Wartime travel essentials for alerts, shelters, transport and resilient payments
Many governments advise against all travel to Ukraine, and some distinguish only a limited number of western regions for essential travel.
Missile and drone strikes can affect any region, commercial flights do not operate, consular help may be severely limited and ordinary insurance may be invalid. If you travel despite that advice, identify a verified shelter before arrival, install Повітряна тривога, obey every siren and check the local curfew daily. An available taxi does not give you permission to move during curfew. Expect rail, power, mobile, water and card-payment disruption; carry offline documents, two physical cards, some hryvnia, water, medication and a charged power bank.
Stay on verified routes because mines and unexploded weapons remain a hazard, and never photograph military sites, checkpoints, air defences or strike locations. Call 112 from a mobile for general emergencies, 101 for fire, 102 for police and 103 for an ambulance.
Ukraine's leading local ride app, with the broadest country-specific service and cash or card payment.
Broadly available ride app with an English interface, upfront quotes and foreign-friendly card support.
Useful international backup currently listed in Kyiv and 17 other Ukrainian cities.
Restaurant and grocery delivery in a smaller set of major Ukrainian cities, with pickup and card payment.
The broadest current restaurant and shop delivery marketplace across Ukrainian cities and suburbs.
Ukrainian service for restaurant meals, Silpo groceries and other everyday deliveries in many cities.
Best general option for Ukrainian addresses, walking, business listings and an initial route check.
Offline OpenStreetMap-based maps and routing that remain available during network or power disruption.
Official English-capable Kyiv app for transport tickets, live information, alerts and the city's shelter map.
English-capable route planner for many Ukrainian cities, with offline data and selected live vehicle feeds.
Offline Ukrainian text, camera and conversation support for signs, menus, addresses and basic communication.
Official Ukrainian Railways app for long-distance, international, suburban and selected urban rail tickets.
Multilingual search and booking marketplace for domestic and international buses serving Ukraine.
Large international coach network linking many Ukrainian cities, with limited domestic-only service as of 2026.
Official civil-defence alert app for selected Ukrainian regions and communities, with no registration required.
Reliable mobile internet at better prices than most travel eSIMs, with polished iOS and Android apps and support for making and receiving phone calls.
One of the biggest travel eSIM brands, with a very large destination catalog.
Known for unlimited-data plans in many destinations, at a higher price per gigabyte.
Civil airspace remains closed to scheduled passenger flights; plan to enter overland and arrange connectivity accordingly.
Best choice for broad coverage, including rural areas.
A solid alternative; compare current prepaid offers before buying.
Good-value option when price matters most.
The essential apps for Ukraine are Uklon, Bolt, Bolt Food, Glovo, Google Maps.
We've curated 17 apps across 11 categories for traveling in Ukraine, including 9 essential apps.
Uklon is the top-rated ride hailing app in Ukraine. Ukraine's leading local ride app, with the broadest country-specific service and cash or card payment.
Local taxi apps, lek cash and offline maps matter more than global brands
Public transport first, with city and Alpine tools that prevent expensive mistakes
Carry BAM, use local transport apps, and stay on established routes
National rail, regional transit and simple card backups for Belgium
Licensed taxi apps, city-specific transit tools and euro cash backups
Use SBB first, keep a card and francs handy, and prepare offline maps for the mountains
