Ukraine is a diverse Eastern European nation rich in history, culture, and natural beauty. From the golden-domed churches of Kyiv to the charming cobblestone streets of Lviv, Ukraine offers travelers architectural marvels, vibrant cultural traditions, delicious cuisine, and warm hospitality.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
This is the 30-km exclusion zone around the 1986 reactor disaster, now visited only in organized groups with a licensed guide and government permit. The day mixes the abandoned city of Pripyat, with its overgrown apartment blocks, school, and fairground, with checkpoints, radiation-monitoring stops, and the sarcophagus structure over Reactor 4 viewed from a set distance. It is a day of walking through a frozen 1986 Soviet town rather than a conventional sightseeing itinerary.
Highlights: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant · Pripyat ghost town · Red Forest · Duga radar installation · Memorial to the liquidators
Kaniv and Shevchenko National Reserve
Kaniv is a small Dnipro River town whose main purpose for visitors is the hilltop grave and monument of Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine's national poet, set within a wooded reserve above the river. The appeal is as much the setting as the monument itself: a long climb through forest to a bluff with open views over the Dnipro, quieter and more contemplative than a city museum visit.
Highlights: Taras Shevchenko's grave and museum · Cherkasy Regional Museum · Dnipro River panoramas · Kaniv Nature Reserve
Chernihiv Old Town
Chernihiv is one of the oldest cities in Kyivan Rus, and its old town preserves a cluster of 11th-to-12th-century stone churches that predate almost everything standing in Kyiv itself. It is a compact, walkable day of early medieval architecture along the Desna River, far less visited than Kyiv's own churches despite similar age.
Highlights: Chernihiv Transfiguration Cathedral (11th century) · Eletsky Monastery · Pyatnytska Church · Anthony's Caves · Chernihiv Historical Museum
Bila Tserkva and Oleksandria Dendrological Park
Bila Tserkva's main draw is Oleksandria Park, an 18th-century landscape park built by the Branicki family, with formal and naturalistic sections spread along a river ravine. It suits a slower, outdoor day of walking rather than a sightseeing checklist, with the park's follies, bridges, and old tree collection as the focus.
Highlights: Oleksandria Park with 18th-century English landscape garden · Ros River banks · Bila Tserkva Castle ruins · Rotunda of Saint Mary
Baturyn Hetmanate Citadel
Highlights: Baturyn Hetmanate Citadel · Kochubey Palace ruins · Museum of the Hetmanate · St. Nicholas Church
Trips by distance
How far you can go in a day.
Getting there
Transport options for day trips.
- Tours
- Organized tours from $40-130/person: Chernobyl day tours (mandatory licensed operator, $100-130), castle tours from Lviv ($40-60), Carpathian day excursions from Lviv ($35-60)
- Private
- Car hire with driver from $100-150/day; comfortable for castle routes and Carpathian excursions where flexibility is needed; book through hotel concierge or taxi apps
- Public
- Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) intercity trains serve Chernihiv, Kaniv area, and Lviv region from Kyiv; buses from central bus stations connect smaller towns; book at uz.gov.ua
- Rental
- Car rental from $25-60/day available in Kyiv and Lviv; useful for Golden Horseshoe castle route and Carpathian freedom; international license required; avoid driving in eastern regions
Day trip tips
Make the most of your excursions.
Chernobyl tours are mandatory licensed-operator excursions — never attempt to enter the exclusion zone independently as it is illegal and dangerous
Book Chernobyl tours at least 1-2 weeks ahead and provide passport details; bring your actual passport on the day as ID is checked at checkpoints
Early morning departure from Kyiv (7-8AM) maximizes time at destinations; return trains and buses from Chernihiv, Kaniv, and Bila Tserkva run until evening
The Golden Horseshoe castle route from Lviv (Pidhirtsi, Olesko, Zolochiv) is best done by rental car or private driver for flexibility between the three sites