Nuclear Power Plant Tour | Visiting Chernobyl 2024
The abandoned city of Chernobyl is a popular tourist hot spot for daring travelers. Nuclear power plant tours around this morbidly intriguing attraction have been growing in popularity recently. Following the release of the HBO Chernobyl series, tours around the infamous Chernobyl exclusion zone are now on everyone’s travel list.
Touring the city of Chernobyl is an interesting dive into the past and a cautionary tale of the future. This eerie landscape, devoid of life, is a prominent part of Ukraine’s history. A level of respect should be kept for the past citizens of Chernobyl when paying a visit to the area. With that in mind, there are a number of different touring options to choose from when planning your exploration. Let’s take a look at the best of them.
Highlights:
- A unique chance to explore an abandoned nuclear power plant site
- Access to exclusive areas inside the abandoned city
- A chance to take unorthodox photographs and video footage
Know before you book:
- Overall safety from radiation can not be guaranteed
- As a site growing in popularity, expect tourists
- Specific clothing is required – closed shoes, long pants and jackets are a necessity
Following the devastating meltdown of Chernobyl control room 4, the nuclear fallout of this power plant led to an evacuation of the city for good. Untouched by civilization since 1986, Chernobyl is a post-apocalyptic landscape of crumbling highrise buildings and abandoned everyday artifacts.
With the mandatory evictions after the explosion, residents believed they would be allowed back after three days. Everything was left behind exactly as it was with tables still set in dining halls and children’s toys littered around bedrooms.
Three days became 34 years and counting with the nuclear radiation leaving the area completely uninhabitable to this day. Suspended in a bygone era, soviet propaganda posters still hang, flaking, on the city walls. And Lenin statues can still be seen standing around the desolate area.
To this day, Pripyat, the Red Forest, and inside the Chernobyl reactor itself maintain dangerously high levels of radiation. Chernobyl is predicted to remain uninhabitable for the next 20,000 years. Long abandoned, nature has begun reclaiming the city. In stark contrast to other Ukraine attractions like the gorgeous Nikitsky Botanical Gardens, Chernobyl’s allure is the decaying urban landscape succumbing to untamed nature.
Tours of Chernobyl Prices 2024
The cost of these nuclear power plant tours starts at about $80 (2 130 UAH) and goes up to $150 (3995 UAH). This price can be higher depending on the number of passengers, overall length, and means of travel.
Traveling the area is not cheap, as a number of safety measures have to be taken on every tour. However, the experience itself is good value for money and there are a few shorter tours that accommodate for a tighter budget.
Compare prices across the ticket providers below:
Chernobyl Power Plant Tour | Times
Most Chernobyl and Pripyat tours require two weeks’ notice of a booking. Every tour requires government clearing and this can take some time. The majority of the tours on this list start earlier in the morning in order to provide a full day of traveling around the area.
Monday – Sunday: 7am – 6pm
Nuclear Power Plant Tours | Best Time to Go
While the nuclear power plant tours are open all year round, it’s recommended to go in winter. Chernobyl covered in snow can be even more thrilling and unsettling. There is also the added benefit that the snow covers the radiation particles and makes your trip a little bit safer.
Can you tour a nuclear power plant?
The answer is yes. With the right precautions taken, visitors are more or less safe from long-term radiation damage. When traveling from hotels in Kyiv to the Chernobyl Zone, visitors will pass through two police checkpoints.
Don’t forget your ID because you will be required to present it at both of these stops. Another thing to prepare for is the sheer magnitude of the area itself.
Already large on paper, the vast number of villages, complexes, and even an amusement park is staggering to comprehend in person. Visitors will also be able to get close to the nuclear power plant itself.
Things to See Inside Chernobyl Power Plant and Around
- Abandoned amusement park and Ferris wheel
- Duga Radar System – also known as the ‘Russian Woodpecker’
- Palace of Culture community center
- Pripyat Model City
- Chernobyl upper biological shield of reactor 4
- The Red Forest
- The ‘Self-Settlers’ of Chernobyl’s outer villages
Nuclear Power Plant Tour | Options & Packages
For those skeptical about setting foot in the infamous radiation site, there is the option to tour Chernobyl from the safety of a helicopter.
Most nuclear power plant tours provide travel around the area in various comfortable vehicles and visitors are allowed to step out and walk around. Tours can range from 10hr day trips to three-day-long adventures.
From Kyiv | Chernobyl & Pripyat Private Helicopter Tour
If you’re feeling a little skeptical about Chernobyl’s radiation, this might be the tour for you. Step aboard a private helicopter and enjoy a bird’s-eye view over the ill-famed exclusion zone.
Spot the abandoned apartments of Pripyat, made even more gloomy by the contrasting orange of the surrounding trees. The large, desolate buildings can be even more daunting and hauntingly appealing when viewed from above. Snap some amazing shots and learn all about the tumultuous history of Chernobyl from your personal tour guide.
- Hotel Pick-up and Drop offs
- Private, well-informed Local Guide
- Private Helicopter Tour
- Gratuities
- Food or Beverages
- Walking Tour
This tour includes pick-ups and drop-offs at certain hotels and lasts approximately 1.5 hours.
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Full-Day Private Chernobyl & Pripyat Tour | Kyiv
This full-day private tour lasts approximately 10 hrs. Visitors can expect to be fetched from their hotel in Kyiv and will enjoy round-trip transport to all the best spots in Chernobyl.
Learn all about the dark history of the contained monstrosity inside Chernobyl Reactor 4 from an informative private tour guide.
The routes on this tour can be customized according to personal preference.
- Private Vehicle Transport and Local Guide
- Lunch
- Hotel Pick-up and Drop offs
- Gratuities
- Guaranteed Safety of Pregnant Tourists
- Wheelchair Accessibility
Private and accommodating, this is how to visit Chernobyl the right way. Skip the bustling crowds of tourists and explore this fantastical wasteland at your leisure.
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From Kyiv | 1-Day Group Tour Visiting Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
This affordable tour departs from a designated meeting point in Kyiv and transports small groups of visitors through the iconic sights of Chernobyl.
Visit the Duga Radar Station and the spooky abandoned amusement park. Get up close to the infamous reactor 4 and walk through the derelict apartment blocks in Pripyat.
Tourists are encouraged to snap pictures along the route and complimentary lunches are optional.
- Guided Trip Through Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
- Optional Lunch Included
- Permit to Enter Exclusion Zone
- Guaranteed Safety of Pregnant Tourists
- Guaranteed Safety of Children Under 18
- Beverages
This tour is approximately 11 – 12 hrs long.
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Two-day Tour of Chernobyl & Pripyat | Kyiv
Forget public buses, this two-day tour provides comfortable transportation to and from hotels in Kyiv and encompasses all of the best haunting sights of Chernobyl.
Guests will enjoy three meals during this tour including a complimentary lunch near Chernobyl’s intercontinental ballistic rockets.
- Well-informed Local Guide
- Hotel Stay in Chernobyl City
- Air-Conditioned Vehicle
- Hotel Pick-up
- Wheelchair accessibility
- Guaranteed Safety of Pregnant Tourists
Spend the night in a Chernobyl hotel and avoid the crowds with this luxurious two-day tour.
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From Kyiv: Day Trip to Chernobyl Exclusion Zone & Pripyat
This power plant tour kicks off from a pickup point in Kyiv and includes an informative documentary on the drive towards the first police checkpoint. Guests will also be encouraged to grab coffee and snacks before entering Chernobyl.
Enjoy your snacks at the Chernobyl Power Plant workers’ canteen before continuing on through the enigmatic ghost town.
- Well-informed Local Guide
- Air-Conditioned Transportation Bus
- Full-day Tour of Chernobyl
- Gratuities
- Hotel Pick-up and Drop-off
- Food or Beverages
This tour lasts approximately 12hrs and includes guided narration as you move through the area.
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Private 3-Day Extended Tour to Chernobyl & Pripyat | Kyiv
This private tour is a spectacular 3-day affair encompassing all the best sights Chernobyl has to offer.
Visit Zalissya village, located on the outskirts of Chernobyl, and home to a single female self-settler choosing to stay in the area. Other unorthodox sights include the deserted Chernobyl railway station and other illusory, crumbling architecture.
- Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
- Overnight Accommodation
- Air-conditioned Minivan
- Dosimeter
- Hotel Pick-up and Drop-offs
- Guaranteed Safety of Pregnant Tourists
Guests can expect two nights of accommodation, daily breakfasts, and dinners as well as an extensive tour in a luxury minibus through the radioactive scene.
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Chernobyl HBO Full-day Tour | Filming Locations
Visit the Chernobyl control room, encapsulated in its upper biological shield to prevent further disasters. Catch every iconic Chernobyl sight as seen in HBO’s popular TV series, ‘Chernobyl’.
See this spectral city from the other side of the screen on this glamorous power plant tour.
- Air-conditioned Coach Transport
- Well-informed Local Guide
- Medical Insurance
- Lunch
- Personal Expenses
- Wheelchair Accessibility
This tour is approximately 12hrs long and covers a broad array of Chernobyl sights.
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- Short distance from Kias
- Meals included in many of the options
- Large variety of touring options
- Not safe for pregnant tourists or children
- Paperwork and ID necessary for access
- Food could be limited
Specification: Nuclear Power Plant Tour | Visiting Chernobyl 2024
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