ChernobylX
ChernobylX OFFICIAL AND SAFE
Contracted guided tour around the Ignalina power plant with full safety protection
BEHIND THE SCENES
A look behind the scenes of filming the HBO Chernobyl miniseries.
TAILORED FOR YOU
We adjust the programme based on your preference
BONUS PROGRAMME
The program is expanded by visiting filming sites of Pripyat city in Vilnius
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN YOUR PRIVATE IGNALINA TOUR?
IGNALINA TOUR WHERE YOU BECOME AN INSIDER
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LOCAL ENGLISH GUIDE - INSIDER
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ALL PERMITS (INCL. PHOTO AND VIDEO) FOR ENTERING THE IGNALINA POWER PLANT
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TRANSPORTATION TO/FROM TO VILNIUS
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FULL POWER PLANT TOUR INCL. SIMULATOR VISIT
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TRADITIONAL LUNCH IN THE SATELLITE CITY OF THE POWER PLANT
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ALL INCLUSIVE, THE PRICE IS FINAL, NO HIDDEN FEES
The twin of Chernobyl ready to write your miniseries
BEHIND THE SCENES OF NUCLEAR DECOMMISSIONING
“Not great, not terrible,” is the famous quote by Anatoly Dyatlov when reporting the 3.6 Roentgens level of radiation. For the tour that is devoted to the Chernobyl miniseries and its legacy, we often hear: “Great, not terrible”. The Ignalina tour has it all: the story of the filming, the story of the Soviet nuclear programme, and the story of the heritage that the Soviet propaganda left on the people and their country.
With the Private Ignalina Tour from Vilnius, Lithuania, you will be privileged to take a tour with the highest safety measurements in the only RBMK type reactor power plant in the European Union, that is now decommissioned. You will step on the very spots where the iconic scenes were shot, and other scenes were designed, including the reactor hall and control room. On top of that, the tour is extended by visiting suburbs of Vilnius where the Chernobyl miniseries creators “lent” the Pripyat streets, peeking behind the scenes with fun facts including the challenges on how the houses and streets had to be turned back to a 1980s style.
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Your visit to the Ignalina Power Plant starts in the capital of Lithuania Vilnius, where our driver and guide will pick you up at your address. While learning the Soviet history of Lithuania, as well as the decisions that led to build a nuclear power plant in Ignalina, the 2 hour drive in our car or van (with A/C and WiFi) to the north of Lithuania, where the only RBMK nuclear power plant in the European Union is located will pass in a blink of an eye.
Your Ignalina power plant tour starts and ends with safety – we make sure you are fully covered to enter the reactor hall of the most powerful RBMK reactor ever built with an energy output of 1250 MW, even higher than in the Chernobyl Power Plant (1000 MW). You will walk on the reactor chamber lids that you may recall from the TV screen where they started to tremble and jump before the explosion in the Chernobyl reactor number 4, uncovering the radioactive fuel underneath. No worries, the radioactive fuel has been removed, and the only traces of radiation you will find with your dosimeter are very low, a fraction of safety norms.
The tour will take you to the control room, now a simulator, used in the filming of the Chernobyl series as well. Get to know the three parts of the control panel, take a selfie with the various monitors and needles, and try to find the famous AZ-5 button that was switched too late on the night of April 26,1986 in Chernobyl. Besides the facts on how a nuclear power plant operates, you also learn the story of decommissioning. Ignalina stopped producing electricity in 2009, and it will become a brown field only in 2038. The tours will stop some decade earlier.
The tour around the iconic power plant and the places where the episodes with firefighters, miners and divers were shot will make you feel hungry. We will have a traditional lunch in the city built for the power plant workers a few kilometers away, which was also used for filming the HBO miniseries. Visaginas is the youngest city in Lithuania but its “butterfly” design was never finished as the power plant’s new reactors had not been built.
On the way back to Vilnius from your Ignalina tour keep the image of Communist architecture in Visaginas in your mind, as you will soon walk in the original Communist suburb filled with the typical blocks of flats in Vilnius. They were used for filming the scenes of Pripyat city and you can now witness how they look today compared to the 1980s depicted in the series. You are free to ask any questions before we drop you gently back on your address in Vilnius.
The whole Private Ignalina Tour is all inclusive – you do not need to take care of transportation, dining or other things like permits. Make sure you book your tour at least 3 weeks before the tour date, in order to have enough time to get your Ignalina Power Plant permits processed and issued. The program is truly packed and leaves only some space for creativity, but we will gladly adjust it to your needs, whether you are a fan of filming, a power plant specialist, or a photographer. Also, let us know up front about any allergies, health constraints or diet requirements. The ChernobylX guide and delegate will make sure you are fully covered and taken care of for the trip of your lifetime. When creating the Ignalina Tour, we made sure that it is a love letter to the makers of the Chernobyl series.
We have been on a mission to CHALLENGE YOUR WORLDVIEW since 2008.
Ignalina Tour Safety
During the Corona pandemic, we have ensured the absolute safety of you and your fellow travellers by an airline-level of disinfection and precautionary measurements: temperature check, face masks, gloves, antibacterial gel, disinfected buses and cars, guides and drivers with masks. Together, we can make sure you come back home safe and thrilled.
Our trained guides will be guiding you ONLY through healthy-non-hazardous places at the Ignalina power plant. We ensure the dose of radiation received during your one-day Ignalina Tour will not exceed 5 microsieverts (5% of daily nuclear power plant safety norms in the EU), which is equivalent to around 5 hours on an intercontinental flight. You will have a dosimeter all the time with you and at the very end, you will also go through a full body radiation check.
Due to actual constraints, safety or weather conditions in the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, ChernobylX keeps the right to change the program of the itinerary, informing you about any constraints.
You are all covered for the Trip of your lifetime
Price includes
- All permits to the Ignalina Power Plant
- Safety full body protection
- An English local guide and interpreter, power plant guide
- Transportation with an A/C van to and from your Vilnius address
- Traditional lunch in Visaginas
- Tour around a Vilnius suburb
- VIP spots for other X destinations: Chernobyl, North Korea, Baikonur..
PRIVATE IGNALINA TOUR
Frequently Asked Questions
Our customers say it simply: storytelling that turns a tour to Ignalina into an experience, the emotions when comparing the Chernobyl series with reality, a true warm hearted customer care covering your tour completely, all inclusive, and peeking into the hidden gems of the Ignalina power plant – like the reactor hall. As experts on all things Chernobyl, we give this tour a special glimpse of comparison to the Chernobyl miniseries, as well as the reality of Chernobyl and the whole Soviet Union nuclear strategy. All this plus a full refund policy up to 35 days before the tour.
You don’t need to worry, we have got your back. Everything is arranged for you (permits, transportation, dining, maximum safety, radiation safety checks, top pro-English speaking guides, etc). Grab your passport, your camera, some comfy shoes, a good mood, and let’s make the Ignalina tour unforgettable!
Ignalina is the first RBMK reactor in the world that has been decommissioned and this process started back in 2009. The remaining unused fuel from the reactor as well as spent fuel which might be a health concern, were already removed and now the further steps of the decommission are taking place. This will actually not interfere with your Ignalina tour, nor will they affect any health risk. During your Ignalina tour a thorough radiation screening, full body protection and a Geiger-Muller counter (dosimeter) are present all the time.
You just have found two of the most complementary tours out there! The differences between the two most famous RBMK reactor-type power plants in the world are astounding. Not just that Ignalina was designed later than the Chernobyl counterpart and the power output was higher, but the fact is how the Chernobyl accident actually improved the safety standards in Ignalina. The parallels between the two power plants, as well as the satellite cities – Pripyat and Visaginas respectively, are countless and it is indeed like comparing a ghost town with a fast forward future version of itself as if no accident had occurred. Experiencing both – the Soviet Union in Chernobyl, along with the European Union influence in Ignalina, will leave you speechless. The tours, even though these two places are located only 600 kilometers from each other, can not be managed together or combined. Unfortunately, you will need to plan them separately, but we will gladly help you. For Chernobyl, we can organise a tour overnight, with a Chernobyl power plant visit, we need at least 20 days to get your paperwork done. For Ignalina a booking of more than 35 days before the tour is the rule.