10 Reasons to Visit Ukraine Travel Tips

Are you considering traveling to Ukraine? Come find out 10 reasons to visit Ukraine along with some of our best travel tips to make your trip to Ukraine as enjoyable as possible.
On a personal level, Ukraine was the most pleasantly surprising country we visited this year on tour across Europe. Not knowing what to expect and not having much time to prepare we arrived in Ukraine with fresh eyes while hitting the ground running.
Overall we visited Kiev and Lviv and left wanting to explore more of Ukraine. How expensive is Ukraine? Our top 10 reasons to visit Ukraine covers accommodation, food, attractions and transportation along with a slew of other travel tips.
10 Reasons to Visit Ukraine Travel Tips
1) Ukraine is Affordable for travelers
-$15-35 per night for entire apartments using Airbnb
-Great value meals for about $5-10 per person for a full meal or less for a budget meal
-Metro tickets in Kiev only cost 5 HRV ($0.20)
-Groceries reasonably priced - we loved chocolate + wine
2) Ukraine is an Underrated Country to Visit
-We didn't encounter many other tourists - especially International visitors
-Attractions were not overrun and sometimes if we visited early enough on a weekday we had places to ourselves
-The only exception to that is churches because they're active places of worship
3) Safety
-News coverage would suggest Ukraine is unsafe but we found Kiev and Lviv to be very safe when we visited (along the border with Russia could be a different story)
-We walked around with our cameras without any issues
-No hassles while walking around
-I went jogging at night in Kyiv
-Locals are out enjoying life - playing chess in parks, eating in restaurants and using public spaces for concerts
4) Friendliness of locals in Ukraine
-Really good and friendly service at restaurants (some English spoken most of the time)
-Great AirBNB hosts who both went above and beyond to help us
-Even with language barrier smiles aplenty
-As a travel tip for Ukraine learn to read the Cyrillic alphabet
5) Traditional Ukrainian Food in Kiev and Lviv
-Good local food scene - for all price points
-Typically Ukrainian cuisine is hearty and filling
-Some of our favorite Ukrainian food includes the following:
a) varenyky (dumplings)
b) banosh (polenta, bacon and sheep's cheese)
c) deruny (potato pancakes with sauce)
d) borscht
6) Thriving International Food Scene
-Georgian cuisine
-Korean food
-Sushi
Italian style pizzas
-Pop up cafes and food trucks in parks and on street corners
7) Transportation

-awesome metro system in Kiev (grand stations and deep underground + affordable prices)
-deepest station in the world in Kyiv (5 minutes)
-great connections from airport to city center in Kyiv
-taking the train from Kiev to Lviv and it was efficient, on time and comfortable
8) Architecture in Ukraine
-interesting mix of a bit of Soviet but mostly ornate European architecture
-some parts look like they could belong in Paris or Buenos Aires and other parts are distinctly soviet
-painted in cheerful colors
9) Ukrainian Churches in Kyiv and Lviv
-Orthodox churches and monasteries in Kyiv - main attractions
-ornate and onion domes - impressive on inside and outside
-women need to cover up in Orthodox churches
-active places or prayer
-witnessed weddings in Lviv
Lviv features numerous types of churches
10) Variety and diversity of places to visit in Ukraine
-Kyiv is very different from Lviv (worth visiting both)
-We didn't get to Odessa which has been highly recommended
-Other places of potential interest include Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Carpathian Mountains
What are some other places in Ukraine you'd recommend visiting? Any Ukraine travel tips you think we missed? Other reasons to love Ukraine? Please let us know in the comments below.
Resources:
$1 US Dollar = 26.51 Ukrainian Hryvnia
Ukraine (Україна)
Kyiv (Київ) Ukrainian and Kiev (Киев) Russian
Lviv (Львів)
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This is part of our Travel in Ukraine video series showcasing Ukrainian food, Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian cuisine.
Music in this video courtesy of via YouTube Audio Network under a creative commons license.