Belarus Travel Forum

I will be arriving in Minsk on October 15 at 5 PM and originally thought of staying at a hotel near the airport and then leaving early in the morning for Grodno which is my final destination for one week. However, I now am aware that the World Cup begins on October 15 so getting a hotel room may be difficult. I have also looked at a train schedule and see that there are no trains which leave for Grodno early in the day but about 4 pm and then at about 9 pm which rides through the night. I have a few questions. 1. If the train takes between 6 and 7 hours, how long would a car with a driver take? 2. Are there buses leaving from Minsk to Grodno on a more regular schedule and how long should the bus take?
3. Are there hotels at Minsk airport or am I better off staying in town? Thanks in advance for any responses.

You can easily catch the last bus from Minsk to Grodno from both airports (Minsk-1 or Minsk-2), it leaves "East" bus station ("Vostochnui" avtovokzal) at 20:10 and arrives to Grodno at 00:30. The previous one - 19:25-23:45