Ukraine is visa-free for us, but today it is not an ordinary tourist country. The war goes on, the airspace is closed, the country is entered only overland, and the air raid alert has become part of daily life.
Even so, every year thousands of people go to Ukraine from Azerbaijan for family, work and study, while Lviv and Kyiv carry on with city life. I have prepared this article precisely for those making a necessary trip. It contains the entry routes, the safety rules, Lviv, Kyiv and the Carpathians, along with the transport, the food, the season and the budget. Before travelling, be sure to check the advice of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ukraine in brief
| Capital | Kyiv |
| Language | Ukrainian; Russian is understood, English among the young |
| Currency | Hryvnia (UAH), 1 dollar ≈ 41 hryvnia; cards everywhere |
| Visa | 90 days visa-free for citizens of Azerbaijan |
| Entry | No flights; overland from Poland, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary |
| Best time | May–September |
| Daily budget | 40–70 dollars at a mid-range level |
Safety and entry: before going to Ukraine
Martial law is in force in the country. The air raid signal comes to your phone through the «Повітряна тривога» app; when it sounds you go down to a shelter or the metro, and if that is not possible you follow the two-wall rule.
The curfew varies by city; usually you cannot be on the street from midnight to five in the morning. Photographing military objects and the aftermath of strikes is forbidden.
The difference between regions is serious. The western provinces, that is Lviv and the Carpathians, are relatively quiet. Kyiv carries on with city life, but there are missile strikes. The east, the south and the front-line regions — Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and parts of Odesa — are not for travel. Most insurance companies do not cover Ukraine, so special insurance is needed.
Entry is arranged like this. You fly from Baku to Warsaw, Krakow or Chișinău, then continue by train and bus.
From the Polish side the Przemyśl–Lviv train takes an hour and a half, and Warsaw–Kyiv is a night train. From Moldova the Chișinău–Kyiv train and buses operate. The queue at the border takes 2–6 hours, and you buy the tickets in the Ukrzaliznytsia app.
Note one subtlety. For men, the absence of Ukrainian citizenship is checked at the border, and cases of dual citizenship are especially risky.
Lviv, Kyiv, the Carpathians: the places in Ukraine that can be visited now
Lviv is the cultural capital of the west and lies seventy kilometres from the Polish border. Rynok Square and the town hall tower are on the UNESCO list, while the Opera theatre, the Armenian cathedral, Lychakiv cemetery and the High Castle hill fit comfortably into two days.
The city’s coffee and chocolate culture is a subject of its own, and themed restaurants like «Kryivka» and the «Gas Lamp» are here too. Together with its Austro-Hungarian architecture, Lviv is the country’s quietest and most suitable city for a visitor.
From Lviv to Kyiv the fast train takes five hours. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is known for its golden domes and caves, and Saint Sophia’s cathedral is on the UNESCO list. St Michael’s monastery, Andriyivskyy Descent and the Maidan are walked in a day, while Khreshchatyk, the Motherland monument, the Podil quarter and the Dnipro riverside need another day or two. The deepest metro station in the world, Arsenalna, is right here too. You see all of it while keeping to the air raid rules.
The Carpathians are three hours from Lviv. Bukovel is the largest ski resort in Eastern Europe and works from December to March, while in summer it is the hiking and cycling season. The village of Yaremche is known for Hutsul cooking. Ukraine’s summit, Hoverla, is 2061 metres. Nearby are the university building in Chernivtsi and the fortress of Kamianets-Podilskyi. Odesa and Kharkiv are currently considered dangerous.
Transport: Ukrzaliznytsia, Bolt, Uklon
Ukrzaliznytsia’s trains are the country’s backbone and run precisely even in the war. On the Intercity+ Lviv–Kyiv is five hours and 15–25 dollars. Night compartment trains go in every direction for 10–20 dollars. Tickets are bought with a foreign card in the «Укрзалізниця» app, and the popular services sell out fast. The border train Przemyśl–Lviv runs several times a day. FlixBus and local buses go from Poland and Moldova to Lviv, Kyiv and Chernivtsi. Inside the cities the Bolt and Uklon apps are 2–4 dollars, the Kyiv metro is twenty cents, and Lviv has trams. Entering by car is possible, a green card is bought and there is no fuel problem, but take the curfew and the checkpoints into account. Trains do not stop during an air raid alert, and the metro works as a shelter.
Borsch, varenyky, Lviv chocolate: Ukrainian food
Borsch is a beetroot soup and is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list, served with garlic pampushka bread. Varenyky are dumplings filled with potato, curd or sour cherry and eaten with sour cream. Deruny are potato pancakes, and the rest of the table is filled by chicken Kyiv and salo.
In the Carpathians the Hutsul banosh, that is a corn porridge, must be tried. Lviv’s chocolate workshop and coffee culture, Kyiv cake and kvass are on the list too.
Lunch in a restaurant is 5–8 dollars, and home cooking at the «Puzata Khata» chain 3–5. Lviv’s themed restaurants are 10–15 dollars and dinner in Kyiv 15–25.
Halal food is found in the Crimean Tatar and Azerbaijani restaurants of Kyiv, and Turkish places operate in Lviv. Borsch and varenyky are made in meatless versions too. Tap water is boiled. And do not forget one thing: the restaurants close an hour or two before the curfew.
Read next: Do you need a visa for Ukraine? 90 days visa-free, but no flights: the route via Moldova and Poland
Season and weather
May-September are the ideal months. In Lviv and Kyiv the weather is 20–27 degrees, the days lengthen, the cafés open their summer terraces, and in May Kyiv is covered in chestnut blossom. The golden autumn of September-October is the loveliest time of the year in the Carpathians.
In winter the temperature drops to minus 5–15 degrees. Because of strikes on the energy infrastructure, power and heating cuts are possible, and hotels run on generators. The Bukovel ski season lasts from December to March, while Lviv’s Christmas market and Easter traditions stay in place in the west. The air raid alert does not depend on the season. Regional and cultural information is on the Ukraine.ua portal.
Budget and the journey
In Lviv’s old town a three-star hotel is 40–70 dollars and a flat 30–50. In central Kyiv the price is 50–90 dollars, in Bukovel in season 80–150, and in hostels 10–15. Choosing a hotel with a shelter matters here: check for it in the description and ask separately when booking.
Entry tickets are cheap. The Lavra is three dollars, Sophia four, an opera ticket 5–15 and a Bukovel day pass 40. Excluding the flight, a week-long trip fits into 400–700 dollars per person, and that is the lowest figure in all of Europe.
For the journey you buy a flight towards Warsaw or to Chișinău and continue from there by train, and the whole journey takes 20–30 hours. The Polish crossing requires a Schengen visa, while the Moldovan crossing is visa-free. Tour packages are not being organised at present, and for guest house and train bookings for Lviv and the Carpathians you can take advice from a specialist with Eastern Europe tour experience, with the Polish and Moldovan part planned separately.
Frequently asked questions about Ukraine
Can you go to Ukraine as a tourist at the moment?
Entry is visa-free and open, but Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry does not recommend the trip. Do not go without a necessary reason, and if you do, limit yourself to the western regions and keep to the rules.
Which is the safest entry route?
The Przemyśl–Lviv train from Poland is the shortest and most used route and requires a Schengen visa. The visa-free option is the train and bus from Chișinău to Kyiv, 12–15 hours.
What do you do during an air raid alert?
On the app’s signal go to the nearest shelter or the metro, follow the hotel staff’s instructions, stay away from windows and wait until the alert ends. The local people are calm, and you should stay calm too.
In closing
Ukraine is a visa-free and cheap country, and the cafés of Lviv and the domes of Kyiv are still in place. But today a trip is possible only in cases of necessity, overland and in the western regions, keeping to the safety rules. After peace, this article will turn into a full travel plan. The entry routes are gathered on the Ukraine page, and to build the route via Poland or Moldova together, fill in the application form.
Note: the prices here are as of the publication date; the security situation and the entry rules must be checked before travelling.
