Hello all, I'm a 20 yo male from the US who's traveled to Romania and Bulgaria already and am currently considering another trip to Eastern Europe this Winter/Spring. Everything was shaping up well until I told my family I'll be crossing out of the EU and into Ukraine for a portion of the trip, more specifically Lviv/Ivano-Frankivsk and south. They became very concerned for my potential safety as soon as I mentioned the name. I immediately went to the US and UK travel advisories for Ukraine, but they don't seem to trust these and want to hear more personal/anecdotal evidence. Their primary concern seems to be the relationship between Ukraine and the US, and that should I be arrested/lost/ect that the government will be of absolutely no help, wheres in EU countries this would not be a problem. Does anyone have any experience in this area? Any advice/experiences are appreciated. Thanks.
Is Western Ukraine a significantly more dangerous place than Romania?
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What on earth do they think is going to happen to you? I traveled to Ukraine in 2006 and I'm a woman in my sixties. I had no concerns and no problems.
If they seriously think that the US government can help you if you break the law in western Europe they're dreaming. Or that it will help you if you get lost!!!
I loved Lviv. See http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html
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Compare the State Department Travel notices online for Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. If there aren't any significant differences, show your parents. If there are huge differences, rethink it yourself.
I assume you have some slavic language background or at least German because I also assume that the tourist infrastructure would be somewhat less developed than in countries like Bulgaria and Rumania that are actively promoting tourism.
Hope it works out! Report back here -- please -- if you go and have a good trip. For that matter, we would love to read your report on Rumania and Bulgaria.
I have no "Slavic language background" or German and I managed. I did learn the Cyrillic alphabet.
Yeah I made it in Bulgaria without any Slavic language background. I did know Cyrillics and a bit of German though, both of which helped tremendously.
Thanks for the replies everyone! Hopefully these will help set my family's mind at ease.
Your parents don't trust the US government travel advisory but they will trust unknown people on an internet travel site? How weird is that?
In 1992 I was driving around in Poland and decided to go over to the Ukraine for a visit. I bought a visa at the border and drove over to L'viv. No problem. Police asked for my papers three times in 24 hours. I met a fellow and have kept up correspondence with him for the past 20 years. Time flies! The people are wonderful. I'm sure that tourist facilities are much better developed now than they were then. Go for it. BTW, I have driven through Romania and Bulgaria without incident except for hangups at the borders. Knowing some German certainly helps.
If you get lost how would a US embassy ever know about it? Or be able to do anything?
If you arrested for something the embassy can notify your family and explain to you how to get representation (that you would have to pay for). The US gov't is not in the business of playing nanny to tourists - I think you family is operating under a bunch of misapprehensions.
I have been to Lviv five times since 2009 for extended periods of time and ever single time I go the city has advanced more and more. Signs are in English, there are helpful tourist offices. The only time I hear people having issues is when men have gotten drunk at a bar and started a fight with someone. You have to be aware of your surroundings, just like any other city in the world. There are also a lot of Ukrainians around your age in the city as they have two major universities, and someone is always looking to practice their English. Good luck!
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Married to a Ukrainian since 2006, her home town is Lviv. We visit several times a year and it's one of my favorite cities. The biggest risk from my experience in Ukraine comes from taxi drivers many of who drive like lunatics and give every impression they paid for their driving licence. However, many of the taxi's I saw even 6 months ago in Lviv are very old and as most streets are cobbled, this tends to limit their speed.
).
There are financial scams in Ukraine. One being someone claiming you dropped a pile of money - just keep walking. I saw that once in Kiev and one time I had money stolen from my wallet in a cafe (carelessly hanging a jacket over the back of a chair. They took the cask but deposited the wallet with driving licence, ID and credit cards in an outside pocket
If you drive, expect to be stopped by the police for any reason. Just be polite and pay a "fine". Remember many of them only earn $150-200/month.
The Ukrainians are warm people, and often generous to a fault. When you visit, remember two things. They lost 25% of their population in WWII (10 million) and have been a new country for only 23 years - it will help you appreciate the country, its people and culture more.