It was on April 26, 1986, that Reactor No. 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in what was then the Soviet Union, exploded. During an early morning test something went wrong. Technicians tried to stop the process but were too late — the reactor blew apart, shooting radioactive debris into the night sky. Winds carried radioactive fallout over much of Europe. Ultimately, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes.
Today Chornobyl is a ghost town that welcomes numerous tours. It may seem like a gruesome place to visit, but in fact, it isn’t any different from the sites of tragedies like Auschwitz or Ground Zero. Chornobyl has become abandoned ground where people come to witness and to remember.

Most tours to Chernobyl from Kyiv offer a full-day guided tour, transportation by modern comfortable buses with a pick up from Kyiv downtown or from hotel door, visiting of the Red Forest, sightseeing of Reactor 4 from a 500-300-meter distance and sightseeing of Pripyat town and Paryshiv village. In order to make visiting Chernobyl exclusion zone more interesting and to attract more clients some companies offer such services as «Chornobyl Air Tour» to experience a breath-taking bird-view of the Chernobyl zone, teaching the essential skills of radiation survival en route to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and themed quest games for most inquiring minds.

You have the option of visiting Chornobyl with a group or to book an individual tour for you and your friends. The prices for a full-day English language guided tour to Chernobyl zone range from US$ 100 to US$ 170 depending on tour’s itinerary, type of vehicle and tour group size. According to the new regulations, you must book your tour at least 10 working days in advance as the tour operators need to get the permission from the local authorities to enter the 30-kilometer Exclusion Zone.
Tourists are required to sign a release that contains a long list of rules: «No drugs. No alcohol. No souvenirs. No picnics.». According to the recent Ukrainian Government regulations, a compulsory medical insurance (US$ 10.00) has to be purchased by every visitor to the zone on the day of the tour in an office of the insurance company at the entry to the Zone or at the tour operators’ that organize Chernobyl trips.

Independent travelers tend to shun organized tour companies. However, if booking trip to Chernobyl, organized tours can’t be avoided. According to the Ukrainian Government regulations, individuals are not allowed to enter Zone of Alienation (a 30-kilometer zone around Reactor No. 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant) if not a participant of scheduled and registered (tour companies do that) organized tour group.
Our web destinations.com.ua strongly recommends to check the reputation of the tour company you intend to book a tour to Chornobyl from. Read the reviews of their previous tours and check the company’s feedback on social medial such as Facebook or instagram. Many tour companies overcharge, while some are just really good at maximizing value for your every penny. Ask where the money goes and how it is spent to find out if you are really getting the best value for your money. Moreover, make sure you ask if there are fees to pay when you get to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, or at specific sites (Red Forest, Pripyat etc). Many companies require you to pay additional money when the tour starts. That cheap tour won’t be so cheap if you have to pay for everything while there.

Take a chance to have a tour to Chornobyl Nuclear Wasteland. It may be centuries before the area around Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant is safe enough for habitation. Until then, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster has become one of the world’s most chilling tourist attractions.
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