Travelling is always fun. When you travel with kids, it is even more fun. And when you go places that are kids' friendly and have something to attract and keep their attention, then it is a total win. Ukraine has plenty of things to offer, you just have to choose which one is the most appealing to you.

 

1. Participate in workshops.

If you are staying in Lviv and have a couple of spare hours and nothing particular in mind to do (especially on a rainy day), then it is a good idea to get " enlightened" with your kids. Try something you probably have not done before.

Culinary studio "Lozhka" (Spoon) offers classes for kids starting from age 5. Here you can learn not only how to cook yummy stuff, but also find out interesting facts about food. Craft studio "Sverlyk" is a place where you can make things with your hands, using modern mini tools Dremel. You can work with leather, paper, glass, wood, fabric even metal.

Our capital has a lot to offer as well. Here you can find probably any work shop you can think of. But let me outline one for you. Out of hundred possibilities I would choose is a chess class. Chess is one of the most exciting games for the brain in the world. It developes attention, memory,strategic and logical thinking. The cost is 85-100 UAH.

 

2. Visit Museums for kids.

Usually, when you plan a visit to a museum, it sounds like a boring activity to your child, and they yawn and sigh while following you in those endless rooms. But here are a few special ones that would interest your little ones.

State Museum of Toys is surely the most unique museum for children in Kyiv. Here you can enjoy the collection of different toys gathered since 1930 and observe a toy evolution from Soviet times till nowadays. It is like learning a history but in a fun way, with a little help of bears, dolls and cars.

Address: 8 Klovsky descent str. Closed on Sunday and Monday.  Admission: 5 UAH, free for children under 5

Another entertaining museum, is the Museum of Water. Here you will learn a lot about water and its properties, find out about water supply of Ukraine, see many dynamical expositions. You will be amazed by a huge toilet bowl which is half of a man's height!

Address: Grushevskogo st., 1v. Closed on Monday and Tuesday. Admission: 25 UAH

For those who likes aicrafts and planes, you would surely enjoy the State Aviation museum (Zhuliany). It is the youngest and at the same time the largest historical museum of the country's technical history. You can explore more than 70 aircrafts exposed here and for an additional cost you can get inside of some of them.

Address: 1 Medova st. Closed on Monday and Tuesday. Admission: 30 UAH

 

3. Enjoy riding Children Railway

Of course your kids have traveled with you, sitting next to you in a car, train or plane. But it is an adult way of transportation. It would make them happier to know that they have their own railway.

Children railway stations exist in all major cities of Ukraine - Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Lutsk, etc. There are 8 of them. These are real trains with wagons and locomotives that run through parks and rest zones. What makes them special, is that they are operated by children in the age of 9-15 years, supervised though by experienced professionals. It would be a cool experience to have a ride in one of those colorful wagons and interact with little machinist or conductor. Stations work May through September.

Ticket price: 3-6 UAH.

 

4.Have fun at Waterparks

If you are a fan of swimming and summer is still not not close or going to the sea side is really far, you can always visit a water park, no matter of what the weather looks like outside. "The Poseidon" Water Park in Odesa is the largest covered water complex in Eastern Europe with 10 attractions and 3 pools.

Summer hours - daily; Winter hours - Friday, Saturday, Sunday.  Admission: 1 hour adult - 5$, children 3.5$

"Dream Island" in Kyiv has unique design in Jurassic park style. Its area is 24 sq. km. and it can accommodate 3.000 people at the same time. Located at Obolonsky avenue, 21 B Aquapark "Jungles" in Kharkiv  is known for its great variety of water attractions and different pools, health services and cafes.

 

5. Visit farms

If you are a "megalopolis" child, then visiting a farm would be very amusing for you. Villa Rose is an organic farm next to Kyiv, where you can see numerous flocks of free ranging pigs, geese, cows, chicken. You also can watch how veggies and fruits are actually grown before it gets to the supermarket shelves.

Lviv Urban Goat Farm (Dmytrovychi village) is a great place, where you can spend a day playing with little funny goats, taste some milk and cheese and see how all these yummies are made.

Contact us, if you'd like to arrange a tour to either of them. 

 

6.  Have a look at Stadium "Arena Lviv"

If you are a soccer fan - a short visit to a stadium would be a real delight. Tour includes visiting playzones, conference halls, "private" zone of players with changing room and shower tubs, fan section, VIP zone. What could make a little boy happier?

Contact us, if you'd like to arrange a tour to the stadium.

 

7.  Explore Open air folk art museums.

@kyivcity.travel

To the southwest of Kyiv, in the picturesque setting of Pirogovo village there is an open-air Museum of Ukrainian Folk Architecture, Rural Life and Folk Art, stretching on the vast territory of 150 hectares. In this village-museum the unique collection of folk architecture from all regions of Ukraine has been gathered. The visitors to the museum are welcome not only to admire rare exhibits but also visit folk crafts shops and a traditional restaurant serving Ukrainian cuisine.In summer and fall the museum hosts special craft festivals.

There is also one in Lviv called "Shevchenkyvskyy Hay".There are more than 124 architectural monuments (mostly village houses and churches grouped into 54 farmsteads) situated in beautiful ethnographic areas. Four exhibit rooms are also open to the public. Two of these rooms display permanent exhibitions.

Address: 1 Chernecha Gora str. Admission: 20 UAH for adults; 5 UAH for children

 

8.  Enjoy Cycling in parks

Ukraine territory is rich in parks, where, besides strolling, you can also enjoy cycling. Kyiv, in particular, has a multitude of large parks ideally suited for biking. Among them are Holosiyivskyy (Goloseyevskiy) park, Park Druzhby Narodiv, string of parks on the west bank of the Dnipro (starting at Europe Square (Yevropeyska ploscha) and continuing south to the Botanical Garden. There are couple firms that offer bike rentals for a decent price.

Odesa (Shevchenko park), Lviv (Znesinnia,Stryjsky, Pohulianky, and Zalizni Vody parks), Kharkiv (Gorkiy park) - all these cities have large parks, accommodated for bicycle lovers, just go and take it!!!!

 

9. Spend One day in the village.

 

@travelwestukraine.net

Ukrainian village is a must visit place if you truly want to feel Ukrainian spirit. Any house you go to has it's own mini "farm", own dairy production "factory", big garden with all the fruit trees that grow in Ukraine in it. People will host you like their relatives, tell you stories, treat you to tasty food, sing you folk songs. Believe me, you and your kids will stay impressed for a long time.

Contact us, if you'd like to arrange a tour to a Ukrainian village. 

 

10. Take tours to castles and fortresses.

Ukraine has rich historic heritage. There are many memorials of defense architecture on its territory. Let's dive into past and explore some of the best castles and fortresses! Most of them are located in the western part of Ukraine in the hilly or mountain surroundings. We strongly recommend you visiting castles in Kamenets Podilljsky, Olesko, Mykachevo, Ostrog. Fortresses also often served as the defence against intruders. Not many fortifications survived, but the remaining ones are really worth seeing. Check out fortress at the village Tarakanov, Khotyn fortress and the one in Sudak.

Contact us, if you'd like to arrange a tour to either of them. 

 

11. Partake in Workshops in the Carpathians

 

@uafacts.com

We've talked already about different work shops you can take, but doing it in the Carpathians is a totally different and separate story. We welcome you to Kosiv - a land of pottery. Even though the ancient craft had experienced major changes: the use of modern machinery, new designs of roasting oven and pottery's wheel, the most important processes are still performed manually there. You can take a class and learn how to make your own piece out of clay.

Contact us, if you'd like to arrange crafts workshop in Kosiv or surrounding towns in Carpathian Mountains. 

 

12. Have fun Horseriding

Continuing the Carpathian theme, you can entertain your child by going horseriding. Horseback riding is not just a good kind of active rest but also a perfect therapy for those who are tired of city life. Such rides usually take 1-2 hours wit an instructor; the average price of such ride is 100-200 hryvnia. Riding tour takes 1 day or more, there are tours for the beginners and for the experienced riders but it is recommended to have some basic skills.

Contact us, if you'd like to arrange a horse riding tour. 

 

13. Have a ride on a Narrow gauge railway.

 

@ua-travel.info

I am sure there are not many of them left out there in the world with the width of 760 mm. There are three operating passenger gauge lines in Ukraine: Vynohradiv–Khmilnyk (in Zakarpattia Oblast), Rudnytsia–Holovanivsk (Haivoron line in Vinnytsia Oblast and Kirovohrad Oblast), Antonivka–Zarichne (in Rivne Oblast). The last one is the longest (106 km) railway of this type in Europe. During the whole rail travel one can enjoy idyllic scenery of landscapes that are still untouched by the civilization: sands, pines, mixed woods, marshlands.

The Carpathian tram is another sample of narrow railroad. This ecofriendly transport attracts many tourists. It allows to view the beauty of Carpathian mountains, drink mineral water, visit interesting places. All for a cost of 15 euros per person only!

 

14. Investigate Planetariums and observatories.

 

@novanews.com.ua

If your kid has a keen interest in astronomy or science, you could take him/her to a planetarium. Watch the stars, learn the planets - what an exciting way to spend your free time.

Kyiv Planetarium is one of the largest in Eastern Europe. Its Star Chamber can seat 320 spectators. With the help of a special unit "planetarium" you watch not only the sky of Kyiv, but any other place on Earth, visit the equator, the North or South Poles. Apparatus “planetarium” is able to compress the time so that it can display celestial phenomena that are difficult or even impossible to observe in reality, for example, changing of location of celestial bodies in the future comparison with the past. On the weekends they have fantastic star shows, which will keep you bewildered.

Address:Velika Vasilkivska, 57/3

You can also visit planetariums in Dnipropetrovsk (10 Rogaleva st.) and Kharkiv (15 Kravtsova st.) We also welcome you to observatories in Lviv( 8 Kyryla and Mefodija st.) and Odesa ( 1v Marazlievska st.)

 

15. Go Hiking in Mountains

If you love nature and at the same time like to feel adrenalin, then you should explore mountains in an active way. Go hiking, camping, spend a night sitting at the fire and singing some songs accompanied by the guitar.

Still not tickling your desire? Ok, what about mountain rivers. They are crystal clear but also they ran fast. They are perfect for rafting, kayaking, canoeing. Depending on season, type of equipment and routes the Carpathian rivers are considered to have the third category of complexity. Carpathian rafting tours are available for participants over 12 years old.

Contact us, if you'd like to arrange a hiking or rafting tour.

 

16. Visit National parks

National nature parks of Ukraine are preservation territories that are part of the Nature-Preservation Fund of Ukraine. Here is the short list of some of them. The Carpathian National Natural Park is the first and the largest national park in Ukraine. It encompasses the territory of more than 50 thousand hectares. It is rich not only in natural wonders, but also in original monuments of archeology and ethnography.

Askania Nova is the oldest and the largest steppe reserves in Europe. It is located in Kherson region and is a virgin area of steppe, which has never been ploughed. The best way to enjoy picturesque landscapes of the wildlife reserve and its unique inhabitants is to go on a photo safari by car or horseback.

Contact us, if you'd like to arrange a tour to one of Ukraine's national parks. 

 

17. Have a blast at Entertainment centers.

 @kids.com.ua

We put this kind of entertainment last on our list on purpose. After trying all the activities which are more unique to Ukraine and will definitely help you to remember our country as a special one, you can check out different "gamelands" that are available in every big city.

Lviv - Sky Park: It features Foam rubber pit and a children's climbing wall, area for children up to 6, air guns, inflatable slides, swing.

Kharkiv - "Igroland": is located in Karavan shopping mall. Here you can find prize machines and simulators, maze, cafe and pizzeria, performances, children's events and many other attractions.

Kyiv - "Kidljandija" or The City of Professions: it is huge complex for children made like a separate country, where only kids inhabit. They have their own rules and laws and their own economy with its currency. Here kids can learn how to earn and spend money, how to be a fireman or policeman, how to be an adult)))

Well, with the list above we just scratched the surface of all activities that your kids might enjoy in Ukraine. If you want a particular tour or simply an advise about your time in Ukraine, feel free to drop us a line. And may your kids have a great time in our country :)