Expert opinion: What's the most surprising new destination in Eastern Europe?

Jayne Thomas is the Managing Director and co-founder of Eastern Europe Travel/Russian Travel Centre which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Q. What's the most exciting and surprising new destination in Eastern Europe?

A. Belarus. I visited last October for the first time and it's a beautiful country, 40 per cent of which is forest, with villages in a time warp. The biggest surprises were the unspoilt countryside, stunning forests, excellent roads and friendly people.

We spent one night in a provincial town on Mothers' Day and the locals insisted we join them on the restaurant dance floor – all night to 1990s western music! Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is the last primeval forest in Europe and home to elk, bear and wolves and the rare and protected European bison.

A much visited attraction is the magnificent 16th century Nesvizh Castle, built by the wealthy Radzivil family.

The economy is very much a rural one, there are still collective farms, a bit like being back in the USSR but a more open and friendly version.

Belarus can easily be combined with the Baltic States and Poland, with rail services between Vilnius and Minsk and Brest and Warsaw.
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