Ukrayna

Ukrainian is the official language and the everyday language of public life. Many people also speak Russian, especially in the east and south, but it is polite to start in Ukrainian or English. English is common among younger people in Kyiv and Lviv, and less so in small towns and villages.

Ukrainian uses the Cyrillic alphabet. Signs in city centres, on trains and in the metro usually also show Latin letters. Learning to read a few station names in Cyrillic still helps a lot.

• SIM and eSIM: the main mobile networks are Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell. Prepaid SIMs and eSIMs are cheap and sold in phone shops and at many kiosks.
• Power cuts: mobile networks and internet can slow down or fail during blackouts. Download offline maps and keep important documents on your phone.
• Alert apps: install an air-raid alert app before you arrive (see the safety section), and allow it to send notifications.

• Medical care: state hospitals are often basic and under heavy pressure from the war. Private clinics in big cities offer better care. Travel insurance with medical evacuation cover is essential.
• Pharmacies: look for the green cross or the word Аптека (apteka). They are common in cities, but supplies can be disrupted and some close without warning. Bring enough of your own medicines for the whole trip.
• Water: drink bottled or boiled water. Tap water is treated in cities, but pipes are old and supply can fail during power cuts.
• Winter: when attacks damage power plants, heating can fail in homes and hotels. Temperatures can fall below −20 °C, so pack warm layers.
• Vaccinations: make sure routine vaccinations, including measles, are up to date. Ask a travel clinic about any extra vaccines several weeks before your trip.

Citizens of the EU, UK, US, Canada and Australia can enter Ukraine without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Many other nationalities need a visa, which is often available online through the Ukraine e-Visa portal.

• No flights: Ukrainian airspace is closed, so there are no civilian flights. Most visitors fly to a neighbouring country and continue overland from Poland, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia or Hungary.
• By train: the easiest way in is a Ukrzaliznytsia train from Poland, for example from Przemyśl or Chełm to Kyiv. Trains also run from Moldova and to western Ukraine from Hungary. Book early, because seats sell out.
• By road: buses and cars cross at the land borders. Queues can last many hours, so bring food, water and warm clothes.
• Insurance: foreign visitors need medical insurance that is valid in Ukraine for the whole stay.
• Occupied areas: entering Ukraine through a crossing not controlled by Ukraine, including via Russia into Crimea, is illegal under Ukrainian law.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

• Respect for the war: many people have lost family members, homes or friends. Avoid jokes or casual comments about the war, and do not treat damaged buildings as a tourist attraction.
• Minute of silence: at 9:00 each morning, many people stop for a minute of silence to remember those killed in the war. Stand still quietly if it happens around you.
• Language: do not assume people want to speak Russian. Start in Ukrainian or English.
• Churches: dress modestly. Women often cover their heads in Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches, and men remove hats. Ask before photographing services.
• Visiting homes: bring a small gift, such as flowers, sweets or wine, and take off your shoes at the door. Give an odd number of flowers, because even numbers are for funerals.
• Greetings: a firm handshake is usual between men. Use first name and patronymic in formal situations.

Under martial law, public holidays are normal working days, so most shops, museums and transport run as usual. Holidays are still marked with services, flags and family meals, and large public events are limited for safety.

• Shops: supermarkets and shops in cities usually open every day, often from about 8:00 or 9:00 to 21:00 or 22:00.
• Curfew: bars and restaurants close in time for staff and guests to get home before the local curfew.
• Alerts and blackouts: shops, museums and the metro can pause during air-raid alerts, and some close during power cuts.

• By train: Ukrzaliznytsia is the backbone of travel in Ukraine and kept running through the war. Night trains and fast Intercity+ trains link Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa and the Carpathians. Buy tickets in the Ukrzaliznytsia app or at stations. Book early, because trains are often full. Trains can be delayed during air-raid alerts.
• By air: there are no domestic flights, because airspace is closed.
• By bus: coaches and minibuses (marshrutky) link cities and reach towns without a railway. They are cheaper than trains but less comfortable.
• In cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro have metro systems. Most cities have buses, trams and trolleybuses. You can often pay by contactless bank card or phone on board or at the gate. Taxi apps work in large cities.

Ukrainian food is hearty and seasonal. Breakfast is often syrnyky (fried cottage-cheese pancakes) or eggs. Lunch is the main meal and usually starts with soup. The national soup is borscht, a beetroot soup with vegetables and often meat, served with sour cream and garlic buns called pampushky. UNESCO lists the culture of Ukrainian borscht cooking as heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. Other favourites are varenyky (dumplings with potato, cheese, cabbage or cherries), holubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls), deruny (potato pancakes) and chicken Kyiv. Salo, cured pork fat eaten on dark rye bread, is a classic snack. In the Carpathians, try banosh, a cornmeal porridge with sheep's cheese and crackling.

People eat in cafés, restaurants and canteen-style buffets, and markets sell fruit, honey, cheese and pickles. Lviv is famous for its coffee houses, chocolate and cakes. Popular drinks include horilka (vodka, often flavoured with honey and pepper), kvas (a fermented bread drink), uzvar (a smoky dried-fruit drink) and wines from the south and Zakarpattia. Some regions limit the hours when shops can sell alcohol.

Official advice applies to every destination below. It advises against all travel to Kyiv, Odesa and most of the country, and against all but essential travel to the west. The places here are for essential travellers and for when visits are possible again.

The capital

• Kyiv: the capital, with Saint Sophia Cathedral, the cave monasteries of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, St Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery and the steep street of Andriyivsky Uzviz. Maidan Nezalezhnosti was the centre of the 2004 and 2013–2014 protests.

The west

• Lviv: a UNESCO-listed old town around Rynok Square, with churches of many faiths, coffee houses and Lviv Opera House. Lychakiv Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Central Europe. The Lviv Region around it has castles such as Olesko Castle.
• Chernivtsi: a university city whose former Residence of Bukovinian Metropolitans is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nearby is Khotyn Fortress on the Dniester River.
• Kamianets-Podilskyi: a medieval town on a rock island in a river loop, guarded by its large medieval fortress.
• Zakarpattia: the region west of the mountains, with Uzhhorod Castle in Uzhhorod, the castle town of Mukachevo and local wine.
• Rivne Oblast: known for Tunnel of Love, a railway line through a green arch of trees. The north of the region, within 50 km of the Belarus border, is under advice against all travel.

The Carpathians

• Ukrainian Carpathians: wooded mountains with hiking, ski resorts and Hutsul villages. Hoverla is the country's highest peak, and the Carpathian Beech Forests are a UNESCO site. St. George's Church in Drohobych is one of the UNESCO-listed wooden churches of the region.

The south

• Odesa: a port city on the Black Sea, known for Odesa National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Potemkin Stairs and its humour and food. It is attacked often, and the beaches have been closed or restricted because of mines at sea.