Even experienced Ukrainian travelers might be surprised at some of the country’s hidden tourism gems – landscapes that have an uncanny similarity to world-famous locations. Europe’s largest desert, ancient castles and the bright, white sands of “tropical” island beaches can all be found within Ukraine’s borders.
Venice’ in Odesa
Vylkove, a small town in Odesa Oblast some 670 kilometers south of Kyiv, has often been described as “Ukraine’s Venice.”
Like Venice, Vylkove’s main roads are not paved with asphalt or cobblestone, but are canals. The town, located in marshland in the Danube River delta, on Ukraine’s river border with Romania, isn’t as developed as Venice, however. Its 9,000 residents often move around on boats, and many live in small wooden cottages. There are few large buildings apart from the town’s three churches.
Vylkove is a paradise for nature lovers. With little traffic, the region is a haven for wild birds, with pelicans, sea eagles and geese among the main attractions. The city is also a popular spot for angling.
Tourists enjoy a gondola ride near St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy. (AFP)
Locals sail a boat on one of town’s canal in Vylkove in Odesa Oblast. (Ukrafoto)
The climate is mild. Mykhailo Zhmyg, a local ornithologist and the co-founder of the Pelican tourist agency, told the Kyiv Post that the tourist season in Vylkove usually starts in late April and lasts until the end of November.
Prices at local hotels and private resorts start from Hr 400 per night. Vylkove trademark “Novak” red wine goes for Hr 100 a bottle and is well worth trying.
How to get there: Take the Kyiv-Vylkove bus for Hr 380. Another option is to take a train from Kyiv to Odesa for Hr 230 and then take a bus or a taxi from Odesa to Vylkove (Hr 150).
Sands of ‘Maldives’
Clean, white sands and kilometers of pristine beaches lapped by warm seas, where dolphins frolic in the mornings and in the evenings. This is no Maldives resort. It is Dzharylgach Island, the largest Ukrainian island in the Black Sea, about 650 kilometers south of Kyiv.
Located off the coast of Kherson Oblast, the island consists of a large main section that is almost, but not quite, connected to the mainland by a long, narrow spit of sand. The northeastern portion of the island’s largest, eastern part is a labyrinth of closely packed salt ponds. It’s south coast is one long, sandy beach, and the interior and western portion of the island is steppe land. The island has been a national park since 2009, and is home to wild sheep, pigs and red deer. Andriy Griban, a tour guide who has escorted tourists to Dzharylgach Island for the past two years, says that “dozens of animal species inhabit the island. I’ve met roe deer, raccoons, and wild pigs.”
The tourist season on Dzharylgach starts in late spring. Dzharylgach is an ideal place for those who want to escape noisy city life and get close to nature. Visitors to the island are housed in tents – there is almost no tourism infrastructure there. A special café boat that brings food and water supplies to holidaymakers is the only connection to civilization.
How to get there: By train from Kyiv to Kherson (Hr 260), then by bus or by car to Skadovsk (prices start at Hr 100). Then take a boat from Skadovsk to Dzharylgach Island (around Hr 150 for a round trip).
Castles in Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine is in the same league as many European countries in terms of the number of its castles. Nearly 50 majestic palaces bear silent witness to the turbulent history of this part of Ukraine, which has changed hands with the rising and falling of European empires. And with all that history, naturally the region’s fortresses are associated with legends and ghost stories on a par with those told of the most haunted Scottish and English castles.
The carriage makes its way past the statue of Queen Victoria in front of Windsor Castle, U.K. (photo by AFP.)
Zolochevsky Castle near the town Zolochiv is one of more 40 ancient castles of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. (photo by UNIAN)
The best way to explore the castles in Lviv Oblast is to order the “Golden Horseshoe of Lviv Region” special tour for Hr 250 from the Just Lviv It! tourist website http://www.justlviv.it.
How to get there: By car, take the E40/M-06 highway from Kyiv. Distance to Lviv is about 540 kilometers. High-speed (about five hours) and overnight trains also run from Kyiv to Lviv — prices start from Hr 140 for a one-way ticket.
Europe’s biggest desert
Oleshkivski Pisky, located in Kherson Oblast, 580 kilometers south of Kyiv, is the biggest sand desert in Europe, covering an area of more than 160 square kilometers. Its five-meter high sand dunes move constantly in the wind, among sparse tufts of vegetation. In summer, the sand’s temperature in Oleshkivski Pisky reaches 70 degrees Celsius.
Several local tourist agencies offer Oleshkivski Pisky tours for the adventurous tourist – with camping, quad biking and bicycle rides on offer. Prices of a two-day tour start from Hr 350.
The desert has been surrounded by dense tree plantations to stop the dunes from spreading, and forest fires are frequent. Due to its remoteness, this outstanding natural area in Soviet times was, of course, used as a bombing range for training Warsaw Pact pilots, and unexploded ordnance is sometimes found there.
Part of Oleshkivsky Pisky still serves as a Ukrainian army proving ground.
Competitors cross rocky terrain 300 kilometers south of Ouarzazate, in the Moroccan desert (photo by AFP)
A caravan of tourists and a dog cross the Oleshkivsly Pisky desert in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine (photo by UNIAN)
How to get there: by train from Kyiv to Kherson (Hr 300-600) then by bus to the town of Radensk (Hr 120).
Picturesque Zalishchyky
The small picturesque town of Zalishchyky can be found in Ternopil Oblast, 513 kilomtesr west of Kyiv. It sits on a loop of the Dnister, opposite the river’s steep, wooded right bank. Topographically, Zalishchyky bears a close resemblance to Saarschleife in the Saar valley in Germany. The town has been part of Poland, Austria-Hungary, the Russian Empire, Poland again, the Soviet Union, and now independent Ukraine. The price of a room in a private hotel is only Hr 100-300 per night.
Picturesque town of Zalishchyky sits on a loop of the Dniester River in Ukraine’s Ternopil Oblast. (Ukrinform)
How to get there: by train from Kyiv to Zalishchyky (prices start from Hr 230), by bus from Kyiv Central Bus Station (prices start from Hr 250)
