People usually come to Truskavets for the water and the treatments, but there is free time in between. This 2–3 day plan is built so that you do not spend half a day on the road: everything below is in Truskavets itself or within half an hour of it. We gathered the long trips to the mountains and castles in a separate article on day trips from Truskavets.
Day 1: Truskavets on foot
Start at Pump Room No. 1 “Naftusia”, the symbol of the resort. The 1962 neoclassical pavilion bears the town’s coat of arms and a plaque to Teodor Torosevych, the Lviv pharmacist whose analysis led people to drink the Truskavets water instead of only bathing in it. Inside they pour Naftusia, Mariia, Sofiia and Bronislava: you pick a serving at the push of a button and pay with a card handed out free at the ticket desk.
The pump room opens three times a day: from 7:00 to 10:00, from 12:00 to 15:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00. The alleys of the Resort Park start right next to it, so your morning water pairs well with a walk.
In the afternoon, head to the Oskar Dolphinarium, the only one in western Ukraine. Black Sea dolphins and fur seals perform here, and the main pool, up to six meters deep, is one of the largest in the country. The stands form a semicircle, so you can see well from any seat. Shows run Tuesday to Friday at 12:00 and 16:00, and Saturday and Sunday at 11:00, 14:00 and 17:00; Monday is a day off. Kids under 4 get in free, and you can also swim with the dolphins.
Pump Room No. 1 “Naftusia”. A 1962 neoclassical pavilion in the heart of Truskavets where the famous Truskavets mineral water is served
5 Teodor Torosevych Blvd, Truskavets
Oskar Dolphinarium. Shows with dolphins and fur seals and swimming with dolphins – the only dolphinarium in Western Ukraine, in Truskavets
18 Horodyshche St, Truskavets
from450UAHDay 2: Drohobych and the Franko homestead
Drohobych is the neighboring town, and its greatest treasure is the wooden Church of St. George, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its three domes over the main log frames are held together without a single nail, only wooden pegs, and next to it stands a bell tower from 1678. Inside are a 17th-century iconostasis and murals by Stefan Medytskyi that show how our ancestors pictured heaven and hell and how they dressed. The church is open daily from 9:00 to 17:00.
About 15 km further on lies Nahuievychi, Ivan Franko’s home village. His family homestead with its thatched roof was rebuilt from the writer’s own memoir, My Father’s House: the cottage, shed, granary, the forge with his father’s bellows, the barn and the stable. Across the road is a literary museum with first editions published in his lifetime, and in Franko’s Grove the Ivan Franko Trail passes wooden sculptures of his characters and a Fairy Tale Meadow. Allow two to three hours for it all. The reserve is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 and closed on Mondays.
Church of St George. A wooden pearl of Drohobych from the 15th–17th centuries with an iconostasis by Stefan Medytskyi and unique murals
25 Solonyi Stav St, Drohobych
from30UAH
Nahuievychi Reserve. Ivan Franko’s family homestead with a thatched roof, a literary museum and the Franko Trail in the forest
15 I. Franka St, Nahuievychi village, Drohobych Raion
from20UAHThe Drohobych and Nahuievychi trip covers both places: 5 hours, from 10:00 to 15:00, with a walk around Market Square in Drohobych. Transport and a guide are included, so you do not have to think about getting there.
Day 3: Tustan or Limpopo Zoo
For the third day, pick one of two. Tustan is the Kamin, Ostryi Kamin, Mala Skelia and Zholob rocks, where a fortress once guarded the road from Drohobych to Transcarpathia. Wooden stairs and walkways lead from rock to rock, and on a clear day the viewing platforms show the Carpathian ridges. The reserve is open every day and has family tickets. The easiest way there is the Tustan and Skhidnytsia trip: 5.5 hours, including a mineral water tasting in Skhidnytsia.
With kids, Limpopo Zoo in Medenychi, about 25 km from Truskavets, may be the better choice. It was founded in 2008 on 1.2 hectares, and today it has over 700 animals of about 210 species on more than 6.5 hectares: lions, white and Amur tigers, a jaguar, a black panther, lemurs, capybaras, kangaroos, pink pelicans and Himalayan bears. QR codes by the enclosures tell you about the residents. The zoo is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00, and pets are not allowed.
Tustan Reserve. A cliff fortress above the village of Urych with wooden stairs, viewing platforms and Carpathian panoramas
Urych village, Stryi Raion, Lviv Oblast
from100UAH
Limpopo Zoo. Lions, tigers, lemurs and over 700 animals in the open air in Medenychi, Lviv region
21 Lvivska St, Medenychi, Drohobych Raion, Lviv Oblast
from250UAH
How to arrange the days
- Monday: the dolphinarium and the Nahuievychi reserve are closed, so keep that day for the pump room, the park, Tustan or the zoo.
- If your treatments are in the morning: you can visit the pump room in the evening, from 17:00 to 20:00, and the dolphinarium has a 16:00 show on weekdays.
- If you only have 2 days: spend the first in Truskavets and the second in Drohobych and Nahuievychi or at Tustan.
- Weather: on a rainy day the pump room, the dolphinarium and the Nahuievychi museums work best, while Tustan and the zoo are for a dry day.
When you want to go further
If you still have time after three days, see our comparison of the mountain trips: Synevyr, Yaremche, the Dovbush Rocks and the Carpathian Tram. Prices and the nearest dates for every trip are on the tours from Truskavets page.
