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I will be in Warsaw for a few days and wondering about a side trip to Ukraine.

  1. Is it safe? This is not my question, I am willing to take the risk

  2. Is it reasonably easy? Google Maps shows a bus and train route taking 14 hours but are the services really running?

  3. Is it a reasonable thing to do at the moment? Are tourists welcome as a sign of normality and an injection of foreign money? Or are they a nuisance or disliked as gawkers?

I am a dual UK and Irish citizen. I guess that either passport would be suitable. However, I would be using my Irish one in Poland.

Obviously my second question is rather subjective but has anyone travelled to Lviv or Kyiv recently and can they report on their reception?

badjohn
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  • As it's an active war zone: no. 1. Last I heard (though that's a while ago), it's surprisingly easy to get in by car, at least for journalist types. You'll probably be stopped a lot by the Ukrainian military, but if you seem harmless, you're probably allowed in. Public transit I don't know.
    • – deceze Jan 07 '24 at 11:39
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    I’ve read that (at least until Russia restarted bombing Kyiv and Lviv recently, not sure if that changed since) trains run surprisingly well. However don’t forget that your regular travel insurance will nearly certainly not cover you. I believe you need a dedicated insurance before you can enter, and coverage is limited. – jcaron Jan 07 '24 at 12:38
  • @jcaron I expected that regular travel insurance would not apply but thanks for reminding me that they might check for suitable insurance. – badjohn Jan 07 '24 at 14:50
  • From last year (though I expect the situation is very similar): https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/178696/travel-in-western-ukraine-how-safe-unsafe-is-it/178747 – jcaron Jan 07 '24 at 16:25
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    Based on a report from a prominent travel vlogger, having Russian visas in your passport might be an issue. – Spehro Pefhany Jan 07 '24 at 18:12
  • @jcaron I think that I will need to resist the trip for the moment and hope for better times soon. – badjohn Jan 07 '24 at 18:34
  • @SpehroPefhany None of those in either passport but, as I just said in another comment, I think that I need to resist the trip for the moment. – badjohn Jan 07 '24 at 18:35
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    Here's a trip report from February 23 by Matthew Clint - an American blogger. Seems doable. This is one post on a series describing his trip. – ugoren Jan 13 '24 at 14:25