You're reading: Attention tourists: Check out these guides before visiting Ukraine

Ukraine has a lot to offer for tourists – beautiful landscapes, original architecture, interesting traditions and tasty food. However, it’s not always easy for foreigners to get around here, as few Ukrainians speak English. The Kyiv Post tracked down the best English language guidebooks that will help in carefully planning a trip to the country and make travelling in Ukraine pleasant, safe and inexpensive.


Different Kyiv

This guide book is written in two languages – Ukrainian and English, and offers an alternative look at Ukraine’s capital. It includes an exciting exploration of Kyiv’s most interesting places familiar only to locals. Those tired of well-trodden touristic places might take the guidebook’s advice, and go dancing at Hydropark retro discotheque, enjoy treats in legendary Yaroslava café near Zoloti Vorota metro station, or walk along Peyzazhna alley, not far from Andriyivsky Uzviz Street. The book is divided into three parts, that include eight thematic routs, numerous tips about various aspects of Kyiv’s transportation, food, shopping and more, and telephone numbers and/or the locations of the city’s fast-food chains, shops, parks and public transport stops.

The guidebook’s peculiarity is that it does not contain any photos of the places in Kyiv mentioned in the book. Instead it abounds with funny illustrations of the city’s hidden gems which will only prompt curious tourists to explore the city more.

The guidebook is free and may be downloaded at https://store.obreey.com/ukr/books/915746 or at https://www.bookland.com/ukr/books/915746


Ukraine. Travel Guide

This colorful guidebook offers a detailed review of Ukraine’s central region – Kyiv, Vinnytsya, Cherkasy and Chernihiv Oblasts and gives a brief description of the monuments, architecture, nature and cultural traditions there. The places of interest in each oblast are indexed and divided into categories depending on cultural importance. The big advantage of this guidebook is that the location of each cultural heritage spot is marked on a map so that everybody can use it and create their own touristic route around central Ukraine.

Overall, the guidebook also presents interesting tourist destinations in 382 Ukrainian towns, villages and cities and provides addresses and telephone numbers of museums and hotels that a curious holiday maker might want to pop into. The book’s 157 color photographs show the diversity and beauty of the south of Ukraine.

The book can be ordered online at http://bukva.ua/en/catalog/browse/3617/1/245678

Hr 70

Litera

11/61 LvaTolstogo St.

(044) 234-7508

Lonely planet Ukraine

This guidebook is interesting both to those who have already been to Ukraine, and those who are only just planning a trip to the country. It contains lots of practical information for planning a trip – it has over 48 local maps, many sights’ websites, and public transportation operation hours. Ticket prices for local museums, the cost of hotel rooms and average prices at local restaurants and café will help one estimate one’s budget for a trip to Ukraine.

Those interested in Ukrainian traditions will find interesting details about the country’s customs, history, and art in the book. The guidebook offers even some information about Ukraine’s complicated foreign and domestic politics, as the publishers produced a special update on the recent political development after the dramatic events of the EuroMaidan Revolution in Ukraine in 2013-14.

The “Lonely Planet Ukraine” covers the whole of Ukraine, including occupied Crimea, and focuses on Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Yalta, Kamyanets-Podilsky, Chernihiv, Uman, Poltava as well as other Ukrainian cities.

The ebook of the fourth edition costs £8.32, the paperback is £11.89 and may be ordered at http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/ukraine/ukraine-trave…


Awesome Kyiv

The guidebook might be interesting for those travelers seeking to discover new places and facts different from those usually offered in average guidebooks. “Awesome Kyiv” offers a selection of the most notable city places, monuments and personalities. It consists of eight chapters highlightening interesting facts from Kyiv’s history, culture, places, food, nature, sport and technologies. One of the book’s main advantages is that apart from classical sights like Golden Gates or People’s Friendship Arc, it offers interesting places like “kachalka” in Hydropark, the famous Kyivska Perepichka eatery or the Kyiv motorcycle plant. The guidebook also has interesting notes about world famous people from Kyiv – artist Kazimir Malevich, scientist Borys Paton, and aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky.

However, “Awesome Kyiv” has several serious defects preventing it from being a truly useful guidebook – it lacks maps, addresses of the mentioned places as well as estimated prices and working hours of the city’s museums.

The book may be ordered online at http://book-ye.com.ua/shop/product_13620.html

Hr 166

63A Velyka Vasylkivska St.

(044) 287-5088

A motor car trip through Ukraine

This colorful book contains all the information a car traveler might need –24 detailed maps of the main Ukrainian cities, 70 illustrated motor-car routes through Ukraine and information about the prices and working hours of 300 hotels, motels and recreation centers around the country. The book also offers colorful pictures of 52 palaces, 78 fortresses, 257 museums, 255 churches and monasteries, all of which are worth visiting because of their beautiful architecture and interesting history.

Plus, travelers who prefer to take holidays close to nature will find extensive information about 20 Ukrainian national reserves in the book.

The book may be ordered online at http://book-ye.com.ua/shop/product_8998.html

Hr 319.87

5 Spaska St.

(044) 351-1338