Road Trip Ukraine - Little known interesting places

Hello,

we are going to Ukraine this summer by own car. We have experience with road trips, we don't use hotels, we don't visit museums. We just travel around the country and do sightseeing in interesting cities and places. We know about top Ukraine places like Cernivci, Chotyn, Kamanec-podolski, Kolomyja, Zhitomyr, Kyiv, Poltava, Sevastopol, Balaklava, Odessa, Yalta, Uman. These places you can find in every good book about Ukraine. But we want to see some really cool places which are not so much known. It can be some ugly place too. For example we want to visit city Enerhodar, because it's really industrial city and it seems really ugly (no offence) or I have tip for cool beer factory in Berdychiv. We would like to visit these kind of places.

If you have some tip, please write! Some place which don't have to be pretty for tourist eye but place which is interesting and it's really Ukraine.

Our route is: Cernivci - Kamjanec - Zhitomyr - Kyiv - Poltava - Zaporozi - Koktebel - Sevastopol - Odessa

Thank you for your tips

Try Kryvyi Rig (Krivoy Rog). I would not say it is ugly, by no means, but it is definitely heavily industrialized! It is by the way the second longest city in the world, one step behind Chicago. I want to go there some day too.

Rahiv and Yarmeche and most of the Carpathian mountain areas are not tourist towns. Sme have interesting churches or mineral water springs that are highly praised by locals.

Ruth

Hey, man, you are lucky!!! You are going to Ukraine by own car and you have a good chance to visit some unusual places. If you have got a tent you won't have a problems with places to stay. For example, some people ask about soviet legacy but i have never suggested to visit Zaporozhe, because i really don't know where they can stay there. That is a big industrial city with an architecture of Joseph Stalin period. There are one of the biggest extant Lenin's statue and DneproGES the great hydroelectric power plant on the Dnipro River. Also you can visit Khortytsia the largest island of Dnipro River where you'll find reconstruction of Zaporizska Sich which is well-known fort of Ukrainian cossacks. But don't set up your tent on Khortytsia island because that is a national cultural reserve, you can set up tent on the bank of Dnipro river :-).

ok, then you can visit both of Ukrainian Cossacks' former capitals Baturyn and Chygyryn where you can see buildings in Ukrainian Baroque style. These cities related with Ukrainian history.

But if you have enough time the best advantage of your journey by car you can travel all over the coast of Crimea from Kerch to Tarkhankut. Near Kerch you can visit unfinished Crimean Nuclear Power Plant. That is very close to Shcholkine town or, for example, you can climb to the top of Sokol mountain in Novyi svet (near Sudak). It takes about 2-3 hours but from the top of mountain you can see the coast of Crimea from Meganom cape (Sudak) to Bear mountain (Alushta) from bird's-eye view. That is really beautiful view and Novyi svet is very cool place to visit.

Thanks for your tips. Yeah, I think that travelling by own car with few friends is really cool way of travelling for young guys. We have tent so we don't need hotels or hotels but we are going for 16 days so we will probably spend two nights in some accomodation. If there are four people in car it's cheap especially in Ukraine because of food and diesel. We want to see some typical tourist objectives, but also taste local beers (because of our country Czech), enjoy local small town party, see industrial face of Ukraine, being the only tourist in some nice but not famous place, eat in little home restaurants with locals and more. I am really grateful for tips, especially for Yarmeche, Krivyj Rog, Zaporozhe and its architecture, unfinished Crimean Nuclear Power Plant and amazing view from Sokol Mountain.

visit Mariupol and the sea of Azov a very interesting mix of heavy industry, polluted sea and people thinking that staying at the beaches over there is actually good for their health

Donbass is an industrial region of Ukraine. There are some interesting places like salt mine in Soledar. This place is opened for tourists. See photos 1, 2, 3, 4. Also you can visit coal mines in Gorlivka where you can climb to the top of old slagheap.

visit Mariupol and the sea of Azov a very interesting mix of heavy industry, polluted sea and people thinking that staying at the beaches over there is actually good for their health

Yes, but don't forget oxygen cylinders, so you will be able to breath while site-seeing :)

It is pity you don't have Simferopol in your list:-)) little ugly with many little old streets. when you enter to it from the south side( possible from Sevastopol) you will see little houses, mostly without windows and doors. don't laugh this way tartars occupy land. they were sent by Stalin from those places and now try to return their land.
Not usual rest is good in underground caves, in Red one if you wish you can even walk by underground river, this is possible only on summer time.

here's a good guide to 'live' beer in Ukraine http://ukrainianweek.com/Travel/36184 enjoy!