What is the best transport option to Lviv, UKRAINE?

The easiest and fastest way is shuttle van across the border and then a train.

Best that I hook you up with a Ukranian Travel Guide that has made the trip several times so you get all the detais accurately. She can advise you in the required insurance too. Ekateryna Prokhorchuk (Kate). You can find her contact details at https://yourkievguide.com/ If you have trouble contacting her, let me know and I will give her a call. Tell her I sent you.

EDIT TO ADD: I’ve only been to Lviv once and that was for just 3 days. It can probably keep most people interested in the sights for a week. So I need to consider a return trip. I had thought about this summer. There or Odesa if things are a bit more stable. But I sure love Kyiv …. So the choice will be difficult.

There is a lot to see in Lviv, including just outside to the city so do consider getting a guide with a car. Kate can probably recommend someone or maybe handle it for you. The old areas of the city are interesting, and sort of Polish Kingdom and Austro-Hungarian Empire meets the East in style. Ownership has changed hands a few times, generally violently which is why Ukraine and Poland have never been good friends …. until the last few years.

Enjoy the trip.

Here is my trip report to Kyiv from January. There are some links that might be helpful. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/kyiv In that trip I did the shutte mentioned above and so has another RS forum member who i hope joins in or contacts you directly. Very nice big MB van, excellent service. Not expensive and gets you through Ukraine passport control fast and easy.

There is also a direct train Budapest to Kyiv which is fun. Did that one too but the shuttle is faster because the train needs about 3 hours to change the undercarriage at the border.

I will second Ekaterina.

I made this trip fall 2023. I used private shuttle (very reliable) Budapest to Mukachevo. My friend met me there on the way TO Lviv and we drove Mukachevo to Lviv. On the way back, I took Flixbus back to Mukachevo, then the private transfer to Budapest. I could have taken Flixbus all the way. However, there’s some time consuming checks at the border, so the private transfer was much faster. Flixbus was cheap. Transfer was about €40 each way.

I know you can also go from Poland. You could check the TripAdvisor Ukraine forum for information about that.

The trick with train tickets is that I don’t think you can buy them without a Ukrainian telephone number. Flixbus you can get online. The bus ride Lviv to Mukachevo was pretty and comfortable.

I stayed a two full days and moved around by car. But I saw busses and trams. There was plenty to do and I probably could have stayed a third day.

Interesting tip - I used Apple Pay the whole time. Never got cash. I stayed in a very nice Air BnB with a basement.

Why did i think you took the train from Mukachevo? I did notice on the board when I was at the Mukachevo train station that there were trains to Lviv. I would rather be in a train than on a bus. Getting train tickets is a trick. Even the trains out of Budapest to Kyiv are easier to get tickets for in Ukraine than here .... another call Kate poroblem. Oh, call and pay of course.

With the van on the way up the passport control never required us to get out of the van. Took maybe 15 minutes. With the train crossing the border on the return trip passport control came on the train and collected up passports then returned them about 45 minutes later. That was fine becuase it took hours to change the train undercarriage for the different Western European track widith.

I've read stories of people crossing from Poland and it taking hours and requiring getting off the bus and lining up at passport control.

I finally caught up with an old aquaintance in Odesa just the other night and got an invite back. So I am pricing transfers from Chișinău to Odesa again.

No idea why you thought that. Maybe because you took a train. But Flixbus was easy and comfy. And not full. The girl in front of me made sure I got off at the appropriate place - it was so sweet. We hadn’t had any conversation. I waited inside the bus station for the transfer van. It wasn’t fancy but had plenty of seats and the coffee machine made coffee from freshly ground beans and took Apple Pay. Ha! There was no bother with borders entering Ukraine - we all passed our passports to the driver and the guards took a look around the van. On the way back, it probably took nearly an hour re-entering Hungary, including time waiting in the car line. The atmosphere was a little tense as the officer went through some luggage (not mine although he looked at it all and asked questions to everyone) - and we all had to get out of the van. Another wonderful young lady made sure I understood anything being said. Then we were on our way.

I dont do busses ............ (unless I must). The train was pretty nice and I think the room and arrangment in a train makes for easier getting to interact with folks if you wanted (you are good at that, I not so much).

When we crossed the border the driver joked that the Ukraine guys had to check a bag to say they did their jobs. They choose a small one, open and shut, and we were off.

On my night train the biggest surprises were:

• Coed compartments ..it was fine...
  
• The incrediable kindness of the there ladies in my compartment.
• The kindness of the conductor
• The tea.
• The feeling of sleeping on a 1970's water bed in an earthquake

But the compartment and the bathroom were pretty darn clean and organzied.

Thank you, this information helps. Any additional replies will be gratefully appreciated.

A "friend" dumped a box on me and asked that I send it to someone in Kyiv. I've been out of town, so I only got around to it today. I use the same cross-border transfer van company that gets people to the train station in Ukraine. They take packages across the border and mail them. Remarkably, despite the war, it only takes about 3 days for packages to go from West Ukraine to Kyiv. Anyway, the van pulled up out front, and the kid driving, the gentleman, reminded me of why I love Ukraine. What "class" people. G-d Bless.