Travel Guide
I Traveled To Ukraine As A Tourist, Here’s What It’s Like Right Now
Jan
Last Updated
I keep in mind not that way back, Ukraine was one of many solely nations on this planet open to tourism restriction-free. Of course, it was a really completely different world again then, what with the well being disaster raging on, and all these loopy, sophisticated border guidelines in place.
While most of Europe shut itself off utterly to tourism, Ukraine flung its doorways open to everybody, Americans included, with little to no necessities.
I additionally keep in mind reserving flights from London, the place I used to dwell on the time, to Lviv, in Western Ukraine, initially of 2022, earlier than there have been even talks of conflict looming.
This was a really promising time: COVID guidelines had been dropping like dominoes, and Ukraine had solely just lately completed lifting the remaining health-related checks.
Then the strangest factor occurred.
Russian troops began amassing at Ukraine’s Eastern borders, and the following factor I knew, my plans of visiting Ukraine fell by as soon as a full-scale invasion was launched.
I noticed myself watching my cellphone display blankly, watching a sequence of horrendous occasions unfold; on the identical time, my flight, scheduled for 3 days from then, bought canceled.
I didn’t suppose I’d be ticking Ukraine off my bucket checklist for a protracted whereas, particularly when an answer to the battle appears so intractable.
Fast ahead 2 and a half years, and right here I am, lastly, in Lviv.
I am one of many only a few vacationers who are brave—or perhaps reckless sufficient—to enterprise into war-torn Ukraine whereas a decision hasn’t been reached, and perhaps you’re questioning:
Is it already secure to go to Ukraine, and the way is it that I even managed to enter the nation within the first place when Russian troops proceed pushing ahead with their aggression?
I am right here to let you know all the things I have seen, and what I have discovered from my temporary 2-day go to to Lviv in occasions of conflict:
First, Why Go To Ukraine In 2025?
There are many a purpose why I, as a passionate traveler, would embrace the thought of touring to Ukraine in 2025.
The first I can consider is plainly narcissistic in nature: it’s certainly one of solely three European nations I have but to go to, the opposite ones being a Russian-friendly Belarus and an offbeat Moldova, and I’m unsure about you, however I don’t love puzzle maps lacking essential items.
The second purpose why is I endure from overwhelming FOMO: the notorious Fear of Missing Out.
Ukraine is a rustic at conflict, and I watched in dismay as bombs showered down within the Black Sea port metropolis of Odesa in current months, to the purpose certainly one of its most traditionally important church buildings, the Transfiguration Cathedral, had its ceiling partially collapse back in 2023.
Naturally, the human tragedy is immeasurable and needs to be our major concern as this ungodly battle rages on.
Still, I would argue harm to centuries upon centuries of amassed heritage, a testomony to a rustic’s wealthy previous, and that can’t be so simply reassembled as soon as it is diminished to rubbles, is simply as heart-wrenching.
Lviv is certainly one of Ukraine’s most culturally wealthy cities, generally known as Paris of the East, and residential to a UNESCO-protected historic heart filled with magnificent Baroque church buildings and lesser-known medieval treasures.
I nervous that the longer I waited, the upper the possibilities an escalation may end in Lviv sustaining irreparable losses: although not as closely bombarded as Odesa, or different cities on the Eastern entrance, it, too, had survived its share of drone assaults.
If you knew someplace like Paris was liable to being severely broken, and even utterly flattened, within the worst-case state of affairs that may’t ever be dominated out, would not you soar on the alternative to go and see it with your personal eyes earlier than… nicely, it’s not?
I know I would.
Why Lviv?
It’s One Of The Most Beautiful Cities I’ve Been In Europe
I guess I have already given you some indication as to ‘why Lviv’.
For starters, it was a massively widespread vacation spot in Ukraine previous to the conflict, and because the Western portion of the nation’s largest metropolis, residence to over 710,000 folks, it is a cultural heart second solely to the capital Kyiv in significance.
It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, in recognition of its eclectic structure and plethora of richly adorned church buildings and cathedrals: to be extra exact, there are precisely 103 of them.
Which ones left a deep impression on me?
If you are brief on time, I would go along with the Seventeenth-century Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, primarily as a result of its brightly-painted chapels, and the medieval Armenian Cathedral, the centerpiece of Lviv’s bustling Armenian Quarter.
With an intricately adorned inside and a hovering vaulted ceiling frescoed in mild pastel tones, the 14th-century Latin Cathedral is celestially lovely, and in my books, it was solely rivaled in magnificence by the gold-clad altars of the Bernardine Monastery.
The assortment of Baroque and Renaissance choices right here is actually unmatched, and actually, you may spend a whole week solely exploring Lviv’s spiritual monuments and nonetheless not see all of it, or stop being mesmerized.
Not removed from the middle, there’s a stately Potocki Palace, constructed within the extravagant French type, now a museum housing varied European artwork items––in summer season, the gardens are stated to be reasonably nice to walk––and there is not any Lviv with out its landmark National Opera:
Situated on Prospekt Svobody, an avenue flanked by Belle époque additions, it is a routinely photographed patrimony for its columned facade and opulent principal corridor.
Oh, and if Prospekt Svobody is town’s principal vein, one may argue its beating coronary heart is Rynok Square.
Bordered by colourful facades and comfortable cafes and dominated by a centrally-placed City Hall, which dates again to the nineteenth century in its current kind, this sq. is Lviv’s most easily-distinguished sightseeing spot, prone to function on magnets and memento mugs.
If you occur to be in Lviv for the weekend, climbing up the City Hall tower is a must-do: it solely opens on Saturdays and Sundays, and from the very high, you may be rewarded with a panoramic panorama of the dome-dotted Leopolitan skyline.
Alternatively, you may make your means up High Castle Hill without spending a dime, the place extra sweeping views of Lviv Old Town await, together with the rows upon rows of communist-era condominium blocks that encroached throughout it throughout Soviet occasions.
To sum it up, Lviv is downright attractive, and that alone piqued my curiosity, however there’s one other essential piece of data I intentionally not noted till now:
It’s One Of The Safest Cities In Ukraine
Lviv is the most secure metropolis in Ukraine proper now, and as a matter of truth, it is perhaps safer than sure Western European cities.
Hear me out.
A huge false impression amongst people who find themselves not following this intently is that every one of Ukraine is one big, Dantean ninth Circle of Hell strewn with battered and bruised our bodies, land mines and World War I-style trenches, the place epic battles are fought on the each day.
If you are a kind of folks, my reply to you is, life is not a conflict film, pal.
I imply, have a look at the photographs on right here, all of which I took myself: does Lviv look war-torn to you?
Excluding Russia, Ukraine is Europe’s most sizable nation, with a complete space of 233 sq. miles––in case you had been to stick it over a map of the United States, it might lengthen from the state of Missouri all the way in which to the Atlantic Ocean, and from Ohio to Georgia.
For a little bit of context, Lviv sits on the far west of Ukraine, a stone’s throw away from the Polish border, and an entire 335 miles from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and a good farther 494 miles from Odesa, on the Black Sea Coast.
Considering a lot of the Russian advances have been centered on the jap entrance and the predominantly-ethnic Russian areas of Luhansk and Donetsk, in addition to already-occupied Crimea and the broader Black Sea area, Lviv has been largely spared the brunt of the warfare.
Before going, I weighed in all the professionals and cons and ended up deciding Lviv was a low-risk vacation spot:
You’re More Likely To Get Knifed In London Than Bombed In Lviv?
I Beg Your Pardon?
Since 2022, ‘solely’ 68 civilian deaths had been reported within the metropolis, and a further 276 wounded.
Yes, I agree, that is already 68 too many, however in making an allowance for that, in Kherson Oblast alone, 566 deaths have been recorded thus far, whereas Kharkiv logged in 1,699, and even within the capital area, 1,569 fatalities are reported, I made the knowledgeable choice Lviv was much less harmful to go to.
Between 2023 and 2024, the variety of knife-related crimes in London, England was a whopping 15,016, primarily based on Statista figures.
Some would declare that is apples and pears and probably not an sincere comparability, so let’s take a look at Lviv’s crime charges:
According to Numbeo, the present stage of crime in Lviv is a low 36.90, whereas London’s is 64.55, Paris 62.03, and Barcelona 57.29.
You undoubtedly will not be blown to bits stress-free by a park in London, except… nicely, by no means thoughts.
But you may need an irregular resident––is that the politically appropriate time period these days?––put a pointy object to your neck and wipe your pockets clear.
You can rely your self fortunate in case you’re not, hem, punctured.
In different phrases, you are successfully at a larger threat of dying in a mugging incident in Lambeth or Islington, crime-ridden areas of London, than because of Russian shelling over Lviv.
Based on the info at hand, earlier developments, distance from the frontline, and its standing as a cultural heart with much less navy significance, chances are high Lviv is not going to be struck as laborious as Kyiv, Kherson, or Odesa may.
This doesn’t imply it’ll undoubtedly not be on the firing line:
This Doesn’t Mean Lviv Is Safe
It could be irresponsible and despicably tone-deaf of me to downplay the scenario on the bottom.
Ukraine remains to be a rustic battling an aggressor, and as a part of the involved entity, Lviv has seen various strikes since 2022, with civilian and navy infrastructure focused.
On September 4, 2024, 7 folks misplaced their lives, and 64 had been injured in varied levels of severity following a tough night time for strikes within the residential space surrounding the prepare station, the place I arrived myself only recently.
I am telling you this to make one factor clear:
This is a reasonably unpredictable scenario, and if somebody someplace decides to push an enormous purple button, you will not get a lot of a warning earlier than the sky fairly actually falls down over your head…
Even in Lviv.
All it takes is taking a tram into the suburbs, the place you are much more prone to come across ruined buildings, but to be reconstructed following current raids, and newly-added memorials in reminiscence of Lviv’s fallen heroes.
What’s The Vibe Of The People Right Now?
This ties into my subsequent level: what is the vibe of the folks proper now in Lviv?
I wouldn’t have a happiness index to discuss with, so I’ll depend on my firsthand account solely:
The lengthy bus trip I was on to Lviv, the place mostly-Ukrainian passengers had been chatting amongst themselves gleefully, kids had been being their annoying selves, kicking and screaming, with little to no intervention from unbothered mother and father;
And an adolescent sat subsequent to me blasting podcasts in Ukrainian with out their headphones on (whatever the disapproving seems I shot at them now and again), as if we weren’t all about to formally enter a conflict zone, set the temper for what was to come back subsequent.
Ukrainians, at the least these primarily based within the Western portion of the nation, are of their overwhelming majority unfazed by the battle.
During my brief 2-day stint in Lviv I noticed teams of adolescent women with an excessive amount of make-up gossiping idly as they trotted down damaged cobblestones, Starbucks cups in perfectly-manicured palms, the same old terminally-bored bus terminal girl, caged behind her walk-up window, promoting tickets with the identical enthusiasm I have for submitting my taxes, and lovey-dovey {couples} kissing in snow-dusted park benches.
It nearly felt too… regular.
If it weren’t for the younger males casually passing by me with their service uniforms or the conflict posters plastered onto the facet of buildings, you’d hardly have the ability to inform there may be even a rustic being assaulted in any respect.
My affirmation got here with the primary air alarm:
I was taking photos of myself by Rynok Square, nearing sunset, when abruptly sirens go off, and an unsettling male voice emanating from invisible loudspeakers encourages (in Ukrainian) that we search the closest underground shelter.
I would not have a clue what was occurring, had I not requested a 20-something lady standing by the bus cease close to the place I was, and her response left me utterly baffled:
After revealing the content material of the alarm to me, that continued to sound loud and clear, she turned to the facet and bought misplaced once more in her infinite TikTook scrolling, till her bus lastly confirmed.
I turned to the facet, and different folks had been simply as unalarmed, both carrying their groceries residence at their ordinary tempo or smiling as they stepped out of a restaurant with associates.
From that second onward, I realized this was merely their new actuality, and except hit with a main improvement, the occasional Russian focusing on of buildings within the industrial suburbs doesn’t precisely make them panic.
But then once more, that is Lviv.
It is perhaps a really completely different story in Eastern Ukraine.
How About Prices?
Ukraine has all the time been one of many least costly nations to journey to in Europe because of low wages and a decrease price of dwelling.
I have not been to Ukraine previous to the battle erupting to have the ability to examine, although I can say that it’s about as cheap to visit as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, and the like:
Including lodging, meals and transportation, my two nights in Lviv set me again by precisely US$145, in January 2025: meals in native eating places price a median $6-7, tram tickets are just a few cents, and lodge overnights begin from a reasonable $28.
A 3-bedroom apartment, Royal Italian type, with a balcony opening up onto the Old Town and nice metropolis views, will price you $44 per night time, and in case you do not thoughts splurging a little bit, seeing all the things is grime low-cost, the 5-star Grand Hotel Lviv Casino & Spa has nightly charges from solely $143.
I stayed at Sunny Hotel, to the tune of $34 an evening, a brief tram trip away from town heart, and comfy sufficient for a brief séjour.
The rooms are modest however cozy: there is a comfortable mattress with loads of blankets, a central heating system, and a functioning bathe, and on this bleak period, company have entry to a close-by shelter ought to they should take cowl within the occasion of a nighttime assault.
It does its job.
Check Out This Amazing Bunker Restaurant Serving Cheap Food
For a standard Ukrainian eating expertise in a Soviet-era labyrinthian bunker, Kryivka is the place to go:
As welcoming as Ukrainians are, English audio system in Lviv are undoubtedly a minority, which makes ordering at eating places and conveying your wants more durable when you possibly can’t use Google Translate as roaming has failed of a sudden, and I was happy to search out English-speaking workers right here.
@vinigoesglobal 📍 Kryivka Lviv Possibly the one restaurant I’d go all the way in which to a w4r zone for 😋 I imply, these pork ribs and wonderful compote?? Definitely definitely worth the threat in my guide 🫣 #lviv #ukraine #easterneurope #ukrainetiktok ♬ son original – Vini | Travel Blogger
I ordered myself an enormous jug of compote––a standard Eastern European smooth drink made out of items of purple fruit and contemporary syrup––a basic potato soup for starters, and a pork rib principal, and I could not consider my invoice: roughly US$15, ideas included.
Kryivka might be one of many trendiest, most touristy eateries on the town, so that ought to provide you with an thought of what to finances food-wise.
For dessert, head subsequent to Lviv Homemade Chocolate, a widely known chocolaterie just a few meters away from Rynok Square, situated inside a five-storey Old Town edifice that simply exudes medieval attraction.
There’s a restaurant on the very high with a view of Lviv’s many church spires, and their sizzling chocolate is the precise melted stuff.
How I Entered Ukraine
Pardon me.
It simply occurred to me that I have not but detailed my precise journey into Ukraine.
Recently, information got here out that Lviv Airport would possibly reopen by the end of January, additional solidifying town’s standing as Ukraine’s most secure on the minute, however as of proper now, Ukrainian airspace is closed, so the one choice for me was to resort to a protracted, dreadful bus trip, beginning in Warsaw, Poland.
Lviv is simply 31 miles from the Polish border, and 245 miles from the capital of Poland.
Buses proceed working between each nations, costing round $12 when booked upfront, and carrying largely Ukrainian passengers who’re both going into Poland to make use of one of many worldwide airports to journey, or returning residence quickly to go to household.
Contrary to widespread perception, the Ukrainian border is not closed: you are allowed to enter as a vacationer, supplied you fulfill the same old visa necessities.
Americans, Canadians, and most Europeans don’t want a visa to enter Ukraine, and they’re welcomed with open arms.
The border expertise itself was actually essentially the most traumatic a part of my journey to Ukraine, and never for the explanations you’d assume.
The Border Experience
The drive from Warsaw to Lviv takes, in concept, 5 hours––in actuality, chances are you’ll be sitting square-bottomed in a barely-cushioned Flixbus seat for 8-10 hours, as border formalities are lengthy and traumatic, involving getting on and off the automobile at the least twice, two passport checks, and at the least one bag screening.
That’s much more enjoyable within the lifeless of winter, while you’re compelled to face outdoors, when it is a freezing 26.6°F, as a grumpy-looking Ukrainian border officer goes by everybody’s belongings, opening each zipper of each interior pocket, and taking his candy time in doing so.
I guess it is a good factor Flixbus has free WiFi on this route to maintain you entertained within the meantime.
Ukraine could also be open, but it surely’s not like vacationers are flocking in when bombs maintain raining down, so I’m guessing that is why border guards checked out my non-Ukrainian passport puzzlingly.
If you are crossing that border, you are both returning residence from overseas or visiting household, so when requested why I was touring to Ukraine as a foreigner proper now, I hesitantly responded, ‘I’m touring as a vacationer’.
The officer did not utter a single phrase, although his split-second, razor-sharp stare deep into my eyes, by to my soul, felt like a thousand phrases had been being stated, though his lips did not transfer, and never a single muscle in his stone-cut, stoic face twitched.
You know, in basic Eastern European vogue.
He wished me a ‘secure journey’, and handed me my passport again stamped.
Should You Visit Ukraine In 2025?
If you often comply with security recommendation issued by governments, such because the U.S. State Department or the U.Okay. Home Office, you would possibly need to delay your desires of exploring Ukraine, at the least for now, till the scenario improves:
To the State Department, Ukraine is a Level 4 destination, that means U.S. residents ought to keep away from touring there in any respect prices.
Personally, I’m not the sort to comply with security advisories solely:
They present me with an even bigger image of what to anticipate, particularly when planning a visit someplace deemed high-risk, after which I coloration in stated image myself with extra in-depth, unbiased analysis.
The security recommendation pages will not let you know, for instance, that Lviv is in a a lot better place strategically than closely bombarded cities to the east or that the variety of casualties domestically may be very low––so low it might make you ponder whether you are safer within the streets of this Ukrainian metropolis than strolling alone at night time in a Western European capital.
The identical may very well be stated of quite a few different no-go zones globally:
Think Mexico: for years now, authorities have instructed Americans to rethink touring to states like Sinaloa and Jalisco, citing crime and gang exercise.
If you have ever set foot in Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta, you understand it is a very different scenario than that portrayed within the mainstream media.
Yes, some areas in these particular states are ridden with violence––this doesn’t suggest all over the place is unsafe.
At the tip of the day, deciding on visiting Ukraine in 2025 is a strictly private evaluation of the dangers concerned, one it’s essential to do your self.
Bottomline
I’m not right here to encourage you to journey to a rustic at conflict: if something, my aim is to supply some nuance, and present you Lviv specifically shouldn’t be a full-fledged battlefield.
Based by myself expertise, the most important menace right here is getting on the mistaken facet of a religious Orthodox babushka, in case you unintentionally take an image with a flash in a church, and interrupt her communion with the Almighty.
Don’t concern the balding grandpa in his Moscow bunker taking part in chess with the prowess of a 5-year-old.
Fear the angry-looking Ukrainian babushka in her flowery huska scarf.
Putting issues into perspective, 0.009% of Leopolitan civilians have misplaced their lives for the reason that conflict began, and 0.03% had been wounded (some gravely).
That does not sound numerically important.
In this regard, I can perceive the detached, bordering-on-nonchalant perspective of the bus cease lady earlier:
You’ll solely turn out to be one of many unfortunate few in case you’re ever within the mistaken place on the mistaken time, and you will by no means know till it is already occurred.
At that time, there’s nothing you are able to do about it, anyhow.
Some Safety Tips For Visiting Ukraine During The War
Going to Ukraine in 2025?
Here are some security ideas:
- Enter from licensed factors solely, such because the Hrebenne – Rava Ruska border, the principle crossing level between Poland and Ukraine proper now
- Give choice to frame cities, and areas which have direct bus and prepare connections out of Ukraine into neighboring nations, within the occasion of an escalation
- No space in any metropolis could be deemed secure, however cultural facilities like Lviv Old Town are usually better-surveilled by Ukrainian forces, and haven’t seen as a lot destruction
- If staying in a single day in Ukraine, guide a lodge or guesthouse that’s geared up with an underground shelter
- Download the Air Raid Alert Map of Ukraine, to maintain updated with all the newest developments on the security entrance, and discover out whether or not there are ongoing assaults in your area
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This article initially appeared on TravelOffPath.com
Opinions expressed listed here are the writer’s alone, not these of any financial institution, bank card issuer, lodge, airline, or different entity. This content material has not been reviewed, accepted or in any other case endorsed by any of the entities included throughout the submit.
