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You do have to be careful and read the fine print. This year, I was turned away at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border (US citizen) because I had read on that Wiki

You do have to be careful and read the fine print. This year, I was turned away at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border (US citizen) because I had read on that Wikipedia page that it was Visa free. In fact, it is only visa free if you arrive via the Minsk airport. Fortunately I was only driving through a tiny part of Belarus on my way to Poland so it was a simple matter of another 30 minutes or so of driving to enter Poland via the Lithuanian border.

mynegation 8y ago
I was confused by the order of countries and thought you were turned away by Lithuanians. Being turned away by Belorussians as a US citizen makes much more sense.
onetimemanytime 8y ago
Great reminder. Always check with that country's embassy or risk a ruined vacation and much worse.
krn 8y ago
To be fair, visa-free entry into Belarus for up to 30 days is a completely new thing[1]. Unlike most visa-free regimes, it's not driven by any international agreements, but rather by a Belarusian initiative to promote tourism in the country. Therefore, they can set their own requirements, and it's still not possible to take a 2-hour train from Vilnius to Minsk without a visa. The entire program can be cancelled at any time by one side, since Belarusians don't have the same visa-free access to the EU. [1] https://www.belarus.by/rel_image/6400 https://www.belarus.by/rel_image/6400
- chatterbeak 8y ago
  This is exactly the point! You have to check with official government sources otherwise it's useless.
- agapon 8y ago
  To be fair, Ukraine has the same unilateral visa-free regime for EU (plus some other countries) citizens. But it's not as arbitrary. If you are a citizen of one of the countries you can enter through any legal port of entry. Edit. I keep forgetting that Ukraine now does have visa free travel with Schengen states.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
Symbiote 8y ago
> You do have to be careful and read the fine print. I think all such sites are just useful for giving ideas of where to go on holiday or hold a business meeting. Once the idea progresses, it's necessary to check with embassies or government websites on the current situation.
st1ck 8y ago
This is why you shouldn't rely on Timatic for overland travel. But Belarus border rules are really messy anyway. E.g. you can't go from Belarus to Russia overland, unless you're a citizen of either of them.

mynegation 8y ago

I was confused by the order of countries and thought you were turned away by Lithuanians. Being turned away by Belorussians as a US citizen makes much more sense.

onetimemanytime 8y ago

Great reminder. Always check with that country's embassy or risk a ruined vacation and much worse.

krn 8y ago

To be fair, visa-free entry into Belarus for up to 30 days is a completely new thing[1]. Unlike most visa-free regimes, it's not driven by any international agreements, but rather by a Belarusian initiative to promote tourism in the country. Therefore, they can set their own requirements, and it's still not possible to take a 2-hour train from Vilnius to Minsk without a visa. The entire program can be cancelled at any time by one side, since Belarusians don't have the same visa-free access to the EU. [1] https://www.belarus.by/rel_image/6400 https://www.belarus.by/rel_image/6400

chatterbeak 8y ago
This is exactly the point! You have to check with official government sources otherwise it's useless.
agapon 8y ago
To be fair, Ukraine has the same unilateral visa-free regime for EU (plus some other countries) citizens. But it's not as arbitrary. If you are a citizen of one of the countries you can enter through any legal port of entry. Edit. I keep forgetting that Ukraine now does have visa free travel with Schengen states.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

Symbiote 8y ago

> You do have to be careful and read the fine print. I think all such sites are just useful for giving ideas of where to go on holiday or hold a business meeting. Once the idea progresses, it's necessary to check with embassies or government websites on the current situation.

st1ck 8y ago

This is why you shouldn't rely on Timatic for overland travel. But Belarus border rules are really messy anyway. E.g. you can't go from Belarus to Russia overland, unless you're a citizen of either of them.