In a single day from Kyiv you can reach a Hetman capital, the banks of the Dnipro, an 18th-century park or even Prypiat. We gathered all the day trips in one place and grouped them by theme: nature, palaces, ancient towns and unusual routes. Most leave early in the morning from a metro station and bring you back to Kyiv in the evening.
How to choose a trip
- The shortest: Radomysl Castle, 8 hours, from 08:00 to 16:00.
- Nature and parks: Sofiyivka in Uman, Taras Hill in Kaniv, Buky Canyon.
- Palaces and Hetman history: Baturyn and Kozelets, Kachanivka, Sokyryntsi and Hustynia.
- An ancient town and its cathedrals: Chernihiv with the Boldyni Hills and the Anthony Caves.
- With kids: the wildlife of the Kyiv region, or the Golden Pheasant biopark after Buky Canyon.
- The most unusual: the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, 18+ only.
Parks and nature
Uman and Sofiyivka is one of the finest landscape parks in Europe: the Island of Love, waterfalls, grottoes and a boat ride along the underground River Acheron. After the tour there is free time in the park. It is the longest trip: 13 hours, meeting at 06:15 by Teremky metro station.
Kaniv offers Taras Hill with one of the most beautiful views of the Dnipro, the Taras Shevchenko Museum, Taras’s Svitlytsia and the 12th-century Dormition Cathedral. The reserve is closed on Mondays, so the trip runs on Sundays. It takes 11 hours, from 08:00 to 19:00.
Buky Canyon means granite cliffs on the Hirskyi Tikych River, the Vyr waterfall, a 19th-century watermill and the ruins of an old hydroelectric plant. After lunch comes the Golden Pheasant biopark with camels and peacocks, and finally the stables of the Parade Allure equestrian complex. About 12 hours, from 08:00 to 20:00.
Uman and Sofiyivka. Golden autumn in an 18th-century masterpiece park: the Island of Love, waterfalls and the underground River Acheron
Next: Nov 15 at 06:30
13 hours (06:30–19:30, approx.)
from1,390UAH
Kaniv. Taras Hill above the Dnipro in golden autumn: the Shevchenko Museum, Taras’s Svitlytsia and the Dormition Cathedral in one day from Kyiv
Next: Nov 15 at 08:00
11 hours (08:00–19:00, approx.)
from1,290UAH
Buky Canyon. 2-billion-year-old rocks, the Golden Pheasant biopark and Parade Allure horses in one day from Kyiv
Next: Nov 11 at 08:00
About 12 hours (08:00–20:00)
from1,680UAHPalaces and Hetman history
Baturyn and Kozelets combine the baroque Cathedral of the Nativity in Kozelets, the palace of Hetman Kyrylo Rozumovsky, the Resurrection Church and a rebuilt Cossack citadel with wooden walls and towers. From November to March the palace is closed on Mondays, so the trip runs on Sundays then.
Kachanivka is the Tarnovsky Palace, where the series The Serf was filmed, and a huge landscape park with ponds, St. George’s Church and the Glinka gazebo. Sokyryntsi and Hustynia bring the Empire-style Galagan Palace of 1823–1829 in an old park and Hustynia Monastery with its 17th-century churches. Radomysl Castle holds the Museum of Ukrainian Home Icons and a paper mill where paper is made by hand using 16th–17th-century methods.
We cover these estates in more detail, and how to choose between them, in our article on castles and palaces near Kyiv.
Baturyn and Kozelets. The Hetman capital: Rozumovsky Palace, a Cossack citadel and a baroque cathedral in one day from Kyiv
Next: Nov 22 at 08:00
11.5 hours (08:00–19:30, approx.)
from1,590UAH
Kachanivka. The palace and park where the series “The Serf” was filmed, 185 km from Kyiv
Next: Nov 15 at 07:00
12 hours (07:00–19:00, approx.)
from1,200UAH
Sokyryntsi and Hustynia. The 60-room Galagan Palace and a monastery painted by Shevchenko in one day from Kyiv
Next: Nov 14 at 07:00
12.5 hours (07:00–19:30, approx.)
from1,380UAH
Radomysl Castle. The Museum of Ukrainian Icons and a 17th-century paper mill above a waterfall
Dates to be announced
8 hours (08:00–16:00, approx.)
from1,100UAHChernihiv: cathedrals and caves
Chernihiv is one of the oldest towns in Ukraine. The trip starts in the Dytynets with the 11th-century Transfiguration Cathedral, the Cathedral of Sts. Borys and Hlib and St. Catherine’s Church. After lunch come the Boldyni Hills, St. Elijah’s Church and the underground cells of the Anthony Caves. The trip takes 12 hours, from 07:30 to 19:30, meeting at 07:15 by Lisova metro station.
Chornobyl and the wildlife of the Kyiv region
The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone tour is a legal trip with a permit, radiation checks and a licensed guide: the Dytiatky checkpoint, the Duga radar, Prypiat, the Chornobyl NPP and the town of Chornobyl. Visitors must be 18 or older, and your passport details for the permit must be sent at least 5 days before the trip. You will need closed clothing that covers your arms and legs.
Wildlife of the Kyiv region visits the Yasnohorodka eco park with its ostriches, a forestry bison enclosure and the Lemur petting zoo. A group of up to 8 people travels by minibus, and the trip takes 10 hours.
Princely Chernihiv. The 11th-century Transfiguration Cathedral, the Boldyni Hills and the Anthony Caves in one day from Kyiv
Next: Nov 14 at 07:30
12 hours (07:30–19:30, approx.)
from1,450UAH
Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Prypiat, the Chornobyl NPP and the Duga radar in one day from Kyiv
Next: Nov 15 at 07:00
13 hours (07:00–20:00, approx.)
from2,500UAH
Wildlife of the Kyiv region. Ostriches, bison and a petting zoo in one day from Kyiv
Dates to be announced
10 hours (08:00–18:00, approx.)
from1,400UAHIf you have a whole weekend
Two trips run from Friday night to Sunday evening, with a hotel night and breakfast. Kamianets-Podilskyi and Khotyn take you to a medieval town on a rocky island, the Castle Bridge over the Smotrych canyon and Khotyn Fortress above the Dniester. Lviv and the Golden Horseshoe means Saturday in old Lviv and Sunday at Zolochiv, Pidhirtsi and Olesko castles.
Kamianets-Podilskyi and Khotyn. Two fortresses from the “Seven Wonders of Ukraine” over a weekend from Kyiv
Next: Nov 13 at 23:30
3 days (Fri 23:30 – Sun around 22:00)
from6,690UAH
Lviv and the Golden Horseshoe. The Old Town and the castles of Olesko, Pidhirtsi and Zolochiv over a weekend from Kyiv
Dates to be announced
3 days (Fri 23:00 – Sun around 23:00)
from4,490UAHHow to combine them with Kyiv
If you are in Kyiv for three or four days, give the first two to the city: the Lavra, St. Sophia’s, Andriivskyi Descent and the museums, as in our 2-day Kyiv plan. Then pick one trip to suit your mood: Kaniv or Sofiyivka for nature and quiet, Chernihiv or Baturyn if history is your thing. Try not to book the long trips back to back: after 12–13 hours on the road, a walk around the city the next day feels much better.
Good to know
- The price includes travel and a guide for the whole day, plus a hotel night with breakfast on the weekend trips.
- Admission to palaces, parks and museums is paid separately. Most tickets can be added to your booking together with your seat.
- Lunch is at your own expense, and the longer trips include a lunch stop.
- Bring comfortable shoes, water and warm clothes: you will spend a lot of time outdoors.
- Prices and the nearest dates are on the cards above, and they update on their own.
All the trips, along with walking tours of Kyiv, are on the tours from Kyiv page.
