Tours in Ukraine is the beauty of mountains and seas, picturesque landscapes, castles and fortresses, fabulous cities and towns. This is all of Ukraine and its protected corners, beautiful parks and nature reserves, tourist attractions and interesting places.

A trip to Ukraine – it is an opportunity to get unforgettable impressions for a lifetime, affordable and unforgettable pleasure. This is a pleasant pastime, unique emotions and a touch of the inexhaustible Ukrainian culture. These are trips and adventures that cannot be bored. Tours in Ukraine are tours of museums, palaces, castles and fortresses, visits to monuments of landscape and park art, and historical monuments. These are old favorites and open new areas, great pastime and experience for new trips. This is a great way to have a good rest, but at the same time spend a minimum of money. It is affordable, interesting and simple!

Tours in Ukraine | weekend tours, excursions, travel in Ukraine from Kyiv, from Lviv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Ternopil and other cities of Ukraine.

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Our tours in Ukraine are both a quiet family holiday by the sea and active cycling and hiking trips. Tours in Ukraine from EtnoSvit are not only popular tourist routes and visits to cities such as Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa, but also other interesting places where not many tourists come, but there is really a lot to see there. But the main asset that you will get on our tours is good people and everything that surrounds them – life and everyday life, everything that will prove to you that our country is unique and definitely beautiful!

Traveling through Ukraine on tours from etnosvit.com, you will learn that…

73,000 watercourses and rivers form the vascular network of the rivers of Ukraine, one of which, the parent Dnipro, occupies the third position in the ranking of the longest rivers in Europe. On one of its branches, near Nikopol, on a spit near the Lapinka River, you can hear a unique phenomenon that the whole world marvels at – singing sands. And the oldest map known to scientists, engraved on a mammoth bone, as well as the oldest settlement of Homo Sapiens were found in our village. Mezyryche of the Rivne region. They are about 14.5-15 thousand years old. The longest in Europe and the second longest in general, the Optimistichna gypsum cave in Podilla reaches 216 kilometers, second only to the Mammoth Cave in the United States of America. The deepest metro station in the world – “Arsenalna” – was built in Kyiv, and the largest desert of the continent – Oleshkivska stretches across the territory of the Kherson region. Ukrainians have a lot to be proud of! Hundreds of cities, thousands of cultural centers and many opportunities for the development of tourism.

Meet – this is Ukraine!

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Tours in Ukraine – an outsider’s view

You have decided to visit Ukraine, one of the most underrated countries in Europe! Or at least you think of it that way. Maybe you’re just wondering if it’s possible to find such a pristine country in the 21st century? It is possible and it is incredibly worth it. Ukraine, which, according to most tourists, is available in all categories of tourist recreation and is developing with amazing energy, is today a European hot spot. But at some point in the process of planning a trip to Ukraine, you will have questions about how to travel here. That’s why I put together this guide to Ukraine.

This guide to Ukraine is based on my experience of living in Ukraine for a year and a half, including long trips around the country and conversations with other foreigners and locals. I have been as thorough and accurate as I can be. But, without a doubt, people will have a different experience of traveling in Ukraine. Please feel free to leave additional information in the comments below for all travelers to benefit from! And, of course, ask any questions you have about the “tour of Ukraine”.

Is it safe to travel in Ukraine?

So! It is absolutely safe to travel in Ukraine. I lived in Kyiv for one and a half years. I returned home too late, watched all kinds of parades, used taxis and public transport. I always felt safe in Kyiv. And I traveled a lot alone in Ukraine, in the east and west, on buses and night trains. I even perfected the art of drinking on my own while living here. By the way, one of the attractions of Ukraine is drinking water. Everything is cool, everything is fine!

But I want to be realistic. My opinion is based on my experience, which I think benefits from having mixed with the world around me quite easily.

Do I need a visa to visit Ukraine?

The first place to check the most up-to-date information about a trip to Ukraine is the embassy. You can start by going to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, which has a visa verification page. Here’s what this website said as of December 6, 2017 (but be sure to double-check the official sources):

US Citizens: No visa required for tourists, 90 days within 180 days.
Canadian Citizens: No visa required for tourists, 90 days within 180 days.
British citizens: no tourist visa required, 90 days in a 180-day period.
Citizens of the European Union: visa not required for tourists, 90 days in a 180-day period.
Citizens of Russia: no visa required.
Citizens of Georgia: no visa required.
Australian citizens: tourist visa (can be done on arrival at Kyiv and Odesa airports, but you need prepared documents and cash).

In the past, foreigners violated the validity period of their visas without any problems, receiving a small slap from the Ukrainian authorities in the form of a fine. But today, Ukrainian tourist migration is becoming increasingly strict. Foreigners who are delayed (overstaying their visa) are sometimes not only fined, but also banned from entering Ukraine for some time. You will hear anecdotes about people making border crossings or light migration at land crossings, but I am not going to defend illegal or covert actions when it comes to the Ukrainian visa system.

Can I visit Crimea?

Without going into the politics of Russia and Ukraine, we can clearly talk about visiting disputed areas. The Ukrainian government considers Crimea to be illegally occupied by Russia. As a result, he imposed restrictions on visiting the peninsula. First of all, foreigners and Ukrainians must have legal grounds for visiting. Ukrainians can cross the demarcation line if they have family or property in Crimea. Foreigners can visit Crimea only through Ukraine if they are journalists and have applied for a special permit.

The Government of Ukraine considers it illegal to visit Crimea through another country. Therefore, while it is technically possible to visit Crimea via Russia (if you have the proper documents to visit Russia), you are putting yourself in a potentially dangerous situation. If Ukraine finds out that you got to Crimea through Russia, they can ban you from entering Ukraine. This was somehow expressed in an international crisis, when Ukraine refused to allow a contestant to enter the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, as she had performed in Crimea after 2014.

How can Ukraine find out that you were in Crimea, if you are not an international music star? I’m not saying it will. But travelers should know all the consequences of visiting Crimea.

What language is spoken in Ukraine?

Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine, and all official documents and signs are written in it. But, as they say, Ukraine is a melting pot for the languages ​​of different peoples living in this wonderful country. In the south-west of Ukraine, a dialect that arose due to the influence of Romania and Hungary, which sometimes affects even other Ukrainians. Chernivtsi, a city in this region, has half a dozen of its names: Chernautsi (Romanian), Chernivtsi (Hungarian), Chernivtsi (Ukrainian), Cherniovec (Polish) and many others. Russians are also fluent and understood, especially in eastern Ukraine, although language politics can get quite heated here.

However, Ukrainians are quite generous to travelers and their language. You can get your Russian “thank you” neatly adjusted to Ukrainian “Thank you”. But mostly all the locals are happy to talk to you, because it is possible. The language I know is Russian, but I try to use Ukrainian “please” and “thank you” to localize. If you don’t know any language, I recommend learning Ukrainian phrases because you will be traveling in Ukraine after all. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the Cyrillic alphabet, as there are many words that sound very similar.

And do Ukrainians speak English?

When it comes to the use of the English language in Ukraine, it is impressive and surprising. Ukrainian education pays a lot of attention to the study of the English language, so the younger generation usually has a decent (or high) knowledge of the English language. Whenever I have a question about this, I look for someone in their twenties or younger to help me out. In most tourist hotspots, city restaurants and hotels, you shouldn’t have a problem with this.

However, if you plan to travel outside Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv, it will be incredibly useful to learn some Ukrainian words. Print all your reservations and tickets and download Google Translate on your phone. Hardly anyone at train or bus stations speaks English, so give yourself extra time if you have questions or need to buy tickets.

Are Ukrainians friendly?

Yes, friendly! Maybe a little shy at first, but the fact that Ukraine does not have many tourists means that they are not tired of us yet. When most people find out that I am from the USA, they have many questions and want to know my opinion about Ukraine.

And if the locals see me struggling to communicate, they are usually happy to offer themselves as a translator. Once, when I was trying to return a ticket at the station, the woman standing behind me in line called herself my wife to help me contact the station attendant.

When is the best time to visit Ukraine?

Many foreigners represent Ukraine as a dark, cold, desert place. It does not! But you choose the best time to visit.

By October, there will be cold days. We had a significant amount of rainfall last fall. Winters can be brutally cold, with a decent amount of snow. But Christmas is a festive time in Ukraine, and snow adds a certain amount of charm. If you like snowboarding or skiing, you can visit the ski resorts of Ukraine at affordable prices.

March and April are still wet and dark, but as soon as the warm weather arrives, Ukraine comes alive. The cities have many green areas, many sidewalk cafes and many outdoor attractions. There are school holidays at the beginning of May, so in May there will be competitions for train tickets and hotels. If you want to see the nature of Ukraine, you will probably have to wait until June.

The summer is not very hot, although there will be a few heat waves during the summer. August is the high season for Lviv, Odesa and the Black Sea cities, but it will be quiet in other cities, as local residents go on vacation.

Since Ukraine doesn’t currently attract many tourists, you won’t have to deal with too many people even in the summer months. But if you want to see Chernobyl without too much fuss, try to visit it in spring or autumn.

Ukraine in mid-October – the time when I last saw the warm sun.

Currency in Ukraine and how to get it?

The currency of Ukraine is the hryvnia, adopted in 1996, abbreviated UAH. In 2017, the exchange rate was approximately UAH 25. for 1 dollar USA, which was an incredibly profitable course.

If you have a debit card without a withdrawal fee, you can also easily withdraw hryvnias from an ATM. Always check the ATM for skimming and try to use ATMs in the bank lobby if you can. I follow withdrawals from PrivatBank, Raiffeisen, OTP, ProCredit and UkrSibbank.

It is easy to exchange currency in Ukraine. Generally, when I travel, I bypass the exchange offices at airports. In the city center, prices are usually quite fair. Exchange counters advertise most major currencies, including US and Canadian dollars, euros, Russian rubles and Polish zlotys. The problem arises when you want to exchange the hryvnia back. Ukraine has very strange laws that make it difficult for foreigners to transfer foreign currency. I met an exchange point near the station that refused to exchange hryvnias for euros for me. However, some of the smaller banks will do this. It is almost impossible to transfer hryvnias outside of Ukraine, so try to exchange only what you need.

Can I use a credit card in Ukraine?

It is quite easy to use debit and credit cards in Ukraine – except for a few hotels and hostels. Double check your reservation to see if your stay requires cash. In addition, in any of the major cities you can use cards in most shops and restaurants.

What do you want to see in Ukraine?

Well, it depends on you and your interests! Whether you’re looking for an adventure in nature, a food tour of Ukraine, or a piece of history, you can find it in Ukraine.

If you have ten days in Ukraine, you can easily complete the Kyiv-Odesa-Lviv route. If you have two weeks, you can add a fourth city without cutting into your schedule. I have an article with detailed routes in Ukraine! You can check out all my favorite places in Ukraine, from horse riding in the Carpathians to cocktail bars in Kharkiv, on my Ukraine guide page.

Is Ukrainian cuisine vegetarian?

Ukrainian cuisine is generous, rich and better suited for omnivores. When it comes to traditional Ukrainian cuisine, it is difficult to use the phrase “vegetarian dishes”. Dumplings can still be filled with non-meat fillings, but the main dishes are, as a rule, with meat. In addition, animal fats are often used for frying and cooking. At the same time, you can be a vegetarian in Ukraine. You will find good options in Georgian and Indian restaurants. There are many vegetarian restaurants in Kyiv, and many new international restaurants have vegetarian options.
Dear vegans visiting Ukraine, get ready for a monotonous menu. While meat can be avoided, dairy products are almost everywhere. Mayonnaise, cheese, sour cream. Only grilled vegetables are universal.

Lard, a Ukrainian product, is definitely not vegetarian!

What should I know about Ukrainian etiquette?

Ukrainians are very polite. “Please”, “thank you”, the salespeople greet you when you enter the store. Give way to elderly people on public transport – or you may be asked.

How to travel in Ukraine on a budget, or “tours in Ukraine” cheaply?

Ukraine is a very affordable place, but I am fighting to make traveling in Ukraine even more budget friendly! For this, I apply most of the rules of common sense – use public transport instead of taxis, travel in second or third class, go on free walking tours (although most attractions are just a few dollars at the current exchange rate).

When it comes to cheap food in Ukraine – use chains like Katyusha or Puzata Hata, they can save your budget. Red beer can be found for 2-3 dollars per pint, popular cocktails for 4-8 dollars – not expensive compared to New York. But if you are looking for budget drinks in Ukraine, I would suggest a place like Porter Pub.

As soon as you go outside the big cities, the prices drop even more. For example, I paid about 5 dollars for a night in a hostel in Chernihiv. And see how different weekends in Rivne are compared to weekends in Odesa.

The price of accommodation in Ukraine, at least in major tourist cities, is surprisingly high compared to other typical tourist expenses. You can definitely save money on accommodation by staying in hostels. If you’re traveling with a friend or in a group, check out Airbnb. There are some really nice apartments with lots of sleeping places. And, of course, use night trains in Ukraine to save both time and money.

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Ukraine is our pride!

603,628 square kilometers of beauty! Ukraine is our pride! It comes from the pages of hundreds of masters of the word, including not only our compatriots. There are legends about the courage and love of freedom of her sons, and the genius of our Taras is recognized far beyond the borders of his homeland. Our state serves as a kind of bridge between East and West and is the second largest country in Europe. It is in Ukraine, in the town of Rahov, surrounded by the picturesque majesty of the Carpathian Mountains, that the geographical center of the continent is located.

What is needed for tourism in Ukraine to become popular?

It is common knowledge that Ukraine has a huge tourism potential. Our country has beautiful seas, lakes, rivers, and mountains. But how to ensure that Ukraine and the Ukrainian tourism product meet all international standards? How to make our country a fashionable tourist destination?
It is these questions that government bodies and society as a whole should now consider. Ukraine, more than ever, needs a concept for the development of domestic tourism and tourist infrastructure.

According to experts’ calculations, doubling the inbound flow of tourists (which, by the way, is quite realistic to achieve in a couple of years), will increase the income to the state budget by more than 5 billion hryvnias per year. And the most important thing is new jobs. This is especially important for those regions of our country where tourism can and should become the main engine of socio-economic development. Many Ukrainians have experience working in the field of tourism abroad, and it is necessary to create conditions for their return to their homeland. To ensure the sustainable development of tourism in the regions of Ukraine, it is necessary to identify the most promising types of tourism and provide them with state assistance in terms of legislation and finances. This is especially relevant for coastal and mountainous regions, where the problems of seasonality have to be overcome.

Tourism today is not only beautiful nature and architecture, it is, above all, modern infrastructure, high level of service. And this is impossible without attracting investments in the most attractive tourist destinations in each specific region. And here the most important tool is the development of partnership relations between the state and the tourism business, as well as ensuring the deregulation of business activities in tourism.

Our hospitality has become a distinctive business card of Ukraine

Many foreign tourists are happy to come to us again and again. The successful holding of Euro 2012 laid solid foundations for the development of event tourism in our country. This is a vivid example of potential opportunities for the development of tourism in Ukraine. Industrial regions can develop industrial tourism and also invite guests to powerful mass cultural events.

An important component of the rating promotion of our country is the tourism brand of Ukraine, which needs to be developed

It is important that it meets all modern requirements and could be strongly associated with the unique tourist potential of our country for many years. We are already considered as a country with a great tourism future. UNESCO has already included in the list of world cultural heritage the wooden churches of the Carpathian region, the ancient city of Chersonesos Tavriyskyi, the Petrykyv painting… These events attract a huge number of foreign tourists to Ukraine. They come, learn about our country, return, tell their friends about it and come to us again. Ukrainians themselves play a huge role in popularizing our country as a tourist destination. We are a very hospitable nation! We welcome guests with pleasure, we tell about our region to our friends and acquaintances. We are always hospitable and friendly, we do everything to make your vacation in Ukraine comfortable and interesting! Welcome to Ukraine!

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Development of tourism in Ukraine

Tourism in Ukraine is a big business, on which a significant part of the country’s economy is built. Visitors to Ukraine spend money that remains in the state at the expense of tax revenues.

That is, the development of tourism stimulates the economy, contributes to the creation of new jobs, which in turn increases the quality of life, raises social standards. Розвиток туризму в Україні stimulates the development of such industries as transport and communications, the production of souvenir products, which provides for the growth of the country’s economic level. In Ukraine, as a country governed by the rule of law, there are laws that regulate tourism. Ukrainian legislation states that tourism is a temporary departure (entry) of a person from his permanent place of residence for health, educational or professional purposes.

ecological tourism is developing in Ukraine

The contingent of supporters of ecotourism are people who prefer excursions, horseback riding and hiking, prefer water sports. Ecotourism is developing due to the existence of a nature reserve fund, as well as due to the restructuring of existing resort and sanatorium funds in accordance with modern world standards and people’s needs, and which meet the conditions of the market economy. New institutions are being built in Ukraine for the development of the national tourism system and integration in international tourism structures. Legislative conditions are created for the development of ecological tourism, which contributes to the rational use and protection of landscape resources, as well as the preservation of ecological balance and maximum protection of the natural environment.

The natural potential in Ukraine contributes to the organization of tourism. This is the concentration in one country of such a bright landscape, namely:

• – A diverse landscape represented by forests, mountains and the sea;
• – Sanatorium technical resources, such as mineral waters and medical clay;
• – The territory and objects of the nature reserve fund, which contain unique reserves of national natural and regional landscape parks, parks in which monuments of horticultural art are presented.

Ukraine is developing in step with the times and following modern international trends. Industrial cities in Ukraine are being greened, and rural and suburban areas are developing in accordance with the norms of urban life. The country is witnessing the development of the reconstruction of country summer cottages for housing and family recreation, the development of country cottages and garden villages. Ukraine surprises with a variety of tourism, including cultural and educational direction, health and sports, ecology and landscape, agrotourism, ecotourism.

Ecological tourism in Ukraine is developing on the territory of nature reserves

That is, within the limits where it is possible for a person to get acquainted with the flora and fauna, and at the same time relax. But all this happens in the mode of environmental protection. Here are some national natural parks in which active ecotourism can be carried out: Karpatsky, Shatskyi, Synevirskyi, Azov-Syvaskyi etc. In regional landscape parks, such as: Dniester Canyon, Dykansky and others. In biosphere reserves: Carpathian, Askania-Nova, Black Sea, Danube.

Tourist zones have been created in Ukraine, such as “Namisto-Slavutich” located along the Dnieper, “Yaremche-Vorokhta” – in Zakarpattia. There are also tourist centers concentrated in historical cities: Kyiv, Lviv, Kamianets-Podilskyi. Green tourism develops in places of biological diversity. Sea and mountains, rivers and lakes, forests and steppes, as well as flora and fauna that inhabit this area are of interest. Ecotourism is an integral part of the entire tourism system in Ukraine.

The area of the potential tourist territory of Ukraine is 12.8% of the area of the entire country. The country has unique health resources. This is a concentration of more than 500 deposits of such health and healing resources as mineral water and clay. With the help of these minerals, it is possible not only to maintain the health and beauty of a person, but also to treat various diseases without surgical intervention.

The shores of Ukraine are washed by the Black and Azov seas

Beaches make up 47% of the seashore. This natural potential is protected and controlled for rational use, as it forms the basis of sustainable development of health resorts, recreation areas and tourism. There are more than 150 beach-resort settlements in Ukraine. These are regions on the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov, in the mountainous and foothill areas of the Carpathians. Medical spa sanatoriums, boarding houses, preventive clinics, children’s health facilities, which provide functional health specialized services, are concentrated on the territory. There are also hotels, tourist centers, and camping sites that contribute to the development of tourism.

Nature reserves are defined by the state as objects that are used only for the purposes of scientific activities and excursions. Natural attractions have been given wider use and provided for commercial ecotourism.

Green tourism has a lot in common with ecological tourism

It is organized on the territory of natural landscapes with the provision of services, where there are conditions for short-term rest (no more than 2 days). Green tourism is possible in hydroparks, arboretums, botanical gardens and other landscape complexes. Resources for the organization of green tourism exist in all regions of Ukraine, in particular on the embankment of the Dnieper, Desna, Danube, and a number of other small rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.

Another type of ecological tourism is rural tourism

which is aimed at the use of rural settlements for a long time, as well as for short-term recreation in the conditions of an ecologically clean landscape. These are country villages that have lost their agricultural functions. Ethnic and ethnographic features of the population’s life are of great importance for the development of rural tourism. These are preserved folk crafts, architectural and historical monuments (in particular, palace and park objects of the XYIII-XIX centuries).

Similar to ecological tourism and agritourism

Development is possible on agricultural arable land, where there are conditions for the production of agricultural products, as well as the possibility of voluntary participation of tourists in some works (picking fruits, vegetables and berries, taking care of domestic animals). Agrotourism is also widespread among Ukrainians, as this type of tourism is affordable for the country’s residents. Here you can not only get to know the folk crafts and rituals of different regions, but you can also relax cheaply, while using environmentally friendly products. Get away from modern gadgets and engage children in agricultural work.

The most famous biosphere reserve in Ukraine is “Askania-Nova”. Built in 1874 in the Kherson region. In addition to steppe areas and rare species of animals that are protected, the reserve has an arboretum and a zoo, which are very attractive for tourists.

There are national natural parks in Ukraine. The first park was created in 1980 – the Carpathian National Nature Park, the largest in Europe. There are 26 regional landscape parks and over 300 arboretums. However, regional landscape parks are in the stage of formation. Arboretum “Sophiivka” in Uman, “Olexandria” in Bila Tserkva, “Trostyanetsky” in Chernihiv region are excellent examples of landscape design architecture in Ukraine .

Tours in Ukraine 0/ travel in Ukraine 0/ 09.22