Tours and visits to Chornobyl
SPUTNIK KYIV DMC is an official and licensed tour operator, arranging tours and visits to Chornobyl Exclusion Zone both for individual travelers and groups. Safety and high quality of all services we provide during the tour – are guaranteed to all clients of our company.
We take care of the procedure of arranging the tour - getting necessary permission for entering the zone, issuing an insurance, planning the route and itinerary, and our guides are the best and qualified experts in Chornobyl thematic. Nowadays, the Exclusion Zone – is a unique site of the worst nuclear accident ever happened in the world. So far, don’t miss the chance to explore this place for the lifetime experience, unforgettable memories and true information about what has happened on 26th of April, 1986.
We offer the following options to our clients:
We offer you to join our regular groups or book a private full-day tour to Chornobyl Exclusion zone.
Tour starts at 08:00 (departure from Kyiv) and at 19:00 you will be back in Kyiv, at your hotel. During the tour you will visit Chornobyl city, ghost town Prypiat, Zalissya and Kopachi villages.
Objects included: Checkpoint "Dytyatki" (30-km zone), Chornobyl sign, the main square of Chornobyl town, Monument to the firefighters, Prypiat sign, Trip to Pripyat - "The Dead (Ghost) Town" walking along the city to see Polissya Hotel, school, kinder garden, supermarket, amusement park, swimming pool. You will see the town that was left by its 50 thousand inhabitants within 24 hours. The spirit of Soviet darkness reigns here. You can take pictures of the National Emblem of the Soviet Union and of Soviet Ukraine, slogans ‘Peace, Labor, and May", red-yellow public call-boxes, and other objects that were symbols of the '80s in the Soviet Union, A trip around the Nuclear Power Station. Photo-stop near the Reactor No 4 (with sarcophagus) of the former station with the view on the sarcophagus. You will be only 100 m from the main cryptic object of the Zone, Former top-secret object CHORNOBYL-2 (also called Duga, Soviet 'over the horizon' radar station of the system of early detection against attacks of ballistic rockets)
Lunch is included during the tour. You will be fully accompanied by our professional guide, comfortable vehicle with AC, microphone, special insurance which is mandatory for visiting the Zone is provided as well.
If your trip to Chornobyl is dedicated to certain thematic and you want to explore it not as a usual tourist - we can arrange a special itinerary for you - meetings with local people, connected with the Chornobyl accident, liquidators, researchers, visiting of places that are not included in a standard route, we will provide you as well with the necessary support for getting permission for video-recording and etc.
As a result, you get perfectly planned customized trip, maximum locations that “normal visitors” do not see, personal approach – program based on your preferences.
This tour usually gives great flexibility in the itinerary and you can adjust the tour depending on the group's interest. Overnight at the hotel in Chornobyl and the following days of exploration of all objects will let you know and see much more.
Also, Уоu hаvе а grеаt сhаnсе tо sее thе Сhornоbуl Nuсlеаr Роwеr Рlаnt frоm іnsіdе аnd wаlk іn thе shоеs оf аn NРР wоrkеr. Аlmоst 2000 еmрlоуееs аrе stіll оn-sіtе wоrkіng оn dесоmmіssіоnіng рrоjесts. Іt's stіll а hіgh sесurіtу оbjесt оf thе Сhornоbуl zоnе аnd gеttіng іnsіdе іs а unіquе еxреrіеnсе іtsеlf. А rерrеsеntаtіvе оf thе Іntеrnаtіоnаl Dераrtmеnt wіll рrоvіdе уоu wіth а sресіаl ассеss саrd. (Рlеаsе АSK bеfоrе tаkіng рісturеs thеrе). Аftеr раssіng раssроrt соntrоl уоu еntеr а mосkuр hаll аt thе Аdmіnіstrаtіvе аnd Sеrvісе Соmрlеx оf thе Сhornоbуl NРР whеrе аn NРР rерrеsеntаtіvе tеlls уоu thе truе stоrу оf СhNРР.
Objects included: Thе fаmоus 'gоldеn соrrіdоr' соnnесts аll раrts оf thе NРР, Thе соntrоl rооm оf thе rеасtоr (СR), Vаlеrу Khоdеmсhuk mеmоrіаl, Rооm wіth MСР (mаіn сіrсulаtіоn рumрs), Undеrgrоund bunkеr оf СhNРР, Сhаngіng fасіlіtу -1430 and Slаvutісh town, that wаs fоundеd tо rерlасе Рrуріаt сіtу fоr еmрlоуееs оf СhNРР аnd thеіr fаmіlіеs іn 1986.
РLЕАSЕ NОTЕ! СhNNР tоur іs аvаіlаblе оnlу оn 3-5 dау рrіvаtе tоurs. Thе СhNРР vіsіt rеquеst shаll bе submіttеd іn аdvаnсе, but nоt lаtеr thаn 14 саlеndаr dауs bеfоrе thе dаtе оf thе vіsіt. Іt’s роssіblе tо dо а СhNРР tоur оn Mоndау-Frіdау оnlу. Tоur іtіnеrаrу mау сhаngе duе tо thе tесhnісаl wоrks саrrіеd оut аt thе NРР.
Frequently asked questions
You need to choose the date of your tour and send an E-MAIL with your passports attached, type of tour, and the number of participant. Please note, that the permits processing time is about 6 working days. So, stay on the safe side and book your tour in advance.
The price includes a full package of documents allowing visits to the exclusion zone, permission for photo/video shooting, transportation Kyiv-zone-Kyiv, English speaking guide, accommodation in the town of Chornobyl (if you book 2/3 days tour), insurance, meal, small souvenirs.
All tour roots are far away from badly contaminated areas, therefore the personal irradiation dose received during one day in the zone is 2 microsieverts. It’s equal to a 1-hour flight and 3000 times less than a CT scan.
It is obligatory to have your passport with you (NOT ID!) (the data of which you sent us). It is impossible to enter the zone without your passport. We are not responsible for your failure to enter the zone because of the wrong passport number/name/ date of birth/ nationality or a wrong passport on the day of the trip. If you changed your passport number or name after registration for a tour, please let us know about it not later that one week before the date of your tour.
You don't need any special outfit, but please dress appropriately and cover all skin apart from your hands and face. No sandals, shorts, or T-shirts are allowed. Mind weather conditions as well. Ukrainian winters are very severe. It’s highly recommended to all of you to bring as many layers as you can. Hat/gloves is a mandatory thing to have on the trip! With 10 inches of snow everywhere, warm trousers and high boots will make your trip a lot more comfortable. Very often people underestimate the weather and can`t experience the zone properly simply because they freeze once they come out of the van. But Ukrainian summers are rather hot. Please make sure you have got enough water to drink. We recommend you to have a sunhat with you as we spend a lot of time in the sun. And the last, but not least is a repellent. There a lot of annoying mosquitoes in the zone.
Photo and Video in the zone are allowed with a few exceptions: - you are not allowed to take photos of the police officers, checkpoints, and security installations. Photos in the industrial site of the ChNPP are allowed only in certain directions. Drone shooting requires special permission. Due to the unstable situation in the country, the Chornobyl department of the security service of Ukraine suspended the issuance of permits for an indefinite period of time.
To get more details and make a reservation please contact Olga Shcherbakova, go2chornobyl@sputnik.kiev.ua
The April 1986 disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine was the product of a flawed Soviet reactor design coupled with serious mistakes made by the plant operators. It was a direct consequence of Cold War isolation and the resulting lack of any safety culture.
The accident destroyed the Chornobyl 4 reactor, killing 30 operators and firemen within three months and several further deaths later. One person was killed immediately and a second died in hospital soon after as a result of injuries received. Another person is reported to have died at the time from a coronary thrombosis. Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) was originally diagnosed in 237 people on-site and involved with the clean-up and it was later confirmed in 134 cases. Of these, 28 people died as a result of ARS within a few weeks of the accident. Nineteen more workers subsequently died between 1987 and 2004, but their deaths cannot necessarily be attributed to radiation exposure. Nobody off-site suffered from acute radiation effects although a significant, but uncertain, fraction of the thyroid cancers diagnosed since the accident in patients who were children at the time are likely to be due to intake of radioactive iodine fallout. Furthermore, large areas of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and beyond were contaminated in varying degrees.
The Chornobyl disaster was a unique event and the only accident in the history of commercial nuclear power where radiation-related fatalities occurred. The design of the reactor is unique and in that respect, the accident is thus of little relevance to the rest of the nuclear industry outside the then Eastern Bloc. However, it led to major changes in safety culture and in industry cooperation, particularly between East and West before the end of the Soviet Union. Former President Gorbachev said that the Chornobyl accident was a more important factor in the fall of the Soviet Union than Perestroika – his program of liberal reform.
