Well, it looks like russia is back on the forum map.
WEBMASTER EDIT: Nothing changed. See my post below.
Is there anyone else hoping Ukraine can be returned? (Perhaps with disclaimer about Level 4 and Level 3 travel)
This is not just an academic question. I'm considering a trip to Lviv and have quite a few questions [including midrange hotels with electric generators, and basement shelters]. Thanks in advance
There’s been no activity on the Russia site since last January.
Edit…thank you Webmaster for confirming.
I think for now you’ll probably have to just use General Europe and the search function. TripAdvisor is going to have more help, but feel free to message. I went in Oct. 2023 for a few days.
Yes @margie - there's been no activity on russia forum since January, probably because section was down and only recently (last month or maybe 2 months) was put back up. A hypothesis/observation.
Thanks so much @TexasTravelMom, always grateful for your wisdom.
It’s very disappointing that they would put the russia forum back up. As for the Ukraine forum, not sure there ever was one. RS usually only had forums for places where he did business.
Nice of TexasTravelMom to offer help, a shame she wants to do it in a PM. The Ukrainians need the money and exposure from tourism and it would be more useful if it were discussed openly in hopes of eliminating misinformation and providing information about touring Ukraine right now.
I haven’t been to Lviv in about 5 years, but I was in Kyiv in January and looks like I return this coming January. A lot of the situations and the rules are the same. Lviv or Kyiv there are multiple day trains from several European cities, yes, life goes on as normal to the extent possible. I traveled from Budapest on a night train. Here is the trip report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/kyiv I have some photos of the trains and of the trip if that interests you, PM me with an email address.
Lviv could be a great part of a longer trip. Enter by way of Vienna or Poland and exit by way of Budapest and spend time at both ends sightseeing.
For my return trip in January I am open to traveling with company, so I posted this: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-partners/lviv-the-week-of-14-december Remember 7 January is Orthodox Christmas so it’s a nice time to be in Kyiv. Yes, the Ukrainian orthodox church adopted 25 December a few years ago, but tradition dies hard. Lviv is heavily catholic so 25 December is the big one.
For general information I would go here: https://visitukraine.today/
For a tour guide or any information on current conditions I would contact this individual. I call her Kate, it’s just easier. She is in Kyiv but does tours in Lviv often; or she can recommend someone to take care of you and answer all your questions, up to date and accurate. I speak to her a few times a week, the way they are compensating and maintaining a workable life is simply amazing. They don’t suffer in the dark, yes, the power goes out, but every coffee shop has a generator so in some ways it brings them together. If you end up with no power, know that it will be an opportunity to get to be a firsthand part of an experience that has a positive message as well as a reflection of the horror of war. I have known Kate for about four years, and better yet, I trust her with my life. Always good in this situation. Her client list in the last few years has included world dignitaries as well as guys like me …. oh and TexasTravelMom. So, she is top notch.
Ekateryna Prokhochuk
Your Kiev Guide
+38 067 710 55 89 (WhatsApp, Text, Phone)
[email protected]
https://yourkievguide.com/
Thank you so much Mr E for very specific, helpful recommendations and for maintaining your kindness and valor.
Also thank you @geovagriffith for general insights and @DavidinSeattle for the satirical modest proposal.
blackcat fortunate, this is a subject very close to my heart. I would love to see you make the trip and experience Ukraine. I first visited right after Maidan and what I saw was something that looked like a 21 century version of 1776 in thr US. I was so proud to stand in the center of it. Oh, "Winter on Fire" either Netflix or I think YouTube has the full version. Good background before your trip.
Two people have commented in response to a post by geova….that has been removed??
????
"It’s very disappointing that they would put the russia forum back up."
That particular forum has been up since I joined in January of this year- I do not believe it has been taken down any time recently and put back up. But perhaps one of the moderators can clarify.
edit: Stop the war.
Side note: Hope it's a better world soon. Thank you Mr E for all your help (not just Ukraine, but especially Budapest and even Sarajevo). I have no idea why one person was dissatisfied, since you were trying to be moderate in your writings. I wish a January trip was in the cards, would be honored to travel, but I don't have time off then. Anyway, Happy Travels.
I believe there was a recent spam post that appeared in the Russia forum and was subsequently deleted by the webmaster. That's most likely why it looks like it's active.
You let me know when you are ready, I will help you plan every step. In general to answer a few of your questions, I think you will have trouble finding a hotel without a good shelter. The rule of thumb is one level down or two walls between you and the outside world. I stayed at the Rudolfo which is a wonderful old 4 star hotel. I just looked and rates are about $100 a night. You just call or write and ask what they are using for a shelter.
If you can get away for a week, I really suggest you plan on both Lviv and Kyiv. I am hoping you watch Winter on Fire and insist on it. Being there is support and support is important to them. So far the trains havent been hit and neither have been the hotels. I think maybe there is a fear of killing the worng person. If you read my trip report it wasnt horrible. If you plan both and something gets a bit nastier in Kyiv you can always stay put in Lviv and as a Plan B head south to the Carpathians for a few days (safer than Lviv). With the right tourguide you can realy play this by ear.
But unitl then, call or write Kate and tell her your thoughts, concerns, etc and start a dialogue. It will help you a lot.
Hello,
I know sentiments are strong on the subject - so I'd prefer not getting into it - but we haven't made any changes with regard to Russia on our website since the start of the war in Ukraine. The simple stance is that we do not recommend travel there. We have posts that indicate as much in the forum and in the Explore section of our website.
As for establishing a Ukraine section, we never had one and we will not add one in the near future. It's not entirely obvious, but the destinations we make available in the forum reflect the countries or regions that we highlight in the Explore section. Those are chosen for the Explore section based on our guidebook coverage. Furthermore, any new sections need to have sufficient traffic and engagement to make it clear that we wouldn't be creating a dead space. It's really hard to retract a forum section after it has been created, and you've probably noticed a few dead sections in the hotel/restaurant forum areas. The General Europe and Beyond Europe sections of the forum are meant to be the catch-alls for any destination that doesn't have its own section.
Thanks to Mr E for the helpful responses. Thanks to everyone for keeping this thread closely about travel.
Assuming it isn't wise or safe to travel to: any place that is currently or is likely to be bombed, any place that is or is likely to be a war zone or have a genocide, (or even any neighborhood in a "decent" country where you are likely to get shot, mugged, or assaulted), Ukraine would be a bad location to try to travel to, at least not until the war is definitely over.
If you assume a country's politics or government don't matter for picking a place to travel to, if all you care about is your chances of getting shot, mugged, assaulted, and so on, anecdotes from YouTube and various blogs suggest that where tourists are most likely to go in Moscow and St. Petersburg and maybe other cities, you are not more likely to have a problem than in the rest of Europe. Of course Russia is a hard country to get into - you need a visa, you have to compensate for the sanctions, the boarder crossings may have limited hours, United States based airlines don't currently fly to russia, and so on. There are worse countries to go to - North Korea, North and south Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan or Tajikistan, Hati, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Venesuela...
Ukraine would be a bad location to try to travel to, at least not
until the war is definitely over.
“Bad” is subjective, but no doubt that there are safer places to go. Personally, I sure wouldn’t do it without a lot of research and in-country support. Not something to do casually and without a lot of consideration. If you read my trip report, that’s where I began. Nothing is sugar coated.
To the best of my knowledge, it is not against U.S. law for a U.S. citizen to travel anywhere in the world (I could be wrong). So, the RS policy of not promoting anything illegal doesn’t play into things.
Ukraine is a US State Department “Level 4 – Do Not Travel” advisory destinations which one should take seriously. Although Ukraine does have a region that the US State Department has given a “Level 3: Reconsider Travel to the regions of Volyn, Lviv, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr.” Until a few months ago Egypt was a Level 3, it has now moved to Level 2. Still remaining Level 3 countries include Jamica, Columbia, Honduras, Guatamala and Israel; all of which see a lot of US tourism.
Beyond personal tolerances vs reason for such a trip, one would need to consider medical and life insurance. Will your policy cover you in a Level 3 or a Level 4 country? Quite possibly not. Do ask. Ukraine requires that you purchase a policy that will cover you before entering the country and they do check. This requirement pre-dates the war. The Visit Ukraine website has links to policies that comply.
Finally, if you get yourself in a crack, will the US government come bail you out. Possibly. I don’t know. But my feelings are, you got yourself there against advice, so not sure you have much room to expect much help.
Lviv and Kyiv, are not so difficult to travel to. There are sleeper trains, sometimes two a day, from Vienna, Budapest and several day trains from Przemysl, Warsaw, and Chelm in Poland. Hotels can be booked directly or you can use Booking.com or AirBnb. PayPal and Western Union work if you need to transfer money and the ATMs will work on your (at least my) US Bank Card. For payments, US Bank Cards and Credit Cards work fine. Getting around Taxis and Uber.
The streets and sidewalks in Kyiv were full of people during the day. Life seemed more normal than not. Shops and museums were open. Restaurants had food. Curfew is at midnight. When the raids begin, things are different. I assume Lviv is the same.
I don't think this subject has anything to do about politics. It is about safe travels. Who wouldn't want to see Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, North Korea and the list goes on. There was a time not too long ago when East Berlin and Cuba plus many Eastern European countries were places people didn't scheduled vacations. Sadly, Ukraine has become one of those places in 2025.
Just from a safety perspective only I would be very cautious of travel to that region. From a political perspective I would offer to those interested to donate to a legitimate fund to help the people of Ukraine.
Once the war is over, people should flock to that country to support economically their rebuilding efforts.
SAFE and Happy Traveling
edit: Stop the war.
Simple post, but unless Putin or Zelensky are forum members here, you might be preaching to the choir. The late Edwin Starr sang it best in 1970.
Simple post, but unless Putin or Zelensky are forum members here, you might be preaching to the choir. The late Edwin Starr sang it best in 1970.
I just wish the way of the world didn't include people killing each other to sort out disputes.
I don't support armed conflict in any way really. Even in something like the uprising or the troubles in Ireland, I can't get behind the people that have killed and been killed for the cause in armed conflict the same way a mural in Belfast or plaque in Dublin might. I struggle with the violence part of it. I wouldn't dream of watching footage from the frontline in Ukraine. I only skim the headlines of current war. I don't want information about operations or details really. My current threshold for watching documentaries on wars that have happened is twenty or thirty years :)
Anyway, good shout with the Edwin Starr song. I got turned on to that song when I was young in the eighties when popular British band Frankie Goes To Hollywood covered it. I'll link that version below.
Here is some background history you can work on before your trip.
- https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNewfxO7LhBoz_1Mx1MaO6sw_
Here are some recent Ukraine Tourism Videos, all since the war began.
- Kyiv Christmas Markets:
https://youtu.be/YZjnzmjvxJM?si=y9sSIZ3L89orkja7
- Kyiv during war: https://youtu.be/6VIZNVnMfzs?si=5grUF-GkUUS3nCHn
- Ukraine tourism advice:
https://youtu.be/pYr_rnrhIGM?si=lrXRyjzmDSZwQu08
- Kyiv Travel Guide 2025:
https://youtu.be/jaQ0fMPhXjI?si=yv1jc96h9xZiZ-zE
- Lviv Travel Guide 2025:
https://youtu.be/e0hsQELoH5o?si=-4oxwyP_9NEgaL_6
- Lviv https://youtu.be/hTCKAWYczBU?si=G8VUQn79H4uuBrfO
- Lviv during war https://youtu.be/dilSS9xocoQ?si=NR_C7pi1-2H-NZvK
These are a little older but they are by the guide I suggested:
- https://www.youtube.com/@yourkyivguide
Charity Help. Threadwear suggested that from a political perspective you might want to make contributions to Ukraine. I really don’t see how contributing to saving lives is a political act. I posted the official Ukrainian government fund raising website, but we had an objection because it was raising money for, among other things, the equipment to provide for the defense. So here are some others that should be less objectionable.
- This one which raises money to try and bring the kidnapped children
home from russia: https://www.saveukraineua.org/
- Or this one which is a large children centered organization:
https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/ukraine
- Or The European Commission (the Executive Body of the EU)
https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-solidarity-ukraine/donate_en
Or, if you live in or near a major city in the US, I suspect there is an organization for Ukraine support in your city where you can do something hands on. For example:
- https://www.clevelandmaidan.info/ or
- https://www.facebook.com/cincy4ukraine/ or
- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555796104727#
Ukrainians are defending their country; this involves going to war.
When the war has ended, with an agreement fair to Ukraine (which I highly doubt), more well meaning people will be tripping over themselves to get to St Petersburg than to Kiev.
I have thought of traveling to Ukrain and/or Russia. I didn't go t either yet because it wasn't a top priority. I roughly estimate that in order of importance in travel destintions including within the United States, Ukraine is approximately 24th place, Russia approximately 25th place. I have been to ten countries not including shorter trips to states in United States.
My mom is convinced that Poland and any of the countries boarding Russia are not safe because she irrationally assumes V. Putin is likely to try to annex them at any moment. I wouldn't plan a trip to Ukraine until the war is is completely ended and the sites I picked are approximately as safe as where tourists are most likely to go in West, central, or northern Europe. Russia is not blatently dangerous now, but as long as the sanctions are in place, it would be much harder to plan a trip to Russia than to other places I went like Spain, England, or Greece. My mom doesn't know i am going to Latvia and Lithuania in June (to find an ancestors grave, see whatever museums i fit in, and do some combination of what some would call heritage tourism or genealogical tourism). For comparison, in 2022, my mom freaked out and begged me to cancel my trip, to Spain, when I told her i was traveling there, 2 weeks before my trip. First she yelled that Coronavirus-19 was the problem. Then she switched to saying the Ukraine war was the problem. Even an aunt called me just before my trip to Spain and in a less volatile but still stern way exclaimed, "what if you can't get out!?" (Acting like i could somehow get stuck in Europe like the Jews in 1933-1945). I was actually 38 when i went to Spain.
If russia and Ukraine are sort of equal on your radar, you should go to russia; you might possibly be safer.
blackcat fortunate; my apologies for the endless posts. I just figured this way we have one thread on the forum with as much informaiton as possible. Someone might find it useful.
This just popped up on my notices.
12 February, The 2026 Ukraine Ball in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Proceeds go to a new rehabilitation center. Looks to be black tie.
A memorable once in a lifetime sort of travel experience for many: https://www.ukrainianball.at/gallery/2025. Tickets looked pretty reasonable too.
