Transportation to and within the Carpathians

(this article assumes that you aren't driving your own car)

Since there are two main access routes that don't overlap — from Lviv and from Ivano-Frankivsk — it makes sense to divide the Carpathian ski resorts into two groups:

ACCESSIBLE FROM LVIV AND KIEV-UZHHOROD TRAIN ROUTE ACCESSIBLE FROM IVANO-FRANKIVSK Slavsko Tysovets Krasiya Podobovets Pylypets Beskyd Mizzhirya Sinyak Polyana Solochyn Synevir Zhdenievo Dolyna? Lumshory? Bukovel Drahobrat Yablunytsia Verkhovyna  Yasinya Yaremcha Kosiv Rakhiv Vorokhta Huta? Yavoriv?		To get to ski areas in the left column, you can get off at the stop you need in the Carpathian Mountains and then, if necessary, take taxis or minibuses for short distances from there. To get to ski areas in the right column, you will get off the train in Ivano-Frankivsk (the final station) and take a bus or taxi to your final destination — as many as five hours away.
		Skiers getting off the train in Ivano-Frankivsk

Trains to the Carpathians

Here is the relevant train information from Kiev. Note that Uzhhorod is the final station, so you will get off the train up to four hours before Uzhhorod depending on where you are going, and get on the train up to four hours after Uzhhorod on the way back. All these trains run every day.

If you are coming from Lviv, there are tons of additional trains and buses. If you are coming from Kharkov, you can take a slow (24-hr-long!) train to Uzhhorod, but it might be better to go first to Kiev on one of the express trains, then get on the train from Kiev. If you're coming from Odessa, there is a fast train to Uzhhorod that goes through Lviv (and Slavsko) and a slow train that goes to Ivano-Frankivsk.

For specific train information, here is a very useful site in English with timetables of trains throughout Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

Buying train tickets in Ukraine

Train tickets are bought with a passport or xerox copy of each passenger's passport either at the train station or — in larger cities — at ticket offices around town. Generally you will want to buy your tickets a week or more in advance, as they can sell out. Sometimes seats open up at the last minute, however.

Ukrainian trains have three classes of cars, all of which have reasonably comfortable fold-down bunks — one per passenger. 3rd class is called "platzkart" — a car without compartments with quite a bit of noise and festivity and shorter bunks (about 175 cm). Here the only completely safe place for your stuff is a chamber under the bottom bunk, so make sure you put any valuables in there before the person on the bottom bunk goes to sleep.

2nd class is called "kupe" — quieter four-bunk compartments with a locking door. 1st class, or "SV" (sleeping cars) have slightly more elegant two bed compartments that are now sometimes outfitted with TVs. In all classes of cars bedding is available for 6 to 10 UAH.

Ukrainian trains are inexpensive. For example, a one-way trip to the Carpathians from Kiev would cost around 40 UAH ($8 USD) for 3rd class, 50 UAH ($10) for 2nd, and 100 UAH ($20) for 1st. We recommend foreigners buy 2nd or 1st class tickets unless they are traveling with locals.

Read more about Ukrainian trains from TryUkraine.com.

Buses to the Carpathians

There are at least two convenient, though uncomfortable buses from Kiev to Yaremcha and Tyachiv, both in the mountains west of Ivano-Frankivsk. They both leave once a day from the Dachnaya long-distance bus station in Kiev (Prospekt Pobedy 142, tel. 424-15-03). We can't find their schedules anywhere online. Even though the seats in these buses recline 45 degrees, it is still much more comfortable to sleep on the train.

Flights to the Carpathian region

The following Ukrainian cities have airports:

Kiev, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Odessa, Zaporozhye, Lviv, Mariupol, Lugansk, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Simferopol, Uzhhorod.

Lviv's airport has some international flights, so you could fly directly to Lviv if you are located outside of Ukraine (browse connections here).

One can fly from Kiev to most cities around Ukraine for $25-100 USD one-way (return tickets are bought separately). Tickets can be bought at Kiy Avia offices around Ukraine (English speaking representatives are available) and booked online at their English-language website.

Domestic flights
All flights connect to Kiev Boryspil international airport (not Zhuliany) unless otherwise indicated:

	Buses to mountain destinations are lined up in front of the Ivano-Frankivsk train station

Transportation from Ivano-Frankivsk to Carpathian ski areas

Ivano-Frankivsk is a very busy transportation hub for much of the Carpathian region. Right in front of the train station are dozens of buses and minibuses ("marshrutki") to every thinkable location in the mountains. For some buses you will need to buy tickets at the ticket office inside the bus station, while for others you can buy a ticket in the bus, so ask the driver beforehand.

Many skiers, especially those traveling in groups, prefer to hire taxis to take them to destinations such as Drahobrat (approx. 200 UAH for a minibus to Drahobrat). Taxi drivers will approach you themselves as they always do in Ukraine.

In addition, there is a narrow-gauge diesel train that slowly winds through the mountains from Ivano-Frankivsk to Rakhiv and back, passing through Yaremcha, Yablunytsia, and Yasinya on its way.

(we'll post a diesel train schedule here soon)

Minibuses in the Carpathians

The best way to get around the Carpathians, if you are not on your own car, is by the ubiquitious "marshrutki," or minibuses. These inexpensive private buses run just about anywhere there is local demand for them. However, if a certain destination is dominated by tourists, expect to see taxis waiting for you instead of minibuses. Minibuses usually don't advertise their schedule but run reliably. They pass through the center of town and make stops at the bus station ("avtovokzal") in each town or village along the way, if there is one. You pay when you get in and can ask the driver to stop at any location along the way. Sometimes minibuses are overcrowded and passengers have to stand.