Has anyone been to Chernobyl

Hey all my friend and I are thinking about taking a tour or Chernobyl and nearby pripyat and I was wondering if anyone on here has been.
There seem to be loads of tour operators but obviously we want the best for our money and preferably an english speaking tour guide.

I can think of alot of places to visit on earth. Chernobyl is not one of them I would have considered.

The Ukraine in general is a pretty bleak place. they are trying to modernize of course, but they got hit hard with the USSR, then the collapse of the USSR.

I am not sure how close you can get to the hot zone in Chernobyl however...I think you can get about 20 miles away from ground zero before it starts getting lethal

Destination Truth did a bit there..looking for ghosts. What is your reason for going? you might have better suggestions based on what your ultimate desire is...
Are you wanting to see an abandoned city? a disaster site? ghost hunting? I reckon you won't find many whom have actually been to Chernobyl because of how difficult it is to get there to begin with.

Originally posted by unicomsol
I am not sure how close you can get to the hot zone in Chernobyl however...I think you can get about 20 miles away from ground zero before it starts getting lethal

No, those tours basically bringt you right in front of the reactor and to all the other famous places.

There's a pretty good tour from ukranianweb.com, it starts at 9 am and goes until 6 pm. With this tour you visit Lelyov, to the Power Plant, Pripyat, the Red Forest, the Chernobyl Scientific Center and Rossokha were they burried all the radiated equipment and machines, you can optional even visit the Opachychi village and meet the people who returned to live in the zone of alienation.
A friend of mine did this tour and he said it was awesome and shocking. The only weird thing is, that it is absolutely prohibited to take pictures or film.
Those tours are all in english as far as i know, because people from all over the world come there.

One day i would definitely like to go there, i guess it's on the most interesting visits one can make.

Originally posted by unicomsol
I can think of alot of places to visit on earth. Chernobyl is not one of them I would have considered.

The Ukraine in general is a pretty bleak place. they are trying to modernize of course, but they got hit hard with the USSR, then the collapse of the USSR.

I am not sure how close you can get to the hot zone in Chernobyl however...I think you can get about 20 miles away from ground zero before it starts getting lethal

Destination Truth did a bit there..looking for ghosts. What is your reason for going? you might have better suggestions based on what your ultimate desire is...
Are you wanting to see an abandoned city? a disaster site? ghost hunting? I reckon you won't find many whom have actually been to Chernobyl because of how difficult it is to get there to begin with.

Its just something that has always interested me plus one of my hobbies is urban exploration so It would be interesting from that angle too

Originally posted by ShadowAngel85

Originally posted by unicomsol
I am not sure how close you can get to the hot zone in Chernobyl however...I think you can get about 20 miles away from ground zero before it starts getting lethal

No, those tours basically bringt you right in front of the reactor and to all the other famous places.

There's a pretty good tour from ukranianweb.com, it starts at 9 am and goes until 6 pm. With this tour you visit Lelyov, to the Power Plant, Pripyat, the Red Forest, the Chernobyl Scientific Center and Rossokha were they burried all the radiated equipment and machines, you can optional even visit the Opachychi village and meet the people who returned to live in the zone of alienation.
A friend of mine did this tour and he said it was awesome and shocking. The only weird thing is, that it is absolutely prohibited to take pictures or film.
Those tours are all in english as far as i know, because people from all over the world come there.

One day i would definitely like to go there, i guess it's on the most interesting visits one can make.

Thanks for the info. I might actually try and get a group to go as it lowers costs. I don't know if ats would allow me to advertise the idea?

reply to post by benintheuk


You might also want to consider Aktau in Kazakhstan,Aktau(known as schevchenko in soviet times) was at one time the soviet unions most secret city,it was built as a nuclear town to house workers for the nearby BN 350 reactor which at its peak produced over 90% of the plutonium used in soviet nuclear warhead production,the city itself is undergoing major building programmes,but you can still see the soviet era factories(and former chemical weapons works!) on the outskirts of the city,some of them are pretty eerie.

Saw an internet vid (youtube?) of a female doing a motorcycle tour of Chernobyl. Was pretty cool, but can't find it right now...

Originally posted by nake13
reply to post by benintheuk

 

You might also want to consider Aktau in Kazakhstan,Aktau(known as schevchenko in soviet times) was at one time the soviet unions most secret city,it was built as a nuclear town to house workers for the nearby BN 350 reactor which at its peak produced over 90% of the plutonium used in soviet nuclear warhead production,the city itself is undergoing major building programmes,but you can still see the soviet era factories(and former chemical weapons works!) on the outskirts of the city,some of them are pretty eerie.

edit on 2-6-2011 by nake13 because: Spelling

That place sounds awesome!

Now, this is a holiday plan!

From several sources (mainly photographers/film crews) i've heard (and seen pictures) it is possible to go straight up to the reactor with guided tours. Though people have been advised to stay a maximum of a half an hour directly on spot.

But if you go for photo safari you definetely want to go check out the nearby town Pripyat. Amazing and eerie photo opportunities all over the place; the amusement park, which was built shortly before the blow-out, houses which have still plates and forks on the table, clothing lying around, since the people left in a hurry.

Interesting as well is the nature fighting its way back; there are trees growing through the abandonend buildings and the place looks kind of green.

There are even some older folks which still live in the region, they just did not want to live. They live a very simple self-sustaining life, having their own garden and animals. Somehow they did survive despite the radiation.

Here some impressions of what to expect:


Have fun.