Ukraine tours & travel

Ukraine, like many of its Eastern European counterparts, boasts a temperate climate that delivers hot summers, mild autumns and icy winters. With the warm summer sending locals and tourists to the Crimea and the Black Sea coast, many theatres and attractions close down or become quite crowded. For those seeking to avoid the crowds, spring (or early autumn) can be an excellent time to visit Ukraine, as the weather is normally quite pleasant and the scenery at its most spectacular. 

Winters can be bitterly cold, with temperatures reaching as low as -25C; however, ample snow provides excellent skiing in the Carpathian Mountains.

Bordering Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Russia, as well as the Black Sea, Ukraine has always held somewhat of a strategic position in continental Europe. It's divided in half by the Dnieper River, an important trading artery and the site of many dams and hydroelectric stations. 

As the second largest country in Europe, Ukraine boasts an incredible variety of landscapes, many of which change complexion dramatically with the seasons. To the west lie the Carpathian Mountains, which include the country's highest peak, Mt Hoverla (2,061 m). To the south is the Black Sea coast, the port town of Odessa and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. This popular holiday spot is renowned for its Mediterranean climate and unique landscapes that include limestone plateaux and volcanic rock formations.

Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, is located in the north on the banks of the Dnieper River. The country's north is renowned for its dense forests, while the central region consists of mainly open fields and plains.

1. Kiev

Kyiv, or Kiev as it’s become known in English, is Ukraine’s ancient capital, the epicenter of a Slavic culture that once stretched as far as Alaska. The locals are understandably a pretty proud bunch, who are happy to give you directions in a dozen languages when you can’t decipher the Cyrillic street signs on every corner. With a local guide by your side though, you won’t have any trouble finding the enourmous Motherland Monument (Ukraine’s answer to the Statue of Liberty), the golden dome of St Michael’s Cathedral or the beaches of Hidropark Island in the Dnipro River.

2. Chernobyl

A moving day-trip from Kiev, tours to Chernobyl run daily. It may not seem like the most chipper way to spend a holiday, but it’s a worthwhile stop for anyone looking to understand better the disaster that happened here in 1986. We’ll take you into the Exclusion Zone, a two-hour drive through the Ukrainian countryside, to have a look at the power plant’s main reactor, as well as the evacuated town of Pripyat, an eerily overgrown village that once housed up to 50,000 workers. These tours are perfectly safe; you can even hire your own Geiger counter to check out the radiation levels.

3. Odessa

Beaches? In Ukraine? Yep, you’d better believe it. Odessa is a little like Eastern Europe’s answer to St Tropez or Rio: a decadent, seaside, neoclassical paradise bookended by the shores of the Black Sea and a geometric grid of shady tree-lined streets. Catherine the Great founded the city in the late 18th century and invited immigrants from all over Europe to settle here. Today it’s both Ukraine’s biggest commercial port and its sun-soaked style capital. A pop of glitz and colour in a country better known for dour mountainscapes and a sleepy rural steppe.

4. Lviv

Lviv is maybe the only place in Ukraine where the Soviets couldn’t stamp their mark. Wandering cobbled streets and trendy piazzas, sipping espresso in boutique cafes, you feel like you’re day-tripping in Prague or holidaying in Krakow. There’s no sign of Stalinist concrete, and Ukrainian (not Russian) is definitely the majority language. Lviv’s secret got out during the Euro 2012 soccer championships, and a successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics sealed the deal. One day people will mention this gorgeous city in the same breath as Cesky Krumlov…until then, it’s all yours.

5. Carpathian Mountains

The Capathians rise on the southwest corner of Ukraine like crinkles on an otherwise flat map. They’re the home of the Hutsuls, a friendly ethnic group (with an excellent sense of style), and the epicenter of the country’s rural folk culture. It’s a place where horse-drawn carts plod along potholed roads and babushkas shoo chickens from their porches. For adventure seekers, The Carpathians provide something else too: a photogenic mix of green valleys, snaking rivers, little villages tucked into the trees and more trails, ski fields, rock faces and white water than anywhere else in Ukraine.

Intrepid takes the health and safety of its travellers seriously, and takes every measure to ensure that trips are safe, fun and enjoyable for everyone. We recommend that all travellers check with their government or national travel advisory organisation for the latest information before departure: