Itinerary:
May 1, Day 1: Arrive KBP-Borispol airport in Kiev. (Sleep @ hotel in Brovary.) May 1st is an important national holiday in Ukraine.
May 2, Day 2: See the sights of Kiev with an English-speaking guide: visit Maidan Nezalejnosti (site of 2004 Orange Revolution); take funicular railway to the synagogue in old Jewish Podol neighborhood & see central Brodsky synagogue; finally visit Babi Yar, the infamous site of the Nazi massacre.
(Drive to Uman & stay @ hotel by Sofiyivka Park.)
May 3, Day 3: Visit Uman, the pilgrimage destination of Hassidic Jews from all over the world, to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachmann. Also walk in the beautifully landscaped Sofiyivka Park, considered one of the loveliest in Eastern Europe. Bring your camera!
(Drive to Vinnytsia & stay @ downtown Hotel Podillya.)
May 4, Day 4: See downtown Vinnytsia & take a cruise on the Pivdenny Boog River (bring a picnic if you wish). Later, visit the Vinnytsia Jewish organization in Vyshenka.
(Another night @ Hotel Podillya. Have dinner @ Tet á Tet restaurant across the street.)
May 5, Day 5: Take a day trip to visit Zhytomyr & Berdychiv, where large Jewish populations lived until WW2. Meet local rabbis & see what remains of the synagogues, visit Jewish graveyards & memorial to victims of Fascism. Pray @ the gravesite of Levi Yitzhak in Berdychiv.
(Another night @ Hotel Podillya in Vinnytsia. Dinner @ Café Limon.)
May 6, Day 6: In the morning, tour Dr. Nicholas Pirogov’s estate in Vyshenka, which is now a unique medical museum. After pizza lunch, drive to Bratslav, where Rabbi Nachmann taught, wrote & lived. Visit the beautiful cemetery on a hill overlooking the river, where Nachmann’s disciples are buried.
(Drive to Medjibizh & stay in a 4-star hotel.)
May 7, Day 7: Explore the medieval fortress of Medjibizh overlooking the Pivdenny Boog River & visit the grave of Hassidic founder, Ba’al Shem Tov. (After lunch, drive to Lviv & stay @ the classic Hotel George.)
May 8, Day 8: After breakfast, take a walking tour of Lviv with Tanya Kotova of B’nai Brith Leopolis to visit the old Jewish neighborhoods, site of the Golden Rose temple, old Jewish hospital & graveyard site. Then visit the site of WW2 Jewish ghetto & Janowska concentration camp. Bring Kleenex.
(After a late lunch/early dinner, spend another night & Hotel George.)
May 9, Day 9: Those wishing to make the optional trip to Krakow, Poland will take the train (expenses not included in UHF tour, but a guide can go with you). Spend 3 nights in Krakow to see the Jewish neighborhood of Kazimieriz (Day 10) & visit Auschwitz the next day (Day 11). Fly back to Kiev early on Day 12 to catch your flight home.
Note: Those not going to Poland can spend extra time in Lviv, exploring the old Polish cemetery, shopping in Old Town, enjoying cafes & restaurants in the Paris of Ukraine. Or a trip to the Uzhgorod (aka Ungvar) amidst the Carpathian Mountains near the Slovakian border can be arranged.
May 10, Day 10: Either explore Uzhgorod — or return to Kiev & spend the night in the classic St. Petersburg Hotel near Kreshatik Avenue (hub of Kiev’s shopping, dining & nightlife).
May 11, Day 11: Return to Kiev or enjoy an extra day in Ukraine’s capital city walking, shopping, sightseeing & dining.
(Spend the night in the St. Petersburg Hotel.)
May 12, Day 12: Share a taxi to the airport & fly home or on to your next destination.
NOTE: This itinerary may be adjusted slightly to take advantage of special events that may occur. No one is obliged to attend any tours, meetings or seminars. However, no refunds will be made for any missed activities. If you leave the tour at any time, for any reason, you are own your own.
| Trip Price Included: |
- round-trip flight from SFO San Francisco, CA to KBP Kiev, Ukraine.
- transportation in a private van to destinations in Ukraine.
- accommodations in all locations mentioned.
- meals not included (except where breakfast is provided by hotel or B&B). However, Ukrainian restaurants are very reasonable by western standards, usually $10/meal (or less).
- tours with English-speaking guides in Kiev, Uman, Vinnytsia region & Lviv.
- boat excursion on the Pivdenny Boog river in Vinnytsia.
- entrance fees to all museums and historical sites mentioned in itinerary.
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Not Included:
Laundry, additional excursions, meals, tips. Trip to Poland is optional & not included in the basic tour price. A trip to Uzhgorod (instead of Kiev) on Days 10 & 11 would be included, if the group desires.
Trip costs and fees: The tour cost of $3300 is based on two persons sharing a twin-bedded room with shower, some breakfasts, excursions listed in the itinerary, seminars, services of Ukrainian translators and US guides, and transportation in private vehicle in Ukraine. Those arranging their own air travel can deduct $1000. Ground-only does not include final airport transfer.
Passport and Visa: A passport valid six months from date of entry to Ukraine. A 90-day tourist visa is not required for USA citizens. No health requirements.
Roommates: Single people may sign up for accommodations desired on a shared basis and will be assigned a roommate as circumstances permit. If a roommate is unavailable, the participant will be notified of the adjusted price for a single supplement.
Deposit: A $350 deposit, a check made out to Danu Enterprises, is required to make a booking. Deposit is fully refundable, minus a $75 cancellation fee until April 1, when a $100 penalty fee will become attached to all cancellations received in writing. Final payments are due by April 15, 2010. Changes in the exchange rate or rise of gasoline may affect the tour price. The trip is limited to 12 people.
Accommodations: Generally rooms have two single beds with flush toilets, sinks, showers, and hot water. Since tourism is developing slowly in the FSU (former Soviet Union), standards are not as high as in First World western countries. The concept of customer service is evolving, so please be aware of this if you choose to travel in Ukraine. The hotels we have chosen have cultural charm and are reasonably priced to keep the cost of the trip affordable. We have done our best to choose hotels with some English-speaking staff.
Food: Most Ukrainian restaurants serve traditional dishes like borshcht (vegetable soup), holubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls), milintsi (stuffed crepes/pancakes) and shashlik (BBQ marinated meat on skewers). Most salads have mayonnaise and not much in the way of salad greens, but a good Greek salad will have delicious tomatoes, cucumbers, olives & feta cheese. The beer, vodka & cognac are delicious, cheap & abundant. And the chocolate is to die for. Wine is available, but not up to California standards. Local markets & bazaars are abundant in spring & summer with fresh, homegrown fruits & vegetables—especially wild mushrooms. Ukraine is renowned as the breadbasket of Eastern Europe & food is relatively inexpensive. Good ethnic restaurants & cafes can be found in the cities: Italian, Georgian, Crimean, Middle Eastern & European. You can even find sushi in some places & good seafood is available due to the proximity of the Black Sea.
Weather: May is a beautiful month to visit Ukraine. The country is literally exploding with flowers in bloom (especially lilac), and it's warm but not yet hot. It may rain but can also be warm & sunny, so come prepared. We visit before the busy summer tourist season, so sites are not yet crowded and local Ukrainians are happy to see us after the long winter. Arts and crafts, made during the winter months have not yet been picked over, so prices are reasonable.
Tour organizer/leader: Your guide is Virginia Lee, who served with Peace Corps in Ukraine from 2007-09 and is eager to share her both her appreciation of Ukrainian culture, as well as her network of Ukrainian allies, guides and translators (affiliated with the Ukrainian Heritage Foundation: http://ukrainianheritagefound.com) who will make sure your experience is beyond what you could do by yourself. Don’t miss this unique opportunity, especially if you are of Ukrainian ancestry.
For further information and a detailed itinerary, contact Danu Enterprises:
1-888-476-0543 or danu@earthlink.net
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