Everyone who is going to travel by car to Europe will meet the border crossings Belarus-Poland or Ukraine-Poland on the way. It is necessary to take into account the features of the passage and congestion of these transitions.
Overview from Belarusian border crossings
The line at the border with Poland from Belarus, as a rule, depends on the time of day and day of the week at which you are going to cross the border; less often - from state and religious holidays both in Poland and in Belarus.
As a rule, on weekdays, on the road to Poland, as well as back, there are no large queues at almost any time of the day. You should prepare for a long stay if you plan to cross the border on Friday or Saturday evening. The line at the border with Poland (Berestovitsa is one of such crossings) begins to accumulate from Friday evening and stays stable all night from Friday to Saturday, in the opposite direction - from Saturday or Sunday lunch.
This is the most popular destination for constantly traveling to Poland to earn extra money or buy locals.
A similar situation awaits you at the border crossings of Bruzgi (Grodno) and Warsaw bridge (Brest). General advice for all who are worried about the queue on the border with Poland or Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine: use the services of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus.
On the same site there are many more useful services for travelers. Webcams at crossings, up-to-date information on the number of vehicles to enter or exit, an archive of the queues of different modes of transport.
It will not be amiss to recall that for quickly crossing the border it is useful to arm yourself with up-to-date information about the rules for customs clearance of goods that you import or export. Knowing in advance what awaits you there, you will reduce the very process of registration at the border and will not become the reason for the queue at the border with Poland. The most relevant information can be found on the website of the Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus in the "Travelers" section. There is a similar information service in Poland. If you approach the study of the waiting line at the border from different sides, then you can compare information from Belarusian and Polish online services.
Belarus border crossings for personal cars
The total number of border crossings on the Belarus-Poland border is six, namely: Bruzgi (Grodno), Berestovitsa (Volkovysk), Peschatka (Kamenets), Kozlovichi (this checkpoint is used exclusively for freight transport), Warsaw Bridge (Brest), Domachevo (according to official information, this checkpoint was closed until 10/01/2016, in connection with the repair of the bridge over the Bug River).
The most popular border crossing points for personal vehicles are Berestovitsa, Bruzgi and Warsaw Bridge; Sand is not so popular because of its location, but there the line on the border with Poland is more likely an exception than a rule at any time.
The situation at the border crossings Ukraine-Poland
It is important to note that both Ukrainians and Poles living in the border zones actively cross the border on weekends, both in that and in the opposite direction, so the main advice will be to plan trips on holiday days so as not to intersect with the main stream. Try to check out early Friday. Arriving at the border on Friday afternoon or on a weekday, most likely you can avoid long queuing at the Ukraine-Poland border.
It is worth noting one important nuance regarding the Ukrainian-Polish border. A lot of cars with Polish license plates in the queue are people who are obliged to cross the border every five days because they just bought a car in the EU and did not change their registration. From the practice of experienced travelers: when passing through passport control, make sure that you get a stamp in your passport, sometimes border guards simply forget to do it. And given that the technical equipment of Ukrainian border crossings leaves much to be desired and technical failures happen, without a mark it will be difficult for you to prove where you came from in Ukraine or why you are leaving if, according to them, you are already there. In no case is this a rule, and it is difficult to find fault with the work of Ukrainian border guards, but, unfortunately, such exceptions have happened more than once, just be careful.
Checkpoints on the border of Ukraine-Poland
There are 5 main border crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border. 4 of them are located in the Lviv region: Smilnica, Shegini, Rava-Russkaya, Krakovets; 1 in the Volyn region - Yagodin. All these transitions are intended for cars and trucks. The most popular, especially after the opening of a new route to Kiev (Varshavka), is Yagodin, it is located near the village of Starovoitovo. Jagodin is located on the road E373 (highway M07). This is the shortest route for those traveling from Kiev to Warsaw or vice versa. The checkpoint has been operating for more than 10 years and has a developed infrastructure, however, in the queue you can get stuck from 1.5 to 9 hours.
Your attentiveness and elementary politeness will help you not to linger at any checkpoint longer than necessary.