Help
Medical assistance
-         Approach your insurance carefully. Find out whether Your insurance company has an agreement with Belarus on giving emergency medical care. If not, change the company, or the insurance will not be covering the costs of medical assistance on the territory of this country.
-         If you have recurring illnesses, the insurance will not cover the expenses for treating them, be sure to take cash and/or medicines that You might need.
But better be careful, stay healthy and your travel will go without troubles.

Consular assistance
-         Don’t rush when obtaining a visa and traveling to a foreign country. Find out in advance the address and phone number of the consular department of your country on the territory of Belarus. Learn, who you need to contact if you need help and protection. Call this number and check if your information is correct. Be persistent. Having such data will give You a sense of being protected and self-assurance.
The list of the consular departments of other countries on the territory of Belarus could be found here:
TURIST.BY
Russian language navigation only.
And here is the list of all Belarusian embassies: "Визы в Беларуси" or TURIST.BY.
The tourist business in Belarus is still very young. That’s why most comfortable accommodation could be found in the country’s capital. If you travel on your own, visits to the other cities are best planned from Minsk. 

Taxi and car rent:
Don’t use the services of those drivers, who approach the visitors by the entrance of the train station and offer to give you a ride for a certain sum of money. The pay, they demand is likely to be exaggerated. There is a taxi parking a short walk from the station, we advise you to use it. Another alternative is to call a taxi company. Information about taxi services in Minsk could be found here:

Car rent:

Where to live?
You can learn about the hotels in Minsk and Belarus on the websites:
Туризм в Беларуси
"Все путевки"
Бронирование отелей

There are English versions of these sites. No matter, which hotel You choose in reality it will be a little worse, than advertised.

Alternative to the inns:
If you travel as a small company, perhaps it would be better for you to rent a flat. To find out about the possible options visit these sites:
Аренда VIP-квартир посуточно в центре Минска
"Минск в сети"

You can rent an apartment in advance. The price for it would probably be around 40-60$ a day. Up to six people could stay at a time.
There are no student hostels yet. So it is hard to find cheap accommodation. You can ask about in the NGOs that organize international student and volunteer exchanges and learn about the places where you could stay. In addition you could make some connections even before you come to Belarus. 

From morning coffee to evening cocktail.
Where could you get a cup of coffee, buy snacks or have a full meal? Find out about it on the following sites:
relax.by
mixture.org
"Вкусный Минск"
"Вечеринки, музыкальные новости, ночные клубы Минска"
360.by
There you could also find information about clubs, bowling centres and other places for pleasant time-spending.

Internet

You can contact you friends or just visit your favourite chatroom in the internet clubs. Where exactly – read here:
"Минск в сети"
Интернет кафе
"Столица"
"Площадка"
Интернет кафе