serious radiation sickness and caused 28 deaths.

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When the Chernobyl reactor exploded, it released deadly levels of radiation, but radioactive fallout wasn't distributed evenly across the surrounding area, due to weather conditions and changing winds. Locations that were farther away from the reactor became radioactive hotspots , "and there were villages that were reasonably close to the plant that didn't get much contamination," said Fred Mettler, a professor emeritus and clinical professor with the Department of Radiology at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

Even within villages, radiation was unequally distributed and could vary from street to street, as Mettler learned when he visited the region from 1989 to 1990 with the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR).

Gauging the risk

The ruins of the Chernobyl reactor, now contained under a metal shell, are still highly radioactive and will likely remain so for up to 20,000 years. However, the zones in Chernobyl that are now open to the public may have initially received lower doses of radiation, despite their proximity to the damaged reactor, Mettler told Live Science.

Background levels of radiation around Chernobyl overall were also lower than the global average before the accident, which may have helped to mitigate the radiation boost from the accident, Mettler added.

Nevertheless, ongoing radiation-safety concerns dictate that tourists are restricted to certain areas and are not permitted to wander on their own, tour leaders with Chernobyl Tour wrote on the Ukrainian company's website .

An average one-day visit to Chernobyl begins and ends with passage through an official checkpoint for dosimetry control, or radiation measurement, and there is an additional radiation checkpoint midway through the tour, according to the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management .

Visitors may not touch any structures or plants or remove anything from the zone, and they are prohibited from sitting or placing any camera equipment on the ground, Chernobyl Tour representatives said.

An estimated 60,000 tourists visited Chernobyl in 2018, Anton Taranenko, the chief of the Tourism and Promotion Department of the Kiev City State Administration, recently said at a news briefing; of all the most popular tourist destinations in Ukraine , "Chernobyl zone is the leader," said Taranenko, according to the National News Agency of Ukraine .

Ukrainian tourism agency representatives claimed that bookings to Chernobyl rose by about 30% in May and will likely be even higher during the summer months due to the popularity of the recent HBO series "Chernobyl," Live Science previously reported .

5 Weird Things You Didn't Know About Chernobyl
Images: Chernobyl, Frozen in Time
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster 25 Years Later (Infographic)

Originally published on Live Science .

Mindy Weisberger is an editor at Scholastic and a former Live Science channel editor and senior writer. She has reported on general science, covering climate change, paleontology, biology and space. Mindy studied film at Columbia University; prior to Live Science she produced, wrote and directed media for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Her videos about dinosaurs, astrophysics, biodiversity and evolution appear in museums and science centers worldwide, earning awards such as the CINE Golden Eagle and the Communicator Award of Excellence. Her writing has also appeared in Scientific American, The Washington Post and How It Works Magazine. Her book "Rise of the Zombie Bugs: The Surprising Science of Parasitic Mind Control" will be published in spring 2025 by Johns Hopkins University Press.

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Today, Pripyat is the main focus of most tours to Chernobyl. So yes, Pripyat and Chernobyl are two different cities, contrary to popular belief. Zalissya, on the other hand, was a small village with roughly 3,000 people. To me, this was the perfect introduction to the Zone.
35 years since its nuclear disaster, Chernobyl prepares for tourist
In the 35 years since the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, the nearby main thoroughfare in Pripyat, Ukraine, has been taken over by plants, trees and wildlife. Abandoned hours after the meltdown of ...
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Visiting Chernobyl isn't everybody's cup of tea for a "holiday" and it leads to a lot of questions and assumptions. Why would you want to go there? Is it still safe? These queries get asked even more so than when I am visiting patently dangerous countries. In recent years, HBO produced a TV miniseries about the disaster, which piqued interest in visiting Chernobyl, and shined a light ...
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Touring Chernobyl: How to Visit Pripyat To visit Chernobyl, you'll need access to the Exclusion Zone. The Exclusion Zone is an an area of about 2,600 square kilometers (1,000 sq mi) in Ukraine that surrounds the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Can you visit Chernobyl without a guide? You can only enter the exclusion zone with a licensed guide, meaning you'll need to take one of the ...
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Chernobyl Tours: 10 Things to Know Before You Tour Pripyat and
Here's everything I wish I knew ahead of my Chernobyl tour, from how to pick the right company from the ones that offer Chernobyl tours to what to wear and when to book the actual tour (hint: the earlier the better). Listen to the Episode: What Happened at Chernobyl?
Chernobyl tourism: This is how to visit the site safely, scientists say
Tourists visit sites in the city of Pripyat, Ukraine, which was evacuated in 1986 following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Dark tourism takes to the sky above Chernobyl
Dark tourism takes to the sky above Chernobyl. By Pavlo Fedykovych, CNN. 5 minute read. Updated 9:19 AM EDT, Wed April 21, 2021. Link Copied! Dark decline: Despite this, the pandemic has put its ...
Things to Do in Chernobyl
Things to Do in Chernobyl, Ukraine: See Tripadvisor's 595 traveler reviews and photos of Chernobyl tourist attractions. Find what to do today, this weekend, or in October. We have reviews of the best places to see in Chernobyl. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions.
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How to visit Chernobyl in a responsible way. On April 24th, 1986, reactor 4 from Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered a massive, destructive explosion, releasing tonnes of radioactive material into the sky, which spread across Europe and even to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It was an unprecedented accident caused by human negligence ...
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Chernobyl, site of the world's deadliest nuclear accident, is now a surprisingly popular tourist destination. But lethal radiation still permeates the landscape around the site, so why is it safe ...

How to Visit Chernobyl: The Ultimate Guide (Updated 2021)

Chernobyl: An Overview

Why do tourists visit Chernobyl?

Is it safe to visit Chernobyl?

Can you visit Chernobyl without a guide?

How much does a Chernobyl tour cost?

Getting there

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Where to stay

1. Choose the best Chernobyl tour type

1-day Tours

From Kiev: 1-Day Group Tour to Chernobyl ($100 USD)

Chernobyl Tour from Kiev ($105 USD)

Full-Day Tour of Chernobyl and Prypiat from Kiev ($114 USD)

From Kiev: 2-Day Group Tour to Chernobyl ($251 USD)

The Ultimate 2-Day Chernobyl Tour from Kiev ($321 USD)

3-Day Extended Tour to Chernobyl and Prypiat Town from Kyiv ($429 USD)

From Kiev: Private Tour of Chernobyl ($78 USD)

From Kiev: Chernobyl & Pripyat Private Day Tour with Lunch ($130 USD)

Chernobyl Private Tour from Kiev ($105 USD)

2. Choose a tour company

Things to look for when choosing a tour:

3. Be prepared for your Chernobyl visit

What to bring:

For winter tours:

The Thrifty Gist

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Why Would Anyone Want to Visit Chernobyl?

Explore The New York Times Magazine

The ULTIMATE Guide To Visiting Chernobyl (UPDATE 2024)

Update For 2024

What Is “Chernobyl”?

Do I Need a Guide To Visit Chernobyl?

Can I Visit Chenorbyl Alone?

Dangers of Visiting Chernobyl

Radiation Checkpoints

Dangerous Buildings

Wild Animals

Food in Chernobyl

How Much is a Chenorbyl Tour?

What Will I See on a Chernobyl Tour?

Do I need to book in advance?

Can I stay in Chernobyl?

How Long Should I Spend in Chenorbyl

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Aiden Freeborn

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We collaborated with:

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING TOURS, open for booking

Trips' programs:

One-day tour to the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat-town

Two-, three-, four-, five- and seven-day tours to the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat-town

The package tours to Pripyat and Chernobyl Zone from USA and Canada

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Read the Full Transcript

Listen to this Segment

More Ways to Watch

Visiting Chernobyl: A Guide (Rules, Safety + Things To Know)

What Exactly Happened in Chernobyl?

Where is Chernobyl Located?

How Historically Accurate Was The HBO Chernobyl Drama?

Do People Still Live in Chernobyl Today?

Wildlife of Chernobyl (Mutated Animals?)

How Safe is it to Visit Chernobyl Today?

Why Would Anyone Want to Visit Chernobyl Anyway?

Charities that Support Chernobyl

Can You Visit Chernobyl Without a Guide? (Includes Tour Options)

How Much Does Visiting Chernobyl Cost?

Safety Rules When Visiting Chernobyl

What to Wear When Visiting Chernobyl

My Experience of Visiting Chernobyl (Including My Overnight Stay)

Anthony Middleton

Hi, I'm Anthony!

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Touring Chernobyl: How to Visit Pripyat – Everything You Need to Know (2021)

Touring Chernobyl: How to Visit Pripyat

Can you visit Chernobyl without a guide?